When Stars Come Out (When Stars Come Out 1)

I shift my footing, unsure of what Elite Cain is asking, but also aware that sweat has started to bead on my forehead. They won’t miss it.

“I don’t know what you mean, Elite.”

“Did it appear Shadow Knight Martin’s suicide was assisted?” He asks without pause.

Assisted? Is he asking if I believe someone pushed her?

“I couldn’t say,” I answer, because I can’t. I have no idea, no evidence.

There is silence.

Then Elite Val asks, “Shadow Knight Savior, do you have a theory as to what happened to Miss Martin?”

I meet his gaze and his dark eyes seem to soften.

“I do.”

“Would you share it?” He poses the question as a request, though I know I don’t have the option to refuse.

“Lily died in the same manner as Vera Bennet, a resident soul who wandered Nacoma Knight until a week ago when she disappeared.”

“Are you suggesting souls were exchanged here, Shadow Knight?” Elite Ezekiel asks.

Exchanges are exactly what they sound like—a person’s original soul is exchanged for another. They are also illegal and just as bad as resurrections. Both can cause fractures in the soul, which result in unpredictable behavior in the human experiencing the Exchange.

They can also only be performed using resurrection coins—coins only the Eurydice can make. I continue, “There are several consistencies in the manner of death, from the location to the...injuries.”

I wince, thinking about the tear at Lily’s throat, the blood that dripped to the concrete below her feet.

“These injuries you name as evidence are more than likely consistent with the manner of death,” Elite Abrams argues. “It’s hardly evidence souls were exchanged.”

“Isn’t it possible Shadow Knight Martin saw the opportunity to end her shame? Was she not recently placed on probation for inappropriate relations with a human boy?” Ezekiel asks.

Man, I reall

y don’t like him.

“Lily would never kill herself, and as for the injuries sustained—”

“Shadow Knight Savior.” It’s my father who interrupts me. I meet his gaze, where quiet anger simmers. “You do not have to continue to describe your friend’s death.”

“Commander Bastian, were you invited to speak?” Elite Cain asks.

“With all due respect, Elite, I do not have to be invited to speak with my son.”

A cold tension settles upon the room, making bumps rise on my skin, and the sweat on my face dry. Dad’s trying to take up for me and if Lily’s death wasn’t in danger of being labeled a true suicide, I might take his out, but I can’t let anyone think what happened here is because she was ashamed.

“I’m very familiar with the Vera Bennet case,” I try again. “The injuries sustained are the same, including cuts to her wrists. An Exchange isn’t far-fetched, given that we believe the Eurydice has incarnated. It should have been your first theory.”

There is silence, and then Elite Cain speaks.

“Thank you, Shadow Knight,” Elite Cain says. “Until further notice, you are excused from patrol at Nacoma Knight Academy and all other duties as assigned.”

“What?” Roth warned me this would happen.

“This is not punishment, Shadow Knight. Think of it as a courtesy, generously granted by your superiors. It will give you time to grieve.”

“I don't need time to grieve,” I argue. I don’t buy their this-isn’t-punishment excuse. “I need time to figure out who did this to Lily.”