Page 16 of Starfall

“You’ll slow us down,” I said, a half-truth.

“And if I recall, you forced your help on me not too long ago, so now it’s my turn.

” She opened her mouth but promptly shut it, her eyes narrowing into cat-like slits homed my way.

Thankfully, she stayed silent, allowing me to carry her through the thick brush and into the woods.

When her hands instinctively wrapped around my neck, grazing the bare skin of my nape, a muscle in my jaw clenched.

Ari touching me…it felt like a thousand sparks zapping across my flesh.

She was so soft in my arms, so real , and I found myself tugging her even closer.

Minutes passed, and Ari gave in. Hesitantly leaning her head against my pounding heart, a soft noise left her lips, the breathy sound shaking me even more than her touch.

She was a magical creature. Hell, for all I knew, she enchanted me now. I’d have to be on my guard. Couldn’t consider any physical response to be true. Not that I desired them to be.

With the oppressive silence, my mind drifted as I walked, though I remained keenly aware of her body pressed against mine. Ari groaned as a massive shiver stole her breath, and she buried her nose deeper into my chest, seeking warmth.

I should have been shivering, the same as her, but for some inexplicable reason, lingering adrenaline surged within me. At least, I thought it was adrenaline.

I gritted my teeth. How was I going to last fourteen days with her? Ari drove me mad, but if she continued to mess with my body, I wouldn’t last. She was fucking gorgeous; the kind of beautiful that punched you harder than any fist.

But she wasn’t Grace—and I couldn’t help but compare the two.

Sweet and gentle Grace. Grace, who didn’t snap at me or complain about my muscles for that matter. She liked them a lot, actually. My ego decided that Ari had terrible taste.

The day I met Grace had been on one of the rare sunny days in Persh.

I’d been running a last-minute errand for Darren, and I rounded a corner without looking.

My error resulted in colliding with the most ravishing woman I’d ever seen…

a woman who I knocked right off her feet.

She’d landed in a heap, her fine satin gown stained by the grime covering the walkway.

I couldn’t forget the way her black hair splayed around her golden face, how it framed the most stunning creature I’d ever seen.

Grace’s blue eyes had widened in shock, her upturned nose wrinkling, but a second la ter—as I began to panic—she’d laughed, the sound melodious and addicting.

It was the kind of laugh that reminded me of bells.

My life changed forever when I found Grace.

For the first time since my father died, there was a light in my endless darkness.

A spark that ignited in my chest, warding off the cold.

She changed me. All with a simple laugh.

A laugh that she now would share with another man.

One she hadn’t fought all that hard not to marry.

Her father could be a vindictive man, but she’d accepted his decree with little argument, and I still didn’t understand why.

Perhaps he held something over her? That had to be it; Grace couldn’t have gone from telling me she loved me one day to turning her back the next.

That was months ago. And still, she had yet to seek me out.

Maybe she wants him , I thought bitterly. A life with luxuries I wouldn’t be able to provide. But if I won the championship at the Aura Festival…well, I’d earn a decent amount to make her comfortable. From there?—

My breath caught in my lungs when I saw it, and thoughts of Grace dissipated.

Twenty feet away, nearly hidden by leaves and brambles, was the opening of a small cave. I beamed with triumph as I picked up my pace.

“Could be that your magnificent Eternal is looking out for us, after all,” I said, a hint of a smile brightening my quivering tone. I spared a glance at the woman cradled against me, and the same alarm from earlier surfaced. She wasn’t moving.

“Ari?” I shook her, but she didn’t wake, didn’t open those eyes and narrow them. “Ari, wake up!” I jerked her without care now, and her head lolled listlessly to the side.

My heart fucking stopped when two lids feebly fluttered open. “W-why a-are you s-shaking m-me?”

I barked out a crude sounding laugh at the harmless bite of her tone. “Stay awake until I get the fire started. Don’t you dare shut your eyes like that again.”

I noted how her lips thinned while her eyes danced, likely thinking of a clever retort. But she remained silent, her weakened body lacking the energy to deliver threats. I kind of missed them .

Sidling into the cave, careful to shield her body from the brambles and twigs scratching at my skin, I positioned her against the rocky wall. It was no larger than fifteen feet, but it was dry and impeded the harsh winds.

“Stay here,” I instructed, not waiting for a reply before dashing off for firewood. Five minutes passed until I returned, my arms laden with twigs and splintered branches.

“Keep those peculiar eyes open,” I commanded. Ari huffed at my words, and I detected a hint of a spark ignite in her stare.

Better .

“T-they’re n-not peculiar, ” was all she could manage. I smirked. That was more like the stubborn creature I’d met hovering over my bed.

Quickly setting the wood in place, I took ten minutes to start a small fire, just as Father had shown me.

I blew on the weak flames until blessed heat warmed the cave, my fingers prickling uncomfortably from the sudden shift.

I turned to Ari, eyeing her through my lashes.

This next request would be the more…uncomfortable part.

A rare blush heated my cheeks as I caught her attention. Ari held my stare.

“We, uh, need to get out of these clothes and sit by the fire together.” Her heavy dress alone was a death sentence. I doubted it would dry for another few hours, even with the fire.

Father always told me sharing body heat was vital as well, and while the idea of wrapping my bare arms around the star maiden should make me feel nothing, I’d be a liar if I claimed otherwise. Already my damned stomach tied itself into knots.

Ari cocked her head in confusion, her eyes wandering to my neck, which I knew was stained red and hotter than the damned sun. While for survival purposes, I couldn’t help the flush. Or the thoughts whirling through my head.

“Body heat helps,” I supplied with a grimace.

“Either way, I’m taking them off, and you’re welcome to join.

You have nothing to worry about from me.

” Beneath my exterior, I felt anything but confident.

In fact, as I stared at this strange woman, I was struck by that same grating sensation I’d suffered when her arms bounded around my neck and she nuzzled into my chest. I decided I didn’t very much like it.

A slight shrug of her shoulders was her reply.

I expected her to argue—like she was prone to do—but she didn’t do anything of the sort.

Using the wall for support, Ari rose, shivering in her drenched clothing.

Standing tall, that defiant chin lifted, she reached behind her and undid the buttons at her nape.

My mouth parted, stunned by her indifference.

“You going to help me with these, or just sit there and watch?”