Page 54 of Of Stars and Lightning (Sun and Shadows #1)

It took a long inhale. “I can smell the stars on you girl, that Yarrow scent. But what’s the other smell on you, I wonder? How peculiar.” The thing laughed, its teeth shining. “I don’t wish you dead.”

Without further explanation or chaos, it vanished into the waters.

Your blood will purify his.

Against all odds, the creatures had yet to be proven wrong.

She traced a cut to her forearm, carved an identical one on his, and pressed them together.

Her blood spread over his skin, covering his tattoo and scars.

Circulation.

The breeze resumed and the sun pierced into Sol’s skin as she looked back down at Cas and crushed her mouth to his.

He tasted of salt and sand, his lips cold as she exhaled a breath into him before shaking him.

“Cas, I swear I’ll be less stubborn, just please wake up.

” She leaned down to his lips again, and as she finished her breath, Cas instantly flipped to the side, water spilling from his mouth.

Relief flooded through her, so much so that her vision darkened.

But she willed herself to focus and rub his back.

Defeated and unwilling to build facades, Sol slumped over him as he braced his elbow on the sand, shaky and breathless, but alive.

Cas pulled her closer with his free arm. She draped her head on his shoulder and pressed her hand to his chest.

The soft beating there was like an answer to all her questions.

Wordlessly, she pressed their forearms together again, hoping all the pieces had been set in motion.

This time, her blood was pulled into his wound, almost as if their arms were wrapped with a band to hold them together.

Cas exhaled a long, shaky breath through his nose as he shifted his face to look at her. He traced every inch of her face with such an intensity that had Sol looking away, back down to their joined arms.

His tattoo darkened before her very eyes, as if it used her blood as ink. It swirled and flowed into shapes she had never noticed before, glyphs of sorts.

“How did you know?” he breathed.

She tore her gaze from it. “You may think I’m insane, but a Jinn told me.”

“About the ink?”

“About my blood to flush the copper.”

He looked from her to their arms to their surroundings, his chest falling and rising with each labored breath. “This is unheard of.”

“I thought you were going to die,” Sol whispered. “I would’ve tried whatever anyone told me.”

A small smile pulled at the corners of his lips, the clenching in her chest easing at the familiarity of it. “Let’s keep both that and the fact your blood may be more than just royalty, a secret, Princess.”

“Your tattoo.” She traced it with a fingertip, the ink now depthless and black. “How?”

Cas looked away for a moment, as if contemplating. “It’s a long story.”

“We have time.”

Sol could only gape at him as he told her the truth.

As he told her it wasn’t just a decorative piece of art, and was instead some sort of Dark Magic enchantment her mother had placed on him to ensure his sentence was completely carried out before he could leave Rimemere.

Technically, he could leave Rimemere—but he couldn’t leave the Yarrows.

“So…our blood re-seals it?”

He nodded. “Sawyer helped for a very long time, but it seems like yours worked better.”

She blushed slightly at the odd compliment. “I—I will help you from now on.”

Cas laughed as they finally pulled their arms apart.

“I’m serious.” She peered into his face.

His skin was still pale, but livelier than before. Slowly, stars returned to his eyes. “I know, Sol.” Gently, he eased strands of hair from her face. “Thank you. I’ll be harder to get rid of from now on.”

“Promise.”

“Swear it.”

Behind them, waves lapped the shore, pulling at Sol’s feet.

For once, she wished to stay right where she was.

That nagging desire to flee and move was silent, her mind blissfully quiet, as she sat in the warm sand, her arm still around Cas’s waist. Inhaling, she met his gaze.

He watched her silently, as if he was also lamenting the impending end of the moment.

Although afraid words would break the moment, Sol whispered, “I don’t want to do this anymore.” She shivered. “I just want to go home.”

Cas gave her the gentlest smile she had seen on him. “Me too. But we have to finish this.”

They hadn't gotten instructions or directions for this trial. Jonah and Phil were nowhere to be seen, but Sol begged herself to trust the boys made it back to land.

Turning to the one familiar thing, they slowly made their way back to the Gods’ Villa.

Sol breathed and pulled every ounce of strength within her to the surface.

She slid from Cas's embrace, his absence leaving a jarring chill.

She pushed herself to her feet, reaching her hand out to grab his.

Wordlessly, he took it. It was peculiar to Sol how quickly near-death experiences could alleviate disputes.

And it felt oddly… perfect.

They neared the sharp right path that would take them to the front of the Villa when Cas tugged Sol to a stop.

“Sol?”

Sol peered over her shoulder. “Hmm?”

“Was I dreaming, or did you kiss me?” Cas's gaze scanned her face, slowly meeting her eyes with a slight smile. Sol held a breath as his silver eyes drifted slowly to her lips.

She continued forward, her grip tightening slightly on his wrist. Cas didn’t fight her as she led.

Finally, as they dragged themselves up some steps, she scoffed. “Definitely a dream, Prince.”

She was about to continue and comment on the radical idea they stay on the shores a while longer, but all words left her mind as a tug turned her, making her face him.

His attention once again narrowed on her lips before saying, “Then perhaps you shouldn’t have woken me.”