Chapter Twelve
“You can’t travel at night? But weren’t you wanting to continue later at night?”
“I don’t wish people to see me. They will be in their beds by the late hour, so I’ll feel safer.”
“I don’t understand.”
It was dark, and I was hidden under a cloak, unwilling to show Aleixo the true effect of my skin at night. It would either dazzle him for all time, or he would hide from me. I wasn’t vain enough to believe the former, and I was fully convinced of the latter.
“It’s complicated,” I stated as he stoked the fire before us with a stick. Despite my concerns about safety, I’d conceded to a fire for the next hour. Only for an hour.
“Explain it,” he requested.
“Very well…”
The elves were part of a sacred sect. While the other races of Wylionis had more humble beginnings, the elves descended from the Mistress of the Night herself—a dazzling creature who once walked among the stars.
Her powers were so immense that if she so desired, she could call any star to her and it would come.
She was not an elf, for her skin was as inky blue as the night, with stars adorning her in a way far more beautiful than anyone should gaze upon.
She pre-dated all other races, except that of the sables, who roamed the earth as stewards since the realms came into being.
It was the sables that greeted her when she arrived on earth and began her journey through the lands.
She had been the only being, outside of the sables, to travel through all realms, lighting the worlds with her touch as she journeyed.
She was to thank for the stars in every sky, for the moon that was summoned to light the night, and the dancing colours of the lights on the tops and bottoms of each planet. For all she touched was beautiful.
As she roamed the realms, she happened upon a human who believed himself unworthy.
She fell in love with him, and he with her.
His unworthiness set him apart from the world of men who all fought to pursue her.
He was the only one who set himself apart and acknowledged her superior place above them—not in status, but in her heart and soul.
For she was so pure, so utterly perfect, that no one could ever be worthy of her.
It was in this man that she saw her future—not as one who lived among the stars, but as one who roamed the earth. She brought this man to the realm of Wylionis, sacrificing her immortality, and they were bound to one another.
And so, their line passed on. His, as the first human in the lands, and her, as the first star to reside among us all.
Most from this lineage were born as elves, in shape much like the Mistress of the Night, yet their skin carried the tone of humans.
There were very few born as humans, and those were the only humans who roamed this realm.
This line remained strong, no matter which races were brought into existence, and it was this very blood that flowed through the fabled elves that now resided in these lands. It was this blood that carried shards of the star and gave the elves their powers.
With every moonlit night, with every star that shone upon an elf, those shards would be all one could see, all one could appreciate, until the line of the horizon across the endless waters of Wylionis.
“Well, that’s certainly an interesting legend.”
“Legend.” I stared at him, dumbfounded. “It’s not a legend. How do you think I created that burrow? How do you think I’ve lived all these years? How do you think the acts of magic I perform are done?”
He shrugged with that obnoxious grin on his face. “I honestly just thought they were little magic tricks, like a trick of sight or something like that. At any rate, it’s a good story.”
“This is no mere story,” I sputtered. “This is history!”
“You’re telling me that if any light from the night sky touches your skin, everyone will be able to see you?”
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”
“That you’re carrying shards of a star in you, and that’s why?”
I glared at him. “You don’t believe me.”
“I believe that the night can do things to one, but carrying stars…? It’s a bit farfetched, wouldn’t you say?”
Without saying a word, I rose before him, flinging off my cloak. Before he could respond, a dazzling light shone from my skin. My skin shimmered a midnight blue as galaxies illuminated upon my face. His eyes were frozen on me, looking up and down, all across my skin.
“Calista,” he whispered, and for once, I was thankful he hadn’t locked onto the name my father called me, because the awe in his voice was something I wanted to soak in. “You look…radiant.”
I knew it was the stars; I knew it was the moon breaking through the canopy of trees, deep in this forest, but I couldn’t help but glow brighter at his words.
They meant everything to me, and I wanted more of them.
But just as quickly as it happened, he scrambled for the cloak before rising to stand in front of me.
“I am not covering you to hide your beauty,” he said quietly as he wrapped the cloak around me tightly. “I am covering you to keep you safe. You’re right; someone could see you for miles around.”
“Thank you.” I suddenly felt shy. Gone was my earlier confidence as he closed the clasp. “I appreciate that.”
“You’re smiling again,” he pointed out, along with some other words I was barely listening to.
I couldn’t think with him standing so close.
His lips were moving, but I was so focused on his lips, his eyes, his hair.
What would it feel like to run my hands through such dark and wavy hair?
What would it be like to get lost in such divine blue eyes?
No. No, no, no. What in the realms was I thinking? What kind of thought was that to have? I couldn’t listen to him anymore, and I certainly couldn’t see him anymore.
In an instant, it was dark. My thoughts had struck out the fire. I took a deep breath, prepared to make up an explanation for why I had done so…one that wouldn’t warrant a million questions.
“Well, if you were ready to retire, you could have warned me. How will I keep watch when I can’t see anything?”