Starbright (The Starbright Series) (29 page)

             
“What does that mean?” Tristan asked, half laughing as if I was accusing him of not being human.

             
“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully. “I’ll ask my weapons trainer about it. But in the meantime, let’s get these jerseys and get out of here.” I shivered from the dank cold this time, and Tristan nodded his head in agreement.

             
He put the correct key into the old lock and paused before opening the door, “Hey, listen, about what just happened…. or what almost happened, I-“

             
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” I shook my head as if it were no big deal, although I could still see the after effects of glow on my skin. “Let’s just chalk it up to the romantic atmosphere down here and move on, Ok?”

             
Tristan laughed at that, but shook his he
ad like it was the best idea I’d
ever had, “Yeah, Ok. I forgot how the smell of mold and sewage gets you all feisty.”

             
“Don’t forget the possibility of dead rodents,” I continued the joke, laughing out loud with him. “A girl hardly knows what to do with herself in situations like these,” I smiled and batted my eye lashes coyly,
continuing the humor
and easing the tension between us.

             
But something had shaken up inside of me that I was having trouble
piecing back together. Disappointment rang out inside my head and a long
ing
so fierce my mouth had gone dry and my internal organs actually hurt
from frustration
.

             
I needed to distance myself from Tristan. I needed to put this all out of my head and go back to the way things used to be
between Tristan and me
, or
how they
should be with the addition of Seth.

             
Oy.

Chapter Eleven

             
“Do you have everything packed up?” I asked Seth over the sudsy water we were washing dishes in.
He and Jupiter
were moving to their rental tonight, so my parents had hosted a farewell dinner for them even though we would still see them on a daily basis.

             
“Yeah, I think so,” he replied as he dried the last plate and set it on a stack of other identical ones.

             
“Need help carrying anything out?” I motioned toward the pile of suitcases by the kitchen door waiting to be loaded into Jupiter’s recently purchased Chevy pickup truck. The truck was a new model, but nothing too flashy or attention seeking. My father had suggested to Jupiter that the best way to fit in around here was to have a moderately priced truck; it was the sad, but honest truth.

             
“Sure,” Seth shrugged and we left the drying dishes to load up their few belongings into the back of the truck.

             
“So will you guys have to buy like beds and stuff or are you moving that here?” I asked, tossing a duffle bag over the side rail of the red truck.

             
“No, the house comes fully furnished, which is why I think Jupiter is so excited to get it,” Seth explained leaning back against the bumper.

             
“Oh, so that’s what Jupiter looks like when he gets excited,” I mused sarcastically.

             
“Just wait till Christmas,” Seth laughed, waggling his eyebrows at me.

             
The night air was frozen at the end of January, but neither Seth nor I let the cold or snow bother us. A healthy glow of light lit up the white
, powdered
ground around us as we relaxed against the truck and looked up at our fellow fighters defending the
E
arth from the
expanse of space
.

             
“Can I ask you something?” I ventured, leaning further back against the truck and tipping my head up so I could have a better view of the clear night sky.

             
“Stella, you can ask me anything,” Seth answered quietly.

             
He knew
where this conversation was headed
and I was glad. I had been avoiding the conversation for more than a week, trying to build up the courage to pry into his life where he hadn’t invited me.

             
“What happened to your parents?” My voice was soft, and fragile as if the memory of his past would wound me as much as it had him.

             
Seth was silent for a long time, gazing skyward and his inner light flickering like a light bulb about to burn out. I had just decided to tell him to forget it, when he breathed a long sigh and opened his mouth.

             
“I was nine,” he began and the pain that laced each syllable felt like a knife wound in my own heart. “My parents were stationed here, just like yours, only we were on the other side of the world…. literally. I spent most of my childhood on the southern tip of Sri Lanka, in a small coastal town called Galle. My parents worked with a humanitarian group there as their cover, working with the Sri Lankan government to stabilize a small faction
of
antigovernment rebels
. We lived near the ocean, the most beautiful beach you will ever see. The sand is as golden as our skin, and the water is perfect, clean and blue and warm. Occasionally my parents were called away for missions, but because they had two children, their off-planet duties
were less demanding than your parents.”

             
“Two children?” I gasped, completely absorbed with every one of his words.

             
“I have an older sister,” Seth answered. “Or…. had an older sister.”

             
“What….” I trailed off, not sure if I wanted to hear the story after all.

             
“Because their time off-planet grew less and less, our contacts with the High Council also became lessened. Our position on
E
arth was already dangerous, as you know and so my parents trusted very few Stars. One of my father’s oldest friends however, used to visit often. Aliah. His name was Aliah, and
he
and my father had served together before my parents were given this position. He was like this
goofy uncle that would spoil Seven and me. That’s my sis
ter’s name,
Seven.
He would take us to the beach, and buy us fresh pineapple. He was always around it seemed, at least in my nine year old mind. And he made my parents laugh. We had some of the best times as a family when he was there.
Anyway, the Darkness came for us, and we had to run.
My f
ather was tipped off by
Sidra who was on her way to stop them.
At the time we weren’t sure how they found us
, but it didn’t matter because we had to just leave everything behind and
go
.
We
got out of Sri Lanka
safely
and made it to Hong Kong. My parents had been given strict evacuation orders in case something like that
was
to happen, and we followed the plan to
the last
detail. But
…. he was waiting for us. Aliah
was waiting, with an army of Fallen.
My parents
…. at first didn’t know what to make of him, standing there, surrounded by their enemies…. It seemed like hours passed before they picked up their swords to fight him. But they
fought hard, they fought better than any Star I’ve ever witnessed
or heard of. In the end though,
there were
just
too many Fallen….
Before their death, they were given the opportunity to join the Darkness, to join Aliah
. He stood over them, while they faced him from their knees, swords to their throats…. bloody…. beaten….
He
asked them to join him on the other side.
A
nd when they didn’t,
Aliah
killed them both.
He didn’t even hesitate…. It was like he didn’t even remember my father as his friend. He just…. he just slit their throats and let them fall to the ground like trash.
My sister….” his voice broke at the mention of her and I grabbed his hand with every ounce of compassion I had in me and held it
tightly against my chest
. “My sister, after my parents were dead, their bodies lying
face down
in their own blood, walked across the distance, careful not to get blood on her shoes and stood by
our
enemies. She joined them…. she chose Aliah.
She didn’t cry, or even look at
my parents
, she just made sure not
to get any blood on her shoes….
Seven is older than
me;
she was fifteen at the time.”

             
“What did you do?” I gasped, tears falling freely from my burning eyes.

             
“I didn’t do anything….” Seth admitted as if he had failed his parents at the age of nine, as if he
could
have done anything.
“I watched my parents die, and then I watched as my sister betrayed not only our family, but everything we stand for
. And I knew it was all because of me, all because of what I was supposed to do for Earth. But
before I could even
pick up my father’s sword to at least die honorably,
Jupiter was there. He can
fly;
I know you saw him the first night. Earth’s gravity affects him differently than humans. And neither Fallen nor Angels can sense him because he isn’t a spiritual being. Anyway, he was there all of a sudden, in front of me, shouting curses at them all for what they had done to my parents and then in another second he had picked me up and taken off with me. We flew forever it seemed, it doesn’t take him longer than it does us, but I think he wanted to make sure we lost them all before he chose a place to land. We arrived in Boston, close to sunrise and when we landed he told me that the High Council had put him in charge of me now, th
at
he would raise me and that was that.
I trusted him because I had nothing left to trust and because he stood up for my parents. Everyone I knew had betrayed them and he cursed them for their actions,
he cursed Aliah and he cursed my sister. Jupiter
was more
upset
over their deaths than my own sister.
And
Jupiter has been my guardian ever since.”

             
“And your sister? Have you seen her since?” I asked, although even asking the question was painful for me, so I could hardly comprehend how awful it would be for Seth.

             
“No, I haven’t seen her,” was all he said and then he stood up
and tipped his head all the way back to look straight up into the sky. His hands linked together and supported his neck and I felt the intensity of his gaze all the way to my bones, as if he were challenging the sky to tell a different story.

             
I couldn’t take it anymore, the pain…. the heartbreak. It was too much
, too devastating
. I stood up and moved with supernatural speed to him. I collided against his chest with a force I would have gladly doubled and wrapped my arms around him, holding him to me as if I could take away the pain of those horrible memories.

             
Slowly his strong arms came around me and hugged me back. His body didn’t tremble with tears and his sadness didn’t affect him like I thought it would…. like I expected it to. It was like I felt him
harden next to me, his horrible memories turning into a drive so fierce and determined I thought he
w
ould burst into a supernova
in the next breath
.

             
“It was a long time ago,” Seth whispered as if he were comforting me instead of the other way around. “I’ve grown up since then, Stella. Next time I won’t sit there and watch. Next time I’ll do something.”

             
“Next time I’ll help you do something,” I promised, lifting my chin to give him my most honest look.

             
He looked back at me, wiping away a tear with his thumb. “I know you will be.”
And then he leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead. I leaned into him, his warmth, his security, his essence and stayed there until we heard our parents and Jupiter exiting the house.

             
We said our goodbyes and I watched them drive away
while
standing next to my parents…. my parents who hadn’t been murdered or betrayed. I wondered about Aliah and how he could have betrayed his closest friends like that or how Seven could have walked away from her litt
le brother for an evil that
murdered her parents in front of her.