Chapter twenty-one

Amid the chaos, Phoebe met Rue's worried gaze. She knew her friend was probably thinking the same thing she was: regardless of what their fathers discovered when they reached Connor's modest home, it wasn't going to end well for him. Her mind was swirling with questions—like who was this rogue Starborn, and what did she want with Connor—but they would have to wait until she knew her cousin was safe.

Behind her father's back, Phoebe motioned for Rue to follow her. "If we cut through the woods we can beat them there," she whispered.

They ran like they were being chased. Phoebe, who knew these woods as well as she knew her own home, led the way. Even in the darkness she was able to dodge and weave through the trees and foliage, following a nearly instinctive path back to Connor's front door.

When they arrived, they found the small cottage completely dark.

"What if he's not here?" Rue panted as Phoebe hammered on the door. Voices carried through the trees, growing louder by the minute as Phoebe's father and his posse got closer. Pinpricks of light from the candles they carried winked like stars between the trees as they marched. Rue watched them advance from beneath her knitted brow. "Maybe he was watching the ritual."

Phoebe wondered the same thing, though she'd also hoped that if her cousin had dared to defy her father and lurk from the shadows (which, she knew deep down, was exactly what he'd done. It's what she would have done, too.) he wouldn't waste any time getting back home once he realized people would be out looking for him. But there was no sound rustling from inside the cabin, and the window was still dark. Unable to wait a moment longer, Phoebe pressed her lips into a tight line and barged inside.

Even in the darkness, Phoebe could tell the cabin was empty. The room was cold, as if it had been hours since the wood stove had last held a fire. She fumbled around the table until her hands found a candle and the small box of matches she knew Connor kept within reach. With a trembling hand, she struck one and set the quivering flame to the candle's wick. Its feeble light was still enough to bathe the small living space in a warm glow.

"Phoebe?" The fearful way Rue said her name made Phoebe's heart drop into her stomach. "Did you visit Connor today by any chance?"

Breathless, Phoebe whirled around to see what had Rue sounding so alarmed. It took a moment, but her eyes finally noticed the small stack of dirty dishes on the table — there were far more of them than she'd ever known Connor to use on his own.

"No," Phoebe replied in a hushed voice. "Do you think it was the Starborn?"

Rue twisted her fingers into anxious knots. "What does it mean if it was?"

Outside, the voices were getting louder. Phoebe didn't know what the answer to Rue's question was, but she knew what her father would make of the evidence that Connor had prepared a meal for a celestial fugitive. Before she could think better of it, she gathered the dirty dishes and scrambled to put them back on the shelves.

"They're coming!" Rue hissed as she kept watch from the door. "Hurry!"

Phoebe slid the last fork back into the utensil cup Connor kept next to his plate and bowl with only seconds to spare. She heard her father's surprised voice just outside the cottage walls.

"Rue? What are you doing here?"

Folding her arms to hide her anxiety-induced tremors, Phoebe stuck her head out the door with as much innocence as she could muster. "The same thing you are — we want to know what's going on."

She watched her father's eyes narrow dangerously in the flickering candlelight. "Where is he?"

"We don't know," Rue answered truthfully.

Phoebe's father shoved passed both of them and marched into the shed. She heard the drag and clatter of furniture as he rooted around inside — as if there was anywhere for someone to hide in that claustrophobic space — and she held her breath while she waited to see if her trickery would be discovered. A moment later he reemerged, flushed and furious.

"Mark my words — that boy has absconded with the Starborn," he spat, earning a pained whimper from Rue that only Phoebe seemed to notice.

"Come now, Lance," said Rue's mother, Samsi, "it's too soon to jump to conclusions."

Nostrils flaring, he straightened his posture and smoothed his palms down the front of his tunic. "Very well," he relented with a begrudging air. "But perhaps we should search the perimeter for signs of either the boy or the Starborn. If either are gone, we would benefit from knowing sooner rather than later."

Rue's parents shared an uneasy look, but Phoebe thought it was the first good idea she'd heard from her father in a while. She turned to Rue, already vibrating with an eagerness to get back into the forest and find her cousin. "Come on. We can grab better lights from my house and then—"

"Absolutely not," her father interrupted. Phoebe opened her mouth to argue, but Rue's father spoke up first.

"I agree with Lance. You girls should stay here."

"But, Dad!" Rue protested. "What if Connor needs help?"

"If he needs help then he's probably in some kind of danger," Castid replied, "and if that's the case then I don't want you anywhere near it."

Samsi nodded. "It's dark and none of us know what we're up against right now. It would be nice to know that we don't have to worry about you two on top of everything else."

"Then it's settled," said Phoebe's father. "Daughter, escort Rue back to the encampment and then return home. I will expect to see you in your chamber when I return."

Without Samsi and Castid in her corner, Phoebe knew it would be pointless to argue. She felt small and childlike as she and Rue slinked through the crowd and headed toward Ardent under her father's watchful eye. Once they were out of sight, Phoebe heard her father barking orders to the others, breaking them into groups and assigning them areas to search. Even if she and Rue wanted to disobey their parents, it would be impossible to do without being spotted. And so, they trudged back to the druids' encampment in defeat.

"What is actually happening right now?" Phoebe wondered aloud as they picked their way along darkened paths. "Have you ever even heard of this Audrey person before?"

Rue wrapped her arms tightly around her middle and shook her head. "What makes you think I would?"

"Aren't your people the last of the Starborn?" Phoebe asked. "If she's not with you, where did she come from?"

"Didn't you hear what the Star said? She's a true Starborn: half Star, half human — like the ones we're descended from."

Though Phoebe understood what Rue was saying, she still struggled to wrap her mind around it. "But, like... why? Why would the Stars allow that to happen? And if she really is the child of a Star, why are they saying she's someone we should be cautious of?"

Sighing, Rue tipped her head back and stared skyward through the gaps in the canopy above. "I wish I knew."

For a quiet moment, Phoebe puzzled over what scant details they had and tried to make them make sense. The more she thought, the more she worried that her father wasn't the biggest threat to Connor anymore.

"Rue?" Phoebe said as she came to a stop. "What if this Starborn wants to kill Connor because he's a Wish?"

Looking back at Phoebe over her shoulder, Rue frowned. "What? Why would she have it out for Wishes?"

"Think about it," Phoebe insisted. Her heart was racing again. Dread filled her veins with ice. "If the Stars are warning us about her then she must have done something bad, right? And, maybe because she's only half-Star, she doesn't have to follow the same rules as the rest of them."

"Okay, but even if you're right, what does that have to do with Connor?"

Exasperated, Phoebe started to pace. It seemed ludicrous to her that Rue needed this spelled out for her. "What if she's like the Loyals?"

It took Rue a moment to process what Phoebe had said, but when she had, her expression darkened. "Phoebe, you know that not everyone thinks Wishes are abominations to be scrubbed out of existence, right?"

"C'mon, I know not everyone wants them dead, but we all know that Wishes are, I dunno..." Phoebe searched for the right word... "illegitimate, and that really pisses some people off. Maybe—"

"Wait." Rue waved her hands in the air, cutting her off. "Back up. You don't actually believe that, do you?"

"Believe what?"

Rue stared Phoebe down with an uncharacteristic amount of intensity. "That Wishes are 'illegitimate'. That, because they're Wishes, they're somehow less than everyone else."

"I don't..." Phoebe hesitated. She was confused by Rue's reaction — wasn't that exactly what Wishes were? "It's not like I'm saying they deserve to be mistreated, Rue! I'm just saying that they're different — different in a way that really upsets some people, and maybe Audrey is one of those people — that's all!"

Even though Phoebe was certain that she had explained herself as best she could, Rue still looked as if she was deeply disappointed by her answer.

"But why are they different, Pheebs?" Rue pressed. "What do you honestly believe makes them different?"

Phoebe recoiled. It was as if she and Rue were suddenly speaking different languages, and something vital had gotten lost in translation. She wasn't used to this kind of treatment from Rue, and she especially didn't understand why it seemed as though her integrity was suddenly in question. "I don't know what I believe, okay?" Phoebe exploded, tossing her hands up in frustration. "Why are you acting like this? I'm on Connor's side — I always have been. But I've got my Dad on one side telling me how things are and I've got you on the other telling me to question everything and I'm trying my best. What more do you want from me?"

The question hung heavily between them for a beat. Rue's shoulders slumped as she shook her head. "You need to start thinking for yourself, Pheebs." She turned away, while Phoebe was too taken aback to muster a response. "You should probably get home — you don't want to give your dad another reason to be angry."

"Fine," Phoebe snapped. She whirled away to hide the tears that had sprung to her eyes. "I guess I'll go worry about Connor on my own then."

Before Rue could respond, Phoebe stormed away to nurse her bruised heart in private.