35. Callum #2
“Just remember what I said,” my voice carried a serious note. “Don’t get Orela out of the temples until the sixth day.”
“I know, I know,” she sassed as she looked at me. “I remember the plans very clearly. I’m to gather everyone here, in my apartment, as it’s the only location where you can guarantee our safety.”
“If Lucanus finds out that Orela is missing,” I stated, “this will be the first place he chooses to look. You must get her out without anyone noticing.”
“You know . . .” Her voice was a teasing drawl, sea-glass hazel eyes sparkling up at me.
“It’s almost as if you’re worried about me.
But that can’t be right, can it? The infamous Shade of the Aurelian Guild, one of the most elite spies in Aurelia .
. . worried about me?” Her lip formed a teasing pout as she watched me, and a low growl rumbled in my chest.
“It’s not as if I’m worried for you,” I retorted, confirming she caught every word. “I am worried for you. There is not even the slightest part of me that wants you going off into danger, even if it’s to free your sister.”
“I’ll be fine,” she stated confidently, and I narrowed my eyes a fraction at her statement. “I promise.”
I traced over every inch of her face, counting each freckle as I memorized them one by one, before my gaze slid down her form, landing on the starbound mark, glimmering in gold on her bronzed skin.
Raelyna’s hand reached out, her delicate fingers wrapping around my left wrist as she brought my own mark up, studying the lines. Her fingers traced over each line on the three connected triangles, every muscle in my body restraining itself, before she looked up at me nervously.
“Now that I know . . . about the starbound mark, I mean.” Her voice was unsure as she looked at me with a slight worry in her eyes. “What does that mean . . . for me? For us? After you know . . . everything happens.”
I smiled softly at her, taking a step closer to her as I tugged her between my legs, tilting her chin up so that she was holding my gaze. “It means whatever you want it to mean, starlight.”
She bit her lip softly, and I groaned at the action, blood pulsing through me at the subtle gestures she made. “I-I don’t know what I want it to mean,” she admitted. “It’s so new . . . and there’s so much going on, with everything about to happen, and—”
“You don’t have to decide right now,” I interrupted. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Her eyes narrowed, a tiny furrow appearing between her brow as she looked at me. “You do realize you’re essentially going off to war tomorrow, right?”
“Like I said.” I shot her a quick smile as I held her gaze. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I just . . .” She sighed, picking at the hem of my shirt as she decided on her next words.
“A starbound mark is a gift—one that I used to think more legend than reality up until the other day—but it’s not entirely a choice.
It’s something that just appears one day.
” She hesitated as she looked up at me. “I just . . . I guess I don’t want you to feel like you have no other choice.
Like you’re stuck with me, just because we have a starbound mark—because the Eternal has decided we are meant for each other. ”
I huffed a laugh as I stared at the female in my arms. “Stuck with you?” I asked, tightening my grip around her, refusing to let her escape me even if she wanted to.
“I’m not stuck with you,” I stated, my tone firm.
“I mean it, Raelyna. It has taken every ounce of control in my body not to claim you right here, right now. To not press you up against this wall and devour you. You have consumed my thoughts, my mind, and my dreams since the moment I met you.”
“But, you didn’t get to choose this.” Her voice was soft as she replied. “You didn’t get to choose us.”
“Neither did you, starlight,” I stated. “But even so, I would choose this . . . I would choose you . . . in this life . . . in the next . . . every single time. I would choose you. You have been on my mind every single moment since I first saw you at the Tilted Tavern. Even then, before we even marked, I wanted to spend time in your presence. So don’t tell me that I didn’t get to choose this . . . because I do choose this.”
I felt the overwhelming flood of emotions flowing from her—happiness, excitement, worry, and desire.
Tilting her chin up, I met her gaze. “I mean it, Raelyna. It’s been you .
. . since the moment I laid eyes on you.
” I didn’t give her a chance to respond as I pressed my lips to hers, molding them together as I claimed her.
The moment my lips touched hers, I was ensnared, captivated.
The scent of jasmine enveloped me, and I found myself pushing closer to her, my lips never once leaving hers.
Raelyna folded into my touch. My hand tightened on her hip, tugging her against me as my other hand trailed up her back, before my fingers snaked through her hair, angling her head as I deepened the kiss.
I pulled back for the briefest of moments, my eyes fluttering open to meet sea-glass hazel orbs holding mine. I watched a torrent of emotions flicker across her irises—longing, satisfaction, desire—matching the pulse of contentment I felt radiating from our starbound mark.
“I meant it, Raelyna,” I whispered against the shell of her ear. “I choose you. You are mine.”
“I choose you, too,” she answered.
I angled my head once again, my lips touching hers once more in a soft kiss as I ran my tongue across her bottom lip in a slow motion. And then I was taking control, a low growl rumbling in my chest as I tugged her closer to me, our lips colliding in a tidal wave of consuming desire.
Hands ran through my hair, tangling at the nape of my neck as I guided the kiss, taking control, my lips claiming hers in a ferocious dance.
Every fiber of my being demanded to be closer, wanting more.
I could feel the array of emotions flitting through our mark—contented, satisfied, accepted.
I broke apart, gasping for breath, only for us to collide once again.
All I could think about was her . . . she consumed my thoughts, my memories, my actions as the taste of her flooded my mouth and our tongues danced in a wickedly vicious battle of control.
I leaned into her, feeling the soft curves of her body pressing against me as I held her, my lips brushing against hers in a synchronized dance.