Chapter 23

Atremor ran through the hall, the liquid shuddering and ripples scattering out from beneath my feet.

"What's happening?" I hissed as Arcturus's false Fae form flickered out of existence.

"There are stars that oppose me in this action,"Arcturus's voice clashed through the air, and the room around us started to become hazy, like it wasn't really here. "But a prophecy was woven long ago that I am bound to fulfil. When the rising twelve unite, the past will be threaded to the future. The knowledge of the first circle must be bestowed."

"There you go again, speaking in riddles," Orion growled, stepping closer to me.

"If you have something to show us, then show it," I called, my heart beating wildly as the hall melted like hot glass, seeping away into a void of nothingness until we were suspended in darkness once more.

I sensed Orion's presence where we hung in the grasp of the stars, then a force at my back sent me crashing through the emptiness. I was sure I was falling, my stomach lurching at the tremendous speed I was moving, but I couldn't perceive anything above or below me.

The stars whispered in a clash of furious noise, then flashes of light exploded left and right, showing visions that I could barely comprehend. Giant golden threads woven together by a wooden loom, and the sense of time merging in some barely understandable way.

"Past, present, future,"Arcturus spoke at last, and the hissing whispers of the other stars stopped. "All is as it ever was and ever could be."

The threads danced overhead, spilling away into the thick blackness that now seemed more like some vast material or canvas. The more I watched, the more tangible it became. That endless black moving, stretching, ever-expanding as those threads were stitched into its very essence.

"You pass through the fabric of fate,"Arcturus spoke. "All knowledge lies here…I only need pluck the right thread."

A vision of a giant hand extended above me, glittering with starlight and barely corporeal. It pulled upon a single thread and at once, I was thrown towards it. I was hurtling so fast, I threw out my hands, trying to cast magic to slow myself, but I had no real body here, and I inhaled sharply as that thread filled up all I could see, suddenly far bigger than seemed possible. There were memories, thoughts, ideas cast into every piece, and it tangled around me, binding my limbs and dragging me into its folds.

I blinked, and I was on solid ground, grass spreading away beneath my feet and a low sun hanging in the sky on the horizon. I twisted around, hunting for Orion and finding him just a step behind me, his eyes burning bright. Always in my shadow.

He took my arm, drawing me closer, and the firmness of his touch made my heart rate steady. He still had that ethereal look about him, and I noticed my skin glinted just as his did, our clothes still the hauntingly beautiful ones we'd been placed in at the Halls of Fate.

We stood at the top of a hill, gazing down into a valley that swirled with a light mist. Arcturus appeared as a man once again, standing at the base of the hill and beckoning us after him before he turned and disappeared into the mist.

"He could have just transported us to wherever he wanted us to go, but no. We must endure the dramatics instead," Orion muttered.

"You love the dramatics." I nudged him playfully, then started down the hillside.

"Alright, I admit I'm intrigued as to where this is heading."

"And you'll write all about this in your diary the second we get back," I teased.

"I don't have a diary, Blue," he drawled, keeping pace with me.

"Your journal then."

"I take notes of any important information we gather. I don't write entries about my day, bitching about my misfortunes and mindlessly writing my crush's initials in a heart."

I snorted a laugh. "Not even a little heart just for me?"

"Alright, just for you," he said gruffly, and my smile grew.

We made it to the base of the hill and walked into the mist, seeking out Arcturus. We walked across frost-bitten ground, though the cold didn't touch me, proving I wasn't really here.

The mist swirled, revealing a stone circle that stood ten feet tall, each of the twelve stones carved with the symbol of a star sign. At the centre was a flat disc of stone engraved with the sun and moon. A Fae woman with red hair wearing fighting leathers stood upon it, gazing up at the sky, her head tilted back and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

Her lips were moving with words I couldn't hear, and the stars were answering in a rush of whispers. Her head snapped back down suddenly, and she blinked out of the state, looking around the circle as if in search of something.

Swords began to grow from the earth along with fine armour, all of it holding that deep glimmer of starlight within the metal.

"The stars gave them this?" Orion blurted in disbelief.

Arcturus turned his head, his voice spilling into my head. "In a time long lost, the stars were divided into two factions: those of Vetus and those of Novus. The Novus stars toyed with the lives of Fae, answering their pleas, granting wishes, or twisting their desires into curses untold. The Novus faction believed the stars had the right to act as gods among the Fae and mortal alike. They thwarted the laws of the Origin, inciting wars among the kingdoms and within them too. It was chaos, a road to descension."

"And what about the Vetus stars?" I asked.

"I was among the Vetus faction. We honoured the laws of old, never disrupting the balance of fate. For Fae and all living things possess the gift of change. Free will is their right. It is written into the texts that make up the nature of the universe. It is not a right that should ever be taken from them. We, as their observers, are meant to protect it, to remain unbiased in our watchful state. But the Novus stars disregarded what was written and used their power to make puppets of the Fae."

The vision before us shifted and we watched the red-haired warrior lead a charge of Fae into battle, all of her army clad in that powerful armour with those destructive weapons in hand. The Fae they fought were slaughtered, the army's swords able to carve through magic itself. The power was unfathomable, all Fae who faced it brought to a bloody death before they had a chance to defend themselves.

When just one woman remained standing on the opposing side of the battle, she fell to her knees, black hair swinging forward around her face, her eyes a hopeless pit of despair. She turned her gaze to the sky, angry words spilling from her lips in a language I couldn't understand.

The heavens glittered, stars awakening in the day and peering from a bright blue sky to watch her plight as the army closed in around her. Rays poured from the heavens, a beam of purest light spilling down on the girl and engulfing her entirely. The army withdrew in fright, swords raised and cries of alarm rising into the air.

When the light faded, the woman's eyes blazed with unholy power, and vengeance tore through her expression as she rose to her feet. Light blasted from her hands that ripped great fissures in the ground, tearing through the ranks of the army in droves. Not one of them could get close enough to swing their sword, the power she possessed inconceivable, cleaving Fae apart as if they were made of glass.

I watched in horror as the entire army was destroyed along with its red-haired commander, and the star-gifted woman stood with her chest heaving, taking in the destruction with her upper lip peeled back. But as her gaze turned to the bodies of her own fallen warriors, she turned her hands against herself, casting that wild magic into her chest and ending her own life too.

Her body hit the ground, and a quiet fell that was thick and oppressive. The stars gleamed above, seemingly satisfied with the outcome, whispers passing between them that held notes of amusement.

"We tried to restore balance,"Arcturus hissed, showing scene after scene of bloody battles, of curses taking root in kings and queens who turned on their own people. The Novus stars made monsters of those who prayed to them seeking power, but more often than not, the Novus stars tricked them, turning them into beasts who feasted on the flesh of their loved ones. "The Novus stars would not listen to reason. The scales of fate were tipped to an extreme. And so, I and the other Vetus stars made a plan to restore balance once and for all."

The scene changed again, showing that stone circle once more. A family was gathered at its centre, two mothers holding their children close while a shield of magic hummed against the edges of the stone circle, keeping out a hoard of ugly beasts with sharp claws and twisted faces. Faces which looked as though they had once been Fae.

The women didn't call out to the stars for help, no prayers passed their lips, and I wondered if they had lost faith in the beings above who were causing such destruction down on earth.

But Arcturus's voice carried to them, not in this moment, but in the past, speaking to them in their language, and suddenly I could understand the words.

"A chance for the Fae race rises, a single hope balancing on a knife's edge,"the star said.

One of the women gasped, her eyes glazing as she saw something. She must have been a Seer because her lips began to move, and a prophecy poured from her in a monotone drawl. "A circle of fortune gifted choice, a ring of twelve with their own destined voice. Fated paths painted by trusted hands, but the power could fall to savage lands. Protected, coveted, then shattered and gone. Reforged in glory or corrupted by one."

"We offer you the chance to weave your own fates once again, to right the wrongs of the unworthy stars,"Arcturus said. "Your faith in us will be restored. The Vetus stars will prosper over the Novus, and balance shall be found. If you accept our offering, you will become fate-weavers here on earth. You will reclaim your destinies from the hands of the stars and guide your kingdoms towards peace."

The Seer agreed, perhaps seeing the truth of Arcturus's promise, and a blast of power ricocheted out around the family. The twelve stones in the circle were caught in the shockwave, each one collapsing in on itself, becoming smaller and smaller, shining with power before they lay on the earth as glittering gemstones. The Guild Stones. Perfect in every way and connected by a link of magic that was visible to the naked eye, a glow of white light trailing between them. The monsters around them became Fae once again, crashing to their knees, naked and confused, whatever force of hatred that had brought them here fading away.

The Seer inhaled sharply, seeing something I couldn't perceive as she glanced between each stone and Arcturus's voice carried through the air once more.

"You will gift each stone to the twelve Fae we have shown you. They are the peacemakers. The rising twelve. Seek them and balance shall be found. Seek them and your fates will be reclaimed."

The vision around us shifted, showing the Seer travelling across the earth, seeking out the twelve Fae selected by the stars. Some were kings or queens, while others were less assuming; a man who led a small village at the base of a faraway mountain, a girl with no family at all, roaming the wastes of a war-torn land, and many more. All rose to answer the call of the stars, taking the Guild Stone they had been gifted and journeying to meet each other at the centre of the world. The sun beat heavily on their backs, a place of sand and little civilisation.

There, they built a tower and at its pinnacle, they forged a circular table of stone, where each of them took a seat and laid their Guild Stone upon its surface. It was the first of many councils, their meetings regular as the years slipped by, and with each re-joining, more peace was restored in the world. Slowly but surely, the Guild Stones kept the Novus stars from interfering with the fates of Fae, and the Vetus stars became dominant once more.

But there was no vision showing how the stones were wielded in such a way, only their words confirming this truth and the stars' whispering their acknowledgements to the twelve chosen Fae.

The vision began to fade, and I felt my grasp slipping on the world once again as I was plunged into that sea of blackness. But I was only in it a moment before I found myself on solid ground back in King's Hollow, looking up at Orion as he blinked and came out of the vision.

"Wait," I gasped. "How did they wield the stones?"

But I felt Arcturus's presence fading, no more knowledge offered, and Orion growled in frustration.

"What use are half-truths and hints? Why can they never be clear?" I said in anger.

Orion sighed, looking to the stones on the table. "At least we know of their potential now."

"But if we can't use them in this war, what good are they? And what are fate-weavers, what does that even mean?" I demanded. "I thought the Guild Stones were the answer. I thought they could help us with Lionel. But they were only intended to help Fae reclaim their fates from the stars, so how…" I trailed off as something struck me about that.

"What is it, Blue?" Orion stepped closer.

"There's been unbalance again. Clydinius has been toying with the Vega line for years; he cursed us. What he did to us was what those Novus stars did to the world, right?"

"Perhaps," he said, frowning deeply. "And if that's so…"

"Then the balance of the stars could be unravelling again. What if Clydinius is just the first of many stars to descend to earth and walk among us like wrathful gods? What if there's more coming? He had all of those books from the Earth Observatory; he was studying other fallen stars. Perhaps he knows something we don't."

"But Arcturus gave us no direction on how to thwart him," Orion growled. "And if what you say is true, then this is perhaps even worse than what we witnessed in the past. If more stars descend, intent on destruction…it could be the end of days."

"What can we do?" I breathed.

Orion shook his head, at a loss.

I reached for the stones, trailing my fingers over them and sensing a deep well of power within them. "There's an answer here. We just have to find it."

"Stars can't raise themselves," Orion said darkly, and I knew what he was suggesting.

"Perhaps Clydinius can raise them now that he has a body of his own," I whispered in horror.

"We'll stop him," Orion said fiercely. "The Guild Stones must be the key, or why would Arcturus have shown us what he did?"

He rested his hands on the table, gazing down at the shining rocks as if he could will them to give us the answer we needed. But there was only one place I knew of that might offer us the kind of knowledge we sought. The Library of the Lost.