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Epilogue

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The metal hood rose off Sarai’s head and she took a deep breath of dry air that smelled of chemicals and old death. Her eyes regained focus and she felt cold iron restraints on her hands and wrists.

“You’re so fortunate,” Lahash whispered in her ear. Sarai shied away from the shape-shifter’s hissing voice. Lahash’s skin color roiled with the darkness of a storm over the ocean. Her red eyes glowed slightly; the tips of her fangs glistened just above and below her lips.

There was a rustle in the distance.

Sarai realized she was being watched. Hundreds of figures in dark robes and metal masks were arrayed in neat lines through a courtroom. She heard the rasp of machines but no breathing except from Lahash. The chamber had vaulted walls that glowed with a faint internal light.

Sarai was on a platform, her knees level with most of the heads of those in the gathering.

Lahash touched Sarai’s shoulders lightly and turned her around.

An enormous throne made of dark, semiopaque crystal was before a star field. Its back was to her, but she made out the shadow of someone seated on it.

“Don’t be foolish,” Lahash whispered again. “No one wants to hurt you. You are far, far too valuable to all of us.” She nudged Sarai forward.

Sarai felt the weight of the dark stone on a brand-new harness, but it was in a crystalline cage. She shuffled forward and stopped next to the throne. Curiosity demanded she look to see who was there, but an instinct kept her gaze on the enormous viewing window and to the star field.

The thing next to her triggered an atavistic horror she couldn’t explain—a deep part of her soul just wanted to get away, even if she could only shuffle to anywhere else in her chains. Something held her in a grip without touching her.

“Have you ever considered eternity?” a voice resonated. “All things are possible. Possible in time. Possible without the surety of death to distract us.”

Sarai’s body quaked in fear. A crown of obsidian and bone sat heavy on the dark figure’s head; long strands of ghost white hair floated like they were drifting underwater. Linked chains of dark Veil stone, run through with the same golden threads as the stone she took from the Pinnacle, obscured its face.

“Oh, I forgot how those cursed with life can feel.” A skeletal hand reached over and stroked her arm.

She couldn’t move away, but tears could still run down her face.

“Don’t be afraid, little one.” The entity turned to look at her. “We’ve met before.”

She stared into a face that was half skeletal, half rotten flesh and finally screamed.


***


The Shattered Star Legacy continues in The Light Asunder,

coming soon!


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Framed