Page 47 of A Clash of Stars

The warmth of the sun trickled across my skin as my eyes blinked hesitantly open. I started to look around and felt no presence behind me. I sat up, frantically looking around for Evander. He was nowhere. Ugh, are you kidding me? Now I have to go and find him.

I started to walk towards the sound of the creek when I was stopped in my tracks. Evander. Naked. Bathing. His back was facing me, and I thought I could feel his smirk in my head before he ever turned around. I had never seen a man like him. Every part of him was as if he was sculpted out of clay.

I started to study him, his family mark, and another mark on his neck which I thought was part of his marking, but it wasn’t. Then, there was a faint set of lines marking his ribs. They looked familiar, but I couldn’t place them.

He started to turn and face me, my eyes glancing at his neck. A golden marking that glistened in the sun branded him, and I wondered if that was his family marking or something else entirely.

“Are you enjoying the show?”

His voice startled me as I clutched my hands to my chest. He continued to walk towards me. My whole body felt on fire, and I’m sure he could sense it too. When he was only a few feet from me, he smiled wickedly.

“I thought I could take a quick swim before you woke up. You seemed to be enjoying your dream.”

My eyes narrowed at him. “Thanks for jumping into my dreams, asshole.”

“That’s not what you were saying in your dream about me,” he smugly said as he walked past me to gather his clothes. I told myself I wouldn’t turn around to look, so I started to count to thirty. His deep voice rattled me, “I’m decent. You can stop counting.”

Can’t a woman have a thought without someone protruding in?

His voice diverted my thoughts to more serious ones. “We should start walking southwest, where the rest of our group is heading.”

We began our walk together but didn’t say much, mainly because my mind was exhausted. After a few hours, we took a quick rest. I knew he was hungry. I could sense it. His shield was down, and I felt the aching of hunger from him.

Part of me couldn’t decipher whether it was only his hunger or mine included because, at this point, I could also put down some food. I smirked at the thought of devouring some of my favorite meals when his voice cut me off.

“If you could stop thinking about food, maybe I could too.”

We were startled by a noise behind the large bushes, along with a growl. I immediately stood in a defensive position with my sword drawn. Then, I only saw eyes…gray, dark, and not a human. A wolf. Its mouth was salivating, dripping to the ground as it continued its prowl toward us.

The wolf was large but not fully adult. I could sense his nervousness and anxiousness about us being here with him, but I could feel his hunger, and, man, did I feel his pain.

I stood in front of Evander. Some inner feeling told me the wolf wouldn’t see me as a threat. Once his eyes connected with mine, he stopped his lurk.

“It’s okay. He won’t hurt you,” I spoke to the beast.

The wolf understood what I said because his eyes lightened and the large mouth that was salivating closed. Immediately it started to walk back to where it came from, and I turned to see an exasperated Evander.

“Why would you do that, Clara? What if that wolf had attacked, you could’ve been hurt or even killed!” He screamed at me.

I tilted my head at him. “Why are you so angry? Do you realize I can communicate with animals? The wolf knew who I was.”

He sighed, “I’m sorry, Clara, but even with your powers, you don’t truly know what you are and aren’t capable of. We need to train to make sure you are prepared for anything. I couldn’t forgive myself if something ever happened to you.”

With that final statement, he began walking briskly ahead, obviously peeved by me. I followed him closely, and I could almost see the smoke billowing from his ears from how mad I made him. I didn’t care, and I knew I was right.

“So, if you couldn’t forgive yourself if something happened to me, why did you allow me to be stabbed?”

He halted his walk, turning his shoulders to face mine, taking a few steps toward me with aggravated eyes.

“I already told you. It had to be done. It wasn’t anything personal.”

I scoffed, “Really? Nothing personal. It felt pretty personal with the knife stabbing me.” I paused, taking a step into him. “Your pretty words do nothing for me, Evander.”

His breath was heavy and anxious. I could feel the numbness on my tongue from his emotions. Evander was upset. I felt it in my bones that he was.

“I didn’t want you to get hurt, Clara. It had to be done to make the King believe I am on his side.”

My brows furrowed as I tilted my head at what he had just said. He said he wants the King, his father, to believe he is on his side. Why would he betray his father?

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