THE LAST STARWEAVER : THE SUNDERING
Chapter 8: The Betrayer
The darkness shifted.
Not the passive darkness of night. Not the empty darkness of the void. A living darkness. A breathing darkness. A darkness that had been waiting for her.
Zephyra stood at the edge of the cliff, her hands still glowing with faint silver light, her heart pounding in her chest. Theron stood beside her, his sword drawn, his gray eyes fixed on the shadows below.
The Hounds were there.
Dozens of them. Hundreds. Their eyes were pits of darkness, their teeth were shards of broken glass, their bodies were made of shadow and smoke.
But they were not the threat.
The threat was behind them.
A figure.
Tall and thin, wrapped in a cloak of darkness, its face hidden in shadow. It walked slowly, deliberately, as if it had all the time in the world.
As if it had been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
“The Betrayer,” Theron whispered.
Zephyra’s blood went cold.
“He’s real?”
“He’s real. He’s been real for a thousand years. He’s been waiting for a thousand years.”
“Waiting for what?”
Theron looked at her.
“For you.”
The Betrayer stopped at the edge of the cliff.
The Hounds parted around him, bowing their heads, whining softly.
He raised his hand.
The shadows parted.
And Zephyra saw his face.
He was young—younger than she had expected, younger than Theron, younger than anyone had a right to be after a thousand years. His hair was black, streaked with silver at the temples. His skin was pale, almost translucent. His eyes were gray—not the warm gray of Theron’s eyes, but the cold gray of a winter sky before a storm.
He was beautiful.
He was terrible.
He was familiar.
“Hello, Starweaver,” he said. His voice was soft, almost gentle. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Zephyra gripped her knife.
“You’re the one who killed the Starweavers.”
“I am the one who saved them.”
“Saved them?”
The Betrayer smiled.
It was not a kind smile.
“The Starweavers were dying. The stars were dying. The world was dying. I opened the door to save them.”
“By letting the darkness in?”
“By giving them what they needed. Power. Eternal power. The power to create. The power to destroy. The power to live forever.”
“They’re dead.”
“They’re not dead. They’re part of the darkness now. Part of the void. Part of me.”
Zephyra stepped forward.
Theron grabbed her arm.
“Don’t.”
“Let me go.”
“He’ll kill you.”
“Let me go.”
Theron released her.
She walked toward the Betrayer.
The Hounds growled.
The Betrayer raised his hand.
They fell silent.
“You’re not afraid of me,” he said.
“I’m terrified.”
“Then why are you walking toward me?”
Zephyra stopped a few feet away.
Her hands were shaking.
“Because I need to understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Why you did it. Why you killed them. Why you betrayed everyone who trusted you.”
The Betrayer was silent for a long moment.
His gray eyes were sad.
“Because I was alone,” he said. “Because I was afraid. Because I wanted to be loved.”
Zephyra stared at him.
“You destroyed the world because you were lonely?”
“I destroyed the world because I was trying to save it. The Starweavers were dying. The stars were dying. The light was fading. I thought I could stop it. I thought I could fix it. I thought I could be a hero.”
“And instead?”
The Betrayer looked at the sky.
At the gray, empty, hungry sky.
“Instead, I became the villain.”
Theron stepped forward.
His sword was raised.
“You killed her. You killed Seraphina. You held her in your arms and watched the light leave her eyes.”
The Betrayer looked at him.
“I did.”
“Why?”
The Betrayer’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because she asked me to.”
Zephyra’s heart stopped.
“What?”
“Seraphina was dying. The darkness was consuming her. She asked me to end her suffering. She asked me to set her free.”
“Liar,” Theron spat.
The Betrayer shook his head.
“I have no reason to lie. Not anymore. The truth is all I have left.”
Theron lunged.
His sword blazed with pale light.
The Betrayer raised his hand.
Shadow exploded from his palm.
It struck Theron in the chest, throwing him backward. He hit the ground hard, his sword flying from his hand, his body limp.
“No!” Zephyra screamed.
She ran to Theron.
He was alive.
Barely.
His eyes were open, but they were glassy, unfocused.
“Run,” he whispered.
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Run.”
The Betrayer walked toward them.
His footsteps were silent.
“You have the heart of the Broken Star,” he said. “You have the power of the Starweavers. You have the hope of the world.”
Zephyra stood.
She faced him.
“And I have you.”
The Betrayer smiled.
It was a real smile, warm and bright and full of love.
“Yes,” he said. “You do.”
He reached out.
His hand was cold.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Zephyra. I’m going to help you.”
“Why?”
“Because I have been waiting for you for a thousand years. Because you are the only one who can finish what I started. Because you are the only one who can close the door.”
“You want me to close the door?”
“I want you to save the world. The same thing I wanted. The same thing Seraphina wanted. The same thing the Starweavers wanted.”
“Then why did you open it?”
The Betrayer looked at the sky.
At the gray, empty, hungry sky.
“Because I thought I could control it. I was wrong.”
He knelt.
The Hounds whimpered.
The shadows stilled.
“I will not fight you, Starweaver. I will not stop you. I will not hinder you. I will help you. However I can.”
“Even if it means your death?”
The Betrayer smiled.
It was a sad smile, small and tired and full of years.
“Especially if it means my death.”