When Stars Come Out (When Stars Come Out 1)

“You’ve all been briefed on tonight’s events, along with the disappearance of soul, Vera Bennett and the deaths of Chase Lockwood and Lily Martin for which the Eurydice is responsible,” he says. I have the urge to protest—just what exactly have they been told? But I bite my tongue—I’ll have my chance...I hope. “It is my opinion that Anora Silby is a danger to herself and others.”

I set my teeth so hard, my jaw hurts and my hands, resting on the arms of the too-large chair, clench, even the one caught in the claw.

“And what evidence have you to present, Luminary?” The Elite sitting closest to me asks.

Yes, what evidence? I want to hear it, too.

“You already know the story, Elite Cain,” says another Valryn. “Chase Lockwood’s soul was stolen right from his body—we have proof of that. Is that not evidence enough?”

“It is a start, Elite Ezekiel,” says Elite Cain. “But overall, proves nothing.”

“Eurydice,” says a white-haired woman named Gwen. “Did you know Shadow Knight Lockwood?”

“My name is Anora.”

“Actually, your name is Lyra, isn’t it?” Elite Cain asks, pressing something on the screen in front of him. A hologram pops up at the center of the table, projecting from a tiny box. There, a photo from my previous school appears. “You started going by your middle name when you moved here. Is that because you were on the run, Eurydice?”

“I started going by my middle name for anonymity,” I say, trying to keep my voice as even as possible. It's hard not to betray how angry I am, how hostile I wish to be, with Roth's gaze searing into me. “There were a lot of rumors I was involved in Chase's death at my school. Mom didn't want that to follow me here.”

I emphasize Mom. I want these people to know I have someone waiting for me at home.

“Would those rumors happen to have any truth, Eurydice?”

“You tell me what the evidence says.”

The Elites around the table exchange glances. I can guess a few words they might use to describe me: know-it-all, stubborn, entitled, but I don't care. I wasn't born in their world, I was forced into it, and Chase Lockwood started the whole thing.

“This is what makes her dangerous!” Elite Ezekiel exclaims. “It's possible more have died by her hand and we have no way of knowing! She should be kept under constant supervision, the thread contained!”

My heart seizes. Contained? Do they mean to make me wear this claw forever? They can’t!

“At what cost?” Another Elite, Abrams, says. “Charon has already dissolved the Gates. He has Hellhounds pacing outside our walls. His orders are clear: we support the Eurydice, we do not imprison her.”

“Someone has to think about the souls!” Elite Ezekiel argues. “Charon won't summon the Gates for one hundred and fifty dead in a plane crash, and this girl has taken life!”

“That has yet to be proven,” Elite Cain reminds them.

Suddenly, all eyes are on me again.

“Eurydice,” Elite Gwen says. “If Shadow Knight Lockwood attacked you, we need to hear it.”

I recognize this tactic, know she is playing good cop and yet I cave, swearing to God or Charon or whoever in the hell is responsible for life on Earth, that I will never tell this story again.

I begin the same way I began when I told Shy and the others, except I use more details. Use the words he used to lead me into his snare—beautiful and toxic and breathtaking. I tell of warm kisses and heated touches that spun m

e in silk. I tell of the cold press of his blade that drew blood and tarnished his web forever.

“I used the only weapon I had,” I say. “The thread.”

There is silence for a very long time, and then Elite Cain speaks. “In the matter of Chase Lockwood death, does the Order find the Eurydice at fault?”

Everyone raises their hand, and my stomach falls straight to my toes.

Elite Cain says. “As far as I'm concerned, the Eurydice killed Chase Lockwood in self-defense. Her actions, while dangerous, were appropriate, and she used the only weapon she had against a fully trained Shadow Knight. All in agreement of this statement...”

A little over half the Order raises their hand.

“With respect, Elite Cain,” says Roth. “Chase Lockwood was a Shadow Knight who had authority to bring her in.”