by Jamie Loeak
Val shrugs. “It’s the least I can do,” he says to both Sterren and me.
I bite my lip to keep from hugging him tightly. I don’t want to scare him off or freak him out. And I hug Sterren instead. He’s trying to sit up, but I don’t let him. I practically lay across him as I hold him against me, and he laughs. The sound is deep, and it rumbles against my chest. I do love the feeling of him against me. So, I lift myself up and press my lips to his.
When I pull away a second later – because I didn’t forget about Val – I let Sterren up. He sits up immediately, and turns to Val. “Before I ask my last wish, do you have another?”
Val’s lower lip quivers. I know what it is, and I sigh inwardly. Do we even have the power to do this? How is Val supposed to ask this wish? Is it illegal, too?
Sterren sighs. “I can’t do that,” he says.
Val nods once. “I don’t want to be lonely,” he admits. His voice is soft as he says this, and I feel the urge to lean over and hug him again.
“Wish to meet someone,” I suggest. “What about a woman?”
Val shakes his head.
“What about another relative?” I ask this time.
Val perks up. This idea sounds good to him, because he’s only looking for a companion, someone to spend the rest of his life with. But, his face falls once more. “I am immortal,” he says a second later. “I will always be lonely in life.”
I sigh because I can’t think of anything else. What are we supposed to do?
“I’m ready for my second wish,” Val says suddenly. His eyes hold a glint of determination, and my heart begins racing.
Sterren nods, knowing that he cannot cast illegal wishes like I can. He casts his star and waits for Val’s words. Unfortunately, he uses his words to his advantage.
“I wish for the other Star Caster to end my life so that I may spend my eternal life with Ego,” he says slowly.
My jaw drops, but Sterren’s soft power reaches my body. I am forced to do this, to end another life tonight, and I’m not ready. Once more, I’m crying, and the power within me lifts my hand so that I’m pointing toward Val’s heart. The lightning bolt leaves me, and Val falls in another moment. His dark cloak covers his body; the only thing I can see is his translucent hand reaching toward me. He seems to have been reaching out to thank me, and I whisper a thank you to him.
Sterren moves toward me and hugs me from behind. His hands wrap around my waist, cool and comforting in the night air. “I’m sorry that all of this happened to you, Danika. I never meant for it to end like this,” he declares. Then he sighs. “Can you cast me one last wish tonight, though?” he asks. His voice is sheepish, and I know that he feels bad for asking me right now.
I sigh but nod my head. I turn around and press my lips to his before looking up into his eyes. I push his hair away from his eyes to see the three stars that shimmer underneath his golden eye. They are beautiful and I trail my hand across them. I bite my lower lip as a wave of desire courses through my veins, and I pull my hand away so that I can focus. I step back and cast the last star into the sky, and am shocked to see it fly in a rainbow of colors across the fading night. This is different than the other stars I’ve cast, and my jaw drops as I watch it race away.
“What in the world?” Sterren whispers.
I shake my head. If he doesn’t know about this, then it must really be something special. I don’t have time to focus on the star, though, because Sterren’s voice rings out as he states his wish. “I wish to end the Star Casters, to end the time of humans using humans to get what they crave, while keeping the memory alive within the oldest of us.”
The star before us brightens and fades, leaving behind a burst of light that indicates the end of it all. Sterren turns to me and pulls me into him. His skin is warm against mine, and I am overjoyed with everything that is happening.
However, things change a moment later, and I am left with a pain that brings me to my knees. I feel those same headaches, the ones that caused my metamorphosis, and know that I am losing my powers, my stars. Beside me, Sterren is on his knees as well. A trail of delighted tears trail down his face, and I smile, for he has never looked more beautiful to me.
Ten torturous minutes later, I am on the ground, hardly breathing. My hands are balled into fists underneath my chest, and I am relieved that it is ending. “Are you okay?” I ask Sterren. My voice is a whisper, a soft breeze.
He mumbles assent next to me and I lift myself up so that I can see him. Sterren is sitting there, staring at the sun as it rises over the horizon. His hair is messy and is pushed from his two grey eyes. “Now, I have no reason to fear the nighttime,” he says as he stands. He reaches his hand out and pulls me up beside him.
I blink, taking it all in. I had been a Star Caster. I had been forced to harm people and kill men. I had been forced to grant wishes. But now, it was gone. All of it was gone.
“You are going to be the perfect lawyer,” Sterren says from beside me.
I look up at him and smile.
“Your wishes can now come true,” he says as he turns to face me. His hand reaches up to cup my cheek and I lean into him, falling into him like so many times before.
“Let’s make them come true together,” I suggest as I pull him into me and kiss him senseless. Hey, I did say that he deserved one earth-shattering kiss.