Starkeeper of the Fractured Crown

MeandMark. Both of us. Together. Cole would finally meet the boy who truly stole my heart.

“Oh, before you go, you said you named him Letak. What does that mean?”

I opened the front door and tossed a look back. “Flyer.” My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

Cole smiled. “Good job, Talons.”

“For what?”

“For giving a chance to something everyone else wanted to rid the world of.”

12

My Bible, Chapter 30, Verse 9,

Pain is what this world was bred from. Agony is what the stars sing on the nights they cannot see their precious little creations, and pleasure is what you’ll feel when I show you the balance between them all. I will rewrite your very definition of emotions.

Kyra

Icrept through the house, gathering a few things into my satchel before tiptoeing to Mark’s bedroom. I shut the door behind me, set my things down in the corner, and walked over, climbing into bed with him.

He groaned, turning onto his side, his eyes opening only a crack. “Kyra? What are you doing? It’s like…the butthole of dawn.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Butt-crack,”I corrected. “But also don’t say that.”

He grumbled again. “Go away.” He flipped the covers over him violently.

“Shh,” I whispered, snuggling down into the bed with him, pulling the blankets over both of us. “Keep your voice low, okay?”

He scooted over, giving me more room as I twisted onto my side. “Have they come for me?” he asked, his eyes filling up almost instantly.

I shook my head, reaching over to tuck away a strand of unruly hair. “I need to tell you something, okay? Something really important.” My heart was racing. This was it. This was the end of it all. The beginning.

“Are we running away?”

I smiled, my own eyes prickling with tears. “Smart little fox, huh?”

His eyes widened, suddenly wide awake. “Are we running away?” he asked more seriously.

“We’re getting out of here,” I confirmed, seeing the hope and relief fill his eyes, filling my own heart, goosebumps spreading across my skin. “You and me, we’re going on an adventure, okay? We’re going to pack up all of your things and we’re going to go.”

His eyes began to fill again. “Really?”

I nodded, the excitement and hope finally hitting me. We were leaving. I was finally getting him out of here. No more sleeping on the floor, no more hiding what happened from him. It would just be the two of us, living in the cottage, safe and free. Everything else I could figure out on the way. “Really really, and guess what?”

“What?” he asked,so excited, he was shaking.

“I made a new friend, and I think you’re really going to like him.”

He gasped, covering his mouth to try and keep himself quiet. “Is it a Tree Giant?”

I giggled. “No, a demon. A zalin.”

Mark’s face twisted in concentration. “The bird-horse things right? As big as a horse?”

His memory would be better than mine, I was sure of it. “Exactly. He let me fly him high above the Forest of Malice tonight.”

“No way.”