When Stars Fall(The Last Star trilogy #3)

Raelynn Aquarius

Going outside was a mistake, not because I could freeze off my eyelashes but because Lewis wouldn’t stop staring at me. He sat on the logs with Nathan and Anthony. Tristan was missing, as usual, he hadn’t been himself ever since Belle had left. Nathan kept nudging Lewis, Anthony slapped him on the back, I saw protectiveness in their eyes. Lewis turned red, his cheeks bright on his coffee coloured skin. I sat cross-legged outside our tent, trying to curtain my face-tinted red-with my hair, fidgeting with the hem of my shirt. He’s not so bad, Phoenix had said to me. She was obviously in a good mood that day since she never compliments anyone, much less a guy. The last time she was impressed by Lewis was when he amazed everyone with his archery skills in Crimsyn State. I heard a muffled conversation coming from one of the tents, I followed the two voices and they led me to the biggest tent at camp. Hellen was bickering again with Alfred.

“I’m saying that you should let me talk to him once,” Hellen spat. “You had a chance to talk to Annabelle, she got a chance then Alec deserves the same. I know how you feel about him but if I would’ve raised him then he would be a good person, he’s just been twisted by Jaxon.”

“I understand, Hellen,” Alfred started. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but I crouched down at the back of their tent and listened quietly. My curiosity was bigger than my shame. Hellen had sworn me to secrecy that Alec was in fact her son. She had told many people but we were forbidden to speak the truth. I was the alternative for Alec, she treated me like the child she didn’t get to raise. “But right now you are fighting against them, you can’t be distracted by personal regrets or emotions.”

Regret. She regrets leaving him behind.

“I will get into that palace and negotiate with my son,” she insisted. She had been stubborn about changing Alec’s mind. Hellen thought he could be convinced into siding with us. If she’s so stubborn then how does she expect Alec to change his loyalty? Phoenix had snapped, Like mother like son.

“You can’t do that,” Alfred warned. ’It’s dangerous and risky. I won’t allow it.”

“I don’t care.” Hellen almost shouted. “You were about to operate a rescue mission to save Belle, if that was doable then having a mother-son conversation is to.”

I heard Alfred huff in anger.

“Why does Belle matter more than Alec?” Hellen snapped.

“She is the number one leader of our cause,” Alfred reminded. “She is The Last Star of her Constellation. We have waited for her for years and she’s the only one who can stop the Hydras.”

“Yes, yes,” Hellen groaned. I could picture her rolling her eyes. “She’s the serpent-bearer, she’s the one who can grasp Hydra with the Celestial Energy of Ophiuchus. Why hasn’t she done it yet? If she’s so strong.”

“She doesn’t know how,” Alfred boomed. “If I remember correctly, you were the one who was supposed to teach her the Astrological ways.”

“We never got to that part,” Hellen said, defensive. “She was taking too long with just Star Stones and Astral Travel. It’s not my fault she was so slow.”

“Don’t talk about her like that,” Alfred seemed to beg.

“Like what?”

“Like...” he trailed off.

“Like what?” Hellen repeated after a pause.

“Don’t talk about her like she’s gone forever,” Alfred finished, his teeth gritted.

There was silence and for a moment I thought they realized they were being spied on. My insides twisted and churned, bile rising in my throat but I swallowed it down after they continued.

“Those Hydras ruined my boy, they’re masters at destroying people,” Hellen told. I could hear the pain in her voice. She drew in a shaky breath. “Hope and pray that Belle is still stable if we get her out.”

Hope and pray. That’s what we’ve been doing for the past Stars know how many years. Hope and pray. And wait, we were waiting for an heir of Ophiuchus for years, Alfred knew there was one that was alive but he waited for the right time to get her to us.

“I pray everyday,” Alfred answered.

“Tell me something,” Hellen started. “After Eloise and the other Ophiuchus died why did you wait another sixteen years to bring Belle to Crimsyn State? Why not just bring that motherless two year old girl with you when you ran away?”

Alfred hesitated, all I heard was his breathing.

“Because I wanted her to have a normal life, not to be pressured by the weight of a war from the beginning,” Alfred spoke, almost inaudible. “I wanted to give her a normal childhood and then bring her here when she had lived in those lies long enough.”

“And what about all the children who have lived in Crimsyn State from the beginning?” Hellen shouted, I yelped at her voice. Tears pricked my large eyes. “They didn’t deserve to be pressured by war, they trained every single day of their lives for this and you were being selfish. That chance was taken from thousands of children and adults but you gave it to your granddaughter!”

“That wasn’t fair.” Hellen sniffed. My face was already wet. “All those people waited for a girl who was living her life freely while they prepared for a war only she could lead, and now she’s gone.”

“She’s not gone forever,” Alfred spoke through his teeth. “We will get her back.”

“No,” Hellen answered. “I’ve had enough of this. We waited sixteen years. I think it would be even further injustice if we waste our soldiers on Belle. Making everyone wait for her, again. We’ll start this war without her.”

“Even all of us combined, our Celestial Energy can’t control the largest Constellation in history,” Alfred said.

“One teenage girl can’t do it on her own either,” Hellen decided. “Did you talk to her?” Hellen said after a while.

“She was busy in a Celestial Gathering yesterday but this morning she spoke to me and she said that an air fleet from Aries will drop another bomb, this one will destroy Crimsyn State.”

“When?”

“It could be at anytime,”

“Did she say anything about bringing Belle here?” Hellen asked. I realized that they might be talking about a spy or even maybe a Star Spirit. Alfred always got excited when someone mentioned the Star Spirit of Virgo. Mine had never even paid me a visit. I guess whoever they were, they were busy with the other heirs of Aquarius.

“I won’t allow it,” Alfred said. “Especially not in her-” He stopped and cleared his throat.

“Does she really even care about it?” Hellen asked. Now I knew they were talking about something else.

“No, but still. Her life could be at risk as well,” Alfred said.

“Should we attack the palace?” Hellen asked. Alfred sighed, deciding. We had attacked the palace one time before where out soldiers got inside the walls but only few of them made it out alive. Alfred didn’t answer. Aries could bomb us anytime. I was disappointed in Hellen for being so selfish, if she cared about Alec then she shouldn’t have left him. But it’s not like she had a choice. She’s his mother, she’ll never see his bad side.

I wiped away the tears and covered my mouth. I slowly got up, wiping the tears with the back of my hand and walked over to our tent. I was blocked by Lewis and we stared at each other long enough for it to get awkward. I kept glancing at the ground, I didn’t like making eye contact because of my multi-coloured eyes.

“Are you okay?” Lewis asked, he reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

“I’m fine,” I said, still looking down.

“Is the ground more interesting than me?” he teased. I glared at him, a grin spread across my face though.

“No, I just don’t like eye contact,” I said, squaring my shoulders which ached. My hands were hidden in the pockets of my hoodie.

“I like your eye colour,” he told. I hadn’t checked what colour they were today. If I didn’t have a reflective surface I’d turn to the sky or my Constellation to see, since the color of Celestial Energy radiating from Aquarius was the same color of my eyes. I glanced at the sky, it was orange and pink with a purple blush but most of the Constellations were burning red. To other Aqaurians the Constellation would look normal, shining in only one color but since I was mutated I saw it in different shades, matching my eyes.

“Are they blue and green?” I asked after making Aquarius glow.

“With a little purple,” he added with the ghost of a smile.

“So, is it like being color blind in reverse?” he asked, hesitant. I flinched. “I did some research on it and I even got further than Anthony. You see Aquarius light up in all the colors but others see it in sea green or turquoise.”

“I apologize for my deformity,” I said, offended and took a step forward. Lewis put his hands on my shoulder, stopping me, keeping me from slipping on the mud.

“That’s not what I meant,” he said. “It’s actually really cool. Isn’t it good to be unique?”

My cheeks felt warm, I pressed my lips together to suppress a smile. “Was that a compliment?”

“I’ve been trying for a long time to come up with something.” He laughed and I joined.

“Phoenix told me you were good at archery,” I recalled, trying to start a conversation. I was terrible at socializing, maybe I had inherited a lot of the ‘being aloof’ part from the Aquarius side.

“She told you?” There was a furrow between his brows. “You didn’t see me in Crimsyn State that day?”

“No, I did,” I answered quickly. How can I be so stupid? Rae, can you please act like a normal human being for once?

“Is everything alright?” he asked. “You look like you’ve been crying.”

“I was,” I said, biting my lip. “Just scared.”

“Oh, yeah, me too.” He scratched the back of his head. His eyes ringed bronze underneath his glasses. My hand ran over the crystal-like Star Stone in my pocket and I brought it out.

“Do you see that?” I asked him, putting the stone in his hand.

“See what?” He squinted at the stone. Of course he couldn’t. Only I could see the clouds of Celestial Energy dancing inside the stone. Scarlet, indigo, citrus and cyan.

“I can see the Celestial Energy inside it,” I told, taking the stone back.

“Really?” He was amazed.

“I’m surprised that a smart Sagittarius like you didn’t know what other side effects I had from my abnormality,”

“Why do you say it like it’s a bad thing?” he wondered. I didn’t have an answer for that. I just shrugged.

“If I was up close to a Star-which I have been during an Astral Projection- and that Star was from Aquarius then I would see all the Celestial Energy radiating off it,” I told, changing the subject.

“That would look fantastic,” he said. “Despite what you think you’re not deformed, Raelynn.”

“Thank you.” I rolled my eyes playfully.

“Having pink eyes must be the most beautiful thing ever,” he said with reluctance. Now both our cheeks were tinted red of embarrassment.

“Actually now they’re pink at the top, purple in the middle, blue at the bottom with silver stardust flowing in the pupils,” I corrected, smiling too much. Stop it, he’ll think you’re crazy. He gave me a questioning look. “Aren’t they?” I asked, stepping closer so he could get a better look at my eyes. He stared at them for a long time.

“How did you-” He trailed off because I looked up-Stargazing-and conducted Aquarius, it’s Stars glowed the colour of my eyes. Pink, purple and blue with stardust sprinkling around.

“Wow!” he exclaimed. “That might be the coolest thing ever.”

“Well, being me had its privileges,” I said, for the first time I had this much confidence. I never even had a conversation this long with Phoenix or Nathan.

“You really shouldn’t do that much,” he warned, looking at the Stars in Aquarius moving around like waves in water. I remembered the ban on Stargazing but at the moment I didn’t really care.

“Nah,” I said. “It could be my last time Stargazing so might as well enjoy it.”

“Raelynn, don’t say that,” Lewis scolded. His eyes rimmed red all of a sudden, taking me by surprise.

“I’m sorry, it just slipped out.” He looked away.

“It’s okay.” I smiled. Sagittarius glowed for a minute, I saw the Stars shape in an arrow and then take their usual positions. I turned to Lewis and stopped Stargazing.

“I should get going now,” I said. I walked a few steps and turned around. “I’ll see you around.”

Lewis cleared his throat, beads of sweat appearing on his head and his mouth twitching. “Have a nice day, Raelynn.” I waved. I think I heard him squeal after I turned away and couldn’t help but smile.

“Where are you going?” Amara demanded Lyra. They were both standing outside our tent. Lyra looked ill and there was a tumor starting at her neck and traveling down the right side of her body, hiding beneath her clothes.

“I’m going inside to have an existential crisis,” Lyra announced and disappeared. I noticed that her head seemed bigger, literally! Her skin had stretch marks which she freaked out about earlier.

“What’s with her?” I turned to Amara. She looked at me and I filled with horror at her worried expression.

“She’s close to The Splitting.” Amara spoke dramatically. I shuddered and slapped her arm.

“Don’t say that.” I sounded like a petulant child.

“I’m not joking, Rae,” Amara confirmed. She wiped her forehead with her sleeve.

“We should go look after her.” I put an arm around her.

Inside, Lyra was pulling out her hair as the purple, bruise-like tumor throbbed and stretched her skin. Phoenix hid in the corner.

“She’s talking to herself, again,” Phoenix told. I saw fear in her eyes, a rarity. Both of us turned to Lyra again, she mumbled then screamed. repeat.

She gasped and ran to Amara. “I heard them,” she said.

“Heard who?” Amara asked.

“Castor and Pollux,”

Amara was confused. “They’re the Star Spirits of Gemini,” I told.

“They said that Belle searched about the disorder and she said that...” Lyra fell to her knees and I backed off while Amara talked to her through sobs.

“She’s a lunatic,” Phoenix whispered. I slapped her arm.

“She’s just not well,” I scolded. Phoenix huffed. Amara came over to us.

“What did she say?” Phoenix asked.

“It’s a long story.” Amara scratched the back of her head.

Phoenix looked at Lyra over Amara’s shoulder. “She’s about to split into two people, I think any sort of information would help us deal with that.”

Amara sighed. “Castor and Pollux told Rasal to ask Belle to do some research on her disorder and Belle found out that...that it’s a risky process and it doesn’t always end well.”

Phoenix opened her mouth to say something but another voice spoke.

“And what exactly have we been doing the past few days?” It came from outside, muffled words, almost inaudible. I pushed my ear against the cloth of the tent, a weight pushed against it.

“Lewis! Are you spying on us?” I demanded.

“No,” he answered. Phoenix turned around and slapped Lewis-though she couldn’t see him through the tent-and he screamed.

“That was a delicate place,” he yelled. I laughed and Amara tried not to.

“Hey Sagittarius, she’s not interested in you. Leave her alone,” Phoenix answered and kicked the weight leaning against our tent.

“Phoenix!” I scolded.

“What? He’s a creepy stalker,” she decided. Phoenix turned to Amara. “Raelynn has good taste, Lewis needs to stop chasing after her.”

“I’m sorry, she’s just cranky today,” I said. “I’ll see you later.” I giggled, my face felt hot.

“I take that back,” Phoenix whispered to Amara. I glared at her.

“Okay, see you then,” Lewis said. I giggled again, Amara cleared her throat loudly.

“Care to explain?” Phoenix crossed her arms, Amara copied.

“No, actually,” I said. Lyra screeched in pain, pulling her hair and choking on nothing, as if she might vomit.

Amara sighed and sat down next to Lyra while she convulsed and screamed, talking nonsense, switching her tone.

“They’re both fighting,” Phoenix said as we sat down next to Lyra. “Who says they won’t fight when they’re in separate bodies?”

“I’ll get Anthony, maybe he can help.” I ran to the table he always worked at. He grabbed his medical kit and rushed to the tent. I caught Lewis practicing archery with Nathan but I decided that this wasn’t the time for distractions.

“Hold her still,” Anthony demanded. Phoenix held Lyra from one side and Amara from the other. Anthony got out a needle and injected the liquid into Lyra, she was unconscious in seconds.

“The drug is effective for at least twelve hours, I gave her half of the doze so it could be lesser than that.” Anthony quickly left since it was embarrassing to be in the girls’ tent.

“It’ll be alright,” I said, putting a hand on Amara’s shoulder. She started crying and sobbed into her pillow.

“What’s wrong with her?” Phoenix wondered, irritable.

I looked at her like she was stupid, which she was sometimes. “She got bullied yesterday because her family is allied with the enemy, her friend was taken away and the other one is on the edge of losing her sanity.”

“Lyra’s lost it already, if you ask me,” Phoenix muttered.

“I didn’t ask you,” I retorted. She never took my jokes or comebacks seriously.

“Let’s go.” I grabbed her arm and dragged her to the training area.

“Why are we here?” she complained, looking around. “I’ve already done-” Her eyes fell on Lewis, shooting arrows at each target-even the ones hidden in the trees-like it was nothing at all.

“Oh,” she stretched the word and wriggled her eyebrows at me. I nudged her with my elbow.

“Stop it!” I demanded. Phoenix grinned wickedly, like she had a mischievous plan forming in her head. The last time that happened she nearly got herself killed by one of the palace soldiers.

“What are you thinking?” I asked, cautious.

“I don’t think, I only do,” she quoted and marched up to Lewis, most probably to smack him in the head with her fist.

“No, Phoenix, stop right there!” I whispered loudly. She hummed, hands tied behind her back and an innocent smile on her face. Oh, come on! You’re not fooling anyone, I wanted to scream. I feared that if I did raise my voice Lewis would lose concentration and accidently impell someone with an arrow.

Phoenix rolled her eyes at me, she tapped Lewis’ shoulder and quickly whispered something in his ear which made him tense. Phoenix skipped over to me, suppressing a smile.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “What did you say to him?” I wondered, Lewis dropped his bow and arrow while Nathan rubbed his back. Lewis wiped beads of sweat from his face, his eyes looked like they might pop out of their sockets.

“Guess,” Phoenix said, humming a poem under her breath.

I crossed my arms. “Threat, warning or insult?” I asked her that each time she talked to someone and they were petrified afterwards.

“Hmm...” She thought. “First option, A.”

“It’s not a multiple choice question,” I told.

“Threat,” she answered.

“Stars help me,” I muttered and approached Lewis slowly.

“I think he’s in shock,” Nathan said to me. I snapped my fingers in front of Lewis’ face.

“She said if I break your heart she’ll break my face,” he told. I laughed and Nathan chuckled.

“You’re overreacting,” I told.

“It’s Phoenix, why wouldn’t I overreact?” Lewis almost shouted. “And that she’d shave my head and make a necklace out of my eyeballs if something bad happened to you because of me.”

“Now that was just rude,” I said, glancing at Phoenix who gave me a thumbs up. She marched over here and grabbed Nathan’s collar.

“Come here, Pisces,” she said, dragging him away. Nathan cried out in fear.

“Relax, I’m not going to hurt you,” she whispered. “Just leave those two alone.” She winked at me and I smiled, mouthing thank you to her.

“Don’t let her intimidate you,” I told.

“Have you met her?” he asked me and we both laughed.

I was not in the mood to wake up this early, while the sky was still purple and amber.

“Did you hear the bomb this morning?” Tristan asked Phoenix. My head turned in their direction.

“That’s what woke me,” Phoenix said groggily. “Then they called this meeting.”

“I didn’t expect Lord Aries to do that!” They were both amazed. My insides twisted and turned, they had bombed Crimsyn State once more.

I had stayed out late Stargazing with Lewis, naming all the Constellations and Stars. He yawned and smiled at me, his eyes half open as we marched to the centre of the camp. Hellen and Alfred sat across us with smiles a mile wide spread across their faces. I was shocked to see them excited, hadn’t our hideout just been bombed? Perhaps they had survived it without any casualties. I couldn’t quite face Hellen after I heard her talking about Belle like that, I already felt guilty about eavesdropping and I feared that I would accidentally blurt it out.

“What’s the good news?” Phoenix asked, sitting up.

Hellen and Alfred exchanged looks, they’re cheeks swollen and red from smiling too much.

“Lord Aries has bombed Hydrus,” Hellen announced.

“Excuse me?” Amara shrieked, her eyes widened. Lord Aries was Amara’s uncle, he had made an alliance with the Hydras.

“Why in the name of Taurus would he do that?” Phoenix wondered.

“It was his plan all along,” Alfred started. “He bombed Crimsyn State just to show that he was on Jaxon’s side but I guess he was waiting for the chance to assault the Hydras.”

“I don’t believe it,” Amara said.

“I spoke to the Star Spirit of Virgo,” Alfred continued. “She said that the Aries bomb caused The Tower in Hydrus to collapse and demolished two buildings.”

“I felt an earthquake this morning as well,” Hellen added. “Probably because of the bomb.”

“I felt it too,” Tristan told. His voice hoarse from disuse. He was pale and his eyes circled dark, hair a mess.

“Amara.” Alfred faced her. “Turns out your family came around.”