Page 57 of A Clash of Stars

I finally worked up the courage to speak as I pulled back from his grip and started to walk towards the house, “Follow me, and I will tell you what happened.”

I told him everything that had happened today with Madok as we walked towards the house. Internally, so much was toiling inside of me. The weird dreams, the talks, the feelings, and most of all, my powers all tangled up with one another. I was a mess, full of overwhelmingly big feelings that I couldn’t sort out.

Once we made it to the house, I knew our conversation wasn’t over. I let him come in and told him we could continue our talk on the balcony, unaware of where my parents were, hopefully not here.

I could feel the heat from his body behind me as we walked up the winding stairs to the loft. I was so distracted I almost missed a step before I reached the top. Luckily, Evander grabbed the back of my thigh to keep me balanced.

“Thank you,” I choked out.

He chuckled, “I’ll never pass up an opportunity to touch your ass.”

I chuckled too. Evander was such a flirt.

When we settled into our seats on the balcony, I noticed how the moon’s light lay like a blanket over the sea. The waves were calm but restless, just like me.

I took a deep breath before I let out the rest of what had unfolded.

“After Madok told me how he felt, I tried to explain that things weren’t the same, but I wanted to be his friend. He told me he couldn’t just be friends with me and got up and left me there…alone. It started to rain, and I was overcome with emotions and just cried. That’s when Bethany found me and saved me from the rain.”

When I glanced up at Evander, he was looking at the waves, and I could tell he was looking for the right words to respond. Once his voice reached my ears, I noticed how low and dominating it was.

“At what point did you think of me, Clara?”

I looked up at him and thought back to the moment I thought of him. That’s when I realized I had never stopped thinking about Evander. He was at the forefront of my mind even when I was with Madok.

“After Madok left, I wondered if my feelings were true for you or if I wanted you there because I was hurt. I was frustrated because I couldn’t decipher the truth,” I spoke tenderly to him while I wrapped my hair around my finger, twisting it out of nervousness.

He tilted his head towards me, and his eyes softened with a light green glow.

“What will it take for you to see how you truly feel? I want to be selfish and tell you that your feelings are honest. That you have true feelings for me, but I want you to be able to choose truthfully,” he whispered.

Evander was irritatingly right in every way. I closed my eyes and leaned back in the chair, letting the wind sweep my hair off my shoulders. When I opened them, I saw his eyes. Darkening, waiting for me. What was I going to do next? I didn’t know if I would regret it or if it would be the best thing I had ever done.

“Why do you hate me?” I questioned him.

I could see the cunning smile forming on his face exposing a beautiful mouth. He laughed and moved his hand in his midnight black hair, tussling it up a little before moving his intense focus back to me.

“I hate you because you are not who I wanted you to be. You were supposed to be my enemy, but my hate turns into something else entirely when I’m around you,” he confessed.

I started to panic and think of a way to get us inside the house before I jumped on him.

Curse my hormones.

I stood up, and his eyes traveled up my body as I asked him if he would like a change of clothes. He was soaked from the rain.

He nodded in agreement and followed me into the house. I realized my parents weren’t home when I snuck in and found some of my father’s old clothes, white button-down and dark green trousers.

I pointed Evander to the bathroom, and he grabbed the clothes from my hands. When he did, I felt it.

The power, either of him, me, or both of us combined. I watched him walk into the bathroom, and he conveniently didn’t close the door, allowing me to see him in the mirror’s reflection.

I climbed onto my bed for a better view without him knowing. I watched him remove his soaked shirt revealing the smoothest copper-toned skin with chiseled abs extending to his hips. My eyes were drawn to the V-shaped muscle that led into his slacks. His hands undid the top button, and I could see the veins in his hands throbbing with power.

I drifted my eyes over his family marking and the golden mark on his neck. The golden marking shimmered as if it had its glow from within. The shapes and symbols were unknown to me except for one. In the book of Darthium, there was a symbol that was a constellation of some kind that nearly resembled one portion of the golden marking on his neck. It was a curious marking that I’d like to become acquainted with.

I needed him.

I needed this moment with him.

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