Ashes of the Stars (20 page)

“What?” I wondered. I could feel Kai look down at me in horror but I didn’t spare him a glance. I kept my eyes locked on Kieran’s as if daring him to try hiding anything from me.

“We received a courier from the city,” Kieran told me, his voice sounding strangely thin and weak.

I didn’t have to ask from which city. There was only one city close enough to send a courier, only one city who would have a need to send a courier.

“What’s it say?” I asked, feeling weakness wreak havoc through my body. My legs and hands were shaking, almost violently.

“I don’t know, it’s addressed to you. We didn’t open it,” Kieran answered. I nodded and held my hand out for the letter. Kieran didn’t move for what felt like an eternity. They all stared at me as if trying to gauge my wild outbursts against a direct correspondence. Finally, Kieran stepped around Whitestrand and Kai and he held the letter out to me. I took it with my trembling fingers. The paper was thick and folded, sealed with wax.

I looked to Kai. He had been my rock through all of this, my guiding light. He had pulled me out of the darkness before it was too late to save me. He had made me happier than I had ever thought was possible for someone like me. His eyes were wide with the same fear that I felt coursing through my veins.

I tore my eyes away from him and, with my eyes on the folded letter, I backed away from them. I turned my back to them. There was still hope that I could keep my expression under control, no matter what the letter said. But I knew what it would say.

When I open the letter I read the short lines quickly. Once, twice, and three times to make sure. There was no hope of controlling my expression. My face crumpled and darkness filled my vision. I could feel myself dropping to my knees, my fingers digging into the ground on the hand that Kai had just put a ring on. My other hand tightened around the paper, crumpling it to mock how my body felt from the inside out. I let out a slow breath that seemed to echo in my ears. I felt as if I were crumbling away, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. I knew above me the stars were shining brightly and even closer was my personal guiding light but there was no way to see the light now. I was nothing more than the ashes of this world, the ashes of the stars, no matter which one I believed in.

- - Acknowledgements - -

A lot of my favorite authors have said that writing a book is similar to running a marathon and it couldn’t be more true. It’s a marathon that can’t be completed without an entire army of supporters. That being said, I’d like to thank my editor, Lauren, for her hard work, tolerating my long emails and ridiculous questions, and for not being the mafia. I’d like to thank Rus for giving me all of the tools to make this possible, or at least making the process much faster depending on who you ask. Thanks to my parents, Beth and Rick, my Grand Betty, Aunt Julie, and Robert for their unending support and for not throwing away all of my half-filled composition notebooks. Thanks to Kenny and Monica for their unending support, technical guidance, tequila, and for telling me to take a break when I clearly needed it. Thanks to Josh R. for keeping my secrets and working with me even though if didn’t work out this time. And last but not least, thanks to Kris for understanding when I wanted to write instead of playing video games, for understanding when I didn’t really hear a single word you said, and for being my very own guiding light.

- - About The Author - -

Elizabeth Van Zandt was born and raised in central Virginia. She’s moved around the country a few times in her adult life but there’s no place like home. She lives in the quiet country-side with her fiancée and their dog who should’ve been named Chewbacca and not Chloe.