Page 23 of Cosmic Soul

“Excuse me?”

“Every drakcol I’ve seen wears a considerable amount of jewelry.”

Sunshine took another bite of food. “I’ve never even thought about that. It’s simply a part of our culture. If I had to guess, I believe it came from when we were warring clans before the Crystal chose the first empress who united us. I know jewelry was taken as spoils of war. When we killed an enemy, we would strip their bodies of valuables, claiming them for ourselves. The more jewelry signaled who the greater warriors were. We no longer do such, but we all still wear jewelry.”

My eyes ran over his multiple piercings, longing to kiss them, tug on them, play with them. The knowledge I couldn’t, in no way, dampened the desire.

“Little Soul, you stopped speaking again. Are you well?”

I forced a smile to my lips. “I’m fine.”

“Then continue.”

“I'm bored of talking about myself. Tell me about you.”

“Why? You’re who’s important right now.”

His words burned my soul. “Because I want you to.”

He turned on the couch, resting his back against the tall arm. “What do you wish to know?”

Everything, honestly. But I had to start somewhere. “When did you start seeing ghosts?”

“I always remember seeing people that others did not. I told my parents and many others when I was young, and I spent some time in different medical facilities getting tested.”

“They didn’t know it was your inner fire thing?” I asked.

“Mediums are rare, exceedingly so. One of the Crystal’s priests was the first to figure it out when I perfectly described his older sister who’d died. She had a message to pass on to him, which I did.”

I shifted nearer to him, needing at least the illusion that I could touch him. “What happened after you found out?”

“It was nice in some ways,” he said, elbows resting on his knees. His hair covered him like a cloak, distracting me as I followed the white strands hanging around his body. “Before I’d found out, people thought I was insane, and many children teased me. I was odd. Though after my inner fire was known, many people still poked at me.”

“Being the butt of the joke is never pleasant. I was teased because of my height.”

“So youareshort for your species?” he asked, and I couldn’t help but laugh. He asked it in such an earnest way like he’d been truly wondering.

“I’m shorter than average for men. Seth is about average height for human males.” Well, in the US, but my Drakconese wasn’t good enough to explain the different countries and ethnicities Earth had.

“I like your height.”

I practically preened. “Thanks. I love your gift.”

A laugh, a real one, tumbled out of his lips, sending a thrill through me as toasty sunlight rushed over me. True warmth. It was distant, but there. I was sure of it. New, but oh so real.

“I’m sure you do,” he said, practically bent in half as he chuckled.

“Why did people make fun of you for it?”

He sobered up so fast that I instantly regretted the question. He said, “They thought I was lying, and I was different. People don’t treat different well.”

“It’s the same on my planet.”

“Humans and drakcol are more similar than I would have guessed. Though I should have known because Seth and Kalvoxrencol are able to mind speak.”

“What?”

“Drakcol who are bonded by the Crystal can speak mind to mind. Usually, it doesn’t work with other species, but Seth and Kalvoxrencol can.”

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