Render Me Starless

♛ | Chapter 34 - "behind the thorns"

Astraea's POV

"Why are we here?" I ask, watching Thorin warily. I cross my arms as I watch him look around before finally paying me some attention.
"Nobody can hear us here."
My whole body goes rigid. The usual sarcastic self in me demands to reign forward but I don't let her, not letting her accelerate our death. "Are you-" I begin but pause to take in a breath. Breathing was suddenly too hard and my heart was much too loud. "Are you going to kill me?"

"I'm not going to harm you, Astraea," Thorin says. My eyes snap to his. My name- he used my name without the intention of mocking me. Since I had arrived in this damned place, all anyone has ever called me was Star Princess, princess itself or some stupid endermeant. This fact quietens my heart and I force myself to take a deep breath.
"What do you want from me?" I ask, hating myself for the small step that I take back.

"My mother isn't Taylem's true mate," he says instead, perching upon a wooden bench. My eyebrows raise at this information. As new as I was to this whole mage thing, I still knew how much of a big deal mates are. "You don't call him your dad?" I point out instead.
He gives me a dry glance but doesn't bother commenting on it. "He keeps his true mate as a mistress. Everyone knows about it. The whole kingdom."

I cross my arms. "Why are you telling me this?"
Thorin looks up at me, his face scrunched up in irritation. "Do you ever be quiet? I haven't finished yet."
My dislike for this prince increases as I let my own irritation forward. "You're not the one being forced to marry someone you don't want to," I spit out. "I think I have the right to be asking questions."
He frowns. "You're not the only one beinng forced into a marriage."

My mouth opens but nothing comes out. What?
Thorin rolls his eyes at my lack of answer and I instantly shut my mouth. He stands and takes a step closer which only makes me stand up straighter as I eye the approaching Day mage.
"I plan to kill Taylem on our wedding day. He will be most vulnerable there. He is a cocky man and won't be expecting an attack," Thorin tells me casually, as if we weren't talking about his father's death.

My eyebrows rise at this information. "Fuck, really?" I blurted out. He frowns at my curse but nods. "So just to clarify, we're not getting married tomorrow, right?" I ask and he nods again. A heavy breath leaves my body. "Thank the Lords," I murmur and notice Thorin's present frown. "Not to offend you or anything," I quickly say, reminding myself that I was the weak human and he was a mage. "I just already have a mate that probably won't survive without me."

The Prince of the Day Throne regards me for a second before responding. "I have my own mate as well. Taylem has forbidden me from seeing her which is why I must kill him. I will do anything to be with my mate."
Despite the fact that Thorin was the enemy's son, my heart went out for him. I don't think I could stand being forced to stay away from Orion when I knew he was out there. "So you will kill your father to be with your mate?" I ask.
"I would kill anyone who stood in the way of me being with Ferah, but my kingdom needs a new ruler. It is obvious Taylem is no longer fit to rule. He has let his love for power overrule his love for his kingdom."

"Ferah," I smile lightly, deciding I didn't care too much about Day Throne politics. "That's a beautiful name."
Thorin's face softens as he smiles too. "It is."
I cross my arms. "What does any of this have to do with me? Why bother telling me?"
Thorin repeats my action. "I want an alliance with The Night Throne and you're my ticket to that."
"What makes you think I have any impact on a situation like this?"
"You are the Lady Starlight, the Preserver. If I'm not mistaken, you are regarded with high authority, even in the council."

I think over his words and do realise he isn't mistaken. It doesn't help that I am the prince's mate, which they don't know. "How am I supposed to trust you?" I ask. The man could very well be lying to me to make things easier for him. Thorin clearly contemplates this till he comes up with a decision. "Come with me."

Against my better judgement, I follow the mage till we come back to the mansion of a house. He takes me through hallway after hallway, effectively ignoring any of the guards we see on the way. The urge to ask 'are we there yet' arises but I refrain. This only makes me miss Orion more, knowing it would have been the perfect thing to say to annoy him. Not that the man ever really got annoyed.

We finally reach a door that had two mages guarding it and Thorin pases them without being questioned. I quickly follow the prince, getting close enough to feel the abnormal heat that radiates off of every Day Throne mage. We pass through and are immediately met with a ball of energy in the form of a young girl that couldn't be older than six. "Thorin," she squeals her auburn hair in a long ponytail that reached past her hips. He instantly scoops up the young girl into his arms, the action taking me by surprise. The mage actually looked happy. Huh- I tilt my head slightly. Who would have thought?

I stand awkwardly by myself, watching the two catching up in with hushed whispers and giggles. Why did Thorin bring me to see this young bundle of cuteness? After a minute, she is put down and both turn to me. I wave at the little one and she excitedly waves back. "Go get Queen Yareli for me, Paise," Thorin tells her and she scurries off, grinning at me. I raise my eyebrow in question once I meet his eyes. "That was Paisley, Taylem's daughter."

My eyebrows scrunch up. "Your sister?"
"Half sister," he corrects. "Her mother is Taylem's true mate."
"Oh, the mistress?" I ask for clarification and he nods. This piece of information surprises me. From everything I've heard. I would have expected Thorin to dislike his half sister at least. Instead, it seemed they both shared an uncanny adoration for each other.

"Queen Yareli, is that your mum?" I ask.
"Yes. Meeting her will get you to understand my motives better. She is kept isolated in this room with only a few people allowed to see her. The people haven't seen her in years and some even speculate she is dead."

"I might as well be."

I turned to find a woman who looked as if she could fall at any second. She appeared to be a lot older than her husband which was remarkably odd. Never knew Taylem was into cougars. She looked unhealthy and sick despite her old age, taking me by surprise. I had never met a mage with such poor health. Her weight was being assisted by a metal cane that was plain and simple. "Astraea, this is my mother, Queen Yareli."

I shake her hand gently, too afraid that my human self could break it. "It's nice to meet you," I say, reverting back to pleasantries. It was a natural instinct, I couldn't help it. The queen rolls her eyes. "No need to be polite, girl," she says and the inner drama queen wants me to gasp but I don't. You could die any second here, Strae.

I look at Thorin, hoping he would help me out. I was never good at dealing with cranky old ladies. Instead, he directs me to look at a painting. It was of a beautiful woman who was clearly royalty, judging by the multiple gems adorning her neck and head. "That was my mother," he says and my mouth forms an 'O'. Old age clearly did not do the poor lady good. "Two years ago," Thorin adds.

"What?" I blurted out incredulously. There was no way. The Yareli in the painting looked at least thirty years younger than the Yareli today. "The bastard of a king decided he wanted to drain my magic for himself which in turn, made me look like this," the woman herself responds. "I thought that wasn't possible," I say. "I thought it was only possible to do that with Preserver's because we weren't born with magic."
Yareli scoffs. "He found a way to steal mine through the bond. We may not have been true mates but we still got married which created a bond."

Thorin crosses his arms and faces me. "Need any more evidence or are you willing to trust me?"
I glance between mother and son, both staring me down. "I mean, I don't necessarily trust you but I'm willing to go along with your plan." At this point, I'd do anything to get back to my mate.