Starshine, Sky, and the Power of Rock

Relief

"DON'T TOUCH HER, YOU CREEP!" is the last coherent thing out of Star before her further screams are muffled by the gag Princess Persephone is tying around her mouth. I'm naturally trying just as hard as her to escape the restraints the vampire princesses have tied us in, no matter how futile. Meanwhile, the werewolf watches our struggle, silently taunting us with Sky's limp form in his grasp, just out of our reach.

He tuts mockingly. "Poor little princess. Hard to help your friend when you can't use your voice."

Princess Persephone tightens Star's gag with a snicker. "What should we do with 'em, huh?"

"Well, we can't do anything too drastic with the Heir to Light," Princess Faylin says, doing the same with me. My jaw is forced open even further, the corners of my mouth stretched to their limits. "This one, on the other hand..." she says, holding me up by my hair. "I'd say she's fair game."

Princess Persephone shakes Star absentmindedly in her excitement. "Oooooh, can I do it? It's not every day we get to kill an Academy student!"

That sentence sends a shock through my system that the ties and Princess Faylin's grip give me no leeway to express other than a useless scream.

"Patience, Your Highness," the werewolf says, though his slimy tone gives me little in the way of comfort. He turns Sky in his hands as if she's a doll, shifts his grip to her jacket collar, and drops her to the pavement. "Today is more about sending a message." He kicks her over so she's on her back, reaches into his black jacket, and pulls out a wooden stake.

"NO!" Star manages to scream through her gag. My own throat is awfully sore. I realize late that I've screamed the same thing as her.

The werewolf smirks. He crouches down, unzips Sky's jacket, and positions the stake just above her unmoving chest. Then he looks up at us. "You people think you're so untouchable. You think you can corrupt our people's minds, harbor our traitors, and that you'll just get away with it?" He chuckles. "I don't think so."

Star manages to lurch forward but is brought upright again. My own restraints tear against my body as I attempt the same. There's no room in my mind for questioning my instincts, all I know is I can't allow this.

He raises the stake, eyes on Sky, his sarcastic smirk crumbling into genuine rage. "Today you'll learn what the Band of Darkness does to traitors. Today you'll learn what I do when what I cared about is taken from me-"

"Spare us the speech, Boris, my arms are getting tired," Princess Faylin says.

"I'm trying to have a moment!" he fires back.

"My arms are tired, too," Princess Persephone whines.

"Like, we get it, they took your precious favorite teenage girl from you," Princess Faylin says. "Can we get this over with so I can take a nap?"

He rolls his eyes and readies the stake again, only to drop it and argue back, "Well, now you've killed my flow, it doesn't feel right!"

Star and I steal glances at each other as the monsters bicker. Her eyes are panicked, searching for a way out of this. They begin to well with tears.

The werewolf growls. "You two realize if we keep at this for long the Band of Light will-" He stops short, looking above us. The princesses twist around and us with them. A handful of colorful horses glide to the ground and Band of Light members hop off their backs, brandishing instruments and ready to play.

The lead singer, an elf woman I vaguely remember attending the dinner parties my mother would throw back home in Hillside, steps forward. "Step away from these girls if you know what's good for you, monsters," she commands.