Scavenge the Stars (Scavenge the Stars #1)(76)

Cayo closed his eyes and leaned his head back. The rain washed over him, and he longed for it to strip away his doubts and shame, to leave him with a new skin that only knew the touch of Yamaa’s.

Her words blazed within him like a brand.

You have to stop them. Even if you love them. Even if it means they’d die.

Cayo had been sitting in his indecision for too long. Love and loyalty had restrained him, kept him from doing what had to be done. But no longer. He had to be someone as strong as Yamaa thought he could be—someone just as resolute as she was, made of salt water and steel.

He had the means to put a stop to this, to drag the truth into the light and do something good, for once. Something that could actually benefit others.

He had to turn his father in.

Opening his eyes, Cayo barely felt the tear on his cheek before that, too, was washed away.



He walked all the way home. As he crossed the threshold, sodden and shivering, Narin exclaimed his dismay.

“My lord, you’ll catch sick! Let me draw you a warm bath and bring you some tea.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have time for that,” Cayo said. “Can you tell the driver to bring the carriage around?”

The footman hesitated, his eyes pinched. “I’m sorry to say that your father dismissed the driver yesterday, my lord.”

“What?” Cayo rubbed his hands against his face, his shoulders tightening with stress. “Then can you please find a carriage to take me to the Business Sector?”

“In this weather, my lord? Surely it can wait—”

“It can’t,” he snapped before he could rein it in. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to find the calm that Yamaa had instilled in him. “I’m sorry, Narin, but I must go immediately.”

The footman gave a small bow, his eyebrows furrowed in worry. “I’ll see it done.”

Cayo bounded up the stairs, his heart climbing into his throat. The walls of the manor seemed to press against him, as if it wanted to trap him here, prevent him from doing what had to be done. As he peeled off his soaked clothes and put on a fresh, dry outfit, his stomach churned the way it did when he knew he was on the losing side of a game. That dreadful anticipation sank fangs into his gut, clawing at his ribs and hips.

He held on to the side of his dresser and bowed his head, his hair still dripping water onto the floor. He focused on breathing, on calming the anxious monster curled up within him.

Kamon believed his son was the sole cause for the gradual decline of their family, that his time in the Vice Sector had put them all at risk. Perhaps Cayo had had a hand in this, but he hadn’t been the one to put flame to the pyre, to see everything Kamon had worked for go up in smoke and ash.

Cayo could still save himself and Soria from that pyre.

He went to his sister’s room and found her reading in bed. She looked sleepy, likely from the weather and her spirited conversation with the countess that morning. When she saw him, she smiled and put the book down.

“Did you and the countess go for a walk?” she demanded. “What happened? Tell me everything.”

Cayo’s heart gave a hard, mournful thump, and he wished he could simply sit and gossip with Soria like they used to. Swallowing, he sat in the chair beside her bed and clasped his hands between his knees.

“We talked about stories,” he said quietly, over the gentle patter of rain on the window. “A bit of the past, and a bit of the future.”

“Are you going to marry her?”

Cayo shook himself in surprise. “What?”

“It seems the sort of thing Father would want. Especially after…” Soria averted her eyes in shame, likely remembering Gen Hizon and how her illness had ruined their engagement. “And besides, she seems fairly well off.”

“That would be an understatement,” he murmured. “I…I don’t know.”

Even as he said it, he knew it couldn’t be. Not only would their lives be changed once he revealed the truth about their father, but the Slum King would kill him in an instant if he married Yamaa instead of Romara.

“I think she enjoys your company,” Soria said with a teasing grin.

Normally, he would have been pleased to hear it, but instead he just nodded, feeling the ghost of Yamaa’s lips on his.

Soria frowned at his solemn demeanor. “Is something the matter?”

He shook his head. “No. Or at least, not for much longer.”

“You’re acting strange.” Soria noticed his outfit. “You’re dressed to go out again? It’s getting late. And Father said he’ll be home tonight so the three of us can have dinner together.”

Cayo closed his eyes tight, clenching his jaw.

You have to stop them. Even if you love them.

“Cayo?”

He looked at his sister, wanting to tear apart the world and remake it for her, a world where she was healthy and happy and nothing bad could ever touch her.

Reaching for the handkerchief on her bedside table, he dabbed at the sweat lining her brow, then kissed her forehead.

“It can’t go on this way,” he whispered. “But no matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”

She called his name when he turned to leave, then dissolved into a coughing fit. Cayo gritted his teeth and hurried out of her room, down the hall, to his bedroom. Throwing open the closet, he stared at the chest, panting for breath and delirious with purpose. When he grabbed it, the discs inside rattled like bones.