These Cursed Stars

Chapter One

Alayna Valere

Alayna toyed with her braid under her cloak’s hood while waiting in line to enroll the Sollalune Academy Of Celestial Arts. She couldn’t believe she really stood in the ornate sapphire foyer of the academy’s magical castle. Even though it was crowded Alayna could see the intricate moon’s phases illustration charted on the dark blue floor and the silver and gold stars twinkling on the walls. The room had a glass ceiling, providing her with a perfect view of the night sky. It was exactly as she read about it.

If the royal family had their way, she would still be reading about it. She risked much coming here with barely any disguise and a barely believable story she made up about herself, her new self. Not that it would be necessary, Alayna supposed.To enroll in Sollalune you only need to disclose your name and age. Nothing but your magic matters in the sky, unlike the sunken continent of Neria where only the mountain peaks was safe. Constant floods are a huge problem for both Aurel the Southern Kingdom and Danias the Northern Kingdom, her kingdom.

The kingdom she crossed the in-between island Lapis and more than half of the wondrous but incredibly dangerous continent of Eynea, to get away from. Magical beings ruled the land, beings that by the ancient bargain with her ancestor bound themselves to the land. However only while her bloodline lives. That is why, as the crown princess of Danias, she would have never been allowed to step a foot on Eynea. If she’s ever recognized, she will be killed or dragged back to her family’s palace to spend her life sitting on a chair and hosting tea parties. But Carella Celestine is gone. Or at least thought of as dead. And Alayna Valere is free to do as she wishes. Unless she’s caught of course.

She took a deep breath, hoping she could breath in the confidence of the people around her. The three men in front of her already planning what they’ll first do once they earn their magic through the entrance exam, the girl at the sign in desk happily chanting her name as she gave the professor in charge her application. The endless line behind her, patiently waiting to submit their own.

Alayna never liked crowds. Loud, easy to get lost in and not to mention filled with all kinds of horrible odor. But tonight, this crowd was a flurry of hopeful to-be students of Sollalune Academy, though they didn’t yet pass the test that would determine whether they’re worthy of magic they were all cheerful. Happy just to be here. To witness the beauty of this castle and the magic of the land surrounding it. It was one of those rare times Alayna could relate to people. Being the crown princess, she was often either feared or envied. And thus mostly ignored by everyone other than the royal family. Not that she had a chance to meet many people. She was usually not allowed to interact with anyone outside her family’s court, her tutors were the only exception to the rule. And of course, as a princess she was never allowed outside the royal estates. So that left her with having piles of books as tall as she is for friends.

Maybe here she would have someone she could call a friend. Though for someone like her, even an acquaintance would be a dream come true. She looked ahead of her. Left was only one of the men she saw earlier and now, as he turned to leave from the desk, Alayna braced herself. She could feel her heart thudding in her chest like it would jump out through her mouth but she knew she’d be questioned if she showed it. Instead she pulled her hood up slightly and gave the lean, white haired professor at the desk her most excited smile as she handed him the parchment.

The professor smiled back, although he seemed exhausted already. His eyes, that she realized matched the color of his hair, ran over her and almost made her stagger back as they stared into her own. Pure ice lay there, she guessed it was his power. “Alayna Valere.” He paused and for a moment she thought her heart really would jump out. Alayna was already preparing to disappear into the crowd when he recognizes her but instead he added “pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Professor Evin.” Alayna didn’t offer her hand, not keen to find out if they would be ice cold like his appearance. Likely they would be, she read that one’s magic often reflected throughout their body.

Professor Evin gestured to a crowded hallway with his arm “That is where you will receive all necessary instructions for your testing. I am not to say anything further. Go now, you don’t have all night!” he ushered her from the wooden desk.

The hallway was packed with all the people who were standing in the line with her at the table just a moment ago but now, Alayna could not recognize anyone here. Their faces were too blurry even in the bright candlelight to make out who they are. She bumped into a few people on her way through but felt nothing. No solid figure, no skin or fabric. Nothing. As if they weren’t even there. As if she walked right through them. But that’s impossible. Isn’t it? She’s heard of a rare ability to walk through walls but it did not apply to people.

Finally she reached the end of the hallway, and the world went dark. She felt hands caressing her shoulders, claws scraping along her neck in a way that was more mocking than gentle. A low snickering followed. It seemed to say: “you’ve walked right into our trap, stupid, stupid princess”.

A breath blew hot against her ear and she heard the hoarse, screeching noise as it tried to speak, as if it were remembering how. That sound, the horrible laugh of the creatures circling her only steps away, the claws dragging on the marble – could not be mistaken for anything other than one of the terrors that still remain from the ancient world.

“Ah…le…i…nah” it whispered against her ear. She stiffened, her back going arrow straight as the primordial creature ran a limb that was like a thin, elongated hand with blades instead of nails, down her spine. “Ah…lay...na” it tried again, this time pronouncing her name as properly as a creature that existed before language itself and was not meant to use one could learn.

Three lights shone ahead. Illuminating the creature. She could clearly see the long limbs wrapping around her, the strange head with only a month with at least dozen rows of teeth. She was right, the creatures around her were the same ones that hunted her bedtime stories as a child, creatures of legend every child was warned of. She remembered her grandmother’s words from when she was five years old, after she found a small hole in the palace walls and ran off to explore the forest. "Don’t wander into the dark Carella, ancient evils sleep in there. Waiting… Waiting for a curious child like you to wake them. To walk right into their clutches." And she had. She had strode right past the warnings. The most obvious of warnings. Nothing good comes from those who obscure themselves with magic. Something every child was also warned of, usually it was referred to Fae glamour though.

When Alayna’s eyes adjusted to the light three doors came into focus beyond the ancient’s terrifying face. A sun was etched into the golden door to the left, making it seem as if it’s light came from these very rays. The black and silver door to the right held an intricate crescent moon and moon’s phases rested on the round arch. I the middle however was the most beautiful one, the one that shone the brightest. It was a curving piece of blue marble that instead of silver or gold looked as if it held the universe. Only exception were the three golden stars etched into it at her eye level.

Somehow, Alayna knew it was her way out. Somehow there was a connection between her and whatever lays behind these doors. She decided she would make a run for it. Rip out of the creature’s arms and jump through the door. Hope that when she presses the golden doorknob it would let her in.

She lunged forward, catching the ancient creature by surprise and jumping out of it’s grasp. There was growling behind her but she didn’t care, didn’t dare to turn back. There were only a couple of steps to the door. To her door.

The bone breaking pressure on her arm was all Alayna felt before she was jerked back, the claws from the hand that pulled her came after. She was being pulled into the hallway, into the darkness. And she knew for sure what lay there. She knew that if she didn’t somehow free herself now, there would be no chance to escape the creatures snickering as she was brought to them on a silver platter.

Alayna screamed, pain shot through her as a creature’s teeth embedded into her arm. She started to thrash around, trying to pull away her right arm, the less damaged one. It moved, good. Not broken. Alayna could feel three different scratches on her arm and one on her right side. Her clothes weren’t wet with blood, they couldn’t be deep. Her left arm however was gushing with blood. So much she could hear it drip down on the marble floor. The facts that this creature had rows and rows of teeth didn’t help. Even if she freed her right arm, the left could barely move at all and Alayna wondered if she would have to let it be ripped away by the creature to escape. She cursed herself for allowing to be dragged into the dark hallway in the first place, for giving in to her panic and not fighting more while she still had one arm free. That was it. At this rate she would be eaten any moment. How could she have been so stupid. She walked right into a trap and now it was all for nothing. She ran away for nothing. Alayna Valere would die before she even got to live.

The two creatures yanked her further back. Her heart thudded as a realization hit her, she would truly die here. The light from the three doors barely reached this far down the hallway. One more step back and she would be fully hidden in the thick ancient darkness, blind and trapped with those who navigated the shadows without eyes. No, they didn’t navigate shadows, they are the shadows.

They tugged her back again in unison but this time she threw herself down as they did. Not wanting to be taken with her, the creatures let her fall. Alayna yelped as she fell on her ruined arm. That would be a problem. She didn’t spare precious seconds it would take to check her arm and sprinted right to the three doors. If she were to make it, it had to be now. While those monsters regained their balance. She could barely breathe as she ran and ran forward with one single goal: don’t let them catch you. Couldn’t hear any snarling or growling or scraping of claws, couldn’t see anything except a blurry outline of the walls and the light that shone ahead. She collided with the middle door and barely stayed on her feet as she held on to the intricate golden doorknob. She blew a sigh of relief as the door slid open and she disappeared into the room beyond.

Alayna didn’t know what she expected. Another hallway? A way out of the castle? A storage room or a classroom? Though she did know that she hoped whatever lay behind the door would offer escape. Or at least some sort of protection. Standing in the oval blue room with golden stars that blinked in and out and a small wooden table in the center, she was sorely disappointed. She wished for at least a key to keep the beasts who would burst in any moment, from getting in and dragging her back to the darkness. But instead, she found a dagger on the oak table.

Like a dagger could help her against what’s chasing her. She would die here, trapped and helpless. She looked around the room. There had to be a way out. The touched the wall, every inch of it from floor to the low skylight celling. Nothing. For a symbol of hope the stars on this room’s door were pretty damn disappointing. All they offered was a pretty view of the stars as you are slowly ripped to shreds. And a mockery of a weapon that still sat on the oak table. Maybe she could hide behind the door and take them by surprise, but there were too many. The moment they went through these doors, she was doomed. She examined the blade. No secret messages or hidden keys. Maybe she’d chosen the wrong door. Or maybe there was a pitiful dagger behind the other two as well and nothing she did would have saved her.

A growl that was pure fury sounded outside. Alayna shivered. She paced the room again, desperate for a way out. Still, there was nothing but hard wall. Claws scraped the door, she snatched the dagger and looked up. Looked up to see the stars one last time, despite the fact it would do her no good. Wait. It might. The skylight was made of glass and the celling in the room was so low she could reach it if she had something to climb on. She did. Because right in the center of the room was the table. Right below the single weakest point of the glass. Alayna climbed up onto the table and only bothered to shield her eyes as she plunged the dagger into the skylight celling. The sound of breaking glass filled the room, sounding higher and higher as it broke into even smaller pieces hitting the floor. Like fallen stars. If those beasts didn’t already know where she was by her scent or by her panicked pacing through the room, they certainly knew now.

Alayna pulled her tunic’s sleeves as far down as they could go, though the one on her left arm was practically ripped off and there was glass already in the wounds. f**k, she had dozens of deep, teeth shaped wounds. Doesn’t matter. All that matters was that she had to climb out, right now. She tucked the dagger into a pocket of her pants. It could be useful later, if the creatures climb after her. She didn’t let herself think about how much glass there was on the remaining bit of skylight and pulled herself up.

Climbing out hurt like hell, between her bitten arm, scratches on her side and the shards of glass that cut into her palms Alayna felt like screaming. None of that mattered though, not when those creatures were clawing at the door, trying to get in. Probably having realized their prey is about to escape. She had to keep going. Had to get down from the roof. There wasn’t anywhere to hide here, apart from the broken skylight there were only a couple of inches of crumbling stone. The tower she was in was completely separate from the castle roof. There wasn’t anywhere to go. Sharp wind blew back strands of her dark chestnut hair and she had to crouch and grip the broken skylight edge so she wouldn’t fall.

The door broke, bending Into three pieces as clawed hands and a face with nothing but mouth filled with rows of teeth peeked thru. It looked around the room. Scanned over the glass on the floor and the creature’s mouth curved into a wicked smile as it lifted it’s head to stare at her. Alayna didn’t understand how since it had no eyes but what she did understand was that it was coming for her. And it’s smile made her flinch all the same. Alayna dug her pockets for the dagger, unsure it would do anything against this creature. Her blood froze. There was no way out. She was truly trapped now. She stared over the tower’s edge. There was no other way.

Alayna aimed the dagger’s blade the best she could and hurled it at the emerging creature. It didn’t hit it’s mark as she’d hoped but as it flew hilt first toward the creature’s head, she knew it would buy her a second at least. A second to do this. Alayna grasped an overgrown weed, thick enough to be a rope, and slid down into the mist below. Lowering herself with her burning painful hands, not bothering to slow herself down. If she slowed, it would catch her. Below, thick mist hid whatever would wait at the base of the tower. The air was cool and moist, though the wind wasn’t as bad as on the tower’s roof. She couldn’t feel her hands anymore, didn’t have the energy to run when she got to the ground. She could pass out and sleep forever were it not for the monsters on her heels. If there is ground to begin with. She could find herself in a moat instead just as easily. The details of castle layout were a mystery to the public despite the students being allowed to boast about it’s many wonders. There was no way of knowing what she was heading into.

After what felt like minutes of climbing down the vine her feet thumped on the ground. Thank the Stars, solid ground. She reached her arms in front of her. The mist was so thick she could not see her own hands. If the creatures followed her she would have to listen for them. And be quiet herself. She could use the lack of sight here to her advantage.

She put a palm against the tower’s slick stone. To trace it and hope to find an entrance to the castle or to run straight ahead. Alayna grimaced to herself. Running would certainly be faster but in the mist, she could crash into anything. She could make noise, and if they heard her… Alayna opted for the slower way, the safer way. There was still a chance to run into them but they’d likely be listening for a frantic, panicked girl running in a random direction and bumping into everything on her way. This way, she was harder to spot.

She skittered around the tower, a hand on stone, counting each and every one of her steps. Every time she took a step into the gloomy mist and was met with nothing but empty space, she dared to hope, dared to believe she might make it out. Twenty-three steps before she almost hit a tree. Forty-seven before she stepped on a considerably large piece of glass. Fifty-two before she felt hot air on her face. And knew who it belongs to. The creature’s breath smelled of blood and rotten meat. The mix made Alayna gag even as she watched the mist part to reveal the creature who still had her own dried blood on its lips, dangling the dagger she threw at it. It flashed it's too white teeth at her and Alayna knew just one thing in that moment. It was time to run. And she ran, wherever her tired, hurting legs would take her. It didn’t matter that she didn’t see what’s in front of her. She had to keep moving. Keep running. The monster wasn’t alone. She had better chances outrunning one of them than all.

There was a figure in the distance, right where the mist started to thin. Alayna decided to not take her chances. To run in the opposite direction. She ran and ran and – And she couldn’t move, as if every muscle in her body had been locked into place. The figure approached her, mist retracting behind it. This was it, it was all over. She had no way out of this. No way to counter magic that had her frozen mid run.

Professor Evin’s face came into focus as the mist pulled further back. He stared her down. “I apologize, I did not mean to scare you. I just came to collect a remaining student in this part of the woods. It appears that would be you, congratulations you’ve passed the entrance exam and are officially a student of the Sollalune Academy Of Celestial Arts.” Said the professor, smiling widely. He clapped his hands together and she almost stumbled over herself. Right, she was running earlier. She stared at him for a second. How could he be so unfazed by the fact. Even congratulate her. For what, surviving their crazy test. He doesn’t seem to notice it’s not over yet, with the creatures running lose around them. What a congratulations it will be when they track his babbling straight to them. They needed to run. They needed to get going, now! She found whatever courage she had left after tonight and opened her mouth to tell him just that.

“Come along, we’ll be late to the gathering hall!” the professor shouted, already on his way to the castle. In any other circumstances Alayna might have objected. Demanded some sort of explanation. Maybe even considered asking what kind of magic he used to move so quickly. Right now however, the safety of the castle outweighed her outrage and curiosity both.

So she followed the strange, silver haired professor. She glanced down to check her arm. The shirt was ripped irreparably but there wasn’t so much as a scratch on her skin. Dozens of tooth marks, all gone. It was the same at her side. Rips in fabric but nothing on the skin. Alayna supposed she should be relieved, but she still couldn’t wrap her head around what happened. One moment, she was an inch away from certain death and now she followed a mysterious Mage who offered barely any explanation. Her head throbbed. Tomorrow. She would find the answers she needs tomorrow.

As they neared the lantern filled path to the castle, Alayna noticed something on her healed forearm. Around an empty circle were sharp lines that made up a star, four mane lines and four smaller ones. It reminded her of an empty compass star. Alayna smiled. The tattoo could mean only one thing. She truly passed the test. Soon she

would manifest magic her Magemark showed. Whatever it was the star meant