Bright Star Book 2
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Erin Swan
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In a world where dragons and magic shape destinies, Andra, a fierce warrior, reunites with her long-lost love, Talias, only to be thrust into a rebellion against the oppressive Kingsmen. As she navigates her feelings for Talias and her growing bond with Kael, a fellow rebel, Andra discovers her unique magical abilities and forms a powerful connection with a dragon named Tiri. Together, they must confront dark sorcery, treacherous enemies, and their own inner demons to fight for freedom and justice.
Reunion
Book 2
ANDRA
She stared at those brown eyes that had captivated her for so long. Eyes that had smiled at her, laughed with her, seen her when it seemed nobody else had.
Eyes that sheâd loved with all she was, eyes she thought sheâd never see again.
And now they were looking back at her with an expression of stunned disbelief in them.
âA-Andra?â Talias stammered. âAndra, is thatâŠreally you?â
Andra looked briefly down at herself. She was clad in leather armor, remnants of dried blood still flecked on her boots, and her leather collar was gone.
Of course he didnât recognize her. She hardly looked like the same girl sheâd been the last time heâd seen her. She looked back at his familiar face and felt a smile forming on her lips.
âYes,â she breathed. âTalias, itâs me.â
A ragged laugh broke from his lips and he surged to his feet, body lurching toward her. But he was pulled up short by the chain that Egan still gripped, binding Taliasâs hands together.
Andra rushed forward, closing the gap between them, quickly gripping the shackles in each of her hands. Instinctively, she pressed the warm magic at the back of her mind into the shackles, demanding Taliasâs freedom.
The metal yielded, clicking open and falling to Taliasâs feet, leaving only Andraâs hands now encircling his wrists.
Talias looked down at where her fingers rested against his skin. âHow did you⊠How did you do that?â
Andra laughed, a flush of pleasure creeping into her cheeks as he raised his eyes to hers again. âA lotâs changed, Talias,â she answered, surprised by the tremor in her own voice.
Her flush deepened as his eyes took her in, from her stained boots to her disheveled hair, now longer than before and streaked with sunlight.
His eyes rested on hers again and he gave her that crooked grin sheâd always loved. âSo it seems,â he said.
He slid his wrists from her gentle hold, bringing his hands around hers, gripping them tightly as he smiled down at her.
Andra tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat, but with no luck. A brief silence hung between them before she remembered something.
She jumped slightly, pulling her hands from his grip and plunging them into her pockets searchingly as words tumbled from her mouth.
âOh, I still have⊠Where is it, where is it? I promise, I never took it off until right beforeâI never thoughtâŠâ
Finally, her fingers closed around the band of braided leather, and she pulled it from her pocket, holding it out to him with a proud smile on her lips.
âI kept it,â she said breathlessly. âAt Castigoâs. Across the wilderness and the desert. Here, with the Freemen. All this time.â
The smile he gave her stole the breath from her lungs. Talias placed his hand in hers, enveloping the bracelet between their skin. âYou kept it,â he confirmed.
She nodded eagerly. Talias pulled suddenly on her hand, bringing her to him, wrapping her tightly in his arms.
Andra felt a swelling of joy in her chest as her head came to rest over his heart. Talias⊠Talias is here⊠As much as she repeated the thought in her own mind, she could hardly believe it was true.
After a long moment in his embrace, Talias pulled back, taking the leather bracelet from her hand as he did so. Without a word, he wrapped the bracelet around her wrist, just as heâd done what felt like a lifetime ago.
The memory of that moment flooded into Andraâs mind and heartâthe fear that she would never see him again, the pain of losing all hope of a future sheâd dreamed of. But here he was again, returned to her.
She felt the knot in the bracelet cinch firmly into place, and he gripped her hands again, bathing her in the radiance of his smile.
KAEL
Kael watched the reunion silently, disbelievingly, his chest feeling hollow.
Moments ago heâd held Andra in his own arms. Heâd laid his heart open to her, offered her a part of him heâd never given to anyone.
And heâd thought, for a momentâfor one glorious, breathless, hopeful momentâthat she might accept it.
And now, she was gazing up at someone elseâs face, gripping someone elseâs hands in hers. And that damned braceletâŠ
When sheâd taken it off before the battle, Kael had thought it a sign that she was ready to let go of whatever still held her to her old life. But there it was again, encircling her skin as surely as her slaveâs collar had once done.
The strangerâs handâTaliasâs handâreached up to Andraâs face, cupping her chin as he leaned closer to herâŠ
âEgan,â Kael snapped, his voice low, sharp, and hollow. âTake the prisoner to the council chambers for interrogation.â
Andraâs head jerked toward him in surprise, as if just remembering he was there. As if sheâd entirely forgotten about him.
âWhat?â she stammered. âKael, whatâ What are you doing?â She stepped toward him, but her body was still inclined toward Talias as she gestured at him, still speaking.
âKael, itâs Talias. The boy I told you about. I know him, you donât have toââ
Kael fixed her with a flat stare, gripping his hands firmly behind his back, desperately fighting the urge to reach for her, pull her to him, pull her away from this other man.
âHe was with the Kingsmen, Andra,â he replied, cutting her off. âHeâs one of them. He needs to be questioned.â
âNo, Iâm not!â Talias cried out, stepping toward Kael as well. Egan seized his shoulder firmly, restraining him, and Talias didnât fight the grip. âIâm not one of them,â he continued. âI wasââ
âQuiet!â Kael barked, slicing his hand through the air. A wave of heat burst from him with the motion, slamming into Talias, nearly knocking him and Egan to the dirt.
Kael froze. He hadnât intended to release any of his magic with the gesture.
âCalm yourself, my West Wind,â Eithne whispered in his mind, trying to press her own steadiness into his thoughts. âYouâre losing control.â
Andra stepped between him and Talias, her arms slightly raised as if to shield the man behind her from his view. âKael!â she cried. âYou canât do this!â
His gaze narrowed at her, his blood beginning to boil hotter as she faced him downâall to protect the sandy-haired soldier at her back.
âI can, Andra,â he snapped. âI am the leader of the Freemen, in case youâve forgotten, so I give the orders. And I am ordering that this spyââhe thrust a finger over her shoulder at Taliasââbe taken for questioning.â
Andra lowered her arms slowly, and for a moment, he thought she would yield. But even as her arms came down, her chin lifted higher, and a resolve he rarely saw in the quiet girl sparked in her vibrant green eyes.
When she spoke, her voice was low, but there was no quaver in it. Only conviction. âI wonât let you.â
Kael stared at her for a long moment, the silence between them crackling with tension. It was as if the words spoken between them just minutes ago had never happened. Had she really already forgotten it all?
Pain and anger roiled in Kaelâs chest, mingling with the deep grief that already lingered there. He felt his eyes burning and ground his teeth until his jaw ached.
Andra looked back at him, her expression of resolve softening slightly, turning to a look of pleading.
âKael,â she breathed, and his name on her lips felt like a dagger in his chest. âPlease, donât do this.â
Kael looked away from her. If he gazed into those eyes for another moment, he was certain his heart would rip in two.
Instead, he fixed his eyes on Egan and the small group of Freemen that had dragged Talias to him.
âTake him to the council chambers for interrogation,â he repeated, his quiet voice brooking no argument.
Andra wheeled away from him, looking now to Egan and the others.
âNo!â she cried. âI take responsibility for him! I will guard him. I will speak to him. Iâll find out the truth and report back to Kael and the other council members. You have my word!â
Egan and the other soldiers stood in silence, gazes moving from Andra to Kael and back again. Talias simply stared at Andra, a look of stunned adoration on his face. And Andra gazed right back.
Kael stared at her profile for a long moment, his chest aching. Please, his heart seemed to whisper. Please, see me. Look at me, Andra, not him. Please, just look at me.
But she didnât. Her eyes remained fixed on Talias.
Finally, he could stand it no longer. âVery well,â he muttered gruffly.
Without another word, Kael turned on his heel and stormed away, refusing to look back as Andra rushed back into Taliasâs arms.
TALIAS
The lake reflected the late evening sunlight as Talias lowered himself to the grass.
He could hardly believe that, hours before, heâd been battling for his life, certain he would die, terrified that he would have to kill someone else just to spare himself.
Everything seemed peaceful now. Even with the bustling of the Freemen in their camp across the field, the lakeside was quiet, the only sound the splashing of a green dragon washing the dust and blood from his scales.
Still, his disbelief at the sudden quiet around him paled in comparison to the disbelief at the young woman sitting beside him now.
He stared at her, taking in the leather armor where a ragged brown dress had once been, the sturdy boots that had replaced her thin slippers, the band of pale skin around her throat where her collar had rested for all the years heâd known her.
Could this really be Andra?
Then she turned her eyes away from the bathing dragon and looked at him, smiling. And he knew with certainty that it must be her. Only Andra had eyes like that. Only she smiled at him that way.
âI still canât believe youâre here,â she murmured, shaking her head slightly.
âNeither can I,â he replied, leaning forward to rest his arms across his knees as his fingers picked at the grass. âI didnât even know aboutââhe drifted off, hand circling vaguely in the airââall of this,â he finally finished.
âSo how did you get here?â she asked, leaning forward as well, her gaze intense on his face.
He gave her a lopsided grin. âSo the interrogation begins, does it?â
Andra laughed quietly. âI did promise to get answers,â she said. Then, after a pause, she added, âBut I also just want to know. What happened to you, Talias?â
The kitchen boy sighed heavily, looking away and out at the lake again.
âI wasâŠsummoned to Castigoâs palace,â he said slowly. âA lot of us were. Servants from the Hall, from all over, really. We didnât know what for, but we were ordered to report to the Chief Judge.â
His eyes darted sideways at her, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth again. âI was actually excited,â he confessed. âI thought I might find a way to see you while I was there.â
He paused, drawing a deep breath, then went on. âBut as soon as we set foot on the palace grounds, we had armor and weapons shoved at us.
âThey said we were soldiers now, that we were to fight the men whoâd tried to kill Castigoâs son.
âThey made it all sound so very noble,â he snarled quietly, bitterness creeping into his voice as he remembered the grand speeches about protecting the empire from murderous rebels.
A warm pressure on his knee made him look down, and he found Andraâs hand resting there. He smiled slightly, covering her fingers with his own before he went on.
âWe got a little training. Not much, but some. Then they marched us down into these tunnelsâdark, narrow, awful things. We marched in almost total darkness for⊠Gods, I donât even know how long.
âAll that time, I kept hearing the captains talking about Kingsmen and Freemen. They called us Kingsmen. I had no idea what they meant. I thought we were justâŠjust going to try to catch some murderers.
âThe next thing I knew, we were being thrust out into the sunlight again, told to march on, told to kill anyone not in a Kingsmen uniform.
âIâŠI panicked, Andra,â he confessed, his voice catching, his fingers clutching tightly at hers. She gripped them back.
âPeople started dying. The screams⊠The blood⊠I-I didnât know what to do. So I hid. I ran for the woods, and I hid until it was all over. And then I kept hiding.
âI was afraid to try to get away, because I didnât know where to go. I was afraid to come out, because I didnât know who might try to kill me.
âThatâs when your soldiers found me. Still quivering like a scared dog by the stream.â
Andra was silent for a long moment, and Talias continued to stare at the grass in front of him, afraid to look up at her, afraid that her eyes would condemn him as a coward or a traitor or both. Her fingers tightened around his, and he forced himself to look at her then.
Her green eyes were soft and understanding on his face. âYou did the right thing, Talias,â she whispered.
A small amount of relief bubbled inside of him, and he forced a tight smile at her.
A thoughtful expression came over her faceânow marked with freckles she hadnât had beforeâand she looked down, brow furrowing.
âBut that meansâŠâ she said slowly. âThe men that we killedâŠthey werenât all Kingsmen. Not really. Theyâthey died for something they didnât believe in. Something they didnâtâŠdidnât even know existed.
âCastigo forced them to fight and die to try to make himself king!â Her voice tightened with fury, and he saw her green eyes grow brighter with tears.
âMake himself king?â Talias repeated disbelievingly. âIs that what he was trying to do? Is that what these Kingsmen are trying to do?â
Andra pulled her fingers from his, pressing the heels of both hands to her eyes as she let out a quiet groan.
âYou didnât even know⊠They didnât know. They were innocent,â she muttered. âThey died for nothingâŠâ
Talias inched closer to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. He didnât know what to say. He didnât even truly understand what was going on.
All he knew was that Andra was here again, and that was all that truly mattered.
âHow did you get here?â he asked, trying to distract her from her grief, to make her think about anything else besides the fact that she might have killed an untrained servant whoâd had a sword forced into his hand.
âWhen I was with the Kingsmen, they told us about the attack on the manor. I asked about you. They said a servant girl had disappeared that night and wasnât seen again. I was afraid theyâd taken youâafraid theyâd killed you.â
She lifted her face from her hands and gave him a watery smile. âWell, yes,â she said, laughing quietly at some private joke he didnât yet understand. âI suppose I technically was taken. Butââ
Her explanation was cut off by a rushing of wind that flattened the grass around them as an enormous shadow passed over their heads.
They both looked up to see a violet dragonâsmaller than the others heâd seen here, but enormous nonethelessâwinging down upon them.
Talias scrambled to his feet, backing quickly away from the dragon as it landed beside them with a heavy thud.
Andra stood as well, though much more calmly, and smiled at him a little before turning toward the great violet beast.
The dragon lowered its head, making a quiet thumping sound in its throat. Andraâs smile brightened, and she took the creatureâs snout between her hands, stroking the beautiful scales.
Something seemed to pass between them in the quiet that followedâsomething that Talias had seen pass between dragon and Rider many, many times in his years at the Hall of Riders.
Talias started. Of all the unbelievable things that had occurred in the past twenty-four hours, this was by far the least believable of all. But there was no denying it.
There was a bond between Andra and the dragon. The bond of a dragon and Rider.
âA-Andra?â he stammered. âIs thatâŠ? How didâŠ?â
She laughed quietly at his unfinished questions, still stroking the dragonâs scales as she looked at him and said, âItâs a long storyâŠâ
ANDRA
It was time for the Freemen to move on.
There was no doubt that the Kingsmen knew their location, and even less doubt that theyâd strike againâand they were unlikely to underestimate the rebels a second time.
With blood still staining the soil, and the glass monument flickering with Tiriâs flame at the edge of the sand, the Freemen began packing what they could.
They didnât yet know where they were going. They didnât know what they were doing next.
Despite the fact that theyâd won this battle, the Freemen had suffered severely. Their camp destroyed, a large number of their supporters dead, their base compromised.
It felt to Andra as if they were starting over, and she could see in the slump of the many pairs of shoulders below her that the rest of the Freemen felt the same.
She sat perched on Tiriâs back as the dragon shuttled crates of supplies to the wagons that waited along the edge of the desert.
As the dragon carefully lowered her latest batch of cargo onto an empty wagon, the soldiers below looked up at Andra and smiled, lifting their hands in gratitude.
âThank you, Rider!â a voice called up at her.
Andra cringed at the word. The Freemen had been calling her that since the battle had ended. Sheâd asked them not to, but the title still followed her through the camp as she and Tiri aided in the preparations.
As dear as Tiri was to her, as much as she wished to never be parted from the dragon beneath her, the word chafed her like ill-fitting armor. She was no Rider. Not really.
Talias, for his part, seemed to understand what nobody else didâshe wasnât truly bonded to Tiri, she bore no Riderâs mark, so she wasnât a Rider.
As someone whoâd lived his life among Riders, he understood the importance of that bond, just as she did.
But the rest of the Freemen⊠They persisted.
Tiri and Andra flew back toward the camp, and she leaned forward on the dragonâs neck, peering down at the soldiers who hurried back and forth beneath her.
Her eyes found Kael almost immediately, wrapping swords and unstringing bows for transport as he simultaneously gave out orders, his voice clear and crisp above the din.
He hadnât spoken to her since Taliasâs arrival the previous day, but she supposed she couldnât blame him. He was the Freemenâs leader, after all. They needed him now.
But even as his voice rang sharply from below her, she could hear the same voice speaking in her head, the tone softer, the words wrought with emotion. I love you, Andra.
Taliasâs arrival had pulled her so quickly out of that moment with Kael that it hardly seemed realâlike being yanked suddenly out of a dream, only a few precious images lingering in her memory.
But the ache those words had left in her chest felt real enough. Kael loved herâŠ
And TaliasâŠ
She pulled her gaze away from Kaelâs dark hair and scanned the crowd, finally finding the mop of blond hair she was seeking.
He was not among the Freemen, but alone, beside the smoldering coals of the fire, turning several hocks of meat on a spit.
The others seemed to skirt around him, giving him a wide berth, save for one elf who remained nearby, watching him warily.
Andra felt an instinctive urge to go to him, to work beside him as sheâd done for so many years. Talias was the boy whoâd understood the meaning in her unspoken words, whoâd protected her whenever he could.
He was the boy whoâd told her to spy on the Pairingâthe entire reason she had any sort of connection to Tiri at all. Talias was a part of her, and had been for years.
âSister,â Tiriâs voice echoed into her mind, âyouâre brooding.â
âI am not,â Andra responded quickly. âIâm⊠thinkingâŠâ
âAbout those two sets of trouble on two legs?â
Andra let out a snorting laugh. âNo. Well, sort of, I suppose.â
âHow delightfully murky.â The dragon chuckled.
âTalias is justâŠeverything I ever believed I wanted,â Andra answered. âHe makes me feel safe. Heâs always made me happy, no matter how miserable I felt.â
âI have loved him for nearly as long as I can remember. He is all the good parts of my old lifeâŠâ
âBut that is not your life anymore, sister,â Tiri replied gently.
âI⊠I knowâŠâ Even in her own mind, Andraâs words sounded weak. âI thought I was ready to let go of that old life. All of it. Even the good things in it. ButâŠâ
Gazing down at Talias, her fingers wandered to the leather encircling her wrist once again.
âBut maybe I was wrongâŠâ
