Page 46 of A Clash of Stars

He quickly stole a kiss, and I thought I could feel his smile against my lips. “I love it when you call me that.”

When I pulled myself off of him, I noticed a faint light, like moonlight, ahead of us. I showed Evander, and we began walking again, this time in complete darkness.

Once we reached the light, we removed some of the larger stones to allow ourselves to crawl through, and he held my hand to lead me out of the hole in the tunnel.

Whenever my feet hit the ground, I was in shock. The moonlight illuminated everything around me, and I glanced into the sky and realized the moon was as bright as ever, telling me it was midnight.

As if Evander was reading my thoughts, he spoke, “We should find a place to rest for the night. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, figuring out where everyone else is.” I nodded in agreement.

Evander found a spot under a tree near a creek. I could tell from the sounds of running water. We didn’t have any supplies, so we lay on the ground withnothing. When I lay down, I tried to calm my thoughts even though I knew I was lying beside him.

My deepest thoughts started to rise, and I wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t stopped me in the tunnels. I also wondered what he looked like under all of those clothes.

I smirked at how shallow that thought was, but it was the truth. I heard a cough behind me, along with a chuckle. I turned to face him, shockingly recognizing that he had been watching me.

Creep.

In response to my thought, he slid closer to me. “Your thoughts are so conflicting, princess. One moment you want to know what I look like naked, and the next, I’m creepy. You really should stick to one thought about me.”

I huffed out a quick response trying not to think about how close he was to me. “How can you even hear my inner monologue? That’s not your power? Also, get out of my head. It’s an invasion of space and freedom.”

His eyes studied mine before he chose his next set of words.

“Your thoughts are the only ones I can hear.”

I thought that was a peculiar statement, but I honestly put it in the back of my mind as I lay on the ground, trying to fall asleep.

“Okay. Neither of us is falling asleep. Let’s just talk.”

I sat up, leaning against the tree next to him. “Really? Talk?”

“Yeah. What did Madok tell you earlier that made you want to shred him into a million pieces?”

I laughed, “Oh. You saw that.” I looked out into the vast forest around us before continuing. “He told me who my inamorato is. Actually, just his name.”

He nodded his head to signal that he was listening. “So, let’s hear it. What’s the lucky guy’s name?”

Immediately my head was yelling at me to tell him no. Absolutely not. But a tug in my chest wanted me to tell him.

“Ah. It’s, um… It’s Eros.” I looked at his reaction, and his eyebrows furrowed together before he responded, lips tightening into a firm line.

“Interesting name. Never heard of him. He couldn’t tell you anything else?”

I shook my head. “No, but can I tell you something personal?”

“Of course, you can. I prefer that you do. It gives me all the juicy details that I can use against you later,” he laughed, and I knocked into his shoulder.

“That satchel I lost back in the tunnels had a book. I found it in the Sefida library. It was handwritten and obviously made up. I only read part of it, but could I share some with you? It might help me get relaxed for the night.”

“Anything you’d like to share? I’ll listen,” he spoke softly.

I smiled. “Well, the one part of the book that I connect to is the titleThe Boy. It is actually about a boy named Eros. He was born of a forbidden relationship and has blended royal bloodlines, making him part Angel and Vampyre. The book speaks about how he finds out he has a mate, and it changes him. My favorite part is that his soul is as dark as onyx, but his heart is full of starlight.”

I heard his soft breaths as I looked over to see his eyes closed. He had fallen asleep.

I whispered before I lay down next to him on the ground. “I know this man is my mate, but part of me is sad that I’ll never discover what you and I could have had. Goodnight, Ev.”

Chapter 12

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