Page 32 of Bound By Stardust
“You dream of the future. I knew I liked you.”
Drazhan slid the vegetables into the pot and joined me on the pallet. He tapped my head gently. “You’re like no one I’ve ever met. You’re not content to sit in one place your entire life. I made a promise to you, and I will keep it. If it’s an adventure you want, the chance to impact the world on a much larger scale, then you shall have it.”
My lips trembled, but I forced myself to meet his gaze and see the sincerity there. “It seems anticlimactic to sit here and wait while the Masters do who knows what.”
“True. After we eat and rest, we shall see what has become of them. Right now, though, I’d very much like to kiss you.”
I sucked in a deep breath, aware of his proximity and how much I wanted another one of his earth-shattering kisses. When his lips were pressed against mine, it was as if the entire world faded away. “Why do you like to kiss me so much?”
Drazhan took a loose curl and twirled it around his fingertip. “Because when I kiss you, it feels like we are lost souls meant to find each other. When I kiss you, it feels like home, that everything is all right, exactly as it was meant to be.”
Moisture gathered behind my eyes, and I tugged him closer, this time taking the opportunity to initiate the kiss. Closing my eyes, I let myself go and pressed my lips against his, welcoming him, tasting him.
I let my fingers explore, resting against his powerful jawline, feeling the rough stubble of his beard. One hand drifted lower, resting against his thudding heartbeat.
A bloom of emotion rose inside my chest. I was wanted, not for what I could do for others or my skills, but simply for being myself.
My breath hitched as I pulled back, meeting his smoldering gaze. “It’s time, Drazhan. I’d like to share my bed with you.”
24
Drazhan
Asira’s touch sent shudders of joy through my soul as we made love. I closed my eyes, enjoying every moment, the way her fingers trailed down my body, her moans of pleasure, the needy, urgent way she kissed me.
Together, we explored the heights of pleasure, and when it was over, I held her close. Her eyes slipped shut, long lashes sweeping her cheeks, and a look of utter bliss across those lips. Ever so gently, I tucked her head against my shoulder and held her.
“Rest,” I whispered. “Rest.”
She didn’t respond, and I wondered if I’d sent her to the land of dreams. A sudden exhaustion came over me. I hadn’t slept last night, but here, safe with my beloved, I felt at peace.
The scent of vegetable soup filled the air, along with a faint breeze and the distant thunder of waterfalls. I closed my eyes and let go at last.
When I woke, the fire had gone out, and Asira knelt over the pot, spooning soup into two bowls. When I sat up, she smiled at me, which only made her appear more relaxed and beautiful. She held up a bowl.
“Hungry? We slept most of the day.”
“Good.” I accepted the bowl from her and lifted it to my lips, blowing gently on the hot liquid. “Under the cover of nightfall is the ideal time to return to the palace to see if any are left alive.”
Asira shuddered.
“You don’t have to come,” I started, then trailed off at her glare. Of course, she was coming.
“Actually, I have a question for you.”
“Ask,” I encouraged.
Asira cupped the bowl in her hands and took a drink before speaking. “I’m curious why the Masters chose me this time. From what I heard, they specifically wanted the Stardust Collector. Surely, the Masters are aware that stardust is harmful to them, yet it falls once a year. I’ve always wondered: where does the stardust come from?”
A cold sensation went through me at her words, and suddenly, I knew the truth. Asira wasn’t chosen because they wanted her to extend the line of Masters. No, it was for another reason that only now made sense to me. “Asira, I have much to tell you.”
“The night is young,” she quipped.
“Every year, on All Hallow’s Eve, there is a cleansing ceremony in preparation for the tithe. The Masters get rid of all the old bones they’ve kept throughout the year, and when they do so, a strange phenomenon happens: stardust falls. No one can explain it. Some call it the tears from the sky, weeping over the dead.”
Asira shivered. “Creepy. What about the legend of monsters?
I finished my soup and set the bowl aside. “Perhaps there once were monsters beyond the mountains, and perhaps they are still there now, but they have shown no interest in coming here or attacking this land. Yesterday, when I was in the inner sanctum, they spoke of the war with the fae, their diminished numbers, and how they were clever enough to harness the power of flight and flee from the known world.”
