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December 7 - December 11, 2024
“I’ve always loved the stars. Though, the moon and I have more of an… antagonistic relationship,” Arken had replied. “And why is that, Little Conduit?” “Because I can never sleep under a full moon,” she huffed. “It’s infuriating. Every damn month. Amaretta always said it was because I was born under a full moon.”
“Doesn’t everybody admire the night sky?” “No. Not like you do.”
“About the Aetherborne and how they mapped out the constellations in the names of the fallen. That whole concept of the Fates existing among the stars, guiding our paths… I don’t know. It stuck with me.”
Looking beyond the surface, finding the most intricate details to admire and appreciate. It was the same way that she looked at the sky, too. And sometimes, it was the same way she looked at me.
“I mean, according to the Irrosi, a mortal could be born with the power of the gods! But when that happens, it’s supposed to be a sign of the end of days, right? Because it would break all the laws of arcane science, disrupt the balance, and trigger a second Cataclysm. A single Harbinger could kill us all.”
My gaze drifted over him lazily, and I realized that his trousers had slipped down dangerously low on his hips. That skin-tight undershirt of his was riding up just enough that I could see… Gods, I could see a lot. Too much. This was just rude, really. Had he been carved out of fucking marble?
I wasn’t sure exactly when that had happened. At what point had Arken become so… integral to my well-being? How was it that the tendrils of her Light seemed to permeate even my darkest of Shadows, illuminating pieces of myself that I’d once thought were lost? The parts of me that laughed. The parts of me that dreamed. The parts of me that felt… worthy.
His power called to me. My aether sang back, surging through my veins, even now.
But I had almost lost her, and we were past the point of reason. If I wanted to get any semblance of sleep tonight, it would have to be in a shitty armchair in the infirmary, by her side as she slept.
I wondered if she had any idea that I’d really just been returning a favor. Saving the life of someone who had made mine worth savoring.
“I’m not sure if you realize this, Arken, but it’s perfectly alright to let yourself be taken care of from time to time.” Though his tone was serious, there was a glimmer in his eye that told me he was mostly teasing. “And you don’t even need to be on death’s doorstep to deserve it.”
I knew that, I did. I just didn’t care, not anymore. I had carried her weak, lifeless body out of the woods last night and almost lost myself inside the terror that I had been too late. What I was about to do would surely complicate things between us, but I didn’t fucking care anymore.
“Would it help if I begged, sweetheart?”
In the grand scheme of things, though, all of those reasons felt like paper-thin excuses to avoid this, the most explosive chemistry I had ever experienced in my life.
“Consider this me begging, Ark. I want this. I want you. Gods, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted this, how many times I’ve…”
“You are,” he whispered. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Arken. It devastates me. You know that, don’t you?”
I would give this woman anything she ever wanted, so long as she asked for it with that same breathy moan. I’d set the world ablaze. Fates, I’d set myself on fire just to see another flicker of the desperate, needy hunger in her eyes as I stripped her of what remained of her clothing.
This was rapture. It was ruination. It was everything I had ever fucking wanted, but never once dared to dream of experiencing. Made for me. She was fucking made for me.
“Tell me what you want again, Little Conduit.” “I need you to fuck me, Kieran,” she panted. “Hard.” Music to my godsdamned ears.
“Don’t stop,” she begged again. “Fates, please don’t stop. Gods fucking damnit, I can’t—” “You can take it,” I groaned, grabbing hold of her ass cheek with my free hand. “I know you can.”
Because you’re in love with her. You’re in love with her, and now you have something you’re not willing to lose.
the first thing I felt was fear. Complete and utter terror. Because I loved her. I was in love with her. Fuck.

