Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars, #1)

by Elizabeth Lim

Finlei

Sendo

“What color is the ocean?”

“Blue, silly. What else?”

Keton

“A tailor’s worth is not measured by his fame, but by the happiness he brings,”

“Don’t work so hard you—”

“Become the kite that never flies,”

“You are meant for more, Maia.”

“How can I be? I’m not a man.”

“If you were, you would hav...

to war. The gods are prote...

You may call me Edan.”

“This contest wearies me. We are craftsmen. We should learn from one another, not cut each other’s throats.”

“Very well. But I may in private?”

A girl isn’t fit to be anything more than a prize.

“Seize the wind,”

“Don’t become the kite that never flies.”

I’d care if something happened to you.”

No matter what happens, I won’t scream. I won’t let them break me.

Tiredly, I laid my head against his chest. He didn’t move. Didn’t wrap his arms around me, or push me away. But his heartbeat quickened a notch. “I’m sorry, Maia,” he whispered. It might have meant more to me had I known that this was the first time Edan the Lord Enchanter had ever apologized to anyone.

“One woven with the laughter of the sun,” I whispered. “Another embroidered with the tears of the moon, and lastly, one painted with the blood of the stars.”

“My wife loves good food,” Edan said, wrapping his arm around me, “though the desert’s offerings make it hard for her to make a decent meal.”

I wasn’t as mortified as I thought I would be when Edan called me his wife. And that was mortifying in itself!

“Will you stop blabbering so we can start ea...

“Do you think he’d approve of me…as your husband?” He winked, and I had to clench my fists

“Sleep well, my Maia.”

“You like her more than me,” Edan pouted.

Edan was over five hundred years old! I could hardly believe it. He didn’t look older than twenty.

Owning the amulet always makes my masters…change. I wouldn’t want that to happen to you.”

“I wish we’d met in different circumstances, Maia.”

Not your wife? I almost dared to ask.

“And your favorite color is blue. Like the ocean.” And your eyes,

“I’d love to meet your father and your brother one day.”

“As your husband, it’s scandalous that I haven’t yet.” “I thought you were my cousin.”

“Being near you is the only thing that makes this enjoyable for me.”

What a confusing, confusing man.

His lips pressed against mine.

“I don’t want to give you false hope. And I don’t wish to be selfish. You deserve someone who can be with you. That someone isn’t me.”

“Then you are being selfish,”

Edan took off his scarf and wrapped it around the one already on my neck.

“It’ll get colder the higher you go.”

“Ar-ar-aren’t you c-c-cold?” “Not while I’m near you.”

voice. “I look forward to my full powers returning once we’re back.” We sat in comfortable silence, me sipping my tea, Edan observing the snowfall outside. “We’ll have to wait out the snow before we descend the peak,” he said. “Some rest will be good for you.” “I’m not tired,” I lied in protest. The air stung my throat even before the words formed. My teeth chattered once more, and I folded my body inward and scooted closer to the flames. I tried again: “I j-just slept. I’m n-not t-t-tired.” Edan took my cold hands. He rubbed them, transferring back some of that heat I’d already begun to miss. Then he breathed into my palms. It felt nice, the warmth of his lips on my skin. “Liar,” he whispered. “Of course you’re tired. You were swimming in a freezing pool. Your body’s in shock.” He drew me to him, enveloping me with his warmth. I wanted to push him

away, but my body drank in his heat, my arm instinctively hooking under his. When I noticed what I’d done, I tried to pull back. But he tilted my chin and kissed me. Heat flooded me from my lips to my toes, and my heart hammered, its beat rushing and skipping to my head. I opened my mouth, only for Edan to stifle my words by kissing me again. I didn’t stop him, but I tried to get a word in. “I told you I’m not—” “Shhh,” he said, brushing my lips with his. “Sleep.” I leaned into him, resting my head against his chest. His pulse skipped, a sound that sent a shock wave of thrills jolting through me. He wrapped a warm arm over my waist and pulled me closer. He fell asleep first. I listened to him breathing, in and out, in and out. A rhythm I matched even without knowing it.

A strange, wonderful contentment filled me. Edan had been right—this journey had changed me irrevocably. And for the first time, I stopped counting the days unt...

“It is an illusion to assume we choose whom we love. I cannot change how I feel about you. I would move the sun and the moon if it meant being with you. As for my oath…I cannot promise to break it, but I would do everything in my power to make you happy, Maia. That I can promise.”

“I know one thing, Maia Tamarin—being with you makes me happier than I have ever been.”

Edan traced a finger over my lips and kissed me, then moved on to kiss every freckle on my nose and cheeks until I was intoxicated by the sweetness of his breath.

“Or I’d be an old, fat sage with a long beard. Would you still love me then?”