Stars May Fall (Stars May Burn #2)

29. Sophie

SOPHIE

“ A nnabelle! Stop, it’s me! Sophie and Meena. Be quiet. By the kingdoms, please be quiet!”

I clamped my hand over Annabelle’s mouth as she continued to struggle and brought my face close to hers so she could see me in the gloom. Outside the door, the floorboards thudded as a group of unseen people thundered past.

She stilled, and Meena released her arms, raising one hand to pinch her nose to staunch the bleeding where Annabelle had headbutted her, and using the other to rub her side where Annabelle had elbowed her with impressive force.

Annabelle pulled away from her and winced at the damage she had caused. “Sorry.” She dislodged a broom and a mop, and I caught them before they could clatter to the floor.

Meena raised a hand as if to say it was fine, but the movement made her wince again, destroying the effect.

In the half-light it was hard to see each other well, but Annabelle managed to grab my hand. “What are you doing in a closet? Kasten’s trying to stop Father from taking Lyrason’s haemalcomy, but I don’t think he’ll succeed. He won’t kill him, will he? Kasten won’t kill him, only Lyrason?”

The sound of boots thundering past made her pause, and she remained silent until they passed. Meena stuffed a handkerchief under her nose and resumed her prone position on the floor, watching the corridor through the crack between the door and the carpet.

I squeezed Annabelle’s hand. “Kasten has always said he doesn’t want to kill his father. He wouldn’t unless he had no other choice. But I don’t think he’ll let him rule using haemalcomy either.”

Annabelle nodded with ragged breathing as if trying to convince herself everything was going to be all right. I really needed her to focus.

I stepped closer to her so I could see her eyes easier in the gloom. “Annabelle, if your father can’t be king anymore, and if Stirling becomes sicker when he is no longer supplied via haemalcomy, that means you will be the best choice for the throne.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I won’t be yours and Kasten’s puppet. You understand that, don’t you?”

I nodded with a small smile. “I think Kasten wants as little to do with politics as possible. He just wants to follow a monarch who serves his or her people. And preferably one who isn’t constantly trying to get him killed in battle.”

Annabelle drew in a long, deep breath, and I stepped back to give her space.

On the other side of the door, feet trampled past and a voice yelled, “Find General Kasten, the traitor! General Kasten has killed the king and his family. Kill General Kasten and his followers!”

My heart fled to my mouth. Kasten would never kill the entire royal family. He had even hoped he could spare the king. It had to be Lord Lyrason.

My eyes fled to Annabelle’s. Her hands were pressed to her mouth in shock.

I squeezed her arm. “I’m so sorry, Annabelle. You were right. Lyrason must be starting a coup and blaming it on Kasten. I…I am so sorry.”

I noticed a slight tremble in Annabelle’s hands as she lowered them before steeling her features into a hard mask. Her face displayed hatred and determination. “Your troops will follow me, correct? They will work with mine?”

“Yes. We’ll defend you with everything we have. We must ensure a smooth line of succession, or the violence and fighting will escalate.”

She gave a short, sharp nod. “Follow me.”

Meena held up her hand from where she lay on the floor, stopping us from reaching the doors. “Wait. Lord Lyrason and Mister Gregane are nearby with a high ranking guard. I suggest we wait for them to pass. It will be too risky for us to challenge them right now.”

“Switch off your detector, just in case,” I hissed. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lord Lyrason also had some way of detecting kryalcomy users, and he was going to come after both me and Annabelle. I turned the dial behind my ear until it clicked.

We held our breaths as we made out their voices. “...control Kasten through his wife and friend. Once we have them, it should be easy. He is fighting because he believes he is in the right. But his high-sounding morality will crumble as soon as we threaten Lady Sophie. He cares about her far more than he cares about who’s on the throne. In many ways, he is just like his father. Then all we have to do is secure Annabelle so we can legitimize my claim to the throne through marriage. We’ll kill Venerick. It will be cleaner and simpler that way. But we…”

Their voices faded around a corner. Fear fluttered in my belly. Annabelle’s hands were in fists. I placed a hand on her upper arm both to offer comfort and to keep her calm.

“Venerick…” Annabelle breathed with genuine concern. I still couldn’t work out what her feelings were toward that man. I’d thought she didn’t care for him at all. She placed a hand on the door handle and strengthened her voice. “I’m going to kill Lyrason.”

I didn’t let go of her arm. “Do you have a plan?”

She gave a sharp nod. “In part, this is a war of information. My claim to the crown is stronger than Lyrason’s. If what that guard said is true and my family is dead…” She sucked in a shaking breath as she battled to hold herself together. “Then we need to get the people and the city guard on my side. I fear the city guard will follow Lyrason since Duke James is his ally, but I believe many others will follow the person with the rightful claim to the throne. We need to nip this coup in the bud as soon as possible. And we need to find Venerick before they do.”

I wrung my hands. “How will you rally the people and turn them against Lord Lyrason?”

She gave me a half smile. “We’ll concentrate on the palace. You have other troops in the city, correct? We need them to take care of Duke James and gain control of the city guard. If we can find Venerick, he can help. He has worked closely with the city guard for years. They will listen to him once Duke James is removed. They would be suspicious of following Kasten’s men.”

I nodded. “Venerick, Sir Luke, Sir Philip, and Callum can take down Duke James. I suspect Kasten will want Sir Chance and his battalion with him in the palace.” I dragged in a deep breath. “First, we need to find Kasten. He can tell us what happened to your family and protect us.” I gave her a sideways look. “Are you going to be able to concentrate now and grieve later?”

She nodded. Her face was fiercer than I’d ever seen it. “Right now, I am angry. Anger will serve.”

I turned my detector back on and saw Meena do the same. “Corridor is clear. No, wait. It’s Kasten. He’s got two guards behind him. They’re ours.”

Annabelle pushed the door open, and I stepped close to her side. Kasten’s shoulders sagged in relief when he saw us, but his face maintained its stony determination, his narrow eyes fierce and angry. He had blood down one side of his navy coat, but it didn’t seem to be his. In one hand, his shortsword was drawn, in the other, he held a knife. His presence dominated the corridor. Behind him were two of my four original guards. The one pretending to be a maid and a guardsman. They were bloodied and neither walked smoothly. I bit my lip and hoped they weren’t badly injured. I could only imagine what had happened to the other two.

The gravity of the situation was still sinking in, and their bloody swords sent a chill through my body. I wondered how many people had already died in the last half hour.

I ran up to Kasten and flung my arms around him, caring little if he got blood on my pale cream dress. He returned the embrace, holding the flat of the blade against my back. He kissed the top of my hair. “I’m glad you're safe,” he whispered, his voice strange and gravelly and not at all soft. “Stay close to me now.”

Annabelle watched the exchange with curiosity then cleared her throat. “My father is dead?”

I stepped back from Kasten, though he kept one arm touching my back, his dagger blade pointing down. “Yes. Lord Lyrason killed him by taking his vitality. The injection was a trap. It harvested vitality instead of giving it. The queen and Prince Stirling are dead too. Killed by Lyrason’s guards.” He seemed to remember these were her family. “My condolences. Is Prince Clarence at the palace?”

She shook her head. “No, he is away with friends.” She lifted her hand to pinch her forehead. “I can’t remember which ones, some lord’s sons in Adenburg.”

Kasten stepped closer to her, bringing me with him. “Annabelle, you must take the throne as quickly as possible—preferably in the public eye. We must stop Lyrason. He is likely to have already taken his elixir which steals life from others, and he seems to have some strange defensive kryalcomy, so he’ll be hard to kill. But we must stop him.”

I grabbed Kasten’s sleeve as a sudden thought hit me. “The bracelets stop haemalcomy by blocking the connection between the poles, correct? So if we place one on him, he will stop receiving vitality from the halfsouls as long as he’s wearing it, or it is directly touching his body.”

He nodded as if he had already thought of this. “That’s a good plan. If he proves too difficult to kill, we can get a bracelet on him.” He brought his sword up in front of him. “Though I would hope chopping his head off would be pretty final.” He scowled. “He has a way of combating the starstone. I sent an arc of power at him, and it led to an explosion between us. I don’t know if it protects against physical blows too.”

I bit my lip, my anxiety growing. “Be careful. Please.”

He met my eyes, and the corner of his lips flicked up in a tiny smile that I knew was full of warmth, even if nobody else could see that.

He moved his focus back to Annabelle. “We can retreat to Highfair if you wish. It’s easily defendable and safe. We can use it as our base to secure the city. And after we have the city, we can retake the palace. However, once we leave the palace, it will be very difficult to get back in. We might end up having to besiege or destroy it. Alternatively, we could stay here and challenge Lord Lyrason immediately. However, we will not have as many troops and will be in a weaker position. It’s a much higher risk in the short term, but I suspect fewer people will die.”

Annabelle tilted her chin up. “I won’t be chased out of my own home. Can we get word to your men in the city to take action?”

Kasten smiled at her, a predator's smile. “Already sent the signal. We use devices called detectors. They detect kryalcomy users and can be used to send signals to others wearing them. We had soldiers on standby.”

She nodded. “Good. I don’t know which of the soldiers here are loyal to me and which are loyal to Lyrason but I’m hoping it will quickly become obvious.” She looked up and down the corridor as if considering. “I need my crossbow and my cloak. Then we’ll track down Lyrason and make it quite clear that he is the one committing treason. He is Lord Lyrason no longer. I hereby remove his title and order his arrest.”