Stars May Fall (Stars May Burn #2)

1. Kasten

KASTEN

I opened the hidden door inside the east wing and waited for the kryalcomy lights to flare, chasing away the clinging shadows with cold blue light until they cowered in the corners. The only sound was my breathing, coarse and heavy against the stone walls of the unadorned room. For the first time in countless hours, I stood still, my heart thumping as it struggled to supply enough oxygen to my exhausted limbs. My fresh reserves—the kryalcomy devices pressed against my skin that stored energy—were already mostly drained, but I wouldn’t let anything slow me down. Not when Sophie’s life depended on every second. She might be heavily sedated, but becoming a halfsoul would kill her soon if I didn’t find a way to cure her.

I only stopped long enough to consider the glass case where the starstone hung on its harness. A good person would leave it there. Nobody should have that much power. And once I revealed it, everyone would fight over it.

But I wasn’t a good person. I never had been.

Sophie was good. In fact, she was the only true good in my life. I couldn’t go back to how things were before. I couldn’t lose her.

Without her, the world was only darkness.

I had always been the best at fighting amongst my peers, both with and without a sword. The strongest. The one who could keep going the longest, despite whatever injuries I’d gained. But that wasn’t enough to save her now. I would do anything, even this, to force Lord Lyrason to cure her.

I didn’t care about the cost.

I lifted my sword, vaguely noticing how covered my hand was in grime and blood. With a yell, I smashed the thick glass cabinet, draining the last of the strength from my reserve.

Glass shattered everywhere, but I barely felt its sharp kisses. I tore off my filthy coat and shirt before placing the harness across my bare chest. The only purpose of the straps was to get the starstone in the perfect position—directly over my heart. I knew using untested and dangerous kryalcomy might kill me, but I didn’t care.

I leveled the hilt of my sword horizontally and used both my hands to drive it into the glowing sphere. It crumpled on impact, and I jolted, stumbling backward from the pain. For a split second, my vision blackened, and I registered fresh blood, hot and sticky on my fingertips as it trickled down the sword. Then a tidal wave of power, hot and crushing, bloomed outward from my chest. I was vaguely aware of falling to the floor and my body starting to writhe.

The power threatened to overwhelm me. To incinerate me. My vision turned red. Then white. But I fought it. It would bow to my wishes. It would save Sophie. I screamed my dire need straight back into its all-consuming face.

I concentrated on the raging power, pushing it back, forcing it to become smaller and smaller—more and more concentrated—until it was a white ball of infinite power in my chest, pulsing with tension. I sat up and gasped in deep breaths as my vision gradually came back into focus.

Nothing had ever felt like this before. I could feel its throb under my skin like a new heartbeat, as if I was drawing on a hundred reserves at once every second over and over. My fatigue melted away as I experimented with the ebb and flow of pure power.

With this, I could destroy the world.

I stood up, all dizziness gone, and brushed the bloodied shards from my chest, leaving an innocent looking red gash. The glowing light had vanished. Each breath I dragged in reacted with the new power inside me, begging to be let out in a burst of explosive energy. It was a constant wrestle to keep it under control.

I turned at the sound of the door opening behind me, keeping my head low and still brandishing my sword, which was streaked with my blood. Callum stood frozen, his hands clinging to the doorframe. He looked at me, then the smashed cabinet, then back at me. Somebody must have told him about Sophie by now.

He licked his lips. “I…I’m guessing I should grab my coat?” He looked at the crumpled mess of my clothes on the floor. “In fact, I’ll grab two.”

I grunted and strode from the room, feeling like I was flying. I took the stairs three at a time and raced to the stables, ready to ride all those miles back to Adenburg where Sophie waited…along with the person who had done this to her.

Wait for me, Sophie.