Chapter 8 The Echoes Of A Fallen Star!!!

Author’s Point Of View :

"You're home."

Orion whispered into his hair.

"The house has been far too quiet, Astra. Don't stay away that long ever again."

Astraeus leaned into the familiar strength of his brother, the scent of expensive cedar and home acting like a balm to his frayed nerves.

"I’m home, Big Brother."

Orion pulled back, cupping Astraeus’s face to inspect him. He noticed the lingering sadness and the exhaustion in his brother's hazel eyes.

"You’ve grown thinner. Lyra has been in the kitchen since dawn making everything you love. She won't let you leave the table until you’ve regained every pound you lost in Country A."

" UNCLE ASTRA! UNCLE ASTRA!"

The moment of quiet was broken by a streak of light. Tiny Artemis came flying down the stairs, her curls bouncing. She didn't care about the heavy atmosphere or the somber reunion. She only cared that her favorite person was back.

Astraeus caught her as she launched herself at his knees, lifting her into his arms. For the first time that day, a genuine, warm smile broke across his face.

"Hey there, little moon. Have you been behaving for your mom and dad?"

"No!"

Artemis giggled, hugging his neck tightly.

"I waited for you!"

Lyra walked down the remaining steps, her eyes misty as she watched the three of them. She stepped forward and pressed a warm kiss to Astraeus’s cheek.

"Welcome back, Astra. The Villa is finally complete again."

Orion wrapped an arm around Astraeus’s shoulder, guiding him and Artemis toward the open doors.

"Come. Let's get inside. The sun is setting, and you've spent enough time in the shadows today."

As they crossed the threshold, the warmth of the foyer enveloped them. Astraeus felt the weight of the "Empyrean" name settle back onto his shoulders but not as a burden, but as a shield. He was back in the palace his parents built, surrounded by the family Orion had fought so hard to keep together.

.....

The Empyrean Villa was a masterpiece of architectural grace, a fortress of ivory stone and tempered glass designed to keep the world out and the family safe. But no walls, no matter how thick or gilded, could keep out the demons that lived inside the mind of Astraeus Empyrean.

Outside, a storm was brewing, the wind whispering through the willow trees like the ghosts of the past. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of expensive white lilies and old secrets. In the master wing, Orion and Lyra were just settling into a restless sleep, but in the east wing, which is Astra’s wing, the silence was about to be torn apart.

Astraeus was thrashing around in the bed. His silk sheets, once cool and inviting, were now a tangled web, binding his legs. Those legs that had only just learned to walk again. His skin was slick with a cold, feverish sweat, and his breath came in jagged, shallow hitches. He wasn't in his bed anymore. In his mind, he was standing in a courtroom made of shadow and bone.

......

In The Nightmare Realm :

The light in the dream was sickly, a pale, bruising red that reminded him of the blood he had seen on the white Lily he had plucked before the world ended. The people he loved most stood in a semicircle around him, their faces elongated and ghoulish, their eyes glowing with a cold, predatory light.

Lyra stepped forward first. Her usual warmth was gone, replaced by a jagged, sharp-edged fury.

"Look at you."

She hissed, her voice echoing as if from the bottom of a well.

"The 'Angel' of the house. Do you know what they call an angel that brings nothing but death? A bad omen, Astra. You are a curse. You killed your father. You killed your mother. And now, you’ve fed my brother to the shadows. My brother Shiloh is rotting in a hospital bed because he made the mistake of loving a monster like you."

"No, Lyra. Please…"

Astraeus whimpered, his voice sounding small and childlike.

"I love him. I would never hurt him."

"Then why is he dying while you are still alive?"

She shrieked, the sound vibrating in his skull.

"You snatched him from me! You snatched my sunshine!"

Then came Orion. His brother loomed over him like a dark titan, his face a mask of absolute disgust.

"I spent my life being your shield, Astra. I jumped into the freezing water to save a boy who didn't deserve to breathe. If I had known you would grow up to destroy everything I built, I would have let the pond take you."

The words felt like physical stabs. Astraeus clutched his chest.

"Big brother, don't say that. Please..."

"Don't call me that!"

Orion roared, the sound shaking the very foundations of the dream world.

"I am ashamed to share your blood. You are a Black spot in the name of Empyrean. You are a murderer masquerading as a victim. Leave this house. You don't deserve to be a part of this family."

Astraeus turned to his best friend Zephyr, his hands reaching out.

"Zephyr, tell them. Tell them it was an accident..."

But his hopes came crashing when Zephyr looked at him with a gaze so cold it turned Astra’s blood to ice.

"Why should I lie to everyone for you? You’re selfish, Astra. You’ve always been selfish. Your parents died because you wanted to dance. You wanted to perform. Your stubbornness took their lives, and your carelessness broke Shiloh. I regret the day I met you. I feel ashamed for every moment I spent being your friend."

Even the smallest voice joined the chorus. Little Artemis, the child who usually followed him like a shadow, backed away in terror.

"Stay away, Uncle Astra! You're a bad person. You hurt my Sunshine. You'll hurt me, too. I hate you! I hate you very much!"

The accusations swirled around him like a hurricane of glass, cutting into his skin, his soul, his sanity.

"I didn't do it! I didn't do it!"

Astraeus screamed repeatedly like a mad man, but the voices only grew louder, chanting one word over and over which was Murderer.

“ Murderer. Murderer. Murderer.”

Those words felt like deep stabs of knife at Astraeus’ heart which made him shut his eyes tight and cover his both ears with his hands before he let out a scream of pain and agony.

"NOOOOOOOO!"

Astraeus bolted upright, a guttural, soul-shredding scream tearing from his throat. The sound echoed through the high ceilings of the villa, a jagged blade of sound that cut through the night.

In the master suite, Orion’s eyes snapped open. He didn't need to be told. He knew that scream. It was the same sound from the forest fifteen years ago. He was out of bed before Lyra could even gasp, sprinting down the hallway with a speed born of desperation.

He burst into Astra’s room to find the boy thrashing around in the bed in frenzy, his eyes wide filled with tears but unseeing, his hands clawing at his own chest as if trying to rip out his heart.