Stars May Fall (Stars May Burn #2)

12. Sophie

SOPHIE

I woke to grainy eyes and aching joints. I rolled over to find Kasten awake. He was sitting up and staring into space, his expression grim and determined. The clock showed it was just before seven.

I sat up beside him. My hair had loosened in the night, and pooled down, tangling around my shoulders. “Kasten? Are you all right?”

Kasten, Callum, and I had retired to bed late last night. There had been a social dinner at the palace but, after the shock of Kasten’s announcement that Lord Lyrason was still at large, none of us had felt like going. Instead, we’d discussed the news. Kasten had needed some time away from that man so he could keep his head cool. My husband’s long-suffering patience had frayed to threads.

We could only think of two reasons the king would pardon Lord Lyrason. Either the king was part of the plan with the halfsouls and needed it to continue for his own gain. Or Lord Lyrason had the king in his pocket, forced to defend him, either through blackmail or bribery.

Either way, the king was allowing something evil.

None of us believed Lord Lyrason had stopped his experiments, which meant we would still have to stop him making new halfsouls. And to do that we would likely have to dethrone the king too.

It would be amazing if any of us had gotten much sleep.

He blinked and looked down at me. “Good morning. Did I wake you?”

I shook my head. “Kasten, did you ever fall asleep?”

He gave me a half smile and leaned forward to kiss my forehead. “I’ve been planning. Sometimes my brain won’t stop thinking, and it’s only in the absolute silence that I can hear it clearly.” He looked at the clock. “We should get breakfast and talk to Callum before I have to head to the palace.”

He didn’t say any more but slipped out of bed with a preoccupied look back on his face. I watched him for a moment, feeling a little uneasy about my role in this situation. How could I help? How could I support him? I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and started to dress, choosing a simple gown so I wouldn’t have to ring the bell for Beatrice.

Kasten didn’t speak as we settled down in the breakfast room and eggs, fresh bread, fruit, and soft cheeses were brought out. Thankfully, Sir Luke had moved most of the soldiers to another accommodation, and Sir Philip and his guards were the only ones remaining in the house itself. It was hard to concentrate when every room was full of rolled up bed mats.

Callum already sat at the table with his shirt half unlaced. He wasn’t eating, but he drank cup after cup of strong tea. I almost felt like I was intruding as their quiet, intense moods seemed to match each other perfectly.

Feeling a strange disconnect from Kasten, I placed my hand on his knee under the table. He immediately covered it with the warmth of his own, and reassurance flooded me. I belonged.

He leaned toward me. “Don’t worry, Sophie. We’ll bring Lord Lyrason down. He won’t get away with this. Neither will the king.”

I nodded and forced a smile.

Callum pretended not to have noticed our exchange then chopped the top off his egg with more force than necessary, sending fragments of eggshell flying. “We need to plan this exactly, Kasten. Every detail. Otherwise, we’ll end up with a bloodbath across the whole of Adenburg, if not Fenland.”

Kasten nodded. “I know. When I was young, the king himself always used to tell me not to make the first move unless you have no choice. The aggressor often has the hardest time. The longer we stall, the longer we have to get everyone into position and the more time we get to gain information and allies. But we should move our pieces quickly so we can be ready when they make their move.”

Callum raised his eyebrows. “Wasn’t storming Lord Lyrason’s manor quite an aggressive first move?”

Kasten scoffed as if he were being ridiculous. “That was merely about Sophie, and Lyrason knows that. The king knows that. What we’re doing now is so much bigger.”

Nerves hollowed out my stomach, and I barely managed to swallow a mouthful of bread and butter. I took a sip of water to help me speak. “Kasten, you always said your greatest fear of removing your father from the throne was the power vacuum it would create and so the potential for civil war. So don’t we need somebody competent ready to take the throne immediately? Somebody everyone will accept?”

Kasten grimaced. “Honestly, we don’t have much choice.”

Callum spoke around a mouthful of egg. “Annabelle seemed promising.”

Kasten nodded but pinched his forehead showing he wasn’t convinced. “She is. But she’s also young. Younger than any of us here. She’s untested, arrogant, and impulsive. Still, she’s the only one who has helped us and is willing to listen. I just fear her loyalty to the king is too strong for her to ever think about challenging his rule. She also refused to speak to me yesterday.”

Callum took a sip of his drink. “Young, arrogant, and impulsive…hmm, seems familiar. But then you two are related after all.”

I interjected before Callum could provoke Kasten any more. “Prince Stirling is next in line. That’s who everyone will expect.”

Kasten pulled a disgusted look, and I frowned at him, spreading my hands. “You can’t rule him out, just because you don’t like him. You need a good reason.”

My husband held up his hand. “I’m not ruling him out. Honestly, I’m not. And you’re right. At the moment, he should be our first choice since he’s the heir. But, well, I can’t ever see him allying with us. And he may be part of the plan with the halfsouls. At least we know Annabelle was ignorant of them and is, in fact, actively trying to stop them.”

“And Prince Clarence is too young,” Callum finished, leaning back in his chair.

A heavy silence suspended the room. The king had one other child.

Callum rocked his chair back forward. “You could…”

“No,” Kasten said too quickly.

Callum frowned. “In an emergency. You might have to, Kasten.”

My husband glared at his friend. “I said no.”

I took a sip of tea. Maybe this was an area where I could be of use. “So we need to befriend Prince Stirling and Princess Annabelle. We find out where their loyalties lie and whether Prince Stirling is involved with Lyrason and the halfsouls. Hopefully, we can get to the point where we can share our concerns fully with them. When I go to the palace for the evening dinners and parties, I will do my best to get to know Princess Annabelle and build trust between us in the hope that it will bring her to our cause. She will probably be the key to us understanding the relationship between Lord Lyrason and the king. Maybe you could get closer to Stirling, Kasten.”

He inclined his head with a grimace. “I can try, but I won’t be very successful. He hates me even more than I hate him. At least, we can focus on finding out whether he is involved with the halfsouls.”

Callum rocked his chair back once more. “While you’re glaring and arguing with people at the palace during the day, Sophie and I can find out more about the halfsouls and haemalcomy. I have some samples from our specimens in Kasomere with me and the fragments of the disks used to store Sophie’s vitality. We can use those to work out what Lord Lyrason is planning.”

Kasten tapped the table. “Good. Good. I gave orders to Sir Luke last night. He is finding more locations in Adenburg we could use to hide troops and working toward getting some of our soldiers employed by the palace as staff or guards.”

Callum nodded and waved his eggy spoon around. “I have some friends in the city that I will meet with this week as well. They may be able to help us.”

The way Callum stressed the word ‘friends’ made me wonder if these friends were connected with the mob that had gathered outside Lord Lyrason’s house when I had been bitten. The Red Men had been destroyed by Lord Lyrason when he had turned the majority of the group into halfsouls, but there had to be many people still angry with him. Lord Lyrason had killed whole families when the Red Men had attempted to assassinate him.

I stared down at my bread, my appetite completely gone. Was I really good enough for this? Was it even possible for me to help Callum discover anything about the halfsouls? Or for me to befriend the princess?

I desperately wanted to feel worthy of sitting at the table with Kasten and Callum. I would try my very best to be as useful as each of them were. But they were giants in this game, and I had only just begun.

Kasten stood. “I should go.” He squeezed my shoulder. “Get some more rest if you need it. I’ll see you this evening.”

I didn’t want more rest. I wanted to be useful.

I stood and followed my husband to the front door. Once we were out of sight of Callum, he faced me and took my hands. He lowered his voice. “I love you.” The look in his eyes grounded me and made my mouth dry. The sensation of not belonging at his side vanished.

I smiled up at him. “I love you too. Stay safe.”

He leaned in and brushed his lips over mine. I’d thought I would be used to his kisses by now, but I wasn’t. My lips tingled, and my heart ached. I looked away as my emotions heightened. Suddenly I acutely wished he wasn’t about to go. Especially somewhere so unpleasant where he would be surrounded by enemies. I wanted him by my side where we could be safe and happy.

But I knew that was selfish of me. Adenburg needed him far more than it needed me.

He caught my expression and curled a finger under my chin, lifting my head up. “Try not to worry, my love. I’ll be back this evening. Meena and Sir Philip will keep you safe.”

I nodded and forced a smile, even as tears threatened to overflow. Now was not the time for me to be pathetic.

He kissed my forehead once more before he turned away, and his expression became distracted and stern once again. He strode to the stables, and I waved him off into the unknown.

As soon as he disappeared from sight, I felt like I was missing a part of myself. This was ridiculous.

I pressed down on my reserve to help relieve my tiredness and went to find my apron so I could join Callum with his experiments.

The clock struck eleven, startling me from my thoughts.

I sat at our dining table and ran a nail back and forth over my lips as the machine I had asked Callum to build for me whizzed around, spinning a sample of my blood. Kasten wasn’t here, and I was left alone with my worries while I waited for my new experiment to work.

My skin itched with restlessness, but there wasn’t a proper garden here for me to retreat to. The tiny steps I was taking toward discovering anything that could help Kasten or Callum seemed infuriatingly small. Being here in Highfair only gave me more time to worry about Kasten and more dreadful scenarios to dream up.

I straightened my back, reminding myself to stay positive. Before we’d left, I’d asked Lucy to start renovating the ballroom as a surprise for Kasten when we returned. It would be so nice to do something normal for once, like organize a ball and act as hostess, even though it could be stressful. Kasten didn’t enjoy parties, but if we started hosting and celebrating, I wondered if it would help transform Kasomere from a city that revolved around war and survival. And maybe in turn, it would show Kasten that he was more than a killer and a survivor. Though he might resist the idea at first, and our guest list would be small, I suspected he’d humor me. It would be nice to do something positive for Kasomere, something that hadn’t been done before my arrival.

I looked at Kasten’s empty seat at the table and the hollow, aching sensation returned to my chest. He had only been gone a few hours, and I already missed him. The sensation was unfamiliar. I had never missed anyone before, and I hadn’t expected the experience to be so visceral.

I rested my chin in my hands and stared at the machine spinning around so fast it was a blur. I couldn’t believe I was sitting here alone as part of a plan to commit treason. Normally, all I had to worry about was how to distill a plant.

How on earth were we going to get the king off his throne? We could make his involvement with halfsouls public. Shame him until the people demanded his abdication. Wasn’t Annabelle’s betrothed the Lord High Chancellor? I was pretty sure that put him in charge of everything to do with the courts and the law in Adenburg. Maybe he could help us.

I sat up as the door opened and Callum entered. He slowed his gait as he saw me. “Why do you look like a child who has just been caught in the middle of doing something naughty?” He closed the door behind him so we were alone.

I smiled at him, grateful for his humor. “Oh it wasn’t anything that bad. I was just thinking up ways to overthrow the king.”

He chuckled. “Nothing like a bit of treason to help breakfast go down.” He poured himself some apple juice before he settled in a chair and rocked it back. I winced internally every time he did that, just waiting for him to topple over backward and hit his head. He took a sip from his glass. “I just hope Kasten can hold himself together while we get everything in place. Apparently, today is going to be a long one. It's a miracle he can keep that amount of power contained while surrounded by those idiots who will be making jabs at him all day.”

I grimaced and tapped the table with my fingernail. The spinning machine ran out of power, and I removed the long, thin glass tubes from its circumference. The blood had separated out into its component parts, the yellow plasma at the top, red blood cells in the middle, and at the very bottom, a strange greyish black layer that was barely a millimeter thin.

I waved the tube around. “It worked! It worked! Your machine spun them hard enough.”

“Well, of course my invention worked.” Callum squinted at the narrow glass tube. “So you’ve separated your blood out by weight, correct?” He pointed to the dark grey base layer near the wax stopper. “And that’s the heaviest bit. Is that grey stuff meant to be there?”

I shook my head. “That’s the metal in my blood, only it’s concentrated so now we can see it. It’s what they must have used for the haemalcomy to turn me into a halfsoul. It’s still inside me.”

Callum clapped his hands together. “Ha! Interesting. It’s not enough to test, though. What is that, a hundredth of a gram? Even if you spun down all the blood you took, it wouldn’t be enough.”

I studied the tiny layer by tilting the tube in the light. “But we know it’s still inside me, even if I’m not infectious. Maybe my body defeated the infection it was attached to, but the metal was left behind. It must be very inert for my body not to try to attack it too. I feel well.”

Callum frowned at the tube and rocked back in his chair. “I don’t like that it’s still inside you, flowing in your blood, and we can’t get it all out.”

I suppressed a shiver. “If we want to stop whatever the king and Lord Lyrason have planned, we should invent a cure. I know you’ve been trying to save the halfsouls you capture without success, but the need is even more urgent now. We have more information than ever before. It was so hard for you and Kasten to heal me. We don’t want to be in that position again. What if it’s Kasten who’s bitten next time?”

Callum grimaced. “I would rather not even think of the possibility of Kasten as a halfsoul.” He shook his head slowly. “He would be even more grumpy.”

I stared out of the window at the trees shedding their amber leaves. “Lord Lyrason isn’t going to stop now when he’s come so far. Only I suspect he won’t risk setting them loose downtown for us to find and take to the Maegistrium.”

Callum nodded slowly along and waited for me to continue as if I were voicing his own fears.

“But where is he aiming to send them? Lord Lyrason might use the halfsouls on Kollenstar like Kasten suggested, but what if they do that while Kasten is fighting there, not caring that he and his men will be bitten by halfsouls too? Or what if they use it on Kasomere?” I shook my head at the horrible scenes that played out in my mind and placed a hand over my thumping heart. “This could be a weapon that rivals the starstone. One that could steal life from entire cities or countries while the perpetrators live forever. We need a cure to protect ourselves, especially while we don’t know what they are planning.”

Callum leaned forward with his eyebrows raised. His voice was uncharacteristically gentle. “And we need a cure to heal you, if anyone manages to use that metal that’s inside you again.” He leaned back and tapped his lip in thought. “Though I hope we never have to face any of those scenarios, it makes sense for us to be as prepared as possible.” He pointed back to the tube. “I think I could finally do it if I can take a large enough sample of whatever that metal is. Lord Lyrason and Mister Gregane must make it in batches before they attach it to the infectious agent that’s transferred through saliva. Once I have both sides of the kryalcomy poles, I could work out how to disrupt their connection. Then, even if somebody is bitten, we can stop their life and good emotions from being sucked out and violence injected. They would only suffer from the symptoms of the infectious agent which lasts a day or two.”

He leaned forward, getting increasingly excited with his train of thought. “It would be hard to disrupt the connection, but Lord Lyrason did it with our detectors. The halfsouls who attacked us outside of Sir Halfield’s house wore collars that meant our detectors could no longer interact with the kryalcomy inside them. They didn’t let off any sound at all. Meena had the foresight to pick up a broken one and pocket it just after you were bitten. I haven’t had the chance to look at it yet, and it might not be safe for somebody who isn't a halfsoul to wear but I suspect it will be purely kryalcomy, rather than haemalcomy. Hopefully, a method I could copy. Between that collar and a big enough sample of the metal from your blood, I’m sure I’ll figure it out.” He frowned. “I’m just frustrated that not only has Gregane discovered Callumalcomy as well as me, he’s discovered how to disrupt it. I’m yet to get that far, but I’m not going to let him outmatch me.”

I patted him on the back, but my mind was already elsewhere, thinking about Gregane. There had to be more I could do. “Lord Lyrason is going to be in the palace all day too, isn’t he? He was brought in on the war meetings for some reason.”

Callum nodded. “I wonder if it was just to unbalance Kasten, but he’s clearly meant to be contributing something.”

I kept tapping my finger. “So he will be away from his home all day.”

Callum narrowed his eyes and landed all four of his chair’s feet on the floor with a thump. “What by all the kingdoms are you planning? I thought you were meant to be the sensible one.”

I shrugged, uncomfortable with my own train of thought. “I just don’t want to sit here feeling useless. Kasten went through so much to save me and put himself in danger. If I’d never gone to see Irabel in Adenburg, this wouldn’t have happened. Kasten wouldn’t have had to reveal the starstone. Now everyone distrusts him and will never leave him alone.”

“They’ve always distrusted him, Sophie. This isn’t your fault.” Callum gnawed on a fingernail, giving me a wary look.

I shook my head slowly, refusing to let Callum’s words sink in. The sensation that we were running out of time built inside me with nervous energy. I stood up, needing to move. “And besides, Lord Lyrason could have halfsouls in his manor right now. He could have dozens of victims in there. We need information, and we need it fast. We need a cure. And we need clear proof of whether the king is involved so that a coup is justified. Lives are at stake. We need to take risks.”

Callum tilted his head with an incredulous expression. “Are you seriously suggesting we break in? Because if you are, either Lord Lyrason will catch me and kill me or Kasten will when he hears what we’ve done. Either way, I’m a dead man.”

I played with a loose string on my cuff. “Well, it’s not breaking in if you're invited . If the two ends of the haemalcomy poles are what you require to make a cure, we should get them by any means possible and as quickly as possible. Not to mention we can get information directly from the source.”

Callum lifted an eyebrow and sagged, defeated, back into his chair. “It sounds to me like you have a plan forming. I always thought Kasten was the bad influence on my life. Now I suspect you’re worse.”