Fairy Tale: The Rising Star

Chapter 28: Breakthrough

Joseph MacRae was in bed, lying on his back, staring in the direction of a ceiling he could not see. It was an ungodly hour of the morning, yet he had never fallen asleep. He tossed to his right and pulled the covers with him. His pillow felt lumpy against his cheek, so he fluffed it a bit and collapsed back down on it.

He gave sleep another chance to conquer the chaos in his mind. It was working . . . but then. . .

Squeak, squeak, squeak.

Was there a brush against one of his exposed ankles? He tried to ignore it. He was so tired. And tired of being tired.

Squeak, squeak, squeak. 

His legs twitched and recoiled as he rolled to the center of the bed.

"No, that's mine."

Joe's eyes opened and a sigh flared out of his nose.

Ursa was mumbling in her sleep again. Over the last few hours, he had also heard, "Give that back . . . It's mine . . . I didn't do it . . . it's her fault," and all sorts of other "regressive" phrases. Her babyish chatter was amusing at first, but presently, he wished he had spent the night in his own chamber.

It wasn't even Ursa's sleep-talking that bothered him most. Out of all the available rooms in the castle, Ursa picked Cassie's to inhabit after she received her promotion. He was currently tossing and turning in the exact same bed where Cassie used to sleep . . . without him. Maybe it was a scent, a mood, an essence . . . or maybe his damn mind didn't want to quit bludgeoning him. Whatever it was, he couldn't subdue the raging obsession. She was beyond his reach. Always was and would forever be.

He didn't love her or miss her anymore. That was a thing of the past. He had to think of Cassie constantly. It was a matter of survival. She was linked to two of the three tasks Andromeda had requested of him. He was out of the dungeon. This was his final chance to be of value to anyone. Never before had his life been contingent on finding the right answers.

Tutoring Procyon and introducing magic to him was the easiest of Joe's tasks only because it was the most subjective. Magic was not something he could learn overnight. Andromeda, if she were at all reasonable—though that was far from a guarantee—ought to appreciate that. With smooth talking, he could possibly make small strides seem like mediocre ones. But so far, Joe hadn't made any progress. He liked to believe he was good with children, but Procyon was a little terror ever since his mother had died. And Ursa was such a lousy replacement for Lyra. Joe would take the fall, though, because no matter what, he was the wingless imbecile with "unworthy" blood in his veins.

"I want it!" Ursa whined just as Joe was slipping into a more restful state.

He lurched to a sitting position and lit a lantern. In doing so, he roused Ursa from her dream, something he wasn't exactly trying to avoid.

She squinted and tried to block the light from her eyes with her hand. "Morning already?" she inquired caustically.

Joe swiveled to the edge of the bed and grabbed his clothes from the floor. "No, I can't sleep. I'm going for a walk."

"Why don't you stay? I'll make it worth your while."

She stripped off the covers and posed on her side with her hand supporting her head. Beneath the shroud and shimmer of her silvery wings at rest, she was otherwise in the nude. But Joe did little more than glance over his shoulder. His impending execution was too much of a mood killer.

As Ursa began stroking his bare back, Joe threw on his shirt. "Not now. I have a lot on my mind."

"What is it this time?" It was evident from her tone that she didn't really care to know. She wanted pleasure, not pain, and probably wished he was someone else, or who he was before Cassie's miserable tendrils infiltrated his psyche like a cancer.