Page 84 of Stars on Fire

She shook her head, turning to face Kainan in desperation. ‘Do you think it heard me?’

He shrugged.

Silence fell once more in the cave.

Selene was about to speak again when a whisper echoed through the hallowed space. ‘The wise speak. Dunia listens. And blessings follow.’

Selene took a big breath at the sound of the voice. ‘It spoke. You heard it, right?’

Kainan had a small bemused smile on his face. ‘I did.’

They watched wonder-struck as the grotto’s waters stirred into tiny waves that flowed over and around Selene, pulsing softly. Then, the same column of water she’d seen before rose out of the swirling liquid, and then it fell away into the pool leaving behind waves of pure luminescence.

‘Oh my,’ she whispered.

Kainan held up a finger and cocked his head, listening keenly to his neural node.

After a few long minutes, he nodded, looking nonplussed. He gave a low whistle of disbelief. ‘Seems to have worked. Mirage and the Sable Riders report that the storm is calming down. The forests have stopped attacking, and the planet is letting through our corvettes and landers, for all intents and purposes.’

‘Thank Dunia,’ Selene said, relieved. She sunk into the warm waters and ducked her head under the surface, letting the planet wash away all the frustration and pent-up tension she’d felt over the last few days.

When she emerged, she noticed Kainan crouched against the stonewall. His hands were clasped together, watching her with hooded eyes.

She ignored him, pushing away the curls plastered to her scalp and shaking them out.

‘The power to summon a planet, huh?’ he said softly.

She shrugged, pulling herself out of the water to sit on the flagstones by the pool that pulsed with luminescent light. Her upper body remained in the water, and she played with it, pushing it to and fro with her arms. ‘This is all new to me, as it is to you,’ she told him. ‘It was the Prime’s - my father’s - thing.’

Kainan gave her a long look.

‘Your thing too, it would seem,khamila,’ he said, his endearment charging the air between them. The pool stirred as if also sensing the shifting mood between the pair.

‘It’s incredible,’ he went on, rising to his feet and walking towards her.

‘You’re incredible,’ he said softly, looming over her before crouching beside her.

She tried to turn away, but he reached his large wrists to clutch her upper arms. He pulled her body toward his, gently lifting her further up the flagstones, leaving only her feet on the edge of the softly lapping pool.

‘What do you want from me?’ she asked raggedly, looking down at his hands and their heated connection. She was confused by the sudden whiplash turnaround in his demeanour. ‘I can’t handle how hot and cold you are,’ she shared hesitantly.

Kainan slid one heated palm up and down her arm in reassurance.

She could tell he was searching for what to say next. After a beat, he looked up at her. ‘I’m sure of what I want. But I’m unsure whether what I can give you is what you want. So I’m not certain what this could be. But no matter what we are or will be, I’ll never hurt you, Selene. Please believe me.’

‘The only thing I know beyond doubt, is that I was the one who made a mistake,’ she stated, her hurt naked across her face.

‘A mistake?’

‘The mistake of thinking this was anything more than just a fling,’ she added woodenly.

His lips twitched, and he leaned forward. He kissed her softly and surprisingly on her chin and neck, dragging his firm, warm lips along her sensitive skin.

She shivered, and her body gave a jolt at his sensual caresses.

‘But it wasn’t a fling, was it?’ His voice was a deep drawl against the underside of her neck. ‘Neither for you nor me,’ he insisted, moving to brush her ears, then their tips, softly with his mouth. His hands on her arms had stilled, but his thumbs reached out to gently stroke the tips of her hard nipples pushing out against her soft smart suit. This sent bolts of desire through her, and she jerked again.

‘You feel this connection between us,khamila, don’t you?’ he said, running his hot tongue within the folds of her ear. ‘Because this connection is what I’m sure of.’

---