Chapter 12

"Here we are." Eridia runs her jaw as the ship makes a landing on a smaller planet. " Eprya. "

Cain gasps audibly behind me. "I've never been to the Celestial home."

" There's a reason for that. " Centauri looks over, amused. Her mood gets lighter the close she gets to home while Eridia gets more nervous by the passing moment. Once we land, several guards greet us with spears drawn.

A tall Celestial man, this one with navy blue skin and the same diamond blue eyes as Centauri, stands with his hands clasped behind his back. He lights up at the sight of Cenaturi and his wings furl behind him.

"Thaili!" Centauri runs to embrace him tightly and he give into the display of affection.

"Father is waiting, he wants to hear of your trip!" Thaili steps out of the hug and looks past his younger sister to us. "You've brought quite a few allies."

With a nod from Centauri, he leads us inside the ruins of the valiant castle. As we walk, their people gather on the sides of the streets looking on with tired, hopeless looks. All of the despair and destruction tells a tale far worse than I had imagined. Once inside the castle, another man awaits to greet his children. Thaili and Centauri both touch foreheads with him and turn to the party gathered awkwardly behind them. The man's eyes travel over all of us and land on Eridia.

"Old friend, where have you been?" He beckons her forward.

She moves past us all and drops to a knee respectfully, "Imprisoned for my deeds, Alpha Thakur."

He laughs suddenly, a loud and sharp sound. "There is no Alpha here! It was taken from us by a fool!"

"That is why we have come sire." Eridia stands and wrings her hands. "We can stand a chance against a common enemy but we're going to need help."

"No." He snaps.

"Father." Thaili rubs the bridge of his nose. "We believe we can restore the Order of the Acrux."

Thakur narrows his eyes at the crowd. "We have had enough taken from us! Too many lives lost over power and for what? We live in ruins, Celestials that once were guides of the heavens are now the animals to the beasts!"

Beside me, Cain shifts from foot to foot restlessly and throws me a helpless look. I find the same look on Centauri's and Eridia's faces.

"The answer is no! It will stay no till I am dead and gone-" he looks to his children, "I will not have either of you running into pointless battles. Let Yex ridicule us! I will not lose my children too!"

"Alright." Centauri touches her father's arm to calm him. "It's going to be a long way for them father, let them stay."

Thakur's blazing eyes cross over us again. "Fine, but the moment the second moon sets I want them moving on. They could endanger our people."

"They hear you." Thaili nods and watches his father walk away with Centauri.

"I know the ways to the dwellings." Eridia Looks up to Thaili who nods absentmindedly. The group moves on and I with them until I hear him call my name.

"Walk with me," He turns for a left corridor and moves so swiftly I nearly have to jog to keep up. Once we reach a massive library, he stops and enters it. "I have faith that you will make the right decisions in your journey." He stops at a lectern and opens a large fabric bound book.

"Why is that." I peer over to see the scrawling writing in the book and symbols etched in the thick papers.

"Because we rely on you and your," he waves his hand, looking for the word. "Troupe."

"What if your father is right. This is really a pointless way to die?"

"My father had given up the moment Naoki Yex had exile him under the circumstances of unfair rule. Celestial have ruled Thule and the surrounding dependencies since the beginning of times, to have it all taken away so easily was crushing." Thaili lays a hand on the book, over the symbol of pluto and looks up at me, "now we have had so many die under the hands of Alnilam the Fearsome and the beasts he had tricked into fury. My mother died fighting for us."

I nod weakly and lean against the rickety table behind me. "I've heard of this, yeah."

"Then you know." He closes the book and takes a moment to stare at it before sighing. "Come, you have a long while ahead of you. Might as well try and sleep while you still can."