Bound by Stardust (Starry Kingdoms of the Fae)

Copyright © 2023 by Angela J. Ford Editing & Proofreading: The Fiction Fix Cover: Cover Dungeon Rabbit Case Artwork: Marina Ceban All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Visit angelajford.com for more. Contents 1. Asira 2. Drazhan 3. Asira 4. Drazhan 5. Asira 6. Drazhan 7. Asira 8. Drazhan 9. Asira 10. Drazhan 11. Asira 12. Drazhan 13. Asira 14. Drazhan 15. Asira 16. Drazhan 17. Asira 18. Drazhan 19. Asira 20. Drazhan 21. Asira 22. Drazhan 23. Asira 24. Drazhan 25. Asira 26. Drazhan 27. Asira Author’s Note What to read next Also by Angela J. Ford About the Author 1 Asira Every year on All Hallow’s Eve, stardust fell from the three floating islands, but no one collected the silver and golden motes except for me. Those in the starry kingdom above did not tolerate trespassers, but I’d been gathering stardust for ten years now without incident. I figured others stayed away because of all the bones. Directly beneath the shadow of the largest island, surrounded by encroaching trees, lay a path of darkness. The slim trees bent over like the fingers of a withered hand, reaching but not quite long enough to scrape against the ground. The sight of that sacred land, covered in coal-black dirt and white bone, was enough to create vivid nightmares. Ten years did not dispel the creepiness of the area, and I shivered at the gate, reminded of my first night when I was eighteen. I hadn’t been alone then, like now. Gathering my courage and determination, I swung open the gate and marched inside. Bones crackled under my booted feet, and I flinched, unease creeping up my spine like cold, dead fingers. I placed five buckets in a circle and stepped back, lifting my face to the sky. One. Two. Three. The floating islands appeared like dark blobs in the frosted moonlight, shielding the night’s light from beaming down onto the earth. I hated this place and, not for the first time, I wondered why the Masters in the kingdom above ate so much meat. Did they have to dump the bones here? Why not elsewhere? I’d found chicken bones and cow bones, even goat horns. Who ate goats? There were other bones, bigger and longer, but I tried my best not to look at them, as Grandmother had instructed. Gather the stardust, but don’t look down. Stardust had magical properties, useful for healing a range of ailments. Each year, I gathered it and worked it into the tinctures I made for the people of Terrin. Sure enough, I’d timed my entrance perfectly. Light glittered in the air, extinguishing the darkness, and I drew in a deep breath. The creepiness of the boneyard was worth it for this glory. Stardust rained down around me, glowing brighter like fireflies, except it was all colors: gold, silver, white, even red, a collection of dust filling each bucket. I’d always been curious about the origins of stardust, but my grandmother told me not to question the magic, to just enjoy it. All the same, I had questions. Spreading my arms, I turned around slowly, grinning like a loon. Something wrapped itself around my ankle and yanked. I screamed, and I did the one thing I was never supposed to do. I looked down. Another scream tore at my throat, but I slapped my hands over my mouth to keep it inside. My eyes bugged out of my head as I stared at a hand: a human hand with short nails and dirt underneath them, attached to an arm. I swallowed hard. People whispered tales of bodies coming back to life and the undead springing out of the ground on a night like tonight, an eve where bargains could be made between the living and dead. I followed the arm, which was attached to a shirt covered in that coal black dirt, and I found a body struggling out of the bracken. Long, stringy hair followed, and then a moan. “Help me.” My heart pounded so hard, I thought I’d pass out. I’d woken the undead. Somehow, on a starlit night, the bones had put themselves together and come alive. My gaze darted to the gate, which was far away, and my buckets weren’t even half full. I needed magical remedies to meet my own needs for the coming year, and stardust made all the difference. Instead of running, I had to deal with this problem. “Who are you?” I snapped, fear making me angry. “I warn you, I’m armed.” I wasn’t, but it was the only warning I could think of. The fingers uncurled from around my ankle and burrowed into the dirt. As the moonlight shifted, I made out a man crawling from under bones, covered with leaves and mud. He collapsed onto his back with a groan and lay sprawled out at my feet. As the stardust brushed against his skin, I got a good look. He wasn’t dead, just very dirty, and instantly, my mind raced. This wasn’t magic – this was foul play. His shirt was ripped open, as though he’d been stabbed, but I didn’t see any blood. His clothing hung loosely on him. At first, I thought it was torn, but on closer inspection, it appeared rotted. How long had he been in the boneyard? He was big, too. Long limbs, thick muscle, and his face! He had deep-set eyes, sharp cheekbones, a high forehead, and a trim beard covering his pointed chin. Thick, black hair trailed in a tangle to his waist. I bent to study the side of his head, and sure enough, pointed ears confirmed he was no human. He must be one of the Masters, the beings who lived in the floating kingdom above. They came down