Page 45 of Starlit Bargains

Eliar met Kai's gaze reluctantly, finding in those amber eyes a directness he couldn't easily deflect. “I shouldn't be here,” he said finally, the admission forced from him against his better judgment.

“Here specifically by this stream, or here in a broader 'existing in this realm' kind of way?” Kai asked, taking a step closer. “Because if it's the latter, I've got some bad news for you—you've been 'here' for centuries according to the locals.”

“With you,” Eliar clarified, the words feeling like stones in his mouth. “I shouldn't be here with you.”

Something flickered in Kai's expression—hurt quickly masked by his usual sardonic smile. “Well, don't sugarcoat it on my account.”

“That's not—” Eliar began, then stopped, frustrated by his own inability to express what he meant. “It's not about you. It's about what happens when we're together. The power that awakens, the barriers that weaken, the corruption that spreads.”

He turned away, unable to bear the intensity of Kai's gaze. “I have maintained balance for centuries by remaining isolated, by keeping my power dormant, by avoiding connections that might stir what sleeps within me. And now...”

“And now I've messed it all up,” Kai finished for him, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. “By being whatever I am, by having magic that resonates with yours.”

“Yes,” Eliar agreed, though the admission felt both true and false simultaneously. “But also no. The prophecy speaks of the Catalyst, of choice, of restoration or destruction. Perhaps thiswas always meant to happen, perhaps there was never a path where we didn't meet, where this connection didn't form.”

He looked back at Kai, finding him closer than expected, close enough that Eliar could see the flecks of gold in his eyes, the slight furrow between his brows as he listened.

“But that doesn't make it any less dangerous,” Eliar continued. “The corruption in my essence, the thinning of the veil, the things that wait in the void—those dangers are real, regardless of prophecy or fate or... whatever exists between us.”

The last words emerged softer than intended, hanging in the air between them like a confession. Kai's expression shifted again, the sarcasm falling away completely, leaving something open and unguarded in its place.

“Whatever exists between us,” he repeated slowly. “And what exactly is that, Eliar?”

It was a direct question—typical of Kai, who never seemed to shy away from difficult truths. Yet Eliar found himself unable to answer with the same directness, centuries of isolation and restraint making such honesty feel impossible.

“I don't know,” he said finally, the half-truth bitter on his tongue. “It's... unfamiliar. Unexpected.”

“Unwelcome?” Kai asked, taking another step closer, his gaze never leaving Eliar's face.

“Unwise,” Eliar corrected.

But even as he spoke the word, he knew his eyes told a different story. Knew that Kai, with his perception and stubborn determination, would see through the careful wall of logic he was trying to construct between them.

“You know what I think?” Kai said, a hint of his usual challenging tone returning. “I think you're scared. Not of shadow monsters or cosmic enforcers or prophecies. You're scared of this—” he gestured between them, “—whatever it is.Because it's unpredictable. Because you can't control it. Because it makes you feel something after centuries of feeling nothing.”

Briar, who had been hovering nervously nearby, darted a glance between them. The tension crackling in the air was palpable, thick enough that even the tiny sprite could feel it building toward something explosive. With a barely audible “nope,” she zipped away into the forest, muttering something about “checking the perimeter again” and “letting them figure it out themselves.”

Her hasty departure went unnoticed by either of them, locked as they were in their standoff.

“You have no idea what you're talking about,” Eliar said, his voice low and taut with restrained emotion. “No concept of what's at stake.”

“Then enlighten me,” Kai shot back, taking another step closer, eliminating the distance Eliar had tried to put between them. “Because all I see is someone running from connection because it's easier than facing it.”

“Easier?” The word escaped as a harsh laugh. “There is nothing easy about this. About any of this.” Eliar gestured sharply, encompassing their situation, the forest, the distant threat of shadows and worse. “You think this is about feelings? About some... some romantic entanglement? It's about cosmic balance. About the veil between worlds. About powers that could destroy everything if unleashed.”

“And yet here we are,” Kai countered, refusing to back down. “Connected whether you like it or not. My magic waking yours. The prophecy unfolding. So maybe, just maybe, fighting this isn't the answer.”

“You don't understand,” Eliar said through clenched teeth.

“Then help me understand!” Kai's voice rose, frustration evident in every line of his body. “Stop pushing me away and actually talk to me!”

Their argument hung in the air between them, neither willing to concede, neither quite knowing how to bridge the gap their words had created. After a tense moment, Briar reappeared, hovering at a safe distance.

“Hate to interrupt your shouting match,” she said cautiously, “but that patrol is getting closer. Can you two maybe continue this when we're not about to be discovered by angry villagers?”

The interruption broke the standoff, reality reasserting itself over emotion. Eliar nodded curtly, turning away from Kai to assess their options.

“This way,” he said, his voice carefully neutral again. “We'll need to move quickly.”

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