Page 106 of Darkness Births the Stars #1

The Chiasma screamed in fury. Her roots lashed out, only to be shredded by tendrils of shadow.

Deira glared down at me, her lips twisted into a snarl.

She tried to draw power through me again, but Rada gave her no chance to regroup.

Starfire sliced through the air in a brilliant arc.

A wave of pure Chaos erupted from its blades.

It struck Deira squarely in the chest, hurling her backward so swiftly she didn’t even have time to scream as she plummeted over the edge of the Abyss.

A relieved sigh escaped me as the thick roots around me finally loosened their grip. Yet I still lacked the strength to sit up, my hands digging uselessly into the ground beneath me as I tried.

“Baradaz,” I called out, noticing she hadn’t come to my side, her gaze fixed on the Abyss.

Starfire still glowed in her hands, tendrils of Chaos magic wafting around her.

At the sound of her name, her eyes snapped to me—not bright silver, but a pulsing, fathomless black, shimmering with amethyst and emerald.

Was that what she had always seen when I allowed Chaos to consume me?

“ Saeraery ,” I tried again when she didn’t respond. “It’s over. You can let go of the magic now.”

Something in her eyes shifted, the otherworldly glow slowly fading, replaced by the warm silver I knew so well.

“Oh, lyr ,” she gasped, rushing to my side, a visible limp in her step.

She was hurt. “Belekoroz.” She sank to her knees next to me and her hands fluttered over my body aimlessly, as if she was unsure of what to do.

“How do I remove these things?” she asked, a hint of terror in her voice. “Do they hurt you?”

Those bloody tendrils were still buried inside me. With the realization, the pain was back, accompanied by a wave of panicked revulsion that made me claw at my chest.

“Just get them out,” I groaned. Rada nodded, her face suddenly filling my vision. One of her hands squeezed mine reassuringly, while the other reached for my chest.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “This will hurt.”

She gave no further warning. The agony was so intense that my mind plunged into darkness once more.

I awoke to a gentle hand caressing my cheek, my head resting on something soft. The air was thick with the sharp scents of blood and Chaos, but beneath that, I caught the faint fragrance of snowdrops. I smiled.

“We really need to stop doing this,” I murmured, my voice hoarse.

Rada’s hand cupped my face. “Remember,” she said softly, “I saved your life here once before. You’re terribly careless for a god, always getting into trouble.” Her tone was light, but I could hear the tears in it.

“As long as I have you to save me,” I replied, opening my eyes. From my place on her lap, I could see the slight tremble of her lips. “How bad is it?” I asked.

“You tell me,” she replied. “You lost a lot of blood. I managed to staunch the bleeding, but I cannot drag you back to Aron-Lyr for Kyree to heal you. ”

My eyes drifted down to my chest, to the makeshift bandage she had wrapped around me.

She had sacrificed part of her skirt for it, judging by the bloodstained green fabric.

Another bandage in the same color was wrapped around her left calf.

I recalled how she had stumbled during the battle with Deira’s roots; she was injured as well.

“Rakash?” I murmured, nodding toward her wound.

Her silver eyes locked onto mine, a fierce intensity burning within them. “No,” Rada growled down at me. “Kritak. Care to explain how one of those creatures ended up in a lyr -stone splinter?”

“Stars above,” I groaned, realizing Deira’s threats had been anything but idle. “I am so sorry. I hoped no one would be foolish enough to actually use those Chaos splinters. They are dangerously unpredictable.” A wave of guilt washed over me. “Did you kill it?”

“Yes,” she replied, her expression still stern but her fingers tenderly combing through my hair. “But not before it destroyed the henhouse.”

Fuck. No wonder she was angry at me.

“It’s so cold,” I said after a while, unable to suppress the violent shiver that coursed through my body.

Shadows began to creep into my vision again, and I suspected they had nothing to do with magic.

I pressed my face against Rada, savoring her comforting warmth.

“You’re warm, though,” I murmured, closing my eyes.

“So wonderfully warm.” A rough laugh escaped me. “Like a fire in the night.”

“Belekoroz.” Rada’s voice sharpened above me, though her touch remained gentle. “You have to stay with me.” Her hair brushed over my face, her next words whispered against my skin like a fervent prayer. “Please. Don’t leave me. I couldn’t bear it.”

Forcing my eyes open was an almost insurmountable task. But seeing her beautiful face so close to mine made it worth it. She looked pale and worried.

“I wanted to give up so many times.” The confession slipped out before I could stop it. “Just move a bit too slowly in a fight. Let some nameless mercenary’s blade end it all. Lyr , it probably would have been no more than I deserved.”

Rada’s face twisted with anguish at my words. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Despite the pain it caused me, I instinctively reached up to catch them.

“But I looked up to the sky and saw your stars,” I murmured.

“And I remembered you were still out there, that somewhere your heart was still beating. And if there was a chance, even a small, insignificant chance, that I would see your beautiful face just one more time, it would be worth every moment of pain and despair I had to endure.”

Something in her eyes broke. “Why did you do this, you impossible man?” she said. “You must have known what they would do to you. Briseis and Varien mean nothing to you.”

I smiled at her. She was so lovely in this light. It reminded me of the first time I had kissed her.

“They mean something to you.”

A harsh sob escaped her, one hand covering her mouth.

She was crying because of me. The realization slowly sank into my hazy mind.

“I am not worth your tears, saeraery ,” I said, trying in vain to stem the hot flood wetting my fingers.

A bright and unrelenting light blazed through the anguish in Rada’s gaze. Her hands captured mine. “You were worth my joy and my pleasure. How can you not be worth my sorrow and my pain?” She shook her head. “We cannot have one without the other.”

With a deep breath, she shifted slightly beneath me, lifting something into my line of sight—a Chaosdagger.

“The use of Chaos would revive you, wouldn’t it?” she asked, a hopeful look on her face .

“Yes,” I murmured. It had become a struggle to focus on her words. “But I am completely burned out. I can’t even sense a whisper of magic right now.”

Rada paused, her gaze lingering on me for what felt like an eternity. “Fine,” she finally conceded. “In that case, I will use it.”

“No. I know how much you despise—”

“The reminder that Chaos flows through me as effortlessly as it does through you?” she interrupted, her expression turning resolute. “It’s true. But I won’t hesitate if it means saving you.”

“Baradaz…”

She was already moving, ignoring my plea.

Something smooth and warm pressed into my hand.

The dagger’s hilt pulsed with energy as she guided our joined hands around it.

I watched with a mixture of awe and apprehension as she leaned closer, Chaos shimmering in her eyes, signaling that she was summoning the magic.

“You need to ground me,” she whispered, just before her lips met mine.

How could I possibly manage that? When I was drowning in her and the power enveloping us, my pain dissipating into oblivion, replaced by an exhilarating rush?

This felt unlike my usual command over Chaos—warmer, brighter, a kaleidoscope of vivid lights piercing through me.

I opened up to her immediately, languidly taking her mouth, her taste sizzling on my tongue.

With a groan, she deepened the kiss, her hand tangling in my hair, the magic intensifying, burning hotter now. My teeth sank into her bottom lip.

“Careful,” I murmured, already feeling revived by the steady pulse of power through my veins. It was so utterly natural to let my mind brush against hers, our connection immediate. “No need to rush. We have all the time in the world.”

Rada instantly gentled the flow of magic, returning to those sinfully slow kisses from before. Her deep sigh vibrated through my entire body.

“Maker,” she whispered into my thoughts. “I forgot how wonderful this feels. To share it all.”

I lost track of time as we stayed entwined, reveling in the magic and each other’s touch, unabashedly greedy for more, acutely aware of how close we had come to losing each other again.

Eventually, it had to end. A disappointed groan escaped me as Rada pulled back, the lyr -stone underneath our hands becoming uncomfortably hot.

“You look better,” she remarked, her smile radiant as she gazed down at me.

“I feel a lot better,” I replied, pulling her in for another kiss, this one only wet heat and her taste. And just as perfect.

She indulged me for a moment longer before checking the bandage. “It worked,” she said, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes.

Indeed, some of my strength had returned, and I was finally able to sit up. I couldn’t resist teasing her a little. “Are you sure? Perhaps one more time wouldn’t hurt.”

Rada raised an eyebrow. “That remaining wound is far less severe than the one Tharion gave you.”

I looked at her with wide-eyed innocence. “You never know. Mortals die easily.”

“Impossible man,” she laughed, rising to her feet. A flash of surprise crossed her face as she tested her leg’s ability to bear her weight. “It’s better,” she exclaimed, her voice tinged with wonder.

“The Chaos magic must have healed you as well,” I commented, grasping the hand she extended to me.

Her brow furrowed in confusion as she helped me to my feet. “But I used Chaos earlier. Against Deira. ”

Still feeling slightly weak from the blood loss, I slid my arm around her waist to steady myself. “Yes, but this time you were connected to me,” I said thoughtfully. “It must have given you the same advantages I have when summoning its power.”

Rada glanced at the second Chaosdagger, gleaming ominously beside Kaius’s lifeless body. “We should take that with us. We might need it.”

I nodded in agreement. If Deira’s words held any truth and my former servants could find me anywhere, we would need every bit of power we could get our hands on.

With a grave expression, Rada retrieved the dagger. “And now, back to Aron-Lyr,” she said. Tendrils of Chaos swirled around her, forming a shimmering gate. “Let’s hope we can salvage some of the damage the Chiasma have wrought.”