Silence of Stars Read online

  I’ve got you, Lark, and I won’t let go.

  His words enveloped my heart like a protective blanket. Hearing him speak my name was the last thing I remembered before I welcomed the relief of unconsciousness.

  CHAPTER

  Six

  The chorus of birdsong came as if through a tunnel.

  “Lark, can you hear me?”

  My eyes fluttered open, but I couldn’t see. With a gasp, I sat up, pulling in gulps of oxygen as fast as I could.

  “It’s okay. Just slow your breathing—nice and easy.”

  “Gideon.” I reached out a shaking hand toward the sound of his voice. He took my arm and his light streamed through me.

  “I can’t see.” I moved to take the screens off my face, but Gideon’s hand stopped me.

  “The screens are protecting your eyes. You’ll have to keep them on while you’re here. I’ll adjust them slowly so you can see.”

  I felt him touch the side of my screens, but still couldn’t see anything. “What happened? Where are we?” I gripped his arm with both my hands. The darkness was suffocating. A sharp pain throbbed in my head and vertigo made me nauseated. The last thing I remembered was hurling through the darkness and thinking I was going to die. “The Lilthe?”

  “They didn’t make it through. You’re safe.” His face was close to mine as he adjusted my lenses. “See anything yet?”

  I touched his mouth, feeling him smile. My eyes strained against the darkness until I saw the faintest outline of his eyes. I let out a long breath.

  “I can see your face.”

  His smile deepened. “I’m going to adjust it a little more. Tell me if it gets too bright.”

  My vision cleared as the lenses allowed more light in. I looked behind Gideon and gasped.

  “What’s wrong?” He quickly darkened the lenses.

  “No, turn them back up. I have to see this!”

  “Okay,” he hesitated. “Just promise me you’ll take it easy. Your body’s been through a lot. You need time to acclimate.”

  I bit my lip and nodded, my brain still trying to make sense of what I’d glimpsed. As Gideon adjusted the filter on my screens again, my mouth dropped open. I stood from the wicker cot I’d been sitting on. He reached out to support me, but I hardly noticed.

  “Is this heaven?” I whispered.

  There were several trees surrounding us with dark trunks and white leaves that shone like gleaming pearls. Flowers in a myriad of colors, including some I couldn’t put a name to, were set like gemstones among the leaves as birds flitted about.

  “Welcome to Lior.”

  I turned to Gideon and his sapphire eyes glowed.

  “You really are from another planet.” A laugh escaped and I put my hands on my head. “This. Is . . . unbelievable.” I closed my eyes and opened them again. “It has to be a dream.”

  Above the trees, I could see what looked like another planet visible in the atmosphere. Moisture filled my vision. “Dad would have given anything to see this.” My heart stung and I dropped my hands, turning back to Gideon. “What happened to the other Recruits? How long have I been out?”

  He followed my movements like he was ready to catch me at any moment. “They’re on schedule to arrive tonight. You’ve been unconscious for about two days, Earth time.”

  “Two days?” I swayed and he caught me.

  “You’d better sit back down.”

  I allowed him to guide me to the cot and put a hand to my forehead. “I’ve been lying out here for two days?”

  He sat beside me. “You were in a healing facility up until a few hours ago. When the healers decided you were stable and would be waking soon, they gave me permission to bring you here.” His eyes softened. “You don’t know how good it is to see you awake. When we came through the wormhole, you weren’t breathing.” His jaw tensed and he looked away. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

  My mouth opened slightly. I wasn’t sure what to say. Memories from before the wormhole started flooding back. “You were bleeding. Are you alright?”

  He gave a half smile. “Let’s just say both of us are lucky the healers were waiting for us when we got here.” He lifted his shirt to reveal a large bandage around his sculpted abdomen. “I’d lost a lot of blood. They went right to work on both of us.”

  I was staring hard, and blushed as he lowered his shirt. Time to divert my thoughts. “It sounds like I owe them—and you—my life.”

  His face darkened. “No. I owe you an apology. I should have fought the Lilthe rather than risk putting you through the wormhole.”

  I shook my head. “There were too many. If you’d fought them we probably both would have been killed. You did the right thing.”

  He straightened, a hard look in his eyes. “Well, it won’t happen again. As your Guardian, it’s my job to keep you safe, and I will.”

  “I know.”

  We looked at each other for a moment and I glanced down, noticing my clothes for the first time. I wore a soft tan tunic with dark brown leggings—not the outfit I’d been wearing when we left Earth. My eyes darted up to Gideon.

  He cleared his throat. “My mom and a few of the female healers helped you change.” He ran a hand along the back of his neck and flushed as he looked away. “There wasn’t much . . . left of your clothes from before.”

  “Oh.” I felt my face go crimson. “Your mom was here too?” I looked around, as if expecting people to appear through the trees at any moment.

  Gideon’s shoulders relaxed with the change of topic. “She and the rest of my family didn’t want to overwhelm you with too much all at once. They’re waiting for us at my home. As soon as you’re ready, I’ll take you there.”

  “Okay.” I stretched and realized I was still wearing the oxygen mask. “Can I take this off now?”

  “The screens have to stay, but you can take off the mask. You’ll just need to take a dose of breathing mist as a precaution. We have the same atmosphere you have on Earth, but after what you’ve been through, I want to make sure you’ll be okay.” He picked up a silver inhaler lying on the cot. “Ready?”

  I nodded and he bent forward, carefully peeling the mask away from my mouth and nose. I closed my eyes—half afraid I would suffocate when he took it off—but when I drew in a breath, a delicious amount of oxygen filled my lungs.

  “Wow, it is the same. Just . . . cleaner.” The air was rich with the smell of dense foliage. I wished Reagan and my mom could experience it.

  He smiled. “Place the inhaler inside your mouth and press the button.”

  I took the silver object from him and did as he instructed. A cool, light mist coated the inside of my mouth and throat. I held it out to him. “Is that it?”

  “That’s it.”

  Our gazes locked for a moment before I glanced away, running my finger along the fabric of my tunic. “So, what now? When do I start my training? What did the Lilthe mean about me being a Captain?” I shook my head. “I have so many questions that if I don’t start getting answers, I think my head will explode.”

  He laughed. “I’ll do my best to answer them, but you have to trust me to set the pace.”

  My eyes met his, pretending I didn’t hear a double meaning in his words. The expression on his face made my heart stutter. I lifted a shoulder. “Okay. But at least tell me how you spoke in my mind.” I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I wanted him to do it again.

  “That’s something we need to talk about.” Gideon leaned forward, his brows furrowed. “Whatever happens, you can’t let anyone know that I used Mindspeak on you, okay?”

  “That’s what it’s called? How did you do that anyway?”

  “Just promise me you won’t say anything about it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it means,” he looked away as a muscle twitched in his jaw, “never mind what it means. Just promise me.”

  “Okay. I promise.”

 
He looked back and his eyes were pained. “Lark, while you’re here things between us are going to be . . . complicated.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

  He raked a hand through his dark hair. “Listen, I want—”

  “Gideon!”

  I turned to see a gorgeous brunette walking toward us through the trees. Gideon’s face broke into a gin. He jumped off the cot and ran toward her. She laughed and ran too, meeting him halfway as he caught her up in a hug and swung her around.

  My head began to spin in a way that had nothing to do with vertigo. Watching his reaction to her made me cringe. It made sense now—he had been trying to tell me that he had a girlfriend.

  Gideon finally put her down but they kept hold of each other’s arms, laughing as they spoke in a language I didn’t understand.

  I’d inherited my mom’s striking features; able to turn heads in a crowd. But this girl was in another league—like Gideon. My heart squeezed as I realized they made the perfect couple. I was going to be sick.

  They turned, as if sensing my eyes on them. I gave a small smile and stood from the cot, realizing too late that standing was a mistake. I doubled over and retched on the grass.

  Gideon was at my side in a heartbeat, holding onto my arm as I continued heaving, but my stomach was empty. Could this possibly get any worse? If he’d needed a reason to pick Miss Perfect over me, he had one now. I wanted to disappear back into the wormhole.

  When I was finished, he helped lower me back onto the cot.

  “Sorry.” I closed my eyes, not wanting to look at him.

  “Here, take this.”

  I opened my eyes to see the girl standing next to me, holding a giant leaf.

  “You can use it to wipe your mouth,” she said.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled, taking it from her as my face burned. The leaf was soft and helped better than I’d expected as I swabbed it over my mouth.

  “Maybe you should lie back down.” Gideon’s eyebrows pulled together.

  “I’m fine,” I said. “Just . . . stood up too fast.”

  He looked unconvinced. “We need to get some food in you.”

  “Gideon, aren’t you going to introduce me?” Beauty Queen asked. Her raven locks framed vibrant blue eyes as she stepped forward and extended her hand. “I’m Nadia. I understand you’re Gideon’s new Recruit from Earth. I hope you’ll enjoy your time here.”

  I set the leaf aside and shook her hand, surprised to feel a different pulse of light—softer—coming from her.

  “I’m Lark. Nice to meet you.” I dropped her hand a tad sooner than I needed too.

  “We can do introductions later,” Gideon said. Before I knew what happened, he picked me up from the cot. “You’ll feel better with some food in your system. Time to get inside.”

  “I can walk,” I protested, but Gideon shook his head, tightening his grip.

  Nadia laughed. “It’s best if you don’t fight it, Lark. Gideon is as stubborn as they come.”

  I looked over his shoulder at her and she smiled. I was surprised she was so cool with her boyfriend carrying me like a groom crossing the threshold.

  “Yeah. I’ve noticed,” I said, turning back around as I tried to ignore the pulsing light streaming from Gideon’s body to mine.

  As soon as we left the shelter of the grove a stunning view opened up before us. We were on a hillside, and down at the bottom of the hill stood a series of house-like structures built among massive trees. A large sloping mountain was the backdrop, encasing the picturesque valley that stretched along both sides as far as the eye could see. A waterfall cascaded half the length of the mountain and fed a river that flowed just beyond the tree village.

  “What is this place?” I breathed.

  “This is my home. The village Ilona.”

  “You live here?” I wanted to rub my eyes to make sure what I was seeing was real, but the screens were in the way.

  “We live in that house, there. The one with the teal shutters,” Nadia said, pointing to an ornate tree house which would put the Swiss Family Robinson’s to shame. But all I could think about was that Gideon and Nadia lived together. They were in that kind of relationship. Somehow, I’d thought he was more traditional than that. Or maybe I was secretly hoping he was saving himself for marriage, like me. White-hot pain knifed through my heart.

  “It’s beautiful.” I bit my lip as Gideon carried me down the hill as though I were no heavier than a sack of flour.

  “You’ll be staying with us for the duration of your time here. We’ll do our best to make you feel at home,” Gideon said. “My mom and Grandma Villy are anxious to meet you.”

  My stomach rolled at the thought of being in the same house as Gideon and his exotic girlfriend. “I don’t want to impose—shouldn’t I stay at the Academy?”

  “Recruits always stay with their host families,” Nadia answered.

  “Host families?”

  Nadia put a hand on Gideon’s shoulder. “He is your Guardian, so his family is your host family.”

  “I’m afraid you’re stuck with us.” Gideon gave me a smile, one that made my heart skip several beats. I glanced away to hide the commotion in my chest.

  We reached the base of his enormous tree home. The steps and railing were made from wood and vines, twisted together in an intricate pattern. All of it glowed softly, as did the tree.

  “I think it might be easiest if you climb on my back for the stairs,” he said.

  “Um, no. I am not riding piggy-back up these stairs. I’ll hold onto the railing.”

  “But—”

  I put up a hand, cutting off his protest. “Don’t make me hurt you.”

  Nadia snorted. “You’ve got a feisty one, Gid. I like her already.”

  He shook his head before placing me down. “Fine. But I’m following right behind you.”

  I rolled my eyes and climbed the steps, staring up in awe at the home imbedded in the mammoth tree towering above us. My legs were shaky but I forced them on as we reached the landing.

  Nadia grinned and pulled me through the open doorway. “She’s here!”

  A woman was seated in what appeared to be the living room.

  My eyes widened. “Lieutenant Hardcastle?” It was hard to believe I was staring at the woman who had appeared in hologram.

  Gideon and Nadia stopped in their tracks. They stood at attention and saluted.

  The lieutenant waved a hand. “At ease, Cadets. Please forgive the intrusion, I simply wanted to check in on our wormhole-traveling Recruit.” The faint lines around her green eyes deepened as she regarded me behind stylish thin frames. “So, this is the Recruit we’ve been waiting for . . . the infamous Lark Taylor.”

  “Yes, Lieutenant,” Gideon answered for me.

  I ignored my trembling limbs and stood a little taller. I should feel revulsion for this woman whose message had changed Earth-life forever. She’d appeared cold and unfeeling in the holograms, but there was something likeable about her in person.

  She straightened her uniform and circled around me slowly, taking me in from head to foot. Finally, she let out a small grunt. “She looks pale. Cadet North, why don’t you help her sit down?”

  I shook my head, finally finding my voice. “Thanks, but I’m fine. If I may, Lieutenant, there are several questions I’d like to ask.”

  “Please, call me Grace.” She smiled.

  Gideon and Nadia exchanged glances. Grace noticed the exchange. “I know it’s against protocol, but sometimes I miss the sound of my given name.”

  My mouth opened slightly. “Alright—Grace.” I took a deep breath, “Would you mind explaining why I was Chosen? Back on Earth we were confronted by a group of Lilthe, and they said something about me being a Captain. What does that mean?”

  She placed her hands in the pockets of her uniform, remaining silent for several seconds. I glanced at Gideon and Nadia but their faces were impassive.<
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  “There is a game on your planet called chess, and I understand you are an excellent chess player.”

  I tilted my head, unsure where she was heading with this. “I guess you could say that. My father taught me how to play.”

  She nodded. “In the game there are several pieces, but only two of them are key to winning the game.”

  “The king and queen.” I raised an eyebrow. “But what does this have to do with my question?”

  Grace looked at Gideon. “Cadet North, why don’t you explain?”

  Gideon was standing with his hands clasped behind his back, his blue eyes watching me intently. “As you heard in the hologram, there is an Intergalactic Council which governs the universe. This Council determines a world’s value based on the interactions of its inhabitants. If the world has functioning governments, is prosperous, and generally considered of value, the Council deems it an asset.” His eyes darkened. “If it fails in these categories, it is deemed a liability and in most cases . . . is destroyed.”

  “Whoa, hold on,” I put my hands on my head. “You’re telling me they’re going around blowing up planets just because of some crazy criteria they made up?”

  Grace shook her head. “They don’t destroy the planet itself. They destroy the inhabitants, making room for a functioning society.”

  The air was sucked out of my lungs. “And Earth—?”

  “Has been deemed a liability,” Grace finished. She searched my eyes. “That’s where you come in.”

  “Me?” I took a step back, shaking my head. “I’m sorry, but you’ve picked the wrong person. There’s nothing special about me.”

  “There is a way to save your planet, but you must play your part.” Grace came to stand beside me. “Many of us were not happy with the dealings of the Council, so we petitioned to instigate a program to try to salvage each race before its final ruling. When a world begins to decline, scouts are sent out to select the best and brightest Recruits to take part in an intensive training program. After completion of the program, the Recruits are returned to their planet for a grace period to integrate what they have learned. To essentially save their society from destruction.”