Page 65 of Ecliptic

“Are these the famous beard scratchies?” he hummed, deep and low.

“They are,” I replied with a wry grin. “It’s also a test to make sure you’re still real.”

He smiled as he placed his palm over my hand, still tracing the sharp angles of his jaw. “If me pleasuring you all night can’t convince you I’m real, then nothing can.”

I chuckled. “Hmm. You might have to show me again.”

“Again? My greedy, little flame,” he purred with a delicious smile that met his eyes. “When we are no longer out in the open for anyone to see just how well you take me, your wish shall be my command.”

A flush raised to my cheeks, but curiosity got the better of me. “Did you ever doubt if I was real?”

“You were the realest thing I’d ever felt, but for a moment, I started to believe you. I hadn’t felt real in so long that I started to question my own existence. Had I really died the day Fou plunged her dagger into my heart? Was I a lost and wandering phantom? Or were you a sylph? A being of light and air and nothing more? But the more you appeared to me, the more my body and soul came back to life.”

The flame in my chest swelled. “Science and rationale told me that you couldn’t be real, even though every fiber of my being demanded that you were.”

“When did you know,” he asked, his voice a grated whisper, “that I wasn’t a figment of your imagination?”

“It wasn’t until Graem bruised me that day in the clearing that I knew you were real. That it was all real,” I answered, my fingers unable to stop caressing him.

His eyes darkened. “That was one of the days you slowly flickered away from me. Every time you disappeared, I thought it was the last I’d ever see of you. You’ve been giving me heart attacks since day one.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, my gaze lifting to his through my eyelashes.

“Never apologize for appearing to me,” he said, taking my hand to his mouth and brushing my knuckles with his lips. “You were so young when this all started. With no one to help you, no one who understood what was happening to you. Navigating your beautiful gift all on your own . . . it must have been terrifying.”

“It was, but knowing you were there, real or not, made it all worth it,” I said, remembering when I’d stretched myself so thin, I’d astrally torn myself—half of me stuck on Luneth while the other half lay comatose in a hospital bed, and how Rowen had helped me pull myself back together. “You’ve always been my anchor, my tether home.”

Rowen’s thumb traced soothing circles on the back of my hand. “We’ve come a long way, haven’t we? From thinking we were both losing our minds to realizing we were just two lost souls connected by an unbreakable bond, drawing us together.”

“All the disorientation, the unexplained injuries, and the restless nights brought me closer to you, to Luneth,” Iwhispered, my voice thick with emotion, realizing that everything I had ever searched for had been searching for me, too.

Before I ever knew Rowen or possessed the power of the Alcreon Light, I was just a small girl with the ability to astral travel. Were these connections the reason the Elder Spirits chose me as their vessel? It was hard to say, but as remarkable as it all was, I didn’t have the time or luxury to dwell on the marvels of astral traveling. We had much bigger concerns. “What if when Erovos escapes, he comes straight here?”

“We’ll meet with the Summit, and we will come up with a plan,” Rowen said with a reassuring squeeze of my hand. “We will be ready.”

Rowen’s hand in mine was a steadying force as we walked to our dome, Sabra trotting beside us. “I’m surprised how easy you went on Maddock,” I said, still seething that he had accused Rowen of being too rough with me.

My soul flame sighed, his expression thoughtful. “Keira. I pity him. I don’t have to imagine his pain because I’ve experienced it myself. Before I knew we were soul flames, I felt our connection, the irresistible pull drawing us together. But I had to fight it—fight the bond that stretched across galaxies to bring you to me. I resisted you to keep you safe, and it was sheer agony. I know precisely what Maddock is going through, and considering everything, he’s holding himself together quite commendably.”

As Rowen spoke, the depths of Maddock’s torment became clear. My own hatred and anger had blinded me from understanding. He was isolated from everyone by an invisible barrier, just as I had been.

“I guess I could go a little easier on him,” I said, rounding the corner to our bungalow. “But he just makes it so hard to?—”

Before I could finish my thought, a deep, strangled cry pierced the air behind us.

I spun towards the tree line, my gaze landing in the direction of the crevice.

Alvar, the war captain, emerged from the shadows, limping with his arm tight by his side. “Sabra, get Takoda!” I said with growing alarm, pointing to the healer’s dome before charging toward the warrior. I stole a glance to ensure the wolf was on her way, her form dashing like a lightning bolt.

“What happened?” Rowen asked, worry in his voice as he swiftly dove under Alvar’s good arm to help carry him.

“We were attacked,” the captain ground out, his breath coming in short and labored. Blood streaked his face and matted his silver buzzcut. His warrior leathers and linen undershirt hung in tatters around his massive frame. “We were patrolling the area around the crevice when the earth shook, and a demon slipped through the cracks. My soldiers fought bravely, but the creature cut right through our weapons. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Simply using its claws and teeth.”

My gut sank as I peered at the war captain. “Where are you wounded?”

“My ankle is twisted, and I have a few cuts and bruises, but my arm is the worst,” Alvar said through a pained grimace. His body swayed with fatigue as Takoda and Sabra ran up to us. “We tried to fight them, but our weapons were useless against them.”

“Help me lower him. Gently,” Takoda said, his tone calm yet urgent.

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