Page 14 of Starfall

Elias

W ater flooded my lungs, choking me, robbing me of air. It all happened in the span of a few moments, and my limbs stiffened before the need to survive pushed me into action.

Darkness greeted me when I opened my eyes, the barest traces of sunshine filtering down and penetrating the river’s roiling surface. My skin prickled and burned, and as if waking from a deep sleep, my mind caught up with my body at last.

I kicked, thrashed, and screamed into the abyss. Death would take me if I didn’t break the surface soon, but I’d cheated fate many times. I would do so again.

The muscles in my arms burned as I sliced through the water and brought myself above, shattering the surface with a gasp. I couldn’t feel much; the water’s icy nature rendered me all but immobile. From my hunting trips with my father, I knew hypothermia would kick in soon.

An image of silver eyes and a sly grin shot into my thoughts like an arrow. I cursed with a sputter. I wasn’t alone.

Ari.

Her face appeared behind my eyes until it was all I could see. Everywhere I turned, I searched for her bobbing head, the river gradually carrying me downstream.Where the hell was she? She should’ve breached the surface by now. We jumped in at the same time and?—

I slammed my fists onto the river’s surface in realization.

She couldn’t swim.

If what she claimed was true, that she called Maldia her home—a city in the clouds— then I doubted the opportunity to master swimming had presented itself.

Shit. I felt responsible for her safety, even if she had weaseled her way into my life. It wasn’t fear of the Eternal or his wrath that had my pulse thudding at my throat—it was the idea that I might be the cause of her death.

It wasn’t the first time I couldn’t save someone.

Spinning in circles, the past and present battled, images of that fateful day fourteen years ago looping on repeat.

There’d been blood. So much blood.

An unmoving chest, pale skin, wide, lifeless eyes?—

“Ari!” I screamed her name, my voice cracking. No head of silver popped up. No star maiden. I fought against the current as my stomach throbbed, that familiar and uncomfortable guilt making an unwelcome appearance.

“Father, why aren’t you breathing?” I heard my nine-year-old self beg. “Please wake up, please don’t leave me.”

The current was strong, and my anxiety spiked.

You’re no longer that weak child, I reminded myself. That naive child died that day, too.

Then a shameful thought pushed through… The soul bond Ari spoke of.

If she died, did that mean I would die as well?

I hadn’t believed in the stories of the Eternal’s divine beings.

They were tales mothers told their children when they tucked them in at night.

After my childhood had been stolen from me, I wasn’t one to delve into fairy tales, let alone put my faith in them .

Yet there was no denying Ari and all of her otherworldliness. No denying she was no mortal being. And if her life had been tied to mine…

I dove beneath the water, remembering I couldn’t give in so easily. That life was meant to be a struggle, and this moment was no exception. Ari was an innocent, just like my father had been. Just like I had been before that night that took everything I’d ever loved from me.

I parted the dense water and scanned the darkening depths. My years of training at Darren’s aided my plight, and reflex took over. Ignoring the searing warmth in my chest, calves, and arms, I pushed deeper and deeper into the gloom.

The only sound I made out besides the muffled whoosh of water was my heart, and it drummed savagely against my ribcage. Dread—unlike the kind I experienced on the train when Alecks appeared—consumed me, a painful stinging stretching across the length of my body.

I had let her go.

I’d let go of her hand after we’d struck the river, and now, my weak grip would lead to her death.If only I’d been strong enough?—

I froze.

Ten feet below, a beam of pure moonshine pierced the murky depths, igniting the underwater world. Soft at first—nothing but an unsteady flash—the light swelled, growing into an inviting beacon of white.

The light of a star maiden. That light, that hair, her eyes…

She was nothing short of magic. Chasing Ari’s glow, enraptured by her unearthly beam, a strange sort of energy flooded my system.

It shouldn’t have been possible, this burst of strength, not with how I’d struggled minutes ago.

Yet a miracle suddenly didn’t seem as impossible.

A flash of a stranger’s face flitted across my vision, of a girl with brown skin, curly black hair, and a kind smile on her lips. I blinked, and she was replaced with a room of gold, several women wearing white gowns forming a tight circle.

These weren’t my memories. They… Did they belong to Ari? I’d never seen such architecture before, and the adoration slithering in my veins at the sight of the stranger with the kind smile made me ache with something unfamiliar .

Our connection pulled at my chest, propelling me forward. I was nearly there.

Bubbles escaped my lips as my fingers grazed her long tresses.

I gave one last kick before I wrapped an arm around her waist. Limp and motionless, I hugged her to my chest, a flare of panic igniting at the state of her.

Ari was so lifeless in my hold, nothing like the fierce creature who’d broken into my home and straddled me, knocking a trained fighter clean on his ass with ease.

I didn’t like seeing her this way. It felt wrong.

My lungs screamed as I hauled her up and up and up, the rays of the sun taunting me as they danced atop the river’s surface.

So close…

I breached the surface with a pained gasp. The sunlight grazed my skin, but its warmth didn’t reach me. Not yet. I had to get us to shore. Had to warm Ari, rid her of the sickly paleness coating her soft skin.I didn’t know if star maidens could die, but I wasn’t taking the chance.

“Stay with me, lass,” I panted, swimming to the rocky banks. I tried not to glance down, to see if her body had turned the same gray as my father’s. Death was ugly. It was cruel.

When my feet struck the spongy earth, I hoisted Ari up and into my arms, cradling her head to my chest. My drenched clothing was heavy, my boots turning into weights that made each step unbearable.

I staggered to dry ground, and with a gentleness I didn’t know I possessed, I laid her out on the stony bank.

I cringed at the sight of her blue-tinged lips.

Just like Father .

I cursed as I pressed both hands against her chest. Lowering my head after a few thrusts, I pinched her nostrils and breathed life into her mouth. I repeated the process, growing less gentle as time went on and she didn’t wake.

“Come on,” I snarled, suddenly furious. This woman had inserted herself into my life, my business, and demanded my faith. She rekindled the single ember of hope I owned, and made me believe I could live a life I didn’t believe myself worthy of .

And now, she had the gall to drown.

More than that, Ari jumped into the water knowing she couldn’t swim. She’d trusted me completely and without hesitation. I couldn’t recall a time someone placed their life in my hands with such reckless faith.

My anger morphed into something else, something worse that I didn’t completely understand.

I thrust my hands harder against her chest, telling myself I was furious with her instead of myself.

Darkness danced across her face as if the shadow of death loomed above, keen to snatch Ari’s life force for his own.

Not today .

“If you don’t wake, I’m going to kill you myself?—”

Ari’s eyes flashed open; wide and brimming with unmistakable horror. With a sputtered cough, she lurched to the side, purging the river from her lungs. I held her hair back as she heaved, her body quivering from more than just the cold.

My body shook, my entire being on the razor’s edge.

Not dead. Not gone . I repeated this mantra as she retched, willing my nerves to settle, commanding my mind to release the memories of a bloody past.

Losing someone like that…it fucked with you.

Twisted you up and changed you forever. I’d been fine with the man I became, but when I held Ari in my arms, her body motionless, I was transported back to when I felt the most helpless.

The intensity of the emotion constricted my throat, and I watched on my knees as Ari ceased trembling and slowly turned her silver eyes to me.

I startled. The blue flecks I’d memorized had grown , battling against the divine silver. Her irises were stunning to begin with, but what did that mean? That change? Had she skirted too close to death, and that was the repercussion?

So many questions, and I loathed not having answers.

Whatever look she glimpsed on my face had her lips parting, yet no words came out.

I heaved, wrenching my gaze from her haunting eyes and to her drenched hair that clung to the sides of her cheeks, random strands plastered across her brow.

My eyes traveled lower, down to the dress I’d let her borrow, which fit her like a second skin.

Cursed heat coiled in my belly.

When she first emerged from my room wearing the gown, I nearly made her go back and change, but it was the only one that would fit properly, and it had to do. Tight in all the right places when dry, the dress was damn near scandalous now.

Fuck me .

My eyes tracked down her frame, taking in her tucked, narrow waist that flared into generous hips that begged for my fingers to grip.

The heat inside of me flared as my gaze landed on her chest, her breasts straining the fabric, the copper buttons on the verge of bursting.

I couldn’t help but recall the night before—how her flowing white gown hadn’t left much to the imagination.

While I tried to be a gentleman, I’d seen how glorious her figure had been—all soft and full.

Curves that would make a man fall to his knees just to worship at her feet.