Page 71 of A Clash of Stars

Luckily the dance was over before I could respond, and I immediately stormed out of the ballroom, not daring to look back. I didn’t know where Madok was, but I wasn’t sticking around this ballroom to find out.

Finally, I made it into the room I was in earlier. I stared at the guards while waiting for them to unlock my door. Once they opened it, I quickly marched in, leaned against the door, and cried.

Here I am again, crying in this same room. Gods, why can’t I just have an everyday life with ordinary people and feelings?

I sat there and thought through every interaction Evander, and I had had. Specifically, in front of the statue of Athiana in Manzanita, he told me, “Everything I do, the choices I make, are for you.”

Something inside of me snapped. I stopped crying. I took on another emotion, annoyance. Why can’t anyone just tell me the truth? I want someone, literally anyone, to be truthful with me.

Everyone talked in circles around me. My father filled in a lot of the information for me, but I didn’t know who the “evil man” was, so how was I to kill him?

The stories of the witch, angel, and Vampyre were exciting, but why was Sophia so adamant about me knowing those stories?

My mind was shutting down. I could feel it. The pure exhaustion was debilitating, seizing my muscles. The room was dark and empty, and so was I.

I changed into the clothes left by my bedside and crawled into the bed. I put everything in my mind at rest, not caring what was happening outside this room, and pulled myself under the covers. I finally relaxed enough to fall into a light sleep but was awoken by a sound, and I immediately sat up to see what it was.

Madok.

“What are you doing here? How did you get in?” I whispered to him.

He approached me with his white cotton shirt and gray pants. He sat on the bed beside me as I took in his warm citrus scent and disheveled appearance. The bruise was still there, lingering with a light purple-to-yellow tint.

“Who gave you this bruise?” I questioned him.

“You know. You ask a lot of questions, Clara,” he answered snappily.

I laughed, “Yeah, I guess I do. So, you going to answer it?”

He smiled, “Of course, I will. I’m here to see you. I bribed the guards to get into your room, but to answer your question, Evander punched me on my way to the room earlier when we were brought in, which caused the bruise.”

My eyes widened, “What! He punched you. Why?”

“He told me that if I ever touch you again, he’ll put me six feet under. I told him you’d be worth it.”

He smirked, and I saw a dimple on his cheek as he looked at me.

I scooted over in the bed, allowing him to lay next to me. He crawled under the sheets with me. It was thought-provoking how we were captured, yet we could use our powers to get out at any time. So why weren’t we? I knew deep in my bones I wouldn’t be able to leave without a price, and Madok’s life would be that price.

We both lay on our sides, looking at one another. “What are we going to do?” he asked me gently.

I sighed. I honestly didn’t know the answer, although I wanted to give Madok an answer. The right one simply didn’t exist.

“I’m not sure, Mads. I— We can’t escape. They’ll kill you. It’s me they’re after, you know.”

I felt his breath cascade over me as he reached his arms around me, pulling me into his firm chest. My eyes lingered on his as we lay there beside one another. Comfortable. Content. That’s how he made me feel. Safe. His eyes had glossed over, and I sensed the emotions branching out from him, the longing for me.

I clutched his shirt, tilting my head towards his face. “Can we?”

A simple question with a complicated answer. We both knew that we shouldn’t. We both knew that at any moment, anyone from the Aster guards, Evander, and King Alex, could walk into this room. Thoughts spun in my head like a spinning wheel. Never-ending, never stopping, never knowing where I was supposed to be. What I did know was him.

I knew Madok.

He leaned into me, his warm hands slipping under my shirt, gripping my waist.

“Is this okay?” he whispered to me. I nodded my head, staring into his sunset eyes. I flashed back to when we were younger. Even then, he made me feel this way—Important. Loved.

My mouth was close to his, lingering, waiting for him. Finally, he pressed his mouth into mine. Softly at first, caressing my lips with his. Tenderly and lovingly. I tasted the citrus entangling with my senses. Overcoming everything in this bed.He gently pushed his tongue through the seam of my mouth, enticing mine. A sigh escaped me as his body moved on top of mine.

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