Disguised In Stardust ✔

Chapter Nineteen

As soon as Faelin stood, the whole world reacted with glee. The tree leaves shuddered, the grass turned its tips to him and the rocks clanked together in quiet celebration. The temples and towering houses, even the smoke pits on the Dwarven side seemed to falter.

A distant horn drew out in a call, signaling birds to flock from their nests and into the open sky. The birds of this place were curly beaked and streaked in bright blue, lemon and thick patches of peach under their wings.

Faelin took in a deep breath, one that could be heard travelling down his throat to fuel his lungs.

"Ah, it feels so good to breathe in my home air again." His wings started to slowly flutter, and he lifted himself. His feet swept off of the ground while his wings clicked to a rapid vibration.

He shot forward with such swiftness that I barely saw him move. His wings were beating together as lightly as two pieces of paper, slicing through the thin air as though it were nothing.

Just as he was about to leave, he turned around and lowered himself to the grass. He outstretched his arms invitingly, and I carefully approached.

Faelin wrapped his thin arms around me and his wings started to beat again. His grip tightened as we began to float upwards.

I clutched his shoulders as if my life depended on it, and in this case it did, and I craned my head over my shoulder to watch my feet leave the ground. I kicked out of instinct, making Faelin wobble a bit. He scowled at me softly. "Don't make me drop you." he warned. Over the buzzing of his wings and the calls of birds high up the trees, I could barely hear myself think clearly.

"So, uh-- Where are we going? Can't I just explore for myself?" I asked nervously, tightening my grip on his shoulder blades. My nails dug into his rough skin, to which he let out a little gasp and his wings sped up. He lifted higher in the air, then he took off with the speed of light wrapped around his fingertips.

"You'd get lost easily. Let me guide you instead. Welcome to Hazelshire." He kept his head held high, but his eyes were aimed down at me. The silver in those eyes gleamed in the sunlight. I looked into the sky. It was so similar to that of my home world. That's right... I was on another planet, one much smaller, but it still felt welcoming.

As we flew, I could see others zip past us occasionally, some with dark rosewood skin, others with a pastel pink. Their wings were different than Faelin's; they were thinner and shorter than the broad, large ones with which I had grown familiar. They didn't seem to glow like Faelin's.

A large citadel towered high in the middle of the city, the structure cutting through the low drifting clouds like a hot knife to butter. I didn't notice at first, but when we drew closer I realized there weren't any stairs leading up to it, just a low hanging set of tapered doors.

It was built with flat balconies and glimmering pillars of bronze, much like the ones from the museum. The walls were made of something akin to ivory marble, but I didn't quite recognize the odd aura that showered it. It pulsed occasionally, running in waves along the sides of the structure. It glittered with a shining sky blue coat.

"What's the blue stuff?" I asked dumbly.

"It's a protective barrier. Long ago, the Dwarves waged war on us and destroyed the last temple. Now, we have a fire-resistant shield around the place to ward the blaze away." Faelin explained. He gazed up, those eyes seeing past the clouds. "I live at the pinnacle of the citadel. The air is thin up there, so it'll be best if you keep away from it."

The tower had multiple levels, each level having its own balcony. It looked like a precarious stack of building blocks, but the base was thick and stable. Trees stretching father than the clouds welcomed it with their fuchsia leaves, some brushing inside the open windows.

"My shop is nearby, but I mustn't show you."

"Let me guess. Mystic Ailworks?" I flashed a knowing smirk his way.

He went silent, then his face tightened up. "Strange Ailworks," he amended.

"Why can't you take me there?" I pressed. He looked down and me and pressed a kiss to my forehead, then looked away. Due to the way I was hanging onto him, he couldn't exactly hide his scalding face from me. His attempts were amusing.

"It's in the vendor's area. Produce stands, fish markets, miscellaneous stores.. It is busy there. My people will surely notice a human with me." He nibbled on his lip and slowed his flight to a gentle flutter. Our descent to the ground was gentle and smooth, and soon we parted. Faelin closed his wings behind him and presented his arm sideways, gesturing for me to go ahead.

He landed on the lowest balcony, of what I presumed was the first floor. "The royalty is at the higher levels, but we'll eventually make it there."

As we trailed down the balcony and into the main room, the air warped and wriggled before us. Faelin shot out an arm in front of me and stepped backward. I watched at the atmosphere ripped in half and out crawled a familiar figure.

Seth stumbled out of the ripple and it sealed back up with a sharp swipe, as if a sword had sliced through the air. He panted, droplets of sweat dripping from his chin. He breathed in a thick lungful of air, and toppled to his knees. His head dropped low, allowing blond hair to fall over his flushed face.

"Found you." he tugged in another breath, then he stood after regaining his balance.

"Wh-What..?" Faelin whimpered. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back, creating more distance between the two of us and Seth.

"You forgot to give me leftovers." he winked at Faelin, to which the alien scoffed under his breath.

After a beat of silence, Faelin gasped in realization. "There was more in the pot-"

"-and you didn't bother to invite me to the ceremony. Impolite creature." Seth sneered at him, face wrinkling in disgust. His teeth gritted audibly and he was jerking towards us in malice.

"I captured you because you were a rare specimen. You were one in seventy-three million chances, to give the city the power it needed, only for you to abandon your people for a low life like him." Every time he edged closer to us, Faelin and I took a step back to keep it even.

"Low life? He is the only human that actually treats me like I'm a living being." he reposted, "You made me feel worthless when I was in your captivity. You used instruments on me, you clipped pieces of my wings-"

"The reason I captured you. You want to know, right? Come with me, and I'll reveal what makes you unique." Seth pulled a cork-sealed vial from his pocket. He tossed the cork to the side and dipped his fingertips in the strange solution, then drew out the same shape we had on our wrists, in the air. I looked down to see the markings glowing again, pulsing with our synced heartbeats.

"Sol Viventus." he whispered ominously, to which the spell responded by cutting a large stripe through the air.

Seth gestured with a grin towards the growing sever in the air. I watched in wonder as it opened up to reveal a dreary cavern and a small stream flowing through the wide tunnel.

Crystals of pink, salmon and ruby coated the rough walls. I turned to Faelin, as he had stopped moving altogether.

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