Page 30 of Starfall

Ari

E lias was quiet after he concluded his business with Darren. Liv, on the other hand, was not. She happily filled the silence, going on and on about the upcoming Aura Festival with an almost contagious excitement.

As was becoming a habit, my attention wandered to Elias. Sometimes, I’d catch his mask slipping. His right eye would twitch, and he’d tap his pointer finger against his thumb, his nervous energy spilling out into the world.

To the passersby, he was a giant, his resting face a glower.

To me, he appeared like he bore a steel bar over his shoulders, struggling to keep it from holding him down.

I found it odd, watching him in this city; he might claim to love it, but the choices he’d made here were slowly destroying him.

It didn’t take someone who’d only been on Earth for a few days to figure that out.

At my side, Liv spoke about the latest fashions from the south, talking so I didn’t have to.

Navigating the streets was complicated enough, and Liv did it all with ease while I stumbled to keep up.

Apparently, metal corsets were all the rage, but Liv would have to kill me herself before I put myself in such a wicked contraption .

We turned on the corner of Crimson Street, finding Madame Catriona’s on the right. Like the rest of the Chance Quarter, the shops’ doorways were framed in gold, and symbols of various designs were painted overhead. Catriona’s had selected a simple curled ribbon.

“Pretty, eh?” Liv poked me in the shoulder when I stopped to admire the dresses through the arched and perfectly polished store window.

“Pretty” might not have been the word that first came to mind. The styles were seductive and brazen, so different from the airy and ethereal gowns we wore on Maldia.

I didn’t particularly want to spend my day sealed inside and under a pile of dresses, regardless of how a thrill raced down my back at the idea. The city frightened me, but being stuck inside a brick building somehow felt worse.

I sensed him before his heat tickled my ear, his deep voice causing my skin to tingle.

“I’ll be next door collecting Darren’s payments,” Elias whispered.

I still recalled how his lips had brushed my ear at the club, and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from reacting.

I had to be exhausted from our journey because being here with him gave me a temptation to try…

new things . Things I’d seen in dreams that made my core ache with need.

“All right,” I managed, my thoughts suddenly elsewhere. Where they should not be.

His stubble grazed my cheek when he pulled away. “I’ll be close, Ari. I won’t leave you.”

“Thank you,” I murmured, not knowing what else to say.

His hulking frame towered over me, but I didn’t feel fear.

In fact, the longer he stood there—breathing my air, his eyes locked on mine—the safer I felt.

Like he refused to let anything bad happen.

I had never experienced such a sensation before.

I understood now why Liv and the others had missed him so dearly.

The people with the toughest exteriors often used their strength to fight for the people who mattered the most in their lives.

And for just that second, I actually believed that in an alternate universe, I might’ve been one of those people to Elias.

Maybe he could be my friend. A person I’d rely upon, like Lily .

Why this fairytale of mine carried importance at all baffled me.

No. My dark stranger had gotten into my head. He asked what I wished for; what I desired from life. I’d been forbidden to ask such questions before. Now I couldn’t stop.

“Hey now!” Liv shoved Elias aside, and suddenly, I could breathe again. “I’ve got her, all right? No need to be overprotective when we’re right next door.”

Elias’s eyes were slits as Liv practically dragged me into the store, and I swore I felt the imprint of his gaze on my back long after.

Thankfully, we wouldn’t be far enough away to endure the effects of the soul bond, but he stayed at the window with his usual glower until Liv pulled me into the madness of the shop.

Significantly larger than it had appeared from the street, the space overflowed with vibrant color.

Tables displayed hats and accessories and shoes, each item more intricate than the last. Most accessories were fashioned of thick brocade or silk, but the clothing itself strayed toward both function and beauty—whether with elaborate pearl or gem buttons, or sharp, regal lines.

Lily would love this. I could imagine her bright smile now.

“You should see your face, Silver,” Liv hissed into my ear as she guided me to a neat display of dresses. Her new nickname for me, it seemed, not that I minded. It was accurate. “You look like a skittish mare.”

I bristled, but only for show. I liked Liv. Especially when she put Elias in his place. If he trusted her and liked her, then I could trust her as well. I doubted Elias cared for many people.

“I’ve never really shopped before,” I admitted, wincing at my options. Too many options. I secretly wished the big brute would swoop in here and save me from so many choices. “It’s overwhelming.”

“Don’t worry. You’ve got me to help you. Much better than Elias, I’ll tell you that. He couldn’t match any other color besides black.” She pursed her lips. “Though, to be fair, I actually think black would look stunning on you.”

Liv slipped her arm through mine as if she’d done it several times before, a brilliant smile plastered on her face. For a second—just a second— I imagined how happy Elias appeared as he’d swung her in his arms at Darren’s club. The two were close in a way I understood.

I believed souls called out to one another, and some voices rang louder than others. Right about now, Liv’s soul sang to mine like a canary that escaped its cage and tasted the skies for the first time. I couldn’t ignore such a glaring sign.

“We’ll pick out something that’ll knock Elias off his feet.” Liv continued, turning me around to study my face. Her kohl-lined eyes roved my figure with enough scrutiny to make me blush. Again.

“It’s not like that?—”

“The way he looked at you tells me otherwise. He’s not protective of just anyone, and he leans into you when he talks.” She made a show of doing just that, mimicking how Elias spoke to me before we entered the shop. “You may not know him well, but if he can avoid intimacy of any kind, he will.”

“What about Grace?” I asked before thinking, hating that her name tasted sour in my mouth. I should care about her as much as Elias, for the wish’s sake.

Liv waved a hand as if swatting at a fly. “That woman wouldn’t know love if it smacked her in the face. All she cared about was wealth, and Elias was too starved of affection to not try to fit into her mold.” A sigh and then, “She’s no good for him. Never was.”

My forehead scrunched in confusion. Liv wasn’t a fan of Grace, that was clear.

“So why is Elias so hung up on?—”

“Ah! These are perfect!” Liv knocked into the shoulder of a stern-faced patron as she raced off to a section overflowing with gold dresses. They hardly seemed like more than blouses, let alone a dress that would cover my generous bottom half. “Gold would be divine on you.”

So much for prying into Elias’s psyche some more. I heaved a sigh and focused on the dresses.

I’d only ever worn white aside from the gown Elias loaned me.

It symbolized a star maiden’s devotion to the Eternal.

The notion of wearing gold or black elicited another shock of forbidden excitement, the tiny hairs on my arms rising.

If Mistress Lina could see me now, her heart would give out.

Hell, mine was on the verge of combusting.

“Make sure it covers most of me, at least!” I called after Liv when she made a beeline for a display of red dresses across the shop, shooing away more patrons who blocked her path. She was a force, and I envied such confidence.

After following her around like a lost pup, holding whatever item she tossed my way, I garnered the courage to ask more about Elias. “So,” I began, sidling up to Liv. “How long have you known Elias?” I’d get more reliable information out of Liv than the man himself.

“Around three years,” Liv replied coolly, not glancing up from her perusing. “He was practically a lad back then, brought in by the boss. Poor thing had been robbed, and the Black Lungs nearly beat him to death.”

“The Black Lungs?”

Liv sighed as if she’d rather talk about anything else.

“Yeah, they’re a nasty gang who work the southern side of Persh.

The name comes from their origins as cigar makers.

They’re ruthless bastards led by Charlie St. Claire now, and they no longer indulge in clean business.

But Elias defended himself as well as he could against five men, and Darren was impressed.

” Her eyes found mine, something cold hardening them—something fierce yet proud.

“Which is not an easy thing to do, mind you. So, the boss brought him to the bunks the second they patched Elias up. He’s been with us ever since. ”

I couldn’t imagine how Elias must’ve felt—alone and in a foreign city, attacked by a gang of merciless men.

I had known him for a few days, and I’d already become aware that he’d rather tuck away his true emotions than express any genuine sentiment of fear.

Typically, I frowned on such a thing, but I began to understand that there were times when feelings were best concealed. Especially in Persh.

Liv threw yet another black dress into my pile, which had built up rather quickly.

“Is he any good? At fighting, I mean.” It was a silly question, but I’d settle for any morsel. All those muscles had to be good for something…