Principal Nova directed us to all make a circle in the meadow and join hands like we had at the Awakening, and I waited with bated breath for the axe of fate to fall on my neck.
As Zenith called out to the stars, I looked up at the gleaming pinpricks of light and a shudder ran through me before the entire sky seemed to twist in a vortex. Suddenly I was standing in a chamber of darkness, seeming to float there as if I weighed nothing, as if I was nothing. And for a second it was a relief to feel like the world was over, and no more was going to be asked of me.
I wondered if this would be it for me, a void where no stars existed, no powerful beings bothering to turn their gaze on someone as worthless as me.
But then a whisper filled my head which sounded like it was woven from the fabric of the universe itself.
“Imposter,” it breathed. “We see you, son of the shadow born. And it is time to face The Reckoning.”
I swallowed hard, wondering if they’d punish me now, kill me maybe. And perhaps that was better than going back to a life where I would be made a monster again and again.
“A great burden rests heavily upon you, and a path of dark and light lays before your feet. So which will you choose?”
“I can…choose?” I asked in surprise.
“All creatures of the stars may choose.”
“But I’m not Fae,” I said thickly, shaking my head.
“You are a child of cruelty and misfortune, but you are still our child.”
“I don’t understand. Please, tell me what do. How can I protect the Vegas without ending up dead for it?” I begged.
“Death is your greatest fear.”
“Yes,” I croaked.
“What is it you are afraid of, son of the shadow born?”
“To be nothing,” I breathed. “To disappear and never have known anything good.”
“Do you know nothing good?” the stars asked and the darkness lifted, showing a vision of me laughing with my friends, the smile on my face so unfamiliar to me that I reached up to touch my own lips.
The vision faded away again and tears pricked my eyes. “I have to bring them to my uncle,” I half sobbed. “If I don’t, he’ll – he’ll-”
The vision changed before me, showing me that fate, me chained in that dark shed in the woods, my hands cut off and Alejandro standing above me with a blade in his grip and a sinister smile on his lips. I screamed, trying to block it out, but no matter if my eyes were closed or not, it was all I could see.
“Please – stop – stop!” I cried and the vision faded once more, leaving me in the pressing darkness. But I preferred that to the visions of the stars.
“I don’t want to see anymore,” I whispered.
“What does a Fae do when their back is against the wall, son of the shadow born?”
“I don’t know,” I rasped.
“What does a Fae do when their back is against the wall, son of the shadow born?”
“I don’t know - I’m not Fae!” I shouted, my voice ripped raw as the pain of those words tore through me. “But I wish I was,” I murmured, a tear running down my cheek.
“A Fae faces their fears,” the stars whispered.
I hung my head.
“What does a Fae do when their back is against the wall, son of the shadow born?”
“They fight,” I said softly, knowing that was the answer but still knowing I wasn’t one of them.
“What does a Fae do with their heart?” the stars asked and I frowned at that question, thinking on it.
“They love,” I decided.
“And what will a Fae do to be worthy of their place in Solaria?”
I frowned, the answer coming to me easily and falling from my lips. “Anything.”
“You have passed our tests.” The stars released me from their grip and I could hardly believe that I was being let go, that I was deemed worthy to stay at Zodiac Academy. It made no sense, and yet it was the best thing I had ever experienced. And for a moment, I could almost feel what it was like to be Fae.
I was yanked back out of the memory and more zoomed in front of my eyes from one to the next. I saw Diego struggling with his conscience, saw him face Alejandro time and again and meet his wrath.
I saw him spiking Tory’s drink in The Orb, his attempt to take her to his uncle, then felt his relief when Darius intervened and he once more faced Alejandro’s punishments. But now he seemed to prefer it, finding strength in his actions by deciding to take the pain instead of truly fulfilling any of his uncle’s wishes.