Page 59 of Star Bringer
“This is so magical,” I say.
“I don’t think anyone has ever called Askkandia magical before,” she answers.
“I don’t just mean the planet. I mean…” I pause, struggling to explain what I’m thinking. What I’m feeling. “Back in the monastery, every day was just the same. Sometimes I thought I would die from boredom. But I haven’t been bored since the moment I stepped foot on theCaelestis.”
Her brows go up. “You really think terror beats boredom?”
“Definitely!” And then I realize what I’m saying—and how I must sound to a girl who has been through what Beckett has—and I sigh again. “Goodness, that was terrible. I know there are lots of people with much less than me. And I have a role in life, maybe a chance to help all those people. But that doesn’t mean I don’t struggle sometimes. I just want so much more than to stare at the same walls, the same desert, for the rest of my life.”
There’s a narrow beach, and I drop to the beautiful cerulean sand and tug off my boots. Then sit for a moment staring up at her. “I can’t believe I’m doing this. That I’m here with you right now. You’re different than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good thing.” She looks down at me curiously. “Aren’t you interested in why I was on that prison ship? What I did to get there?”
“Of course I am. I’m interested in absolutelyeverything. All my questions irritate Merrick endlessly.”
“So why haven’t you asked?”
“Because what you did in the past doesn’t matter to me.” I smile gently at her. “Besides, you’ll talk about it when you’re ready.”
“Maybe I will.” Themaybe I won’thangs in the air between us, but I don’t push. I don’t want to ruin the magic happening right now. She smiles at me. “Now, let’s get in the water.”
I jump to my feet, and this time I’m the one who holds out my hand to her. It’s not a kiss like in my daydream, but it’s not nothing, either. It’s a step. One that makes me happy, especially when she reaches out and links her fingers with mine. Together, we walk slowly toward the water.
The water is warmer than I expected, and it feels like silk against my skin—or what I imagine silk would feel like. It seduces me, makes me wade deeper.
I think that at any moment I’ll stop and we’ll turn back. But I keep walking, and so does she.
When the water is up to my waist, I turn to look at her. Then I grin, release her hand, and fall over backward into the water with a squeal. I go under and come up spluttering and laughing, wet hair plastered to my cheeks and chest.
She looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind. And maybe I have. Then she laughs as well and dunks under. I follow her down, holding my breath as long as I can, then come up, gasping, into the air.
“I’ll remember this when I’m back in the monastery,” I say. “This might be the best day of my life.”
She shakes her head. “And I thoughtIwas sad.”
I know she doesn’t mean them, so I ignore the words. “I want to float, but I suspect I’ll sink in this ridiculous robe. It feels like it weighs a tonne.”
“Then take it off. I certainly won’t mind.”
I peer at her in the dusky purple light, and suddenly the air between us is charged with something new. I remember the taste of her from that brief kiss. The sweetness.
I tell myself to live out my daydream. To move to her and kiss her so I can feel like that again. But my legs are frozen, and so is my courage.
Thankfully, Beckett isn’t having the same problem.
Taking a step closer, she reaches out and strokes the hair from my face. Electricity sizzles between us, even before she leans forward and licks the water from my lips.
My knees tremble, and every nerve in my body sparks to life. I take a shaky breath, and she pulls away, her eyes questioning. I start to beg her to come back, to do that again, but I’ve forgotten how to form words. All that comes out is a quiet moan that smacks of the desperation—the need—that’s racing through my blood.
Beckett’s eyes go dark, her lips curving in a grin that looks as wicked as I feel. And then she’s leaning in again, though this time she doesn’t just lick my lips. She presses her mouth to mine, and it feels like my heart is going to stop in the very best possible way.
I moan again, and her lips curve against mine. “I like that sound,” she whispers.
“I like you,” I answer because it’s true. And because I want her to stop talking and kiss me, really kiss me, like in every great love story I’ve ever heard or daydreamed.
This time, when she leans in to kiss me, I can’t help but notice that her lips are cool. Or mine are hot. I can’t tell. All the feelings are mixed up inside me. The coolness of the water and the softness of her skin and the fire in my blood. I want her like I’ve never wanted anything.
I press myself closer, opening my lips under hers just as a shot shatters the night air.
