Page 48 of Starlit Bargains

Eliar stirred beside him, shifting slightly as consciousness began to return. Kai stayed still, eyes half-lidded, watching the slow realization settle over Eliar's face as he woke. The way his fingers tightened—just briefly—around Kai's hip, as if he didn't want to let go.

And then, just like that, the warmth was gone. Eliar pulled away too fast, as if burned, his expression shuttering, that damn mask slipping back into place like it had never been gone. Theancient guardian sat up, putting physical distance between them as he reached for his discarded shirt.

Kai propped himself up on his elbows, watching him. “Good morning to you too,” he drawled, keeping his tone light even as something uneasy coiled in his stomach.

Eliar glanced at him, then quickly away. “We should get moving. The sanctuary isn't far, and the sooner we reach it, the safer we'll be.”

“Right. Safety first. Wouldn't want to waste time on unnecessary things like, I don't know, acknowledging what happened between us last night.”

Eliar's shoulders stiffened. He didn't look at Kai as he started gathering his things, movements precise and efficient. “There's nothing to acknowledge.”

Kai already knew what was coming before Eliar even said it. He'd heard variations of it before, after all. Too many times to count.

“This was a mistake.” The words were quiet. Too quiet. They cut deeper that way.

Kai laughed, but it was hollow. “Right. A mistake.” He pushed himself fully upright, arms resting over his bent knees. “Because we tripped, and our clothes just happened to fall off? And then—what, we accidentally made love?”

Eliar's jaw tightened, but he didn't argue. He just turned away, running a hand through his hair, looking like he wanted to say something—but didn't.

“You know what, fine.” Kai stood, reaching for his own clothes. “If that's how you want to play it, fine. Just another cosmic fuckup to add to the list. No big deal.”

But it was a big deal, and they both knew it. The air between them crackled with tension, with unspoken words and uncomfortable truths. Kai pulled on his shirt with more force than necessary, irritation building in his chest. It wasn't just therejection that bothered him—it was the dismissal. As if what had happened between them was meaningless, forgettable. As if the connection he'd felt, the rightness of it, had been entirely one-sided.

“Kai,” Eliar began, his voice softening slightly. “It's not?—”

“Save it,” Kai cut him off. “I get the picture. Mistake made, lesson learned, moving on. I'm good at moving on. Expert level, actually.”

The hurt in his voice was more apparent than he'd intended, and he saw Eliar flinch slightly. Good. Let him feel something, at least.

Briar chose that moment to zip back into the clearing, her timing impeccable as always. She took one look at them—Kai radiating barely contained anger, Eliar withdrawn and tense—and let out a small sigh.

“So the morning after is going well, I see,” she commented dryly.

“Spectacular,” Kai replied with forced cheer. “Best morning of my life. Top-tier experience, would definitely recommend.”

Briar winced. “That bad, huh?”

“There's nothing bad about it,” Eliar interjected, his calm tone at odds with the tension visible in every line of his body. “We simply need to refocus on what matters. Reaching the sanctuary. Finding answers about the prophecy. Stopping the corruption from spreading.”

“Right,” Kai agreed, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Real life-or-death stuff. Far more important than pesky things like feelings or honesty or basic human decency.”

Eliar's eyes flashed, stars burning brighter for a brief moment. “I never claimed to be human.”

“No, you didn't,” Kai acknowledged, shouldering his pack. “But you sure as hell felt human last night.”

The barb hit its mark. Eliar's carefully maintained composure slipped, just for a second, revealing something raw and vulnerable beneath. Then the mask was back, his expression once again distant and unreadable.

“We need to move,” was all he said.

Briar looked between them, clearly torn between intervening and staying out of what was obviously a personal dispute. “I'll... scout ahead,” she decided, clearly opting for the safer option. “Make sure the path is clear.”

With a final concerned glance at Kai, she zipped away, leaving them alone once more.

The journey resumed in tense silence. Eliar led the way, setting a brisk pace that made conversation difficult, though Kai suspected that was precisely the point. The forest around them seemed to respond to their mood, the earlier peace replaced by a subtle wrongness—shadows that lingered too long, wind that whispered with almost-words, branches that reached a little too deliberately toward the path.

Or maybe that was just Kai's perception, colored by the storm of emotions churning inside him. Anger, hurt, confusion—and beneath it all, a stubborn, stupid hope that refused to die. Because no matter what Eliar said now, Kai knew what he'd felt last night. The desperate need in Eliar's touch, the way he'd whispered Kai's name like a prayer, the moment when their magics had briefly merged, creating that perfect white light between them.

That hadn't been a mistake. It couldn't have been.

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