Page 39 of Scars & Starlight (Of Blood and Conquest #1)
KAIREN
I nervously check my cube again, but see no one has hailed me without me noticing. Not that that would be possible, as I’ve hardly taken my eyes off it.
“Relax, Kai,” Caden murmurs, fixing the back of my collar. I keep rumpling it as I drag my hand through my hair. “She’s your match, she adores you, she’s carrying your child. It’s not like you’re forcing her into this ceremony and she’s looking for ways to escape.”
“It’s not that,” I say quietly. “Last time we were celebrating, she got abducted by enemies I didn’t know we had. I always thought the Avaren were loyal. I knew Korvann was discontent, of course, but I never imagined so many would follow him.”
“A lot of them had no choice,” my best friend and cousin replies as he steps in front of me.
His indigo gaze calms me. “It was either go along with it or die. But it’s pointless to even talk about it now.
” He shakes his head. “The people of Avaren love Tara and would do anything to protect her. You have dozens of watchful eyes on her at all times now.”
I smirk at him. “Yeah, much to her consternation.”
My match feels best when it’s just us. By us , I mean me, her, and her little robot friend, Kiko. She’s even having the mech stand by her side as we exchange our vows, like Cade is standing by mine.
“It’s the price to pay for being a beloved princess,” he muses, wiping an imaginary speck of dust off the breast of his shirt.
“Speaking of beloved princesses. I’m not waiting a moment longer to make her mine.” I put away my cube and turn to the exit, ready to leave the room I was getting ready in.
Caden stifles a laugh. “Guess it was a miracle you lasted this long.”
Not answering him, I take large strides toward the royal palace stairs, where most official proceedings are held.
My mother should already be there, ready to officiate, while my princess waits for me at the bottom, her pale pink dress showing the smooth expanse of her back, highlighting the round shape of her behind.
My fist clenches and unclenches as I walk, my palm itching to smooth over the enticing curves.
My cousin prattles on by my side, but I’m not listening; all my focus is on my match.
As if sensing my gaze, she looks over her shoulder before turning around.
The front of her dress is as beautiful as the back, her perky breasts pushed up and making my mouth water, the silky fabric draping over her still-flat belly, then flowing out over her legs, covering the bottom of the stairs.
I might have to carry her up all two hundred of them, and I’ll gladly do so.
“Kai!” she greets me, oblivious to my silent worship. “I have no idea how I’m going to get up there without tripping over this dress. Or my feet. Or nothing at all.”
I smirk and reach for her, pulling her in for a kiss I can’t resist giving her. “Are you ready to officially become my match, my love?”
“Born ready,” she says with a nod. “Get it? Born ready? Because I’m your match and I was made for you, like you were made for me, only you were born way earlier and–”
I silence her with a longer kiss, then wrap my arms behind her back and shoulder, picking her up for the final approach.
I don’t stop kissing her as I start up the stairs, my spatial awareness enough to ensure her safety on the ascent.
Avaren and other guests cheer as I climb, but I don’t give them any of my attention.
My breathing turns hard by the time we reach the queen and Kiko, Caden filing in by their side, but I don’t know if it’s from the physical exertion or the feelings kissing my love stirs up within me.
“I’m glad you two joined us,” Raelith says in an amused tone, her voice carrying over every corner of the palace and wherever in the universe spectators are watching through communications arrays.
Tara blushes and smooths her dress, licking her lips and making me want to ravish them all over again.
“Please hold hands,” Mother continues, sensing we’re both eager to start the ceremony and – better yet – to end it and celebrate together. Alone.
I turn to my love, smiling in return when her eyes crinkle at the corners. Squeezing her hands, I get ready to say the most important words in my existence.
“Kairen, are you ready for your vows?” Raelith asks.
Instead of replying to her, I start talking to Tara directly.
“My love,” I begin. “You say you were born for me, but the truth is, the Creators made me to be everything you will need in this life and the next. The cycles that passed before we met only served to prepare me to be the best match I can possibly be for you, so that I could share my knowledge and my experience once I was yours.”
She bites her lip at the innuendo I didn’t intend, but became clear to me once I voiced it. I continue with a wide smile. “I promise to treat you like the princess you were born to be, to cover your every need, to protect you and our children, to love you more with each breath I take.”
Teardrops fall over Tara’s smile as I bring her knuckles to my lips for a kiss.
“Tara, are you ready for your vows?” Mom asks, her voice sounding as if from a distance, so focused am I on the female standing before me.
My princess clears her throat. “Kairen. The moment I saw you, I was drawn to you like a magnet. It felt as if you were a massive object entering my system, changing my orbit with your gravity. Yet you weren’t derailing me. You were stabilizing me.”
I blink to let my own tears fall so her face isn’t blurry, so I don’t miss a thing.
“You complete every circuit I thought was broken,” she continues. “Every design I thought was flawed. With you, my world has power, light, and direction. I vow to be your grounding wire when storms rage, your spark when shadows fall, and to never stop building the life we’ve started together.”
Unable to hold back any longer, I pull her into my arms and bury my face in the crook of her neck.
As Mom finishes the rest of the ceremony, I vaguely hear the familiar words I’ve heard before, though never directed at me, but mostly listening to the beat of my match’s heart.
The rhythmic thumping – sped up right now, faster than usual – pulls me into her like a black hole sucking in light.
I will go willingly, though, let myself be consumed whole and remade into anything she wants me to be.
In the following rotations, we will return to Earth, eradicate any traces of the Ghorvek with our combined armies, then find her family, heal that part of her that’s missing. But right now, we celebrate the start of our journey, highlighting our scars with joy and starlight.
Thanks so much for reading Scars & Starlight!
College was already hell and Linda thought her day couldn’t get any worse. Then the world ended. The sky split open and alien ships descended in a fiery rain from above.
Amid the apocalypse, Linda is forced into a game of survival with the mysterious Noa – a sharp-tongued rebel with a reckless grin. Noa has the skills Linda lacks, but she also has a way of making her question everything she thought she knew about herself.
As the danger escalates, so does the tension between them. The two girls realize that surviving isn’t enough. You need something to fight for.
Scroll on to read a snippet from Dusk & Desire next!