Page 359 of Black Reign

“Papa taught me.”

“You've never mentioned knowing constellations.”

“I know several.”

“I feel betrayed.”

“You'll recover.”

I find another.

“Cassiopeia.”

Then another.

The memories come easier now.

Papa beside me.

His finger moving from star to star.

Patterns.

Sequences.

He used to make me find them before he let me go inside.

Not because astronomy mattered.

Because pattern recognition did.

He made everything into a game.

Code.

Routes.

Shapes.

Stars.

My smile fades.

“Stars are code, ma puce”

I sit up.

Xavier's hand immediately catches my waist.

“What?”

I stare toward the cottage.

Nothing.

Just amber windows.

A dark roof.