Page 40 of Starlit Bargains

He retrieved his travel bag from where he'd dropped it near the entrance and began searching through its contents. Among the usual travel necessities, he found a small pouch of dried herbs—a mixture Thorne had taught him to prepare for various magical injuries.

“You're actually being useful,” Briar observed, her tone suspicious. “Who are you and what have you done with Kai?”

“I have hidden depths,” Kai replied, already grinding the herbs between two flat stones. “Also, having our resident fallen star die on my watch would probably reflect badly on my heroic quest credentials.”

“Your 'heroic quest'?” Eliar repeated, one eyebrow raised despite his obvious discomfort.

“Absolutely,” Kai said, warming to the idea as he mixed the crushed herbs with water from Eliar's skin pouch. “Mysterious prophecy, ancient ruins, shadow monsters—classic hero's journey stuff. I'm probably supposed to return with some magical artifact or profound wisdom.” He paused, considering. “Though I'll settle for returning with all my limbs attached at this point.”

“A realistic goal,” Eliar agreed, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.

“The bar keeps getting lower,” Briar sighed. “Remember when it was 'pick up supplies and be back by dinnertime'?”

Kai carefully approached Eliar with the herbal poultice. “This will probably feel cold,” he warned. “And maybe a little tingly. Thorne says that's how you know it's working.”

“If it starts smoking or dissolves my skin, I'm blaming you,” Eliar said, but there was no edge to his words. He carefully exposed the wound again, watching Kai's face with an intensity that made him momentarily self-conscious.

“I'll have you know I'm an excellent medic,” Kai replied, gently applying the mixture to the injured area. “I've treated Briar's hangovers at least a dozen times.”

“Sprites don't get hangovers,” Eliar pointed out.

“Speak for yourself,” Briar muttered. “You've never tried fermented dewberry nectar.”

Kai's fingers brushed against Eliar's skin as he worked, and he was struck by the strange contradiction of it—simultaneously cool to the touch yet radiating a subtle warmth that had nothing to do with physical temperature. Eliar tensed at the contact but didn't pull away.

“You're good at this,” Eliar observed quietly.

Kai shrugged, focusing on covering the entire affected area with the herbal mixture. “Like I said, lots of practice. I have a talent for getting into situations that end with me bleeding or bruised or magically concussed.”

“Or trapped in alternate dimensions,” Briar added.

“That was one time,” Kai protested.

“Or challenging territorial forest sprites to drinking contests.”

“They started it.”

“Or accidentally binding yourself to a fallen celestial guardian and nearly tearing the veil between worlds.”

Kai paused, glancing between Briar and Eliar. “Okay, that one's fair.”

A soft laugh escaped Eliar, surprising all of them. He immediately winced, pressing a hand to his injured side, but the brief sound had transformed his face—making him look younger, less burdened by centuries of isolation and regret.

“You two are... unusual companions,” he said, a hint of genuine warmth in his voice.

“I prefer to think of us as delightfully eccentric,” Kai replied, finishing his work and tearing a strip of clean cloth from his spare shirt to secure the poultice. “There. That should help with the pain, at least.”

“Thank you,” Eliar said simply.

Kai moved to sit across from Eliar, the small fire between them. The flames cast dancing shadows across both their faces, a strange intimacy in the shared light and darkness.

“So,” he said after a moment, “celestial guardian with corrupted power, possibly not-entirely-human witch with weird star-adjacent abilities, and a sprite with questionable medical advice walk into some ancient ruins...”

“Sounds like the start of a terrible joke,” Briar observed, settling on top of Kai's pack.

“Or a disaster waiting to happen,” Eliar added.

“I prefer to think of it as an adventure in progress,” Kai countered, poking at the fire with a stick. “Besides, we've survived shadow monsters, void feeders, and each other's company so far. I'd call that a win.”

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