Cover, made by the lovely arctheuid!

Valentine's day ship art!

Oops, I also forgot about this one, since it was just a quick Valentine's day sketch. Ferian is probably my favourite ship in my entire novel. <3 That or Zasak, of course!

~Starseeker 

Also, is Stella Quaesitor your pen name? (or, I suppose, your real name, but you probably wouldn't post it if so)

This Dark Night is a great title! It's taking me some getting used to, though, since I've been thinking about it as Take Wing ever since I started reading. :) 

Here's the sequel short story... <3

~~~

“Hey, honey?” Jasak calls, poking his head in from our front living room. I turn and smile at him, bouncing Everie higher on my hip.

“Yeah, what’s up?” I ask.

“Is that putty stuff Ster gave you nontoxic?” he asks. “Cause I think Analiese ate some.”

I sigh, rolling my eyes up to the ceiling. “Yep, it’s nontoxic. I checked before I opened the packaging, because, as you well know, Analiese eats everything.”

“Yeah, is that normal?” Jasak asks, coming forward and taking Everie off my hip. She gurgles happily at him and tugs on his wedding band. He looks down at her and his eyes soften, filling with love at the sight of our child. “She eats a lot more than what the doctors told us a three-year-old would.”

“I think it’s normal,” I say gently, patting his arm and pushing past him and into our front room. The sun shines through the windows and illuminates Analiese sitting on the floor, legs spread and happily playing with bright orange putty. She turns to look at me, and I laugh. I can’t tell if there’s more putty on her hands or on her mouth.

“Mommy!” she squeals, pushing herself to her feet and toddling towards me.

“Heya, sweetheart,” I say with a smile, reaching down and swinging her off the floor. She giggles in the way only a three-year-old can, grabbing ahold of my hand as soon as I set her back down. She tugs me towards her putty creation and gestures proudly.

“Look, Mommy! I made a birb!”

“I love your bird,” I say gently, joining her on the floor and cupping her putty “bird” in my hands. I blow on it, gently, and the shape stretches its wings and chirps. Analiese giggles and reaches up as the putty bird flaps into the air and makes a circle around her head, then settles back into my palms, a motionless putty lump once more.

“Again! Again!” she squeals, and Everie coos from Jasak’s arms.

“No, not again,” Jasak says, coming forward and kneeling besides us. “Mommy’s tired.”

Then he turns to me and frowns. “Maylene said you weren’t supposed to do much magic,” he chides me gently, tapping my nose with one finger. “We don’t want you tired out with another kiddo on the way.”

“I’m fine,” I say back, smiling. Since the Eagles disbanded, Jasak’s been turning his protective instincts onto me and our children. He’s more worried about my health than I am-- checking with Maylene and her associates about everything unusual, reading up on everything he can find on Elite anatomy, checking and double-checking my symptoms and pains.

“Really, Jasak,” I say, standing up and brushing off my hands. “Everything’s good.

Analiese chooses this moment to interrupt. “Mommy, tell me a story!” she says, grabbing onto my leg and looking up at me with her wide blue eyes. She inherited my eyes and skin, but the hair and dimples are all Jasak. I pry her from my leg and go over to the couch, sitting myself down and stretching out my feet. Jasak sits beside me, placing Everie safely in the curve of my knees. Analiese bounces up and sits in my lap, her warm hair tickling my nose.

“Which one should I tell?” I ask her.

“The sea dragon!” she trills happily. I exchange a look with Jasak. I’ve told parts of my life story to the kids as bedtime tales, and how I was rescued by a sea dragon is one of Analiese’s favorites.

“But you’ve heard that one so many times,” I chide her. “Like, every night I tell that one to you. Doesn’t it get old?”

“Nope!” she chirps.

I grin at Jasak and launch into my story. When I’m done, Analiese pouts and folds her little arms.

“What’s wrong, bugaboo?” Jasak asks her, reaching forward to tickle her soft stomach. But Analiese squirms away from him and looks at me.

“That’s not how it ends,” she says, lips bowing into a frown.

I look at Jasak.

“Uh, yeah, it is,” I say, chuckling. “The dragon saved me and gave me a scale.”

“But you don’t have it,” she insists. She points an arm to our mantle, where a few objects rest, including one golden scale.

“That’s true, I don’t,” I agree. “But that part of the story’s better told when you’re older. Okay?”

Analiese holds her breath for a few seconds and then blows it out. “Okay, I’m older! You can finish the story now!”

“Ooh, aren’t you a clever one,” Jasak says, ruffling her hair. “You get that from me, of course.”

I grin at him and then at Analiese.

“I’m afraid not, darling,” I say. “Let’s wait until you’re a little more older, kay?”

~~~

And so the time passed. Analiese would ask me almost every day if I’d finish the story, but she was never ready. Over time, she asked less and less, until it was her sixteenth birthday. Analiese was sixteen and loving it, Everie was fourteen and learning the ropes of teenage-hood, and little Vyolette was now twelve and itching to be like her sisters.

~~~

I turn out the light in Analiese’s room and start to close the door, but her voice stops me.

“Mom?” she asks.

I step slightly back inside and say, “Yes, honey?”

“Will you finish your story now?”

I freeze. “I… I thought you’d forgotten about that,” I admit.

“I had,” she replies. “But I remembered, just now.”

I blow out a breath, considering. “Okay,” I agree.

“Really?” she gasps. I can’t see her face in the darkness, but I can imagine her expression.

“Yeah. Really. Just wait until the morning, okay? I want you and Dad and Ev and Vy all there together when I tell it.”

“Okay,” Analiese says sleepily, and I hear rustling as she pulls the covers up to her chin and snuggles deep. “Night, Mom. Love you.”

“Night, Ana. Love you too.”

~~~

The next morning, I’m the first one up. I make a pot of tea and clutch a mug in my hands. I hear Jasak come down the stairs and stop in the doorway, and I turn to find him leaning against the doorframe, running a hand through his mussed dark hair.

“You sure you want to do this?” he says softly, his eyes locking on mine.

I smile wanly and take a sip of tea. “It’s time,” I say, just as quietly.

When our children finally pad downstairs, they find me sitting on the couch, Jasak next to me.

“Have a seat,” I say quietly.

Everie joins Jasak and I on the couch, snuggling into my side, and Analiese and Vyolette take the loveseat.

“Are we in trouble?” Vyolette asks, her eyebrows creasing.

“No, you’re not in trouble, sweetheart,” Jasak says quietly. “Mom just has something to tell you.”

They all turn expectantly towards me.

“Um…” I start. “Do you… remember those stories I’d always tell you when you guys were kids?”

“Oh yeah, like the gold dragons!” Vy says, nodding.

“And the girl who gave herself up,” Everie adds. “That was always my favourite.”

“Mom’s finally going to tell us the ending of the stories,” Analiese bursts in, unable to hold the secret any longer.

“Is that true?” Vyolette asks, her eyes lighting up.

I sigh. “Yeah, it’s true.”

Everie frowns. “You… don’t seem very excited, Mom.”

“No, I am,” I assure her. “It’s just… those stories, they’re all pretty personal to me.”

“What do you mean?” Analiese asks. “Did, like, Grandma tell them to you?”

I exchange a look with Jasak and decide to just plunge right in.

“No, sweetheart. The girl in those stories… is me.”

Vy and Everie look at me in confusion, but Analiese’s face shows growing understanding.

“I knew those stories sounded familiar. You’re Zoelaira Griffon,” she mutters to herself. “And Aunt Ster is Sterling Griffon. Of course!” She turns to Jasak, eyes wide. “Did you know? Were you in her stories?”

Jasak smiles and nods. “Yeah. I was the second-in-command at the vigilante camp your mother went to. The Eagles, actually.”

“Oh. My. Claws,” Everie says, her eyes widening. “The Eagles? Those people are, like, legends! Lia freaking Kua used to be an Eagle. Lia Kua!”

I laugh. “Yeah, I know. I trained with her.”

Everie looks like she’s about to faint, but Vy cuts in.

“Why didn’t you tell us this earlier?” Vy asks, peering at me from behind her curtain of unruly brown hair. “We would have, I dunno, understood.”

“There’s… a very simple reason why I didn’t tell you earlier,” I say, reaching for Jasak’s hand. He squeezes it tightly, and his support gives me the courage I need to continue.

“It’s not a happy story,” I admit. “It took so much to get me, and the world, to where it is now. Most of it’s not something you should tell a child.”

“But… it can’t be that bad, right?” Everie asks, frowning. “Since you got a happy ending. You married Dad and had us.”

“That’s true. I did get a happy ending,” I say, closing my eyes. “But so many other people didn’t.”

“Oh,” Vy says, and then we all fall silent.

“To tell you my story, I need to start where I left off,” I say, opening my eyes. But it’s no longer my quiet living room that I see. It’s an opulent throne room, populated with winged women of all shapes and sizes.

~~~

“We are gathered here today to welcome a new member into our ranks,” the Leader intones. “Cadet 3014595 has proved herself to be worthy of wearing our seal and bearing our wings. She has been Chosen and her wings have Bonded. Please welcome… Seeker Allegro!”

The sound of wings on wings echoes throughout the room but I don’t flinch. I don’t even blink as a hundred or more women step forward in unison and tap their fist to their chest. I just stare straight ahead at the wall, the way I’ve been trained. There isn’t even a glimmer of resistance, a glimmer of the girl who used to be Zoey. There’s just Seeker Allegro now.

Months passed like that-- more ceremonies for more Elites. I gained the Leader’s trust for two reasons. One, because I was the wielder of the Carapace, the sacred weapon of the Elites.  And two, because I had been torn apart-- torn apart and then remade into something not even I recognized. Oh, sure, I still had the same features, the same pale skin and icy eyes and dark hair, but my torso was enlarged and a pair of brown wings graced my back and strained my shoulders. I’d fought their bondage for months, fought and made them break me until nothing was left.

If only I had known that Jasak was fighting for the girl I used to be. If only I had known that Sterling was calling in every favor she’d ever paid to track me down. If only I had known that Feroc was training new Eagles faster than ever before, to be ready to get me back. If only.

But I didn’t know, and so the girl I used to be fell away, leaving a monster in her place. I let go, let go of everything I had been and embraced the girl I had become. That girl did horrible things-- monstrous things. Things in the name of glory and salvation. Because the Elites weren’t simply a battalion of women-- no, they were angels. Avenging angels that swept out of the sky and saved creatures from their fate. Perhaps at one time, they were benevolent and had good intentions-- perhaps. But over time, they were corrupted. They collected individuals that had no place in the world-- flightless dragons, scarred humans, malformed and abominable creatures. They manipulated these innocents into fighting for them, creating a lethal army that trained and slaved.

And although the Elites had an army, they had no cause. Nothing worth fighting for. Nothing, that is, until the Renegades came with a proposition. Fight for them, with them, and support the shadow king on his throne. Fight the rebels that were throwing the country into chaos, and the Elites would be rewarded.

What could we--they-- have done but agreed? To celebrate the new alliance, a week of balls was held-- a week in which I reconnected with old colleagues who thought I was dead. Colleagues like Cambrie, who I had known as Cisi, and Fehnein. Every night I wore a stunning dress, and every night I played a part of loyal Elite, of willing slave to the avenging angels, submissive second-in-command and confidant to the Leader.

But on the seventh night, that all changed. We were joined by some “entertainment”-- prisoners of war.

When I made my polite rounds that night, on the shadow king’s-- my twin brother Zorinth’s-- arm and laughing at his jokes, I had the opportunity to see inside the large golden cage that housed these prisoners of war. There were only two-- Sterling, and Jasak.

They knew me-- they wept at the sight of me. They had thought I was dead. But I had only a vague recollection of them. I didn’t even know their names.

But as the night progressed, a feeling wouldn’t leave me. A tiny, niggling feeling that something was off, that these people were important, that I was wrong somehow. And I found myself wanting to know more, but not knowing how to quell this feeling.

I figured they might know how to start-- they seemed like they knew me, and the voice in my head was screaming for me to remember. So I waited until the ball was half done and relieved the guards at their cage. I took them to a room I believed to be private, and they told me everything they had discovered. The more they talked, the more I remembered; and I was just beginning to tell them my tale when Silvyre and a few guards burst in. We fought, and Silvyre was badly injured; I got Sterling and Jasak out but crash landed in the ocean. Jasak had given me back the sea-dragon’s scale-- he’d kept my old things, even after all this time-- and it was in my pocket when I fell. It called to the sea-dragon, and the dragon rescued me once more and brought me to Jasak and Sterling. But I had fallen into a coma-- my physical body remained in Zentara, but something in my heart or soul was knocked free. My consciousness travelled into the In-Between and manifested physically on Earth, in the only place I remembered clearly-- Northbrook. My memories restored, I left a message for Kelsey and she agreed to meet me, despite not knowing who she was meeting. She brought Justin along to the meeting, and after a week or so, with their help, I was able to reopen the In-Between to go back to Zentara. But when I opened the In-Between, I called a passing traveller-- a monstrous being. It attacked Kelsey and Justin and I had no choice but to make a blood bond with them and bring them to Zentara with me. With my Elite blood in their veins, they were able to make the Crossing just fine. We ended up in the Aerie, where Jasak and Sterling had taken my Zentarean body. I woke up and told them about the shadow king that was sitting on my father’s throne, and how I now knew that his face was my own-- my twin brother Zorinth was the very enemy I had to destroy. Jasak also told me that he’d be with me “forever and always”. The Eagles and I trained, and I even taught Feroc a thing or two about fighting, since I had been trained by the immortal Elites. We had quite the scare when a squadron of Elites landed on our training green-- but they quickly explained that the injuries I had given Silvyre had proved to be fatal, and that she was now dead. Since she had no living descendants and I was the one who had killed her, the leadership of the Elites passed to me. I called the rest of the Elites to the Aerie, where they formed an uneasy peace with the Eagles. Time passed. More and more creatures, human and beast alike, flocked to the Aerie, called by the power of the Carapace and by my new Leader status. I reunited with some old friends, including Morrowmist and Chamarys. Justin and Kelsey remained with me, because they wanted to help me fight for the throne. I talked to Sterling over who would inherit the throne-- all I knew was that Zorinth had to leave it, but I had no desire to take the throne myself. Sterling showed me the scars on her arms and legs, scars she had given herself in an attempt to deal with the stress of leading the Eagles. She told me that she couldn’t lead the Eagles properly, much less a country; and I agreed to become the new queen once we overthrew the current king. The day came for our attack to begin, and we marched on the palace. I’ll spare you the details, but the fighting was long and hard. We lost many good soldiers that day, creatures and Elites and Eagles alike. Finally the throne was taken and my brother deposed. When he was relieved of the state ring on his left hand, however, his mind was freed from an enchantment. He allied with us, and the date of my coronation came nearer and nearer. Despite my own misgivings, I was crowned queen, and ruled for a single day before the palace was overrun by foreign rebels and all the inhabitants put to sleep. When the rebel leader confronted us, she said her name was Ariadne Eleanora Griffon, the true heir of the Griffon throne. Sterling confirmed her identity, and the four of us Griffon children shared a tearful reunion. Ariadne restored my memory of palace life and took my place as queen. Zorinth stayed on as her advisor, but Sterling and I retreated into the shadows. The Eagles disbanded after peace was restored, and the whole tale was written down for the history books.”

~~~

I take a deep breath and then let it out, my shoulders sagging as I return to the real world. My tea has gone cold in my hands but I sip at it absently. The silence grows until Everie breaks it.

“And, that’s the end of the story?” she asks. “Nothing after?”

“Well, of course there are things after,” I say. “I married your father, I bought a house… my story is still being written today.”

“But like, are you still the Leader of the Elites?” Vy pipes up, and I nod.

Everie’s mouth falls open. “But… but you don’t have wings,” she sputters.

I grin, a nervous little half smile. “Actually, yeah, I do. I just don’t bring them out much.”

“Can-- can I see them?” Everie asks, a little shyly.

“Yeah, sweetheart. You can see them.” I focus and will my wings back into existence, bumping myself forward a few inches on the couch as they appear at a smaller size. I stretch one out for Everie’s inspection and she runs a hand gently across the feather shafts. Analiese and Vy scoot off the couch and join her in stroking the soft feathers. Vy giggles as I run my wing tip across her nose.

“That’s… incredible, Mom,” Analiese says softly, looking up from my wings and into my eyes. I know she’s not just talking about my wings and I smile gently.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” I say quietly.

“If you’re all done looking at your mother’s wings, you all need to get dressed before we have lunch with Aunt Ster this morning,” Jasak chimes in. “Go on, up you go.”

The three girls stand and stretch, then shoot one last smile at Jasak and I before filing back up the stairs to their rooms to get dressed. Jasak stands, too, and pulls me off the couch and into his arms.

“I’m so proud of you,” he whispers into my hair, pressing a kiss onto my head. “And I love you, forever and always.”

“Forever and always,” I echo, knowing that this time, it’ll be true.

~~~

So, that's the sequel! What do you think? Any questions, comments, concerns? I'll be posting character endings (what happened to all of the important characters) and a pronunciation guide on Tuesday. As always, feel free to ask questions, and I appreciate you all! <3

~Starseeker 

Ahh, thank you all for your lovely comments! It's always the highlight of my day to get to see what you all have (y'all've?) posted. 

@Quill, luckily, you'll only have to wait until Friday to see what happens!

@Kitten, I do plan on writing it, I'm just not sure of the timeline. I was able to get a lot of this novel done at my old school, and now that I'm in high school and just got a lot more rules set by my parents... It will be done, but I'm not sure when. Years, probably; especially since I'm trying to get this one out and published first, and my goal for that is the end of 2019.

@Summer, thank you for the lovely fanart! <3 I especially love the way you drew the braid and the expression on her face-- she looks so determined!

As always, I appreciate you all and I'll see you next week.

~Starseeker 

Aww, I'm in the acknowledgments... I know you told me I would be included, but actually seeing it and seeing my name is something... completely different. <3 Thank you, Star! I'm so happy to have been able to offer what assistance I could. *hugs* I've enjoyed getting to know you over the past year so very much. 

As for the sequel... double aww! I'm pretty sure I couldn't stop saying that the whole time I was reading it. Zoey and Jasak's family is so cute. And wow. Now I really understand what you mean when you say it's gonna be hard to actually write the whole sequel! That is a lot of information to cover, but I think you did a good job summarizing it in story-form for Zoey's kids. 

On the subject of getting a copy of your book, I'd love to be able to get my hands on one (a copy, that is) but, like you and everyone else has said, none of those options seem very... practical. Plus, my parents both work for a large hospital, so mailing it to their work address definitely wouldn't work. I don't really have any other ideas either, but I'll keep thinking about it and let you know if I do.