A Star is Born: The Coming Dawn: Book I by Austen Knowles Read Free Book Online

been here nearly three hundred years but I’m still young. I’ve never seen another Star. So forgive me if I stare.” Airia blinked, obviously trying to divert her eyes, but couldn’t. “I’ll share all I have with you, including the reign as queen.” She expressed genuine pleasure to see her with a radiant smile. “And the minute we’re out of the councilors’ chamber I’ll answer any questions you might have. You must have many; I know I had several.” Airia waved a hand, while asking everyone to sit, except Cobaaron and Ky.
    “Can you tell me what happened?” Airia addressed Ky. “Do you remember being a shooting Star? Do you remember your descent? Anything you can tell us will help the council understand your state of being when you fell. It will help our committee gather information about shooting Stars and how we can prepare for future births. When Stars aren’t born in the city, it’s of particular interest to us.”
    Everyone focused on Ky when Airia finished speaking. Cobaaron moved so that she was no longer partially hidden behind his broad shoulder. “I did fall. Yes,” Ky began, but she didn’t know what information they needed. She certainly wasn’t a shooting Star . Ky was a girl from Dallas, Texas who fell through a trapdoor. The idea she was anything to the contrary was laughable.
    “Yes, but, did you want to fall where you did? Did you find the area you landed interesting? Did it have any significance to the world you remember? Did it remind you of home?” a man asked her gently.
    “No, it was very foreign, but the eels and water interested me,” Ky said. “But I didn’t choose to fall or choose where I landed.”
    “She means rockfish,” Cobaaron corrected Ky so the council understood. He then explained farther by adding, “She fell into the Orchard Marsh.”
    “Did the rockfish sting you?” a man asked. “Did you instinctively know you shouldn’t let them touch you, and keep moving so they couldn’t see you?”
    “Um, I’m not sure. I might have known not to let them touch me. I’m certain I didn’t want them near me. Their appearance is a bit creepy.”
    “So how did you fall?” a woman asked.
    Ky chuckled at the absurdity of the question, but stifled it when no one else thought it ridiculous. “I fell hard. I fell from the trapdoor on stage and the next thing I knew I was sitting waist deep in glowing water. I’ve never seen anything like it. When I stood, I began seeking a way out. That was when my skin began to transform. I saw a blinding light, which emitted from inside my body.” She touched her chest, the source where the pain initially began. “I screamed feeling as if I’d die from the pain. I remember trying to find a way out of the cave, but then a troll snatched me. That was when Cobaaron found me.”
    “A troll captured you?” a woman asked, fury in her voice. “I knew those beasts should be destroyed. She could have died! I motion for those nasty things to be purged of the caves to ensure survival of future Stars.”
    “Those beasts have a purpose,” Cobaaron bellowed. “They preoccupy the more fearsome creatures that wander the inner cavities of this mountain. You’re lucky to have them.”
    “And who are you young warrior?” a man spat out. “How dare you speak to the council with such insolence! Cobaaron would have you killed for less.”
    “ I am Cobaaron! ”
    The room fell silent. Everyone diverted their gaze from Ky to Cobaaron then back to Ky. “But why do you look different?” Airia asked and folded her arms.
    Cobaaron shifted, refusing to answer.
    “It must be what she was wearing,” another man surmised. “Airia, she was nearly bare when she came in, until she was given that cloak. He must have seen her uncovered.” He then asked Ky with a careful tone, as a father would speak to a young daughter, “Tell me child, did his eyes fix upon you while…bare?”
    “Of course not. The caves are dark,” Cobaaron