When Stars Come Out (When Stars Come Out 1)

r /> “I came to find you,” he says. “I heard you haven’t had a very good day.”

“That’s an understatement.”

He smiles a little. “Maybe I can make it better?”

“Unless you can get me home without an army of Shadow Knights noticing, you can’t.”

He shrugs one shoulder. “I can’t promise anything. Fucking Valryn are everywhere—in raven form and in human form...but I’m willing to try.”

“Really?”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” he says. “We can’t leave now anyway. We’ll have to wait until after the vigil starts, when people are a little more distracted.”

I can wait if it means getting to go home tonight.

***

I arrive to the vigil with Thane around seven thirty, and as the sun sets, a sea of candlelight erupts in the dark. There are people everywhere, living and dead, on the field, on the track and in the stands. This vigil goes beyond Nacoma Knight and Lily, it goes to Rayon High and Jake. It extends to the community.

I did this, I think, as Thane and I find an open spot to stand. I’m a goddess of chaos.

Thane nudges me with his shoulder. “I know what you’re thinking. Stop.”

“You can’t know,” I say.

“This isn’t your fault.”

I don’t argue with him. No matter what Thane says, I’ll always feel responsible. The sight of black birds flying overhead catches my attention. They land on the light poles and the stadium.

Shadow Knights.

“They’re here to pay their respects just as much as they’re here to watch you,” Thane says.

I know that, and their presence has me searching the crowd for Shy. I haven’t seen him since lunch. I spot him surrounded by several students. He’s dressed in a Nacoma Knight hoodie and jeans. His head is bowed and his blond hair falls into his eyes. I think about how his features change when he shifts into Valryn form—how his hair turns to silver and makes his eyes look bluer. How fit he looks in that black suit.

He rolls his shoulders and then his neck and I get the feeling he’s trying to shake the feel of me watching him.

Natalie stands nearby, ever in his shadow. A few weeks ago, I might have assumed it was because she liked him. Now, I know differently. It’s Natalie who meets my gaze first—fierce and indignant. She turns her head to Shy and whispers something in his ear. Whatever it is, it makes him look up.

His stare hurts my heart. Even at this distance, I can tell his eyes are red and glistening. The reality is, he’s been reliving Lily’s death every day since it happened, and it’s all because of me. Tonight’s just another repackaging.

He has to be sick of me.

I look away and hold my candle to Thane. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

He nods, taking the candle. Once I’m off the field and behind the stadium, a hand clamps down on my shoulder. I reach for it and twist, coming face to face with a man I’ve never seen. Judging by the hard set of his jaw, he’s a guard.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” I say and shove him off. “Are you going to follow me?”

The answer is yes.

Except when I get to the restrooms behind the stadium, there’s an out-of-order sign posted on the women’s door. I turn to look at the guard, who raises a brow and glances at the men’s.

“I’m not going in there,” I say, and stalk toward Emerson. The Knight remains behind me, silent. I don’t like having him at my back, something about it feels wrong. Then I see red eyes ignite in the dark—my Hellhounds are here, and their low growl causes me to slow. When I turn, the Shadow Knight attacks, striking me across the face. I stumble and he draws his scythe just as one of my Hounds rushes forward, vaulting over my head.

The Knight shoves his scythe into the dog’s eye. It yelps, the sound freezes my blood. I can feel my other four hounds fall into formation behind me. I’ve come to sense their presence just as I sense Shy’s.

“Stop!” I yell as the Knight continues to stab my Hound until it no longer moves. The Knight straightens, breathing hard, and my other hounds let out a chorus of growls, the blood of their brother covering his weapon and hands.