A Star is Born: The Coming Dawn: Book I (20 page)

“I wasn’t a second ago.”

“Yes you were. Next time I’ll tell you. Then you won’t ever convince me you hate cats.”

“No, that’s emasculating. I’m a man. Men don’t like animals, unless it’s for eating, but only a desperate man eats cats.”

“Okay, tough guy, you hate animals.” She suppressed her smile. She felt her calves ease up. “That feels so much better. I can’t even tell you. Almost my entire body is back to normal.” She sat up and massaged her legs.

“What else hurts?” he asked, rolling closer.

“My feet.” She watched her toes, seeing them curled down tight. It felt like each toe had an angry cramp.

“It’s almost over then.” He smiled. “It won’t be long now. In the meantime, tell me about your parents and where you’re from.”

“My parents are Eric and Penny Calendars. My father is a service manager for a car dealership, but that would mean absolutely nothing to you. My mother is a midwife, meaning she delivers babies. I live in the state of Texas, in uh, America. Oh, never mind.” Ky laughed. “I’m from a beautiful place; the sky is blue like the dome of this city. Imagine a bright yellow sun crossing over the sky each day and nightly it dips to the mountains as the skyline changes colors from orange and purple to pink and red. Texas has breathtaking sunsets.”

“I’m jealous; I’m truly envious. I can practically see that. Don’t ever forget what that looks like, Ky. Think of it often. Trust me, it will give you hope.”

“We have a moon too, which is white and much brighter. I’m still baffled how your moon shines brown with no sun.”

“It’s the rock. It glows. Does your sky have stars?”

“It does. Unlike your world.”

“We do, but only in certain places. It sounds quite different from here. In this world the only real care is fighting evil, and for women it’s bearing children because almost all women are barren. Is that the same?”

“Women are barren?”

“Yes, this is why women are very artful and cunning in their ways to get men into their bed. They’re very forward about their wishes. If they do sleep with a man, usually they’ll sleep with him several times, but it’s not abnormal for women to sleep with many, many men in her lifetime. While still never bearing a single child.”

“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.