Page 19

CHAPTER 19

AURORA

D reams are like stars. They shine brighter at night. And night was Aurora’s favorite time because that was when she could dream of him. Dream of the way his kisses tasted and the way her name sounded when he spoke it. But dreams, like stars, didn’t have a weight to them. They didn’t have a warmth to them like the warmth she felt now.

“You shouldn’t be here.” Aurora opened her eyes and whispered to the god that lay next to her.

“Then you should stop wishing for me.” He moved closer, pressing a kiss to her star-dusted lips.

“My wish is how you got here.” Aurora had wished for the god who was a dark spot on the golden hue of her bedding.

“Then you will have to wish me away.” He moved closer, his hand sliding up her hip, taking with it the sheer robe she had on. His touch was featherlight on her bare skin. Sometimes she wished he’d leave a mark upon her like she did on him. A silver trace of his love.

“Thane,” Aurora moaned in his mouth. They had been apart for too long. She had cried a sky’s worth of tears over him. It wasn’t really Thane’s fault. He was cursed. Yes , it is his fault. He gave his love to another, she reminded herself. And now she had to suffer the consequences of that curse.

They both did. And they were both powerless to how the curse would affect them. The last time he broke her heart, she swore she would never go back to him. But as the days and nights wore on, she couldn’t take being without him.

Thane pulled away, searching her face in the low light. “ I’ve missed you, dove.”

“Have you?” It would be easier to forget him if he weren’t so beautiful. A delicate beauty that only came from his father, Death . Sharp points she willingly cut herself on.

“Yes.” Thane lowered his mouth, kissing her again.

“If you are caught…” Aurora cupped his cheek. Everyone would see her prints on him. They’d see the stardust smeared across his lips and cheeks. That was the cost of knowing the secrets of the stars; their dust was on everything she touched.

“I won’t be.”

Aurora pulled him closer, wanting to feel the weight of him press down on her. Thane should not be here in the heavens. He was a god from the underworld and not allowed in the heavens. But she had wished for him, and the stars always granted her wishes. His mouth trailed down her neck. His hands slid up her ribs to cup her breasts. The sun would soon set in the mortal land and Thane would have to return to his duties, but until then she would hold on to darkness. “ We haven’t much time, my love.” Aurora tugged at the smooth silk of Thane’s shirt, wanting to feel the warmth of his skin on hers.

“Shall I stop time for you?” Thane whispered as he moved down her body.

Aurora tangled her fingers in his soft, dark hair. His mouth was warm on the inside of her thigh. “ I think I would like that.”

“Would you?” he asked, looking up at her. His silver eyes were bright with desire. His full mouth shimmered with stardust. She loved the way his desire tasted.

Aurora smiled at the thought of time stopping long enough for them to be together. Of how dawn and darkness would inhabit the heavens at the same time. Time could not be wished away. But Thane could stop it. He could order the god to turn his hourglass on, its side stopping life for everyone but them.

“My lady.” A whisper cut through the darkness of the room.

“Go away.” Aurora ordered the golden woman from her room.

“Your father is soon to return, and your mother wishes to speak to you.”

Aurora cursed the heavens and all the gods in it. “ That’s not a wish I will grant. Tell my mother to go away.”

“She said to tell you he can wait.” The golden woman looked to her feet.

“Who is she to order me?” Aurora snapped, knowing that the golden woman could not answer that and that her mother would not wait. The god would bust in here and demand Aurora’s attention no matter what position she and Thane were in.

Thane moved to lie next to her in the bed. He traced the fullness of her bottom lip with his finger. “ There is still time to stop it.”

It was reckless to do so, for time not only stopped for them but for the mortals they watched over. And mortals didn’t do so well with the loss of time. Their lives were already too short to enjoy the fullness of their world. And time couldn’t erase Fate’s curse on Thane .

“Not this time.” Aurora ran a fingertip over his brow. A broken heart you shall have. The simple words Fate had spoken, forever cursing Thane . Unless … Every curse could be broken. And Aurora may have found a way.

“Will you come to me as the sun rises?” Thane whispered.

“If you wish it.” She moved to kiss him again. His kisses were more intoxicating than moonbeam wine.

“I wish it,” Thane whispered as he kissed her again.

Aurora could feel the wish being granted, the stars whispering, “ That which is wished from below shall be granted from above . ”

Thane kissed her again before he slid from the bed, rebuttoning his shirt. “ I will try harder this time. I will do better.”

Aurora could feel his sorrow and loneliness. That was the part of being destined to love another that was never spoken of. It was more than your strings being tied together. It was everything. His suffering became hers; likewise, her sorrow, his. Which made Thane’s curse even more painful.

Aurora rose up on her knees and kissed his sad mouth. “ We shall both try.”

Thane took her hands in his. “ I wish you would?—”

“Don’t.” She cut him off. The stars would hear his wishes and grant them. “ Do not wish me away.”

“Not away, love. Just not in love with?—”

“Thane.” Aurora pressed a finger to his perfect mouth. “ You couldn’t wish my love away if I gave you all the stars.” Thane pressed a kiss to her fingertip. His sorrow was thick and made her head feel heavy.

“My lady.” The golden woman fretted at the door. Stars were such impatient things when they took form.

Aurora kissed Thane once more, then led him to her balcony. “ I shall see you when the sun rises in the mortal land and sets in the underworld.”

“I’ll count every grain of sand that falls through the glass of time.” Thane kissed her hand.

“No, you won’t. You’ll be collecting souls for your father and sipping mortal whiskey,” Aurora scoffed. Even gods had duties that must be fulfilled.

“All while thinking of you, dove. All of you.” His eyes raked up her body. “ With less clothing on, of course.”

“Of course. Now go before my father catches you and turns you into a cloud, or worse, a silly star.” Aurora pushed Thane into the shadows that always clung to her balcony.

“Then I could gaze upon you all night,” he teased. “ Would you make a wish upon me?”

“No, I’d keep you in a cage and feed you pieces of broken dreams.” Aurora stepped closer to the shadows. They were how she moved between the realms.

“And I will gladly sing for you.”

Aurora rolled her eyes. “ Please make sure broody Thane is the one I take to bed tonight. Poet Thane is irritating.” In the hall Aurora could hear her mother.

“I’m not broody.” Thane frowned. “ I’m only trying not to break your heart.”

His sadness coated her mouth. She cupped his cheek. “ I like it when you’re broody and pouty.”

“I don’t pout.” He did just that.

“Yes, you do,” Aurora said, pushing him into the shadows just as her father returned to his realm, filling her room with the warm glow of life.