Starkeeper of the Fractured Crown

“What are you drawing?”

My cheeks burned as I slowly slid my hand over the small picture. “A person,” I answered without looking over. Him. I had been drawing him. Why? Because his shadow tendrils were fascinating, and I loved the way they moved around the world. Like snakes with invisible wings and the personality of cats.

Trick lowered himself beside me, close enough for his arm to brush mine. “Angel—”

“Wasn’t a lie,” I said, shutting the book, watching as Mark hit Cole directly in his face.

The High General gaped as if the boy had taken him off-guard, but I knew for a fact that he had done it on purpose.

He chuckled. “Your defensiveness makes me want to steal that little book of yours.”

I gripped it tighter.

“Take it as a punishment already earned,” he replied easily. “The rewards you’ve earned are still yet to come.”

I didn’t…I didn’twantany rewards or punishments or anything. I wanted this moment not to end. The laughter, the joy. That’s what I wanted.

That irrational part of me laughed.

I rolled my eyes, pulling my knees up to my chest. I didn’t need all of this back and forth, it was exhausting.

“I wanted to give you something,” Trick said, pulling my attention back to him. “Two things, but this one isspecific.”

My brows pulled together as I looked over, finding him holding a small black velvet pouch in his hand. “A gift?” I asked, finding his eyes.

He nodded and held it out to me without another word.

His expression was unreadable, his eyes trained on the sight below, so I reached for the pouch, taking it carefully from him.

It had weight to it, I realized as I set my journal on a corner of my cloak to avoid it getting soaked by the snow. I pulled at the dark green ribbon around the top and tipped the contents into the palm of my hand.

My breath caught at what fell. A bracelet. Made of braided black leather, as dark as his magic, with a small charm on it. The stone was smooth, dark, and in the center of it was a small, glowing blue light. A star. It looked like a star.

I turned it around in my hands, inspecting it, when the light caught an inscription on the back of it.Until the last star goes out – T.M.

I swallowed, my eyes burning. “Is this a star?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Although I will forever hold onto the fact that you believe I’m powerful enough to harness the stars, it’s the piece of the Obelisk you found for me.” He was quiet a moment. “I suppose it could be classified as a star if you’d like it to be.”

My bottom lip trembled as I ran a thumb over the soft leather. Holy fucking shit.

“Happy birthday, Kyra.”

I sniffed,my chest tightening. I couldn’t remember the last time I had gotten a gift other than Mark’s special drawings. “You can’t give this to me,” I finally said, looking over, my heart racing in my chest.

Trick, who had been watching me for some time, I supposed, frowned. “Why?”

I wiped under my nose and held it out to him. “It’s the Obelisk, Trick. People are out hunting for it. You should keep it somewhere safe. Somewhere where it can be more protected.”

He took it from me gently, working his thumbs over the soft leather. “The Staff was in the safest place in this world, and it was still taken. This?” he asked, picking up my right hand gently. “This will be in the most protected hands this world has ever seen.” He carefully tied it on, Aniya twirling around our hands as he did. “No one in this world is more protected than you.

“And anyway,” he went on, his hand sliding from the bracelet into mine as if it were the most natural thing in the world, “nobody will sense it. They can’t smell it, feel it. My magic is too tightly wound around it. That along with the shield I have around you, it will never be found.”

My brows furrowed, although my heart was beating erratically at how his thumb was grazing over the back of my hand. “Shield around me?” It was stupid how such a small amount of gentle affection caused me to puddle where I sat.

He smiled. “Can’t have the world knowing how aroused you get whenyou’re in trouble. That’s only for me.”

My cheeks burned brightly. “I’m not…”