Khurshid indicated the black abyss dust still fizzling on the floor.

“Tell me, Umi Siskin, great hero of the Margins,” he said. “Tell my why a Demon is a Demon.”

“They crawl from the Margins,” Umi said instantly. “They come from outside the world. Beyond the light of the stars, where the priestesses can’t bring order. They try to undo the order, because to them it is chaos. They want to make us be like them. They burn and poison what they touch.”

“Well,” Khurshid said. He sat back. “You have a talent for poetry. And also for being partly right.”

“Partly?”

Umi almost laughed. Twenty years, Umi had fought Demons. Khurshid had sat in his palace for more than forty. The Demons were an enemy known better to Umi than to any.

Yet the Songbird King looked down on Umi with the same bitter humor as the day he’d resigned Umi from the path of a priestess.

“At least you are not wrong,” he said.

-The Stars Went Out.

Well, would you look at that–Khurshid shows up outside of the backstory! I wonder why that could be. Everything directly before or after this clip is major spoilers, so enjoy the confusion. I’m starting to like “Stars” more and more as I figure out where it’s going. Hopefully, you’ll like it when it’s finished, too.