The Last Fallen Star, Graci Kim [books to read in your 20s .TXT] 📗

I take off my shoes and feel the soft sand squish between my toes. It’s still warm from a day of soaking up the summer sun, and it feels so good that I dig my feet in.

My eyes move up to the sky and I freeze. The moon is as red as a tomato.

“Guys,” I call out. “Look up. The moon is bleeding.”

Emmett wolf-whistles. “Wow, yeah, that’s a blood moon, all right. It’s the sign of a lunar eclipse. What a beauty.”

Hattie joins us in studying the sky. “That’s funny—I was just reading about a solar eclipse that happened in New Zealand today. You know, when the sun goes completely black, not red. What are the chances…?”

Emmett shakes his head. “You must have read it wrong. You can’t have both a lunar eclipse and a solar eclipse on the same day. It’s impossible.”

Hattie frowns. “But I’m sure it was in today’s news.”

Emmett crosses his arms. “Dude, do you know how much Battle Galactic I play? Our squad is the best in the galaxy, and I know space like the back of my hand.”

Hattie raises her eyebrows.

“Em’s obsessed with that game,” I explain. “You know, the one that’s like Fortnite Battle Royale but set in space? It’s turned Emmett into a total astronomy geek.”

I leave Hattie and Emmett to argue it out, and I walk toward the water, mesmerized by the way the moon paints a crimson glow over the Pacific. This is going to sound odd, but sometimes the sky makes me feel a bit…well, sad. Like when you forget something you know was important, but no matter how hard you try, you can’t remember it.

“Anyway,” Hattie says, coming over. She holds up the chalice and Noah’s knife. “Back to the plan. This is how we’re gonna do this. I’ll take Emmett’s ring and—”

“You won’t forget what I showed you, right?” Emmett asks from behind us. He twists the ring nervously around his finger. “How you have to open the compartment gently so it doesn’t break?”

“I’ll be careful,” Hattie assures him. “I know how important it is to you.”

Emmett nods but looks nervous. He takes a cookie out of his backpack and nibbles on it to calm himself.

“Like I was saying,” said Hattie, “I’ll take Emmett’s ring, and once I’m in the water, I’ll activate my Gi, cut my palm, collect the blood in the chalice, sprinkle in the ashes, and then recite the incantations. Sound like a plan?”

I swallow the lump in my throat. It basically sounds like Hattie is doing everything while Emmett and I sit around and watch. This should not be a spectator sport.

“I’ll go into the water with you,” I offer. “You don’t even like the ocean, and you might get caught in a riptide. I’m a better swimmer than you.”

She nods gratefully and passes me the chalice. “Thanks, Rye.”

Emmett passes his ring to Hattie. “Protect it with your life.”

She puts it on her finger. Then, holding hands, my sister and I step into the surf.

The water is freezing, which shouldn’t surprise me, since I’ve grown up swimming in the Pacific (it’s always colder than you think). But it’s not every day I go for a dip in the middle of the night, and we both shiver as we wade in up to our knees. By the time we get chest-deep, the current picks up, and my sweater billows around me as if it’s desperately trying to swim. If I’d known ahead of time we’d have to go into the ocean, I would’ve made us wear wet suits. Hattie’s gorgeous ceremony dress is going to get trashed. I check the shoreline, and Emmett is looking at us nervously. He’s standing a safe distance from Boris.

We’ve got this, I tell myself.

Hattie takes a big breath and rubs her wrists together. As her gifted mark activates, she flips open the Swiss knife and holds it in front of her open palm. “I can do this,” she says confidently.

I’m sure she can—Hattie is the bravest person I know. But it still doesn’t make it any easier seeing her hurt herself for a spell I need.

“I can do this,” she says again. But this time, she doesn’t sound as confident. She remains still and stares intently at her hands. Then I hear her say something so quietly, I’m not sure if I imagined it. “How do I do this?”

“If you want,” I say softly, “I could help you.”

She doesn’t answer for a while, but eventually she whispers, “Yes, I think that would be best.” She hands me the knife and takes the chalice. “You don’t have to be scared of hurting me, okay? Just do it, and do it fast.” Her voice is steady, but I can see fear in her eyes now.

I turn the knife in my hand a few times to make sure I have good control over it. “How about we count down together from five?”

She nods. “Okay.”

“Five. Four. Thr—”

Before she can register what’s happening, I quickly run the knife across her palm. She lets out a yelp, and I drop the knife in the water. I cup my hands around her palm and help pool the blood into the chalice.

“You did it,” I whisper.

“Thank you,” Hattie says, still wincing from the pain.

As her blood drips into the chalice, I slip Emmett’s ring from Hattie’s finger. Under the eerie red moonlight, I can just make out the secret compartment on the inside.

“There’s a little tab you twist to open it,” Hattie explains. “Don’t turn it too far.”

It’s finicky work, but I manage to empty the ring’s contents into the chalice before returning it to Hattie’s finger.

“It’s showtime,” she says.

She closes her eyes and starts reciting the incantations Noah taught her.

Immediately, there is a change in the atmosphere and a suffocating thickness to the air. I clutch at my chest, trying to catch my breath. A fierce gust blows in from the Pacific, splashing sea spray into my eyes. I cover my face. When I can see