Page 60 of Voices in the Stars
“That wasn’t the plan,” she finally sputtered out.
“It needs to be. There are risks we hadn’t planned for. I won’t lose myself like you’re worried about, but Eris is unpredictable. In ten days, the two of us might be dead. Then those we have will be the only hope Feycrest will have,” I explained. It would be much easier if I didn’t have to risk so many lives among my own. The hundreds that were waiting for my word on whether they were going to live or die. A heavy breath escaped my lips, exhaustion suddenly weighing down my shoulders.
“What if you two are alive?” she asked.
“Then look for flames lighting the sky as we fight beside you.” I smiled as I made my way out of the tent.
The moment the fabric flapped shut behind me, the smile dropped from my face. I scrubbed my hands across my face. There was a heavy weight on my shoulders the closer it got. My stomach twisted and churned whenever I stopped to think about the ways this could end. I prayed to the gods for the best outcome, but there was too much that could happen between now and then.
I tried to shake those thoughts from my head as I walked back to Leon’s house. Thinking about the bad did nothing but put those thoughts into fate’s hands. This was going to work out. I would strike down Eris and bring Feycrest back from this nightmare. Everything would be fine. It would all work in my favor. I’d been working on this for too long for it to not.
With the positive thoughts pushing the negative from my mind, I certainly wasn’t expecting to walk into the scene that I did. Cece was laying on the grass, staring up at the sky. Her lips were moving frantically. Leon was hunched over her, grabbing her shoulders as he shook her.
“Wake up!” he yelled before drawing a hand back and slapping her across the face.
I broke out into a run the moment I heard the smack of his hand. It was mere moments before I was on them.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I growled before shoving Leon away from her.
Ignoring the urge to snap his neck, I kneeled onto the ground next to her. The main thing that saved him in that moment was the redhandprint fading from her cheek as her magic worked. I cradled her head in one of my hands while the other brushed her hair away from her face. Her eyes were open wide, but unfocused as they seemed to stare right through me. At least this time her pounding heartbeat was all I could hear.
“I’m here, sweet witch,” I whispered to her before turning to where Leon was still sitting on the ground. “What happened?” I barked at him.
“I don’t know,” he spoke. “She was fine when I went inside. Came back with water and she was on the ground. Nothing I did made her respond. I was about to come drag you back myself.”
“After you thought hitting her would work?” I grumbled, the anger slowly fading at the panic that was still in his voice.
“Would you rather I did nothing?” he challenged.
I shook my head, running the back of my hand down the side of her face. “When are you going to stop doing this to me?” I asked her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. I stayed close as I whispered my next confession, “You have become the air in my lungs. The reason my heart beats when I wake. I’d cut my damn horns off and turn them into a crown for you. Just please, answer me, my love. My life. My witchling who will leave the world burning for more.”
The words that left my lips scared me just as much as they relieved me. Finally speaking them lifted a weight from my chest. Yet, Bekah’s words came back to me. I could only devote my life to Cece after I finished this. I cradled her in my arms and walked toward the house.
Leon marched ahead of me, holding the door open for us. The moment her head entered the house, she jerked up with a gasp. I cursed as her sudden shift caused her to slip out of my hands. My body jolted forward as I tried to catch her, only causing my foot to catch on the door frame, sending me to the floor with her. I was quick enough to catch myself with one of my hands. A groan escaped me as my knees crashed onto the floor on either side of her.
I opened my mouth to apologize for dropping her. Before I could, her hands darted out, grabbing me by the horns as she pulled me down for a kiss. Her lips were frantic against mine. I couldn’t stop the groan that left as I closed my eyes, moving mine to keep up with her. My free hand grabbed her waist, pulling her up to me.
A throat clearing was the only thing that pulled us away. Her cheeks turned a bright red as she glanced behind me to where Leon was stuck standing. A soft smile tugged at my lips as I leaned down, pressing a kiss to each of her cheeks.
“Welcome back…again,” I said with a chuckle.
When she smiled up at me, my breath caught. She was breathtaking in that moment. Her blonde hair fanned out as she stared up at me like I was the only thing that mattered. This was what I had been missing in my life. I leaned down to kiss her once more, but a hand pressed against my mouth stopped me. With a playful growl, I tried to move around her hand, but she kept it there.
“I knew you when I was young,” she whispered.
“I’m sure you knew of me, I used to go to that temple a lot,” I explained, sitting up, leaning against the door frame.
Cece shook her head as she moved, sitting against the opposite side of me. I bent one of my legs so she had room to spread out. There was a huff beside us before the sound of Leon marching off echoed. He was most likely headed to Bekah’s tent, where they liked to spend their time drinking the night away. He acted like we were inconveniencing him, but truthfully, he would’ve been leaving soon, anyways. I’d still apologize next time I saw him. Suddenly having us take over his house wasn’t an easy ask. Especially from a man who was used to living in solitude. Another thing that would change soon.
“No, I remember being here,” Cece continued. I tried to keep my questions to myself as I waited for her to continue. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait for long. “My name wasn’t always Cece. My family in Donnaway wasn’t given a name for me, so they decided on Cecelia.”
Her eyes closed as she leaned back against the door. I grabbed her hand, hoping it helped her through this. None of this had been easy for her. Now she had her proof that what I was telling had been the truth. Her eyes were glassy when she opened them again.
“That’s not what I meant, though. About you.” She took a deep breath, watching every part of my face. I tried to stay relaxed in hopes she would continue. Whatever she was about to say was important to her. “I was pulled into my memories by something. Someone. Honestly, I’m not sure who it was. They showed me one in particular, though. Itwas of a little boy with horns, screaming a different name as he looked for me.”
“Nari?” I asked, feeling all the air being squeezed out of my lungs.
Cece nodded, her gaze scanning my face as she waited for my reaction. Which I certainly should’ve been having one. It felt like I was paralyzed, though. Staring at her now, I could see the resemblances that I missed. The hint of brown around her eyes. Her half smile that revealed the small dimple in her cheek. My gaze darted down to where her knees were exposed at the cut of her dress. There it was. A small scar from when I had snuck her out to the creek near the temple. We were playing in the water when she slipped, cutting herself on a rock. Neither one of us wanted to tell her father, so it never got healed like it should have. I ran my thumb across it now, too fascinated by it to pay much mind to the way she shivered under my touch. These were things I had noticed before, but never added together in my mind. Which is what caused me to shake my head now.
