Page 57 of Starfall

Ari

I woke up on fire.

A thick wall of muscle pressed against my back, and a heavy arm draped over my waist. I ran cold, glacial, usually, but I was sweltering, the heat radiating from behind me enough to put an oven to shame.

Elias.

Memories of last night rushed back. I’d never felt something so powerful before—when our bodies connected, it felt like we were one entity. The whole world drifted away to ash when he’d looked at me, and then there’d just been us. Alone in our own little bubble.

I melted into him with a sigh.

I should wish we’d never crossed that line, but I didn’t have it in me. Not when my body ached so deliciously, and I still tasted him on my tongue. Today marked my last day in Persh, on Earth itself—but maybe it didn’t…

I hated myself for dreaming.

Another memory had assaulted me lying there in bed—of me in Elias’s dressing room, and a white-haired man watching over me like a dark guardian. Two very different men, both tied to me in different ways.

The words were hazy, but Xavier spoke about waiting for the right moment to present itself.

That everything should proceed as planned.

I took that as I still had a duty to perform.

Until he visited me—when he wasn’t being hunted by who I suspected was the Eternal himself—I had to bide my time and carry out Elias’s initial wish.

He would win the championship and get inside that tent.

Once there…

Would I simply ascend immediately? Or would there be a moment when the Eternal appeared? Would Xavier?

There were so many unknowns. So many things I wished I had the answer to, especially so deep into my journey. But time wasn’t a gift afforded to all of us. I could feel it, time, slipping through my fingers like grains of sand. The more I tried to slow it down, the faster the grains fell.

I had to trust in my instincts, which had only grown stronger with each passing day. If there was a chance Xavier wasn’t a liar and could grant a true life to divine creatures like me, then I had hope. Such a flimsy thing.

My gaze drifted down to where Elias’s long fingers splayed across my belly. He held me close, cocooned in the safety of his arms. I wondered if he, too, dreaded tonight.

I let out a choked noise as his fingertips grazed the underside of my breast, my bare skin covered in his scent. I liked that—being covered in him. He smelled of the wild woods, and I wished to bask in it a little longer.

A deep, rumbling groan sounded in my ear, the noise heating my core, twisting and gutting me in the span of a breath. Elias nuzzled my hair and inhaled my scent with a contented sigh, blissfully unaware that he was gradually destroying my sanity. What remained of it.

Eternal, he’d driven me to tears when?—

My breath halted in my chest.

He…he’d kissed my cheek. Kissed away one of my tears. The sacred tear of a star maiden.

So lost in Elias and his lips and heat, the thought of my tear and what it might do to him had been forgotten. A star maiden’s tear healed, but what if it did more ?

It’s fine , I repeated, shaking my head at the silly thought. If anything, it simply healed any lingering scrapes or wounds he possessed. Right ?

Fuck. I didn’t know anything.

I swore, much too loudly, using my new favorite word. It was Elias’s as well—when he trained in the arena, when he pushed past people in the street, and the word he used for no apparent reason at all. It certainly packed a delightful punch.

I very much had a reason to swear.

Elias rumbled something in his sleep, crushing me with his thick arms. Carefully, I turned my head, sneaking a cautious peek at the sleeping giant.

With the morning light shining on his face, he’d become all soft edges and relaxed features.

A strand fell into his closed eyes, and I held back from brushing the wayward curl away.

For all I knew, Elias would wake up and regret what we’d done, even if he’d been fearful last night.

The way he made me say it wasn’t a dream proved how much it had meant.

But I wasn’t familiar with mortal emotions, and navigating these uncertain waters made me uneasy.

I had just convinced myself to move, almost , when Elias’s arms tensed. There wasn’t a doubt he’d woken.

I forced my breathing to remain even, feigning sleep as I waited for his response to our compromised position. It was a cursed eternity before Elias lowered his hand from my chest, and with a sharp inhale, he loosened his grip on my waist.

I expected him to jump out of the bed, but he paused, and then his lips pressed tenderly against my temple. He didn’t wish to wake me. I nearly smiled at the thought.

The mattress dipped as he maneuvered to the floor. There was a loud thud , followed by a pained hiss. For a prized fighter, he wasn’t particularly graceful.

There went my plan to pretend to sleep until the absolute last second.

I peeled open my eyes as he rounded the mattress.

We locked gazes, fragile seconds ticking by as his unusual eyes bore into me, still soft from sleep, still clouded.

They drifted down my frame, gliding across the swell of my breasts hidden beneath the thin coverlet, and down to the apex of my thighs. His stare darkened.

“Morning,” he said, his voice raspy. “I suspected you were feigning sleep.” His ensuing smirk destroyed me, two dimples popping up on either side. I groaned and pushed the covers over my head to hide.

“I was that obvious?” I asked underneath the blanket.

He chuckled before the mattress dipped once more. “I know you, Arina,” he whispered right by my ear. Tugging the blanket from my face, he leaned forward and grabbed the back of my neck, his fingers cradling my scalp. “You look well rested.”

I rolled my eyes. “You look so pleased with yourself.” Seriously, his arrogance filled the entire room.

“Should I not be?” He asked in mock affront. “Your eyes glowed , so I took that as a good sign?—”

I playfully shoved him in the chest, and Elias went flying, grabbing the covers before he soared right off the mattress. I held my hands to my gaping mouth. I always forgot my strength.

“If you wanted me out of bed, there has to be a nicer way to do so,” he said, climbing to his feet with a grin. Elias’s smile dipped, and he raked a hand through his messy, dark hair. “As much as I do want to stay in bed and…”

I leaned forward, my heart thudding in my ears. “And…?”

Elias’s cheeks darkened, and I bit my tongue from pointing out his blush. The great brute blushed before me. “You know very well what I want to do to you, Ari,” he said, swallowing thickly.

I did. And I wanted him to do it all.

Elias groaned again when I smiled coyly in reply. “I have to train today or Darren will have my ass.” He tore his eyes from me, making a face. “How about you use the bath first and I’ll make us some breakfast?” He stood. “As long as I don’t look at you, we should make it out of here in one piece.”

I rose from the bed, completely bare. As if sensing my state, Elias grabbed his face and shook his head. “Seriously, Ari. If I fucking see you right now…”

“You’re no fun.” I smirked, but snagged my bag and headed for the bathroom. Before I closed the door, I peeked over my shoulder. Elias’s eyes burned into my skin. I shut the door seconds before he swore and I heard him running into some poor piece of furniture .

I laughed, my insides light. I made him lose control. The wicked part of me wanted to march back in there and taunt him, but I wouldn’t get him in trouble with Darren on today of all days.

Get your shit together , I scolded myself, facing the speckled mirror.

He didn’t regret last night. He’d been…happy. Happier than I’d ever seen him.

But that didn’t mean we couldn’t stop our mission. Now, my smile dropped.

I splashed cold water on my heated face, droplets wetting my long silver hair.

After rubbing at my eyes, I glared daggers at the mirror.

My irises had been changing, the silver drowned by a sea of blue the closer we neared to the end.

Was it simply a reminder of my mission? Or was I losing a vital part of my old self?

Since rage had clouded my senses, I blamed Xavier.

“You can never show up when I want to question you, eh?” My glowering face stared back at me. I wanted Xavier to show himself and finish his reasoning. He played with me and my emotions easily, telling me to continue with the wish and that all would be well, but he never told me why or how .

“You’re acting like a coward, Xavier,” I spoke to the mirror like I expected an answer. “Why can’t you just talk to me?”

Of course, there was no reply.

I reached for a brush on the vanity to tame my wild hair, but in the process, knocked over the bag from Madame Catriona’s. My folded clothing spilled out, and the black dress Liv told me to wear tonight landed at my feet.

Grumbling, I bent to shove it back inside.

Silver flashed.

“What’s this?” I moved the slinky fabric aside, revealing a chain, a delicate diamond the size of a pea hanging from the links. It was resplendent in its simplicity, the facets perfectly cut, the linked chain as thin as a piece of the finest thread.

Rummaging through the rest of the clothes, I discovered the note written in an elegant script that I suspected would be waiting for me .

This isn’t enchanted,

but I thought it would suit you

I look forward to seeing you wear it tonight.

You’re going to shine when the moment comes to choose.

Yours,

Xavier