Chapter 37
Idrifted on a cloud of ivory, flowing through the tears between Time and the ethereal beyond. It was tranquil here. Peace enveloped me, welcoming me home. I lifted a hand, reached for that portal leading to a realm where Time was no more…
But it closed. Sent me back.
“No,” said a voice. It was deep, authoritative, yet comforting. It sounded like Papi would, if he were several hundred thousand millennia old. “Not yet, Star of the Age.”
I gasped, stirring from the dream.
With effort, I forced my eyes to open, slowly meeting the bright sunlight illuminating every corner of the chamber I was in. It took me blinking for several moments to realize I was in my bedchamber. In my bedcloud.
I breathed deeply trying to make sense of the fuzziness in my head.
I lifted my fingers. It was about all I could do without triggering a wave of nauseating pain. Every limb was stiff. Every muscle sore. The entire length of my back burned like the Hèls.
Stars.
What happened to me?
I groaned, twitching with anguish. I wanted to move but I couldn’t. My head throbbed. Something large, warm, and inviting brushed my cheek, then caressed the side of my face. I leaned into it, still working to blink away the sleep and deep mental fog.
I tried remembering why I felt like I’d been run through by the talons of stareagles. I felt discombobulated. I shook my head which caused my neck to ache and my body to tremble.
Then I nuzzled back into the warm hold. After a moment I realized what was caressing me was a hand. A large one. I blinked, looking at it. It was pale. With inscriptions embedded into every inch of available skin.
I angled my head. Looked up.
Two glittering, emerald pools, rimmed in gold, met my gaze.
“There you are, Safah Starling.”
“Quazar,” I whispered. I was shocked at the sound of my voice. Why in the world did I sound like that? Like I’d been screaming until my throat was raw and my voice hadn’t returned? “What…”
“Shh,” Quazar cooed. “You’re still recovering. You have a little ways to go.”
“Re…recovering?”
I stuttered, my mind already growing tired. I’d said little more than three words and I was already exhausted.
“From what?” I whispered as my eyes fell shut. As the world grew dark once more.
“Shh, my Starling. Sleep.”
Sleep? Sleep.
I could do that.
“Quazar?”
I nestled deeper into the sheets. Deeper into a warmth that could only be him.
Stars.
Was I in his lap or something?
I was too tired to be bashful. To care.
“Stay with me.”
“Always, my Starling.”
He finished saying the rest down our bond while brushing his fingers through my hair.
“Even when the stars fall, and the realms fade. When the twinight is no more, and eternal light is our home. You have my word and my hearts. I will always choose to stay.”