by J. A. Comley
“Yes, of course. There is some warm water there and I brought one of your tunics in here. Larkel has checked all your things for poison. It is safe.” She gestured to the folded jade cloth on a nearby stool. “I'll go and prepare you something to eat.”
Starla washed and changed slowly, stretching as the stiffness left her muscles.
Afterwards, she headed down to get breakfast. As she neared the end of the stairs, Starla spotted Larkel and felt her heart soar.
Markis spotted her first. Beaming at her, he poked his friend in the ribs.
Larkel's indigo eyes widened as he rushed to her. “How are you feeling?” he asked urgently, holding her hand tightly in his, his other hand gently stroking her face. “That woman, Lanteg, poisoned your shift. I had her arrested and questioned. She's awaiting trail next week. She got the poison from a grobbler.”
“I'm fine, really. Thanks to all of you.” Starla smiled, looking to Markis with a nod of thanks. “Did … has the Baron been arrested too?” she asked, suddenly hopeful.
Larkel growled. “No. She acted on her own initiative.”
“Oh.”
The High Lord helped her to a sofa as Markis, after shooting Larkel a rather pointed look, went to help Lia in the kitchen. He sat beside her, fingers combing gently through her golden hair.
“Starla, I—”
“How do they build these houses?” Starla asked, the random question taking Larkel by surprise. “I mean the glass looks transparent, but isn't.”
“That's a well-guarded secret,” Larkel said, reluctantly removing his hand from her hair as she shifted back so she could look at him. “The Glasioders make them using a special mixture that is then moulded into the desired shape by Makhi. The moulding process is easy enough to learn, but no one else knows what is in the mixture.” He laughed softly. “Markis has been trying to figure it out for years. All he's managed to discover is that part of the mixture is made up of glass shards from the Eastern Sea, Light Meadow Metal, and the sap of a lightning fern.”
He watched her as she closed her eyes, breathing gently. She was clearly still very weak from her ordeal. Swallowing his initial sentence, he began to stroke her hair once more.
***
Starla stretched out in the bed in the cottage. The last week had been spent mostly eating and sleeping, recuperating. Still, it had been a good week, with good company.
She and Larkel had spent hours just chatting, about books and friends. He had promised to take her to see the Registries in the Royal Library as soon as possible. They had played with the Rothers' younger children. It had been a perfect week for getting to know the High Lord better.
Getting up, she reached for the purple dress. Larkel had said that he had postponed his plans, but that today would be just as perfect for it.
Curiosity rising again, Starla dressed, and managed to do her hair in the half-up, half-down style that the women here used, her birthday clip holding it all in place Standing before the mirror in the morning sunlight, Starla admired the tunic again. It didn't hide the Star if she wore it, but she had managed to stitch it into the hem, where it would be hidden well enough for the day. The dress fit her perfectly, the silver embroidery matching her star belt. The clip's jewels sparkling in the light. It all felt so normal, now. She didn't think she would ever be comfortable in the cumbersome dresses of Earth again.
Good thing I'm not returning, she thought, followed by a wave of guilt. She would have to go back, eventually, to settle things and say good-bye.
Quickly, she made her breakfast, turning her thoughts back to the present. The High Lord had said he would be here around nine and that she should eat first. The nervous fluttering in her tummy made her give up after eating a small bowl of porridge.
“You look amazing,” Larkel said, giving a light bow when she opened the door. His eyes swept over her. “Ready, my lady?”
Again, Raoul popped instantly into her head, but this time no guilt followed behind. That life was over. She knew where her home was.
Larkel noted the delay and frowned. “That happens a lot,” he said, taking her hand as they began to walk.
Deciding on complete openness, Starla glanced up at him. “The man you saw in my memories, Raoul? He and I used to greet each other with mock formalities all the time. I guess it just reminds me of him. I … he … he had offered to help me find my birth parents and I had promised not to leave without him. Then … then I wound up here.”
The High Lord looked away, his brow furrowed. “Who is he to you?” he said, looking back, eyes intense and anxious, his direct question layered with meaning.
“He's like a big brother,” Starla shrugged, getting to the heart of it. “He asked to marry me. I said I couldn't, tried to explain, but he wouldn't accept my explanation. Back there, on Earth, he is who I would have married, out of duty and respect for him. Because he was the only one who'd never lied to me. I do love him, but not in the way he wants.” She was blushing by the end. “He just couldn't accept that. Neither could anyone else.”
Larkel tried to keep his voice level. “That night, the memory I saw, he kissed you but you didn't pull away.” He didn't like making her uncomfortable, but he needed to know.
Starla's blush deepened. “That night, my whole world changed. He proposed and I found out that the man who was like a father to me had lied to me my whole life. Raoul hadn't lied to me, ever. He was the only person who stood by my side because he wanted to, not because he felt he had to. He said he'd wait until I was ready to marry him, but between him, his family and mine, I know the choice wouldn't really have been mine to make. I wanted to travel in search of my parents. He swore to come with me. Propriety would have demanded we marry first.” She stopped, looking at the High Lord, trying to read his guarded expression.
Suddenly, he stopped her, releasing her hand, “Do you want to go back? To Earth? To that life?” To him?
Starla stepped forward and took back one of his hands and lay her other palm against his cheek. “No, I'm happy, right here.” Stunned by her own sudden daring, she felt herself blush again.
Larkel watched twin flowers bloom in Starla's cheeks. Smiling, he reached out his free hand and ran his knuckles along her cheek, then down her arm. He felt her shiver as he wrapped his arm around her waist, drawing her to him.
Starla felt as if her heart would explode, her body filling with electric energy as they kissed. His lips were firm against hers. With her hands against his chest, she felt his heart racing, a galloping beat to match hers.
As they pulled apart, Starla tried to even out her breathing, her emerald eyes never leaving his indigo ones, both pairs sparkling with the fire Starla felt still coursing through her veins.
Keeping hold of one of her hands, Larkel turned to face the direction they were going. “Come on, we have somewhere to be,” Larkel said cheerfully.
“Those are Heartwings.” Larkel whispered as Starla pointed excitedly at three black birds perched high up on a tree. “They get their colour from their favourite food, agleys, but they are born with soft, pink plumage.”
He watched her move ahead without him. The sunlight glinted off her hair to make it look like spun gold. Smiling, he remembered how her eyes had lit up when he had said they were going on a private tour of the aviary. But even as he tried to watch the birds, his body seemed charged with electricity every time she touched his arm to ask about another bird or stepped closer to him to look at one he had spotted. He hadn't been able to resist her back at the Rothers'. Yet he knew he should have. It was unfair of him. Now, it would cause her pain, too, if she chose to leave him.
Starla stopped and looked back at the High Lord. He was watching her and he seemed troubled. She felt her chest fill with ice. She hoped he wasn't regretting the kiss. She didn't. She knew he had a secret and she had glimpsed enough to know it was a dark one, but all she had seen of him these past three weeks had made her sure of the goodness in his heart. Whatever darkness tormented him, she would dea
l with it.
“There's a fountain just through those bushes,” he said, noticing her scrutiny and coming forward to join her. “It is the heart of the sanctuary.”
He moved through the bushes and sat down on the gossamer bench, tapping the spot beside him. “If we are quiet, we may see a very special and very shy bird,” he whispered, conspiratorially, as she joined him.
As they waited, Starla tried and failed to ignore the electric sensation between them as they sat so close.
She was about to give in to the fire and kiss him when an eagle-sized bird swooped down to the fountain. Its blueish-purple feathers reflected the sunlight as it drank. She stifled a gasp as the golden star on the bird's chest caught the light.
The High Lord stood up as the bird took flight, once more. “My father used to bring me here all the time when I was a child. He'd tell me about all the birds and then we'd wait right there for the elusive starla to appear.”
Starla smiled, letting her eyes wander over his strong frame as he fussed over a red blossom. As she admired the way the sunlight made his eyes glitter like jewels, she let the memory of his hand trailing down her arm overcome her, of the softness of his lips. She turned away, blushing, as she realised he was watching her, too, a strange expression on his face.
He held the blossom out to her with a playful smile on his lips. “Are you ready to leave for lunch?”
Starla's heart beat harder as she closed the gap to take the flower. “Lunch sounds good.” She reached out to touch a petal.
Suddenly, the blossom became a bird. It flew up to a nearby branch with an indignant tweet.
Larkel laughed softly at Starla's startled gasp.
“Here,” he said, putting a few blue seeds in her hand. “Now, hold your hand open.”
The little bird flew back down and landed in Starla's hand, eyeing her curiously with its four black eyes.
“They are called red blossoms, because of their camouflage ability,” he explained as the bird quickly ate the seeds. “They are the crest of King Eldos' royal house.”
Slowly sliding his hand under hers, he lifted both their hands skyward.
The little bird took flight, circled, then landed on a nearby bush, instantly becoming a red flower once more.
Starla smiled up at Larkel as he turned his hand around hers so that they were now palm to palm.
“I have something special planned for lunch,” he said, smiling and interlinking his fingers with hers, leading the way back through the plants.
“Where are we going?” she asked as they left the bird sanctuary. “Back to Lia and Markis or—?”
“My place,” Larkel said softly. A surprisingly vulnerable look entered his eyes. “If you'd rather—”
“Lead the way,” she said, smiling up at him, vaguely wondering when exactly she had stopped being shy or worrying over what she had been taught was proper behaviour. She knew the answer to that. It was the moment she had decided that this man was all she wanted.
“Oh. Um, could you wait here a moment. I just remembered I need to see the owner of that store,” Larkel said.
“No, of course not. You go ahead. I'll be there, by Notes on the Breeze,” Starla said, indicating the wind chime store three stores down. The only other store not boarded up.
Smiling, Larkel seemed to consider something, then bent and quickly kissed her cheek, before walking off into the store.
Cheek still tingling, Starla made for Notes on the Breeze, barely noticing the amount of stares and scandalized whispers that followed her. Today, she felt happier than she had ever done. She was not going to concern herself with people and their prejudices.
Larkel placed the red velvet ring box on the counter along with an intricately-carved charm bracelet and gold necklace with a heartwing pendant.
“For Naleiya?” the vendor asked, smiling brightly as he was handed the three golden stars in payment.
“No,” he answered, distracted as he tried to spot Starla through the window.
The man's hands froze momentarily, his face betraying a raging curiosity.
The High Lord threw him a stern, 'it's-none-of-your-business' look. “Thank you,” he said gruffly, taking the small package from the now wide-eyed shopkeeper.
Making his staff appear, Larkel vanished the package. With another glare at the still-shocked shopkeeper's nosiness, Larkel left the store and headed for Starla, a small smile on his face as he saw her fascination with the Rainbow Wood chime. Each hollow, wooden tube changed colour as it struck the black metal disc inside.
Noticing the stares they were receiving, he took her hand and began to lead her to his home.
As they entered the little clearing where the High Lord's house stood, Starla's eyes were immediately drawn again to the view. The ocean glittered like a blanket spun from diamonds. Turning back, her words of appreciation left her as she took in the giant, slowly throbbing, purple plant on the grass by the tree line. As she watched, Larkel made his staff appear and shot a green light around the plant and it slowly began to unfurl. A picnic blanket, trays of finger food and two bottles in a bucket of ice were revealed as the 'plant' vanished into a twinkling purple mist.
“Do you like the surprise?” he asked, deep voice intense as he came to a stop in front of her.
She met his gaze, his keen eyes searching her face as his hands slowly encircled her waist. Starla just nodded as she felt the bond between them open.
Slowly he lowered his lips to hers. The kiss was gentle, yet so intimate as glimpses of their thoughts and feelings passed through the connection. She found herself reaching her arms up around his neck, allowing him to pull her even closer. Eyes alight, he took half a step back, leaving his hands around her waist. One hand began to trail up her spine, his fingers soft on her bare skin. She felt her eyes close in response and knew he had sensed her desire through the bond. His lips found hers again, this kiss much more urgent, fuelled by fire. Their thoughts lost coherence for a moment and then he pulled back again, his mind doused in sudden cold control. But his smile was undimmed. Keeping a hand around her waist, he led her to the picnic and offered her some agley wine as they sat.
Looking at the glass of pure black liquid he passed her, Starla glanced at him sceptically, remembering the time Davan and Orla had put ink in her tea.
He laughed at her expression. “It really is a lovely wine.” He took a sip.
Seeing that his encouraging smile was still a brilliant white, she sipped her own wine. Expecting something similar to Earth wine, her taste buds were shocked as something more like strawberries and melted chocolate flooded her mouth, with the added bite of alcohol. Smooth and fruity, it wasn't overly sweet.
“This is amazing,” she said, taking another sip.
“To your birthday, even if we are a little late,” he smiled, tapping his glass against hers.
Grinning, she settled in to enjoy the picnic, definitively shutting the door on her old life and everyone in it. Not that she didn't hope to see them all again. She just refused to let the rules of their world guide another second of her life.
Larkel had been staring into nothingness for a while as Starla lay with her head in his lap, watching the light filter through the white leaves. It was late in the afternoon already. His fingers trailed through her hair and along her arms, an unconscious action.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked, running a finger along the jerking muscle in his jaw as he clenched and unclenched his teeth. He trembled slightly as her fingers slid down his neck before she lowered her hand.
“Things that should not be thought of on such a beautiful day,” he sighed, still stroking her hair.
Hearing the sadness in his voice, Starla sat up. Taking his hand, she opened the connection.
“You're getting good at that,” he mused, his smile not quite reaching his eyes.
Using the connection, Starla opened herself to him, showing him her concern and her love. She was here to listen if he wanted to speak.
/> “Perhaps it is time,” he muttered, more to himself than to her. His feelings through the bond were conflicted but mostly, they seemed afraid. “No, it is past time. Starla, I have held something back from you. But it isn't fair of me. For you to love me you must know all of me … and you don't.”
Starla rested his hand in her lap. She met his eyes. She could feel his fear and anguish behind the hardness of his voice. She steeled herself for some terrible revelation and nodded to him.
“As you can imagine, Galatian families can grow to be quite large, although conceiving is hard for us. I was the youngest of my eight siblings before our mother died in the first wave of Kyron's attack on the Light Meadows up north.” Larkel began, struggling to keep his voice steady.
Starla felt the pain flooding through him and she held his hand a little tighter as he continued. “After that, things just got worse. Those of my siblings who were not Makhi were in the army. All of them left to fight. I was only sixteen. My father, High Lord at the time, wouldn't let me go with the other Makhi. I was the strongest Makhi, already destined to be High Lord, my future decided.” He looked up, meeting her eyes. “Four years later, with the Light Meadows turned to darkness, Kyron sent his first attack against our City. Black smoke filled the air for days. We Makhi tried to study it, find out what we were up against. By the time it vanished, no one had found an answer.” He shook his head. “Except me. I had an idea of what it could be but had been unable to prove my theory and so no one listened. Though my powers were exceptional, I was considered too young and inexperienced by the older Makhi.”
He shuddered and Starla felt numbed by the terrible tempest of emotions, the great anger that he was trying to keep from engulfing her.
“On the Trimoon Festival sixteen years ago, Kyron's smoke had the effect I had predicted. Drodemions sprung up all over the city, killing without thought.”
Starla saw the horrible creatures in his memory. Figures of charred and melted flesh, blind eyes seeking only death.