Page 22 of Starlit Bargains

Chapter 5

The Spark Between Us

Eliar sensed Kai's presence at the temple ruins before he saw him. It was as if the very air vibrated differently when he was near, a subtle disturbance in the carefully maintained stillness of Eliar's existence. He had deliberately stayed away from the temple since their encounter with the Void Feeder, hoping distance would diminish whatever connection was forming between them. Hoping Kai would simply return to Thornhaven and forget about fallen stars and ancient magic.

But of course, he hadn't. Stubbornness seemed to be woven into the very fabric of Kai Everwood's being.

Eliar moved silently through the forest, his steps leaving no trace on the soft earth. As he approached the temple clearing, he saw Kai sitting on the broken steps, one hand pressed against a column where celestial markings now glowed faintly in the gathering twilight.

The sight sent a jolt of alarm through him. Those markings shouldn't be visible, not to mortal eyes. They had been dormant for centuries, hidden beneath layers of time and weathered stone. Yet there they were, responding to Kai's touch as if awakening from a long slumber.

Just like everything else in Eliar's carefully constructed isolation.

He stepped into the clearing, deliberately allowing a twig to snap beneath his foot. Kai's head jerked up, surprise flashing across his face before it settled into a pleased grin that made something in Eliar's chest tighten uncomfortably.

“You're getting predictable,” Kai said, rising to his feet and brushing forest debris from his clothing. “I was wondering how long it would take you to show up.”

The sprite—Briar—fluttered up from where she'd been resting on Kai's shoulder, her tiny face lighting up with what appeared to be relief.

“Oh good, the star-man is here,” she announced. “Maybe now we can leave this creepy place before something tries to eat us again.”

Eliar ignored her, focusing his attention on Kai. “What are you doing here? I thought you understood the danger.”

“Danger is relative,” Kai replied with a shrug that was far too casual for someone who had nearly been consumed by a Void Feeder the night before. “Besides, I had questions that needed answers.”

“And you thought you'd find them by poking at ancient ruins?” Eliar's voice sharpened with frustration. “Do you have any idea what you're meddling with? What could happen if?—”

He broke off, noticing the strange, distant look in Kai's eyes. It wasn't the expression of someone confused or searching; it was the look of someone who had seen something they shouldn't have.

“What did you do?” Eliar asked, dread pooling in his stomach.

Kai's gaze shifted to the glowing markings on the column. “I touched one of these symbols, and I... saw things.” His voice had lost its usual flippant tone. “I saw you. Before.”

Eliar took an involuntary step backward, centuries of carefully maintained barriers suddenly threatening to crumble.

“That's not possible,” he said, but even as he spoke, he knew it was a lie.

The temple had always contained echoes of his arrival, imprints of what he had once been. But they should have been inaccessible to human perception, locked away like so much of his past.

“The markings weren't visible yesterday,” Kai said, gesturing to the columns. “At least, not until our magic connected. Something about that interaction changed things. Changed this place.” He took a step closer to Eliar. “Changed you.”

“You don't know what you're talking about,” Eliar snapped, anger rising to cover his disquiet. “You're digging into things you don't understand, things that should remain buried.”

“Then help me understand,” Kai countered, unfazed by Eliar's sharpness. His amber eyes were steady, determined. “What are you, Eliar? Really?”

“I've told you enough,” Eliar said, turning away. “A Guardian who fell. An exile. It doesn't matter what I was before.”

“It matters to me.” The simple statement, delivered without Kai's usual veneer of humor, made Eliar pause. “I saw you standing among the stars. I felt what it was like when you fell. I want to understand.”

Eliar closed his eyes briefly, wrestling with the impulse to flee, to disappear back into the shadows where he'd spent centuries hiding from his own past. It would be the sensible choice. The safe choice. But something about Kai's presence made him hesitate, made him consider another option.

When he turned back, Kai was watching him with that unnervingly direct gaze, waiting with uncharacteristic patience.

“Why?” Eliar asked finally. “Why does it matter to you what I was? What purpose could that knowledge possibly serve?”

Kai seemed genuinely surprised by the question. “Because it's part of you,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “And for whatever reason, our magic connects in a way that's apparently rare enough to freak out an entire village and summon shadow monsters. So yeah, I think understanding what you are might be kind of relevant.”

Put that way, it sounded almost reasonable. Almost.

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