Starfall's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

Starfall stood in the quiet field and knew she could not stay there. The human lights glowed past the trees. The prince lived somewhere among them. But dawn was coming, and her wings still shimmered with fairy light. Her skin gave off a soft glow that no mortal could ignore. If a human saw her now, they would not see a princess. They would see a strange, glowing thing to fear. Lily pulled her toward a wide oak at the field's edge. Its bark was dark and cracked, with frost along the high branches. "Hide under here," Lily said. "Wait for your light to fade." But the glow did not fade. Starfall held out her hand and watched it shine. Panic rose in her chest. She had crossed the whole sky and could not even walk among the people she came to join. Footsteps crunched in the grass. A man stepped from the dark. He wore golden armor, cracked and worn, and a torn black cloak. His hand rested on his sword. His eyes found Starfall's glow at once. "Don't scream," Lily hissed, stepping in front of her sister. The man did not scream. He did not even draw his blade. He stared at Starfall, and his hard face changed. His hand slipped off the sword. "You carry the enemy's banner," Lily said, pointing at the dark mark on his cloak. "I do," the man said. His voice was rough. "They call me Cael Brynn. I serve a warlord I once swore to destroy." He looked back at Starfall. "But I will not hand you to him." Starfall met his eyes. She felt the warmth under his cold armor, the same kindness she had crossed the sky to find. "Why help me?" she asked. "I can't say," Cael said. He pulled the torn cloak from his shoulders. "But if the patrols see your light, they'll take you to him. Wear this." He stepped close and wrapped the heavy cloak around her. It smelled of smoke and iron. The dark cloth hid her glow and folded over her shimmering wings. Starfall pulled the hood low. In the gray dawn, she looked like any tired traveler. "Keep your face down," Cael said. "Keep your hands covered. No one will know what you are." Starfall touched the rough fabric. The fear in her chest loosened. She could walk among mortals now. She could reach the prince. "Thank you," she said. Her kindness reached him, and she saw him breathe it in. Cael looked away, as if the look hurt him. "Don't thank me yet. The warlord's men ride these roads. And they know this cloak better than any face in it." Starfall gripped the cloak tighter. She was hidden now. But she had taken the mark of the enemy to do it.