Page 52 of Starfall
“You would have found your way again.” I grabbed his chin.
So close, we breathed in each other’s air.
“You never needed me. You just needed to wake up.” I gave him a half smile, wishing I could destroy the guilt darkening his stare.
He would always blame himself when I left.
Xavier barely had enough time to speak with me, let alone reveal a plan.
Or reveal himself , for that matter. For all I knew, his goals could be worse than ascending, like the Eternal commanded.
Elias’s mouth brushed against the side of mine, and tingles shot across my cheeks. Such a simple touch ignited a spark that could turn into a blaze.
“Ari,” he murmured my name like a prayer. “Why do you have such power over me? You make me want to pin you to this fucking wall and?—”
Shouts rang out, stopping his words. Elias tensed, turning to peer over his shoulder.
Drunken revelers wandered close by. “Some are Charlie’s men,” he said against my ear. “We need to get out in public. They won’t touch us with so many witnesses.”
Right then, I wanted to strangle Charlie myself for the interruption.
Elias pushed off the wall and took my hand. Keeping a casual pace, he set off from the group of raucous men. There were around five or six, all drunk off their asses. A dangerous combination.
I held my breath until Elias led us to the main street again and into the bedlam.
The festival felt different tonight. Heavy.
Yesterday, I’d been enthralled by the splendor and captivated by the performers, but tonight I was on edge, and not merely because of Elias and our stolen moment behind the tents. I could still feel the whisper of his breath on my lips. I brought the tips of my fingers to them and shuddered.
The fighter at my side remained vigilant as we passed tents. I wanted to explore most of them, but we had to put distance between us and Charlie St. Claire’s men.
I went to brush a stray strand of hair behind my ear when my fingers grazed Xavier’s mask, still perched on my head from when Elias had lifted it. I hesitated, deciding to keep it in place. My nerves were fried, and facing any truth now might ruin me.
The clock was ticking, and I wanted to scream. To deny the Eternal everything I had promised. I wanted Xavier to fucking finally speak without riddles. There was so much want .
So lost in my search, I stumbled a few times, but Elias was quick to steady me, his hands wandering to my waist by the third trip. There they remained. Like they belonged there.
An inebriated forest nymph wearing tree bark and little else staggered into my side.
Elias growled, shifting himself in front of me before the intoxicated nymph could so much as graze me again.
When the nymph beheld Elias in all his muscled glory, he quickly apologized, tottering off to a gathering of similarly dressed partiers, all far from sober.
“Again, with the heroics,” I said, seeking to make the silence more bearable. There was music and merriment all around, yet the comfortable conversation—or lack thereof—that I’d grown accustomed to with Elias had vanished.
“I didn’t do it for you,” he insisted, adamant about sulking.
“Hey.” I knocked his shoulder with mine. “I like that you’re a tad protective.”
He rolled his eyes at that.
“And…and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you more about Xavier. I was hesitant to get you involved.” I should have told him this sooner. Elias wasn’t mad that Xavier had visited me. He was hurt that I didn’t trust him enough to tell him.
Elias slowed before a grouping of larger tents where the more complicated and intimate acts were located. We hadn’t visited them yesterday, and I’d been itching to peek beyond the curtain tonight. Liv told me acrobats were performing, among other artists.
“I’ve been a liar for most of my life, Ari.
” Elias tugged my arm, slowing us. His dark hair fell into his eyes, the chilled breeze whipping at his face, turning his hard features even more severe.
“When I tell you I hate liars, it’s because I know what they’re capable of, and I know how easy it is for them to betray you.
I was…worried about you falling into a trap. ”
“Were you betrayed?” I asked softly. I knew his boss hurt him, but this felt deeper.
Elias ground his teeth. I’d struck a nerve I hadn’t intended on hitting.
“ All I will say is that I had to become a different person to survive. Darren would’ve kicked me out if I didn’t follow his rules, and believe it or not, there was a time when I wasn’t his most prized fighter.
When I was his errand boy. I had to lie a lot then.
Especially when I told people who owed Darren that after they made their final payment, they’d be safe from him. ”
I halted, jerking Elias back. He hadn’t been betrayed. He’d been the liar.
“If you were smart, you would have never chosen someone like me,” he said, slipping free of my grasp.
“I’m not a good person, Ari. The horrible things I’ve done would have you looking at me in a very different way.
Hell, you wouldn’t want to touch me, let alone…
” he trailed off and shook his head. “I never deserved a wish, let alone for you to die for my sacrifice.”
Before I could reply, he stole into the nearest tent, a lively purple-striped one with a symbol of a raven on the flaps. The abrupt change in his demeanor startled me, and my mouth fell open.
The bastard had run. And I wasn’t one to sit back. Not when he entered a dim tent, its flaps decorated with golden-eyed ravens…