Page 36 of Stealing the Star Stone

Chapter Twenty-Five

The moon, Lethara

A Lethaar Temple, near to Vael’Tir.

When normal’s not that awesome.

Day Six.

“So grab all the booty, boys, plunder the skies,

From her Milky Way curves to her bright starry eyes,

We’ll pillage their ports and we’ll board every ship,

And we’ll dock nice and snug for a lovely long trip!”

Eli squawked in Nova’s caterwauling. He even adored that part of her. No one was perfect, and her dismal singing voice made him love her more.

The shimmering crab-spider splintered into fragments like a kaleidoscope. For a moment, five white eyes lingered before they too faded.

“Run,” she hissed, bolting ahead.

The flat cobbles lost the light once they’d gone over them. He didn’t care as long as they showed the way.

Sweeping movement stirred a breeze across his neck, but he didn’t think about it, not willing to peek over his shoulder. He echoed Nova’s frustration. As much as he’d enjoyed this time as Nova Blake, he wanted to move on, to confess his love, maybe begin a new life with her. God willing.

“Is it me or can you smell fresh air?” she asked, increasing her pace.

She glanced at him, then behind them, jerking to a halt. “Run!”

Squeezing past him, she headed back to the cavern, hollering and waving her arms. Then she was chasing him, urging him to sprint with his shorter legs. The rifle smacked his ass, driving him onward.

The entire time, she screamed like someone was trying to kill her.

When he exploded out of the tunnel, it took him by surprise.

He swiveled, blaster in hand to face whatever was chasing them.

She skidded across the ground, rolling onto her back as she fought for air.

He waited, his ears filled with her ragged breathing while he focused on sound or movement coming from the darkness.

White eyes watched him but didn’t approach.

For the longest time, he held its gaze until it slowly retreated.

Only then did he lower his weapon and collapse beside her. “We made it,” he said.

She sat up and studied their surroundings. The swish of distant waves and the salty tang of the ocean registered. And there, on a slight rise, stood a gazebo-like temple—a black construction without a roof. Stalwart pillars circled an empty altar.

“Shit,” she said, staggering to her feet and jogging the final distance.

He followed, disbelieving that Senmut would send them to a stoneless temple.

There had to be a catch. Nova stroked every inch of the altar, probably searching for a trigger switch or a clue.

He swept his gaze out across the peninsula and beyond to the moonlight-kissed ocean the color of old blood.

The flying whales on the horizon seemed closer and yet remained surreal.

He rested his temple on a pillar, squeezed his eyes shut, and drew in calming breaths. When he pulled back, his gaze snagged on glowing blue letters.

His heart skipped a beat. A quick scan confirmed he wasn’t imagining it. Each of the eight pillars had a few words.

That is creation.

one another

To understand

That is union.

to be known.

one another.

is to become

To be seen,

“Oh,” he gasped. “It’s a puzzle.”

She gaped at him. Her cheeks flushed red. Unshed tears glistened, and she pursed her lips. “I…can’t even deal with this.”

“Just write it all down and shuffle them until they make sense.” He held out his hand for the bag which she happily tossed to him. “We can do this.”

A poor journal sacrificed a few pages which he tore into eight strips. On them, she scrawled the words, handing each one to him as soon as she was done.

The waves, squeaks and cries of nature, and his steady heartbeat filled him with a sense of peace.

“‘To understand’ is pillar one; put the bag there and grab a few items.”

She did as asked, then with machete and books in hand, she waited.

He hummed and switched the strips, undecided between ‘is to become’ and ‘one another.’ “I’m going to guess here. Mark number two as ‘is to become.’ And ‘one another’ as three.”

“Mm, to understand is to become one another…” She palmed another book to place at the next pillar.

“Yeah, there are two ‘one another.’” He waved a strip of paper at her. “And they don’t make sense with what’s left.”

She tapped her chin with a book’s spine and studied the words. “What about, ‘To understand one another is to become one another?’”

He grinned. “That could work. Okay, that leaves ‘That is creation. That is union. To be known, and to be seen.’”

“The first two have a finality to them. They’d be at the end, right?” She gave him a shrug. “Besides, even if we figure out what it means, how does it help us?”

“I don’t know, maybe touch them in order? With our joined hands, with the stone, or with the egg?” He jumped to his feet. “I’m guessing here.”

Her smile was sweet. “And doing a fantastic job, too.” She touched, stroked, then kissed the first pillar’s words. Nothing happened. “Okay, so not that. Or we have them in the wrong order.”

He lifted the bag to dig out more items and blinked at the number carved into the base of the pillar. It was caked with black soil and barely noticeable. “Look!” He knelt and brushed aside the dirt. “I was right. This one’s first.”

They moved through the temple and dusted off the symbols.

“What’s it say then?” she asked, wiping her hands on her ass.

He shifted to the center of the temple to take them all in. “To understand one another is to become one another. To be seen, to be known—that is union. That is creation.”

She squealed, bouncing on the spot. “Since it talks about union, let’s try touching them together.”

He laced his fingers with hers and pressed them to the first words. They lit with a muted hum. Giggling, they ran between the pillars in order then faced the altar.

Excitement pulsed between them, and if they’d had the time, he’d kiss her, especially when she glowed with such joy.

Grating rumbled beneath his feet. He fought the urge to step back, worried the bottom would fall away and swallow them whole.

The altar split in half and spiraled outward. In the center a stone rose on nothing but air. When it was high enough, the grating returned and the altar reformed.

“I’m not ready to test the stones.” She squeezed his hand still clasped in hers. “What if this one speeds up the timer again?”

“Then we leave this moon, get married, and learn to live like this.” Which I’d love to do with you, Nova-honey.

Her panic faded, and she drew him into a hug. “I suppose that wouldn’t be that bad,” she said. She pressed a kiss to his temple then pulled away, dropping the bag between them. “Let’s do this.”

He stole another kiss. It was meant to be swift, a mere brushing of lips, but she crushed him to her and deepened it. His heartbeat deafened him. Breathing became inconsequential, and only the taste of her mattered. When he broke away, desire zinged along his veins.

He studied her as he rummaged through the bag, then dropped it at her feet, their stone in hand. “Ready?”

She splayed her fingers on it and reached out to the other. He did the same.

A low humming started on both stones and grew louder, making his palms tingle.

Between them, a light began, growing brighter until it was blinding.

“Is it going to shatter?” she whispered, peeking at him through her narrowed eyes.

Before he could answer, the colors swirled in the stones’ depths.

Both shot up then spun around each other, whirling so fast they blurred. He snatched her against him, needing her warmth to calm him. This could end so badly.

Or it could go well.

His chest swelled. An explosion of heat poured outward from there to his shoulder, down his bicep, stopping at his fingertips. He held up his hand and blinked at the disappearing tattoo.

“It’s…working,” she said, showing him her palm. Tears traveled over her cheeks and dripped off her chin.

“You’ve been amazing, Nova,” he said, stealing a fleeting kiss.

The light and hum grew bolder. He squeezed his eyes shut and cuddled into her embrace. ‘I love you’ burned the tip of his tongue, urging him to confess, but he hesitated. Time slowed. The air charged with electricity, tickling the hair on his head and arms.

Boom.

A force threw them backward. He bounced off a pillar. But all he registered was that she was no longer in his arms.

When he opened his eyes, the altar was as they’d found it with no stones in sight. He scrambled to his feet, pain ricocheting in his skull. Gripping the lump forming, he gaped at the altar.

Only then did he realize he was taller than moments ago.

He was Eli Thorne again.

“Eli?” Nova moaned, struggling to stand. Her shoulder throbbed, and her hip burned. A steady pain in her core was an all too familiar sensation—her periods were due.

She froze, sat up, and stared at her knees, peeked inside her shirt at her cleavage, then cupped her face. The presence of her eyebrows, nose, lips, and chin sparked a cry of joy.

She was Nova Blake again.

And yet, what was inside her was deep loss, lingering like a devouring shadow.

She whipped her gaze to the altar in time to catch Eli climbing to his feet. Her heart swelled, heat exploded outward, and she swallowed a gasp by biting her lip.

I love him.

How the hell had that happened? When? Did that even matter?

Loving a movie star was a one-way-road to misery.

He’d be away all the time. Like Seth had been, and she’d coped with that just fine.

The crux was Eli’s fans. Many women would throw themselves at him.

Could she trust him to resist temptation?

That was all moot when there was no sign that he loved her, too.

Oh, no. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and bowed. This’s bad, Nova. You’re such an idiot.

“You okay?” Eli cupped her cheek, snapping her from her sorrow.

“I could do with a cup of tea,” she said, forcing a smile. “It worked, Eli. Can you believe that?”

“Yeah, now we need to leave this moon.”