“That is gross,” Ky said, but in a world of barren women, she guessed it made sense. “Doesn’t anyone worry about sexually transmitted infections?”
“I don’t know what that is,” Cobaaron admitted with a laugh. “So, I guess not. But I know you are not like other women. One of the numerous things I like about you. You had plenty of opportunities while we were alone, but you never pushed the idea. In fact, you were shy and embarrassed while naked in the cave.”
“Any girl would be.”
“Not here.”
Ky smiled, slipped her hand around his neck, and urged him closer. She kissed him, but then something he said bothered her. She broke the kiss. “Cobaaron, will I be barren?”
“No, female Stars are different. If she and her partner want children, they’ll have them. Something about their decision makes it happen. If the man is the Star, the woman will still be barren; they may never have children even if they both want them. I know male Stars who have kids; it does happen. You will have children if you wish, though, you shouldn’t have them if you’re not living in the city. I don’t have everything figured out, so let’s not talk about children now.”
Ky laughed. “I’m eighteen, Cobaaron. I’m not nearly ready for children. I’m simply curious. I know I kept saying I’m too young to marry, but then keep bonding with you, but I am serious about being too young for children.”
“Do you want them? Because I’ll be honest, that would be perfect if you don’t want any.”
“Oh, I want them. Just not now.”
“Then we shouldn’t discuss this yet,” Cobaaron said.
“Agreed. Let’s not talk about children for several years.”
Her toes started to relax. She sat up and rubbed her feet. “Finally.” Her toes uncurled as her muscles loosened. Her cramping muscles were finally healed. “That is so much better. You can’t imagine how much that hurt.”
“No, I know. I’ve been poisoned before. That is how I knew you needed to keep all the bubbles in you, or you wouldn’t have any air in your entire body, and you would have died once it completely separated.” He slowly got off the floor and reached out a hand for her. “That is how I knew not to touch you when you woke.” He helped her to her feet and made sure she was steady before he let go. “That is also how I know you need to eat. We’ll go down to the kitchens.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Cobaaron and Ky passed the nearly abandoned square. A huge elaborate mosaic of small turquoise and white tiles lay on the ground. Cobaaron led her beyond the city center to a street market. Over a hundred stands lined the busy street while people traded their goods of food, clothes, jewelry, trinkets, tools, and one stand even traded for glowing crystals which acted like clocks, called timekeepers. They dimmed and brightened twice a day in fourteen-hour cycles. After Cobaaron explained how they worked, he bought her a crystal that hung from her neck. He said they weren’t usually very reliable, because a Star had to generate their light while remaining close to the stone in order for timekeepers to work properly.
Then he took her into the largest house on the street. When they walked in, the place was very busy, and reminded Ky of a restaurant and grocery store in one. He ordered two plates of lucks-pie. “It’s good,” he assured her while coaxing her to eat what look like long blue noodles and peach shriveled grapes. They ate standing at a tall counter.
She didn’t expect it to taste good, but moaned when she took the first bite. “Oh, it tastes like curry,” she said happily.
Cobaaron looked at his food. “Curry? Well, curry is good then. I’m glad you like it.”
“Me, too. I’m cautious about food here, but I’m learning that everything tastes good, and I shouldn’t let my eyes fool me. Just don’t tell me what it is.”
“No, it’s just wild blue grass and clinchpeas. There is nothing weird in it. I wouldn’t eat any strange animals.”
“You ate bat, Cobaaron,” she reminded him, and snickered. “That is a strange animal to eat.”
“Then I won’t tell you what clinchpeas are.”
“Oh, no. Don’t tell me I’m eating bat.” She pushed around the shriveled grapes with her spork. On second inspection it resembled small brains. She felt suddenly sick.
“It’s not bat. No. But you said you liked it.” He paused and watched her dig in the noodles while trying to decipher all the food’s ingredients. “Alright, that is the last time I mention food to you.” He smirked. “Just think curry, or you will never eat.” He then asked what curry was to get her to think something beyond what she was eating. It worked, but she didn’t take another bite of it.
When she finished with the ingredients he said, “Tell me more about your planet. I like what you said so far.”
“I don’t really know what else to say. It’s so different from here.” Ky shrugged, struggling to think of what he might find interesting. Then she had an idea. “You could try to read my mind and see for yourself.”
“I don’t think that is possible.” He blinked. He shook his head, still thinking about the idea. “I’ve never heard of a Star changing…”
“I know you can if you will it,” Ky stressed. “Try it. I already read your mind when I was trying to hear the council at Gem City, and couldn’t. But then I heard you thinking and what you were hearing.”
“That’s amazing,” he whispered in astonishment. He made eye contact with her for nearly a minute. He said nothing, but searched her eyes as his expression changed several times. She felt nothing; she didn’t sense him peering into her thoughts, though she was certain he was.
“What did you see?” she asked him.
“I don’t think I should have done that,” he mumbled. “I can see I hurt you when I told you not to care about me. You ignore any discomfort by not thinking about it. You pretend your sister never hurt you, but she did. You carry it around with you. I should have waited for you to tell me.”
“Oh, that.” She waved a hand in the air. “I said she was boy crazy.”
“No, she was cruel. She took every boy you liked for sport, to prove she was prettier. I don’t like her.”
“She got attention one way, and I got mine another.” Ky shrugged. “I don’t harbor resentment. I just know not to trust her. It’s made me a jealous little thing, yes, and I think even kissing is cheating. Other than that, I’m not affected.”
“Ky, didn’t you see that? You answered me when you were reading my mind.” Cobaaron laughed in amazement.
“Oh.” Ky hadn’t noticed. “I didn’t try to. Maybe it’s because you were reading mine and I was sensitive to it.”
“Do it to me.” He held her arm, looking intently at her, and said inside his mind, “From now on, we’ll think our conversations.”
“Okay,” She spoke to him with thought.
“This is incredible.” He smiled. “Okay, if you hear me, do you want to go somewhere else with me?”
She nodded.
He closed the gap between them, kissed her, and his passionate thoughts poured into her. “Don’t try to find out where we’re going.” His words were interrupted by lecherous phrases of things he wanted to do, now that they were kissing. He held back, despite wanting to keep his lips to hers. “Let’s go.”
He took her hand, and led her out of the market. They crossed the village to a small tunnel and began winding along a labyrinth of passageways, before he reached a sharp rock archway where she saw small white butterflies fluttering within the frame.
They continued to walk until the tunnel opened wide. They entered a beautiful garden with numerous pink flowers with enormous petals. Flora was covered with the white butterflies. The garden also had stalks of purple bell-like flowers, various different-colored daylilies without the grassy leaves, and short, red, star-shaped flowers with thorns on the stems. There were odd, petite willow trees that the branches all grew straight up. She also noticed that the butterflies flew upside down until landing on the damp leaves.
“It’s pretty in here
.”
“It’s a garden.” Cobaaron shrugged. “A lot of cities have them. Natives gather all the common flowers around their area and put them in caves that have upside down lakes. The water of the lake rains when people swim and splash in the water.”
“What do you mean?”
Cobaaron pointed up. Ky tilted her head and saw a blue, glowing lake less than two feet above Cobaaron’s head. As she looked up, Cobaaron embraced her. Her breath caught as a surge of overwhelming passion consumed her; he squeezed her waist tightly with zeal.
“Let’s swim.” He tossed her up toward the ceiling of water.
Ky splashed into the water. She sank farther into the lake before her body naturally rotated and floated toward the surface. When she popped her head up, all the willow branches gently swayed while they draped down toward the water. The flowers were a beautiful canopy among foliage. The butterflies no longer flew upside down. Somehow, the garden was even more amazing than a moment ago.
Cobaaron dove into the water with a splash. He bobbed out of the water a couple seconds later. The splashing made it rain, except the drops fell up. Ky watched the drizzling rise upward, mesmerized. The moment was magical, and intensely romantic, because he kept close to her as she observed everything in wonderment. The plants shook as it rained, and the butterflies fluttered to hide under the large pink petals to protect their wings.
“Did you see the eggs?” Cobaaron drew her attention.
“No.”
“It’s the eggs along the bottom that make it glow blue. They’re corrake fish eggs. When they hatch you can eat them. They’re very good when they’re young, but they soon grow large, and when they stop glowing they’re very bitter. When we swim the tunnel to get out, you should look at them.”
He smiled, and swam closer so he could tuck the hair behind her ear. When their eyes met, she could not tear herself from his gaze. They continued to watch each other in silence, exchanging smiles and soft laughs, and for Ky it was because she was enjoying herself. She secretly hoped he would kiss her, but he refrained. Instead, he racked his fingers through his hair to keep the water out of his eyes, and Ky found it incredibly sexy.
“What were you doing out in the caves the day you found me?”
“I like to sneak away when my men are feasting. After being around men continuously, leaving the city is the only way to escape people. I need it every once in awhile.”
“I’m glad you were out there.” She swam closer, hoping he would touch her again. She loved the intimacy. “I wouldn’t have lived…”
“Not with all the screaming you did,” smiled Cobaaron. He was flirting. She splashed him with water for teasing, but truthfully she loved his attention. The water never hit him, but broke up into small droplets, and levitated toward the plants.
He swam closer, but didn’t touch her. She wished he would, but she understood that in the intimate water, they most likely wouldn’t be able to stop.
“Aren’t you funny.” She splashed him again, but this time much closer, so the water hit his face. She giggled as he shook off the water, and again she found him irresistible.
“Only on rare occasions, and it’s usually by accident,” Cobaaron said. Ky laughed. “Except that time I meant to tease you.”
“Flirt with me, more like it,” Ky corrected.
“Men are supposed to make their intentions known. I’m being obvious.”
“Well, you’re obviously flirting.”
“Of course I am.”
“If men are supposed to make their intentions known, what do the women do?”
“Well, you’re not like other women, so you wouldn’t ask to sleep with me. Here, women are nearly obsessed with getting pregnant because when they have a child, the child and the mother retire to a life of luxury to ensure the growth and wellbeing of the newborn. The mother is doted on, so she can care for her child. Usually if a woman conceives, it’s as if her womb opens because women who have a child have two or more. My mother had four.
“It’s women who first pursue a man. They’re very skilled at seducing. Most women by their second maturity know everything there is to know about sex. From there on out, her sole purpose in life seems to revolve around sleeping with her chosen men, and fulfilling promises she made while they strive for children. Anything she promises him however, she must do.
“Usually she promises to return to him. If they’re united for life she may or may not promise faithfulness. Most don’t because they want several children. Though, some women promise to serve their partners. The best women are obedient and faithful.”
Ky scoffed. “I’ll promise you faithfulness Cobaaron, if that is what you are hinting at, but I’m not about to vow that while making love to you. It should be a given, really. I won’t promise to be obedient or serve you either. That is extremely sexist.”
“I don’t know what sexist is. That word is lost to me. It’s life here. It’s what men want women to do. Women are considered below men, except if you are a Star. You are royalty. What else could they promise a man?”
“Then this world has ignorant views about women. I don’t want to be below you; no woman wants that. I’ll be beside you or nothing else.”
“I can respect that, Ky. It’s attractive really, that you insist on it. I demand respect, so why shouldn’t you. In front of my men, I need a woman that reveres me, so my men will also.” He smiled. “Will you tell me now then, what else you’ll promise me, besides faithfulness? I want to know.”
He stared at her as he waited for another vow, while looking pleased she would promise him monogamy. “I’ll stand by your side forever, Cobaaron. I promise to trust you, or always try.”
“If you promised to stay by my side, then you’re not traveling with me just to go to another city? That was the promise I hoped for if that is what you mean.” Cobaaron inched closer to her, entreating a response.
“No, I...I’ve been thinking I’ll remain with you. I thought that is what we decided when you asked me to bond with you again.”
“Good. I wanted it clear, with no questions between us, that we both aren’t giving up on our bond.” Cobaaron clutched her dry hair, and lifted a strand from the water to watch it instantly warm and evaporate any moisture. He continued to watch her in fascination as he said, “I’ll change you to not feel depressed when traveling or seeing war. The darkness is thick of sadness. I don’t want you to feel it. I want you to like life with me.” He cupped her face with one hand, and the surge of bliss filled her. Unquestionably, she was where she belonged.
“I felt that depression when I first exited the cave outside Gem City. The black sky was gloomy.”
“I’ll change you to enjoy seeing new places. Hopefully, you’ll learn to love both the city and outside as I do. There is danger, yes, but also a lot of wonderful sights. I’ll protect you.”
“So that’s your promise to me?” Ky smiled.
“Yes. That and when we’re alone you’ll always know it’s you who I see as my one and only true ally; you are my equal.”
Ky smiled with satisfaction. “I’ll try not to argue with you in front your men, then.”
A small woman ran into the garden. She spied them when she saw the rain. She stopped and panted for breath. “There...you are. I’ve been...looking for you...everywhere. The council...is meeting in...the council chamber. You’re wanted.” She leaned over, putting her hands on her bent knees while gasping for air. “The pair of you,” she insisted as she pointed to them, and went right back to panting loudly.
“Me?” Ky asked surprised.
“You’re part of the council, Ky,” Cobaaron said. “You’re a Star, you will always be a part of any council to whatever city you live in, unless you publically choose not to be, or the quill of oath denies you, but that is unlikely since you’re a Star and uncorrupt. The magic quill decides the honesty of those who apply, and keeps only the pure of heart.”
“Yes, yes, yes. But it’s about the both of you. She must come!�
� The short woman held up her hand. “Here, give me your hand I’ll pull you out of the water.”
She seized Ky by her fingers and then heaved. Ky was hoisted from the water, and then fell to the ground hard. She instantly became very dizzy as the world seemed to spin around, but it lasted only a few seconds. Then Ky and the small woman heaved Cobaaron from the water. He fell onto Ky. His heavy body pressed against her. She felt the union’s magical touch, tugging at her desire. They smiled at each other.
“They are waiting. We must hurry,” the woman said, rushing them to the council chamber.
When they arrived, the meeting was already in session. The woman who had begged them to hurry to the council chamber had Ky sit in the bleachers. Meanwhile, Cobaaron sat in the throne facing everyone, and asked what discussion was on the table.
“We received a message boat from Gem City. It’s clear to us now that there is more going on than you’re telling us,” a councilman addressed Cobaaron.
“Explain, Tisek,” Cobaaron said, looking confused.
“We received a boat in our pools from Airia, the Star of Gem City. According to her, there is an archive of a warrior and a Star uniting. The archive should be read.” Tisek looked at another councilman. It was Quintin. He immediately stood and held up a small scroll that had water stains on the ink.
Quintin cleared his throat and then spoke loudly, “It’s written:
‘Pass the days of light to dark, the Stars will rain;
And one, She, will unite with him…
A man with a double-edged sword, being a warrior and king.
Together they bring the light to surpass the darkness.’”
Quintin sat when he finished reading.
“Is this all that was in the archive?” Cobaaron asked. Quintin nodded.
The Coming Dawn Trilogy Page 16