The Star Bound-Thief Tome 1: The Outcast alliance

The Solarium Diamond did not want to be stolen. It sat on a velvet cushion inside the glass case, pulsing with a low, rhythmic heartbeat that Nia could feel right through her leather boots. She is disguised in an elegant, dark emerald-green silk gala gown with a low back, but she wears hidden leather climbing straps underneath. The solarium Diamond was the size of a fist, radiating the warm, golden light of the Leo constellation. To the high-born nobles dancing in the ballroom below, it was a pretty decoration. To Nia, it was worth three years of food for the entire outer district. She balanced on the iron rafters of the Great Hall, her fingers dusted with chalk to keep from slipping. Down below, the Crown Prince’s Ascension Ceremony was reaching its peak. "Look at him," a voice whispered in her ear. It was Toby, communicating through the cracked communication crystal pressed into her ear. He was stationed two rooftops over, acting as her eyes. "Prince Cassian looks like he’s about to faint from the sheer weight of his own ego." Nia glanced down through the gaps in the rafters. Prince Cassian stood on the golden dais, wrapped in ceremonial white silks. His dark hair was combed back, and his jaw was set in a rigid, perfect line. He was eighteen today, the age when the stars finally locked a high-born's magic into place. Around him, the Royal Astrologers chanted in a dead language, holding mirrors up to the glass ceiling to catch the light of the Phoenix constellation. "Let him enjoy his night," Nia whispered back, unlocking her toolkit. "Because I'm taking his family's favorite rock." Nia was Void-Born. She had no constellation, no glowing mark on her skin, and no legal right to exist inside the city walls. To the kingdom of Solaria, she was a ghost. But being a ghost had its perks. She had spent years learning how to blend into the shadows, moving so quietly that people swore she could turn invisible. She lowered a thin silver wire through the rafters, targeting the glass case. The security wards on the diamond were tied to starlight sensors. If the ambient light changed, the alarms would scream. Crunch. A sudden blast of cold wind hit the glass ceiling above. The chanting below stopped instantly. Nia froze, her wire hanging just inches above the diamond. The sky above the glass roof didn't look right. The stars weren't just shining; they were bleeding. The crimson light of the Phoenix constellation was swirling into a violent vortex, turning the night sky the color of fresh rust. "Nia, get out of there," Toby’s voice crackled, suddenly sharp with panic. "Something is wrong with the ritual. The stellar grid is collapsing!" Below, Prince Cassian fell to his knees. The white silks on his back began to smoke. A terrifying, blinding beam of crimson starlight shattered the center glass pane of the ceiling, shooting straight down like a spear. It didn't hit the Prince. It hit the Solarium Diamond right beneath Nia. The shockwave blasted upward. The iron rafter Nia was standing on snapped like a toothpick. She screamed as she fell through the air, plunging straight toward the exploding vortex of light. She didn't hit the ground. Instead, she collided with Prince Cassian as he charged forward to save his family's relic. The moment Nia’s hand slammed against Cassian’s chest, the world went completely silent. The crimson fire didn't burn her. It felt like an icy wave of electricity rushing through her veins, tearing open doors in her mind she didn't know existed. She saw a flash of Cassian’s memories: a lonely boy crying in a golden library, the crushing weight of a crown, the fear of failing his father. Cassian gasped, his eyes flying wide. His irises, usually dark brown, were glowing with a terrifying cosmic fire. He stared at Nia, not with anger, but with absolute shock. "You," he choked out. Then, the magic snapped. A blinding dome of light exploded outward, shattering every window in the Great Hall. The force threw Nia backward across the marble floor. She scrambled to her feet, her lungs burning, her head spinning. The ballroom was in chaos. Nobles were screaming, running for the exits in the dark. The Phoenix light was gone from the sky. Nia looked down at the dais. Prince Cassian was lying motionless on the floor, his skin pale, the glowing marks on his arms completely dark. He was alive, but his magic was gone. Then she looked at her own hands. Underneath her skin, golden and crimson veins of pure starlight were pulsing frantically. The magic wasn't gone. It was inside her. "Intruder!" a guard roared from the shadows, pointing a spear at her. "On the dais!" Nia didn't think. She turned and sprinted into the smoking ruins of the gardens, her chest, burning with the stolen soul of a prince.