Page 42 of Starlit Bargains

Eliar leaned forward, wincing slightly at the movement but continuing nonetheless. “Kai,” he said, his voice low and earnest, “what we are capable of and what we choose to be are not the same thing.” He gestured to the celestial markings on the walls, still faintly glowing. “Yes, your magic responded to these ancient symbols. Yes, there is something in your essence that resonates with cosmic energies in ways that most humans cannot. But those facts don't define you—your choices do.”

His eyes held Kai's, intense and sincere. “Whatever power lies within you, whatever its origin, the way you wield it will always matter more than where it came from.”

“He's right,” Briar added, her usual sarcasm absent. “And for what it's worth, I've seen you do some pretty stupid things with your magic, but never cruel ones. That counts for something.”

Something tight in Kai's chest loosened at their words. Not because they answered his questions—they didn't—but becausethey had seen his fear and not dismissed it. Had acknowledged that there might indeed be something unusual about Kai's nature, but insisted that this didn't determine his worth or his future.

“Besides,” Eliar added, a hint of wry humor entering his voice, “if you were truly something to be feared, I doubt you'd spend so much time helping exiled guardians or tending wounds of fallen stars.”

“Or putting up with me,” Briar added.

Kai couldn't help but smile at that. “Fair points. My evil cosmic agenda keeps getting derailed by inconvenient attachments.”

“A common villain's downfall,” Eliar agreed solemnly, though his eyes glimmered with amusement.

“I like this better anyway,” Kai said, gesturing to the three of them gathered around the small fire. “Ragtag band of misfits against the forces of cosmic darkness. It has a certain charm.”

“Speak for yourself,” Briar protested. “I'm not a misfit. I'm delightfully quirky.”

“And I'm just passing through on my way to a respectable career in magic theory,” Kai added.

They both looked at Eliar expectantly.

“I was a cosmic force of judgment now reduced to hiding in forests and running from shadows,” he said dryly. “I believe I qualify as a misfit by any standard.”

“It's official then,” Kai declared, raising an imaginary toast. “To the most unlikely trio the prophecies never saw coming.”

“May the shadows tremble before us,” Briar added grandly.

“Or at least give us a head start,” Eliar suggested more pragmatically, but he was smiling now—a genuine expression that transformed his face and made the stars in his eyes seem to shine brighter.

The moment of levity faded gradually, leaving behind a different kind of tension in the air. Briar, perhaps sensing the shift, announced she would check the perimeter “just to be safe” and zipped out through a gap in the ruins, leaving them alone in the flickering firelight.

Without the sprite's constant chatter, silence settled between them—not uncomfortable, but charged with things unsaid. The weight of prophecies and cosmic dangers seemed temporarily distant compared to the immediacy of this moment, this connection neither of them had anticipated.

Kai stared into the dying fire, acutely aware of Eliar's presence just a few feet away. The fallen guardian looked less alien now, less untouchable, the vulnerability of his injuries and the warmth of his rare smile making him seem more present, more real than the distant cosmic being Kai had first encountered.

After a long moment, Eliar shifted slightly, wincing as the movement pulled at his wound. Almost without thinking, Kai leaned forward, a question in his eyes. “Does it still hurt?”

“Less than before,” Eliar admitted. “Your remedy helps.”

Another silence, but this one different—expectant rather than reflective. Kai noticed Eliar's hand resting on the stone between them, pale fingers splayed against the ancient surface where faint traces of celestial markings still glowed. Following an impulse he didn't fully understand, Kai reached out and touched those fingers with his own.

The contact was simple, light—barely more than a brush of skin against skin—but it carried a charge unlike their previous touches. Not the crackling energy of their magics connecting, but something quieter, deeper, more human.

Eliar looked down at their hands, then up at Kai, surprise and something more complex flickering across his face. Kai expected him to pull away, to recreate the careful distance heusually maintained. Instead, Eliar slowly turned his hand so that their fingers lightly intertwined, an acceptance that felt more significant than words.

“You're not alone,” Kai said softly, the words hanging in the space between them. And neither am I, he didn't say, but somehow felt Eliar understood anyway.

For centuries, Eliar had existed in isolation, forgotten by the world he watched over. For as long as he could remember, Kai had felt adrift, his unpredictable magic and mysterious origins setting him apart even from those he called friends. Yet here, in these ancient ruins with shadow creatures lurking in the forest beyond, they had found an unexpected recognition in each other.

Eliar's fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around Kai's. “This... complicates things,” he said, his voice low.

“Everything about this situation is complicated,” Kai replied with a small smile. “What's one more layer?”

But they both knew this was different. The prophecy, the void feeders, the corruption spreading through Eliar's power—those were external threats they could face head-on. This fragile connection growing between them was something else entirely. Something neither had anticipated and neither fully understood.

Outside, the wind picked up, howling through the broken walls of the ruins like a reminder of the dangers that waited beyond their temporary shelter. The shadows were gone—for now. But they would return, drawn to Eliar's power and the mysterious resonance Kai's magic created with it.

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