A Star is Born: The Coming Dawn: Book I (4 page)

Kylie sat up, surprised he wanted to hear more. However, she had questions of her own. She kept her eyes closed, as she said, “I feel I have more need for explanations. You have to know what is happening. I’m blind and in a strange world. Can you take me home?”

“Suit yourself, Princess, but you’ll soon find out you’ll slowly forget everything if you don’t keep thinking about your old life. And those dreams are always helpful in this world. There are a lot of Stars who complain of forgetting.”

“Don’t call me princess,” Kylie snapped. “I find it offensive.”

“Well I’m not calling you
my Lady
,” he growled instantly matching her anger. “I’m a
chief
, Highness, or haven’t you noticed. I’m not just any chief warrior, either. I command
the largest army
in over six thousand years. My militia was the only surviving army after the King’s War. All other armed forces were built afterward. My army is five times larger than any other. Moreover, I’m sick of haughty Stars pretending to be above me. I answer to
no one
; I’m chief. You live because of
my men and me
. Every city exists because we keep your cities free of the evil outside these mountain walls. The peace, if you can call it that, exists because of my men. Not one city would survive on this earth if it weren’t for us.

“I was being nice to offer to get you that cave-cactus, because I understand that you’re blind. But every Star has it rough. I don’t even know why I’m being nice. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be in this mess, or don’t you understand what happened? Or why you could see me but nothing else?

“If I were any other man, I would have left you to die, but I feel obligated to mankind. It’s my duty as chief to care for humanity. I’d be rid of this whole assorted affair if I felt otherwise. Maybe I should have left you when I saw that troll dragging you around. You have done nothing but slow me down, irritate me, and.... Forget it. The best thing for me, Princess, is to get as far from you as possible.”

Kylie heard the scraping of the large stones. He rolled them away from the entrance, and a moment later, the scraping began again. Then silence. She listened but there was no noise.

“Hello,” she called. Kylie had no idea what happened. From seemingly nowhere he flipped out, obviously having a grudge he didn’t fully explain, and then left after a tirade. She stood, and felt the boulder over the exit.
He locked her inside the cave
, while swearing to leave her for dead.

She cranked her neck to listen; surely he wouldn’t trap her after swearing he wanted good for all mankind.

“Are you still in here? Are you out there waiting for an apology?” she asked wryly. Certainly she would convey the deepest regret for offending the only person willing to help her, and wouldn’t push his buttons anymore.

However, she didn’t hear a sound. It took a moment to realize he left her in there alone. He trapped her, just as he threatened. “Hey!” she yelled loudly hoping he could still hear her pleas. “I’m sorry! Come back. I need your help.” She wasn’t exactly sure what she was sorry for, but it didn’t stop her from yelling it again and again as loud as she could.

She panicked as she realized he wasn’t coming back. She struggled to pry the rock from the exit. The boulder was bigger than her scrawny body, and so heavy it wouldn’t budge with her dismal attempts. “Please,” she screamed as loud as she could, and began to sob.

Keeping her eyes closed no longer seemed important considering she was abandoned to her death. She opened her eyes, seeing the hefty rock blocking her only way out, and a smaller boulder next to it. Above the rock was a gap she prayed was large enough to squeeze through.

She also noticed most of her eyesight had returned. Small relief, but it would do little good if she couldn’t get out of the cave. Her vision wasn’t perfect. Objects in her peripheral vision were hazy beyond recognizing anything but shapes. She felt confident enough to risk squeezing through the small gap and climb down the cliff. Attempting to reach the ground would be the hardest obstacle of her life, but she had to try. Even if it took hours, she had to try. Once she was down, she would be quiet while she tried to find her way out, and back home. There were a lot of things that could go wrong, but withering away in a cave wasn’t an option.

She climbed onto the top of the boulder and stuck her head out. It was a tight squeeze. Somehow, she managed to free one arm before she got stuck. Kylie tried to exhale all the air out of her lungs because her chest was stopping her from continuing. She wasn’t large breasted but seemed bigger now that she was squeezing through a narrow gap. She inched a little farther, but once again got stuck when her second hand managed freedom. Then she was thoroughly wedged into the tight space; there was no use. She wriggled back into the cave and looked around. Kylie wasn’t a stupid girl by any means. She could try to chip away at the rock to see if she could make the gap larger. Only a few inches more of space would do.

Kylie had just found a perfect rock for chiseling when she heard the rock slide away from the entrance again. She spun in her spot. The man returned for her. She smiled, in spite of her sudden boiling anger with him. She was saved. “You came back.” She sounded as thankful as she felt. A small smile from the corner of his lips was visible only for a moment. He held up a large bundle of green prickly cactus.

“I take it you no longer need cave-cactus.” He tossed it to a corner. His appearance was different. It was remarkable how he seemed altered every time she saw him. His muscles were more defined than she remembered, and somehow he looked stronger. His pecs were bigger, and the elaborate design on his chest was gone. Instead, it was on his left calf. He was lofty. He towered over her by at least a foot, and Kylie was only two inches shy of six feet.

His full head of hair was shorter; the tangles no longer touched his ears but was lengthy on the top. His bangs dangled dangerously close to his eyes. She had to admit, he had perfect hair. His blue eyes brightened to a brilliant sapphire the moment she looked into them. Dark blue surrounded his irises. They were gorgeous. She was stumbling over him, realizing exactly how attractive he was. True he had a mild temper, but in that instant, she decided she could put up with it to be around him.

“You came back for me,” she said again stupidly.

“I cooled off,” he replied. They fell quiet as they continued to gaze at each other.

She couldn’t seem to look away from him, as if everything in her body refused to turn. He had a strong jaw, and his facial hair that covered his chin disappeared when she noticed it. What was going on? He was changing before her eyes. There was no denying it.

They were quiet so long while fixed upon each other that the silence became uncomfortable. Kylie wanted to look away, but they locked eyes and she couldn’t stop gaping at the intense blue. He gazed at her in an amused expression.

“Your eyesight is better, that is good. I wanted you to see.”

“Yeah, it’s good enough,” Kylie said airily still ogling his body and stunning eyes.

He smiled, and when he did, his slightly crooked teeth moved. She definitely saw them shift. He was aware of it, too, because he stopped smiling and rolled his tongue over his teeth. “That’s enough, Ky. Let’s go. The trolls are long gone, and it’s midday. Most creatures that would make traveling for you hard are sleeping now. The city isn’t more than a few hours walk from here. I’ll get you to the council, and you’ll be safe.”

“Ky?” she asked curiously. Was he referring to her as Ky? Her name was Kylie. Maybe it was a nickname, but she never told him her name.

He lifted his hand and displayed his palm. Red swirls imprinted on his hand read,
Ky
. Strange she could read the unfamiliar language, but nothing of this world was normal. He reached for her hand, turned her palm up, presenting her similar mark with the word,
Cobaaron
; the writing was his name.

The moment he touched her hand, she felt a familiar urge to be closer to him. The powerful impulse was so strong she had to literally shake her head to expel the feeling. She focused on the name while she took a few breaths trying to calm her desire to seduce him.

“Cobaaron is my name. See? That is how I knew your name is Ky.” He let go of her in a hurry. He watched her intently as he considered her a moment. “You
do
know why my name is there, don’t you? You know why I’m so upset, right?”

“I don’t.” Ky shook her head for emphasis. “I don’t understand a lot of things that have happened since I fell. Like why did I land in water? Why, or more importantly, how I’m here? How is it possible that there are such things as trolls? Why I couldn’t see? Why do I have swirls all over my body? Why is my hair down to my elbows and glowing bright red? Why am I glowing? What other ghastly creatures are out there that I should expect to see on this walk to the city? Why aren’t you helping me go home instead of taking me to the city?”

“I understand you’re confused, but the council would rather explain things to you,” Cobaaron said. “But I can answer a few things. Your hair is longer than your elbows, by the way. I lengthened it past your waist.”

“What do you mean?” Ky asked, and looked down. Her mostly exposed body distracted her, remembering how little she was wearing. Sure enough her hair was long, wavy, incredibly thick, and still shimmering with a brilliant glow that was brighter than the rest of her body. Ky quickly tugged her locks over her bare skin, as her hair continued to thicken and extend to mid-thigh.

“I don’t know where you’re from,” he admitted. “Every Star is from some different place. Even if I did know where you came from, I couldn’t take you home. And as far as our names being on each other, it’s because sharing blood bonds people.
That
is the only thing important right now, and we need to correct it.”

“Well
on my planet
, sharing blood is called blood brothers. I’ve heard of that.”

“Brothers…sick…no. Partners, unions, bound for life, Ky. You don’t unite with siblings where you come from, do you?” Cobaaron cringed in disgust.

“No,” she blurted in alarm. That wasn’t what she meant. Slowly, she pieced together what else he said, and the gravity of his words sank in. “Wait. You’re saying you and I are...we’re married? Husband and wife?”

“If that is what you want to call it. And that is how you’re changing me, and I’m changing you. We’re shape shifting. It’s our bodies’ way of making sure we finish the union. The longer we go without mating the more attractive and appealing we become. Usually people mate long before the lust becomes love. Right now it’s growing lust, and we are becoming more enticing. Like today you smell much stronger of honey, or maybe it’s,” he stared at her with hungry eyes with a dazed expression, and he leaned toward her smelling the air, enjoying it thoroughly, “sandraberries.” He closed his eyes, and breathed in deeply, then his eyes popped open and he gazed at her with intense desire.

He stepped backward, realizing what he was doing. “Once you go in front of the council they’ll know what to do with you. Most likely, they’ll keep you in the city.”

“I want to go home,” Ky protested.

“
You go to the council
,” he roared. “There is no going home! Get that out of your head or you will die. Once I take you to the city, I’ll get as far away from you as I can, as fast as I can. Distance is our only chance of breaking this union, and when it’s broken our names will completely disappear along with our desire. Most Stars bond to other Stars. I’m sure they’ll be willing to help you find a partner right away, and you’ll be happy. Stars can die from depression, so let’s focus on staying positive. No more talk of going home. It will depress you.”

“I’m eighteen; my birthday wasn’t even two months ago. The last thing I want to do is get married. I don’t want anyone to help me find a husband,” Ky argued. He looked flabbergasted that she would resist such an idea. “The very thought
terrifies
me. I’m too young.”

“Well,” he smiled again with perfectly pearl white teeth, “I’m glad to hear you feel that strongly, Princess, because as I said
I’m a warrior
. And warriors do only two things very, very well—fight and travel. Well, stud warriors do three things well—fight, travel, and breed. If they are lucky, they leave women with child.”

“Leaving women pregnant is barbaric and
disgusting
!”

“That’s life. Warriors are combatants first, and breeders second. It’s always been that way. For a warrior to form a bond, it is considered weakness. As the chief and commander of an army, marriage for me is
impossible
.”

“That you’ve been with innumerable women is revolting.” Ky didn’t hide her repulsion as she glared.

“Not
every
warrior is that way, so don’t look at me with disgust. Any high-ranking warrior refrains from women. They mess with a man’s head and performance while in combat. I’ve lost too many warriors preoccupied with thoughts of lovers while in battle. It’s how I lost my brother.” He didn’t even flinch at mentioning it, and then added, “My point is, you must fight any urges because once Stars get emotionally attached to someone, they can die of a broken heart. Don’t forget that. If you truly feel you’re too young, that is great. But I warn you if you begin to fall for me, remember I’m a chief. I’ve
only
known fighting. I won’t give up my life as a warrior because one day you fell out the sky, hit your head, and wouldn’t save your own life by stopping the bleeding.

“I’m a fifth generation warrior and fought to get where I am. I will
not
lose my position unless it’s over my dead body. I’ve been in countless battles, and fought twice as many challenges to the death to gain the trust of my men. I have status I’ll never give up.
I’m Cobaaron the Unconquerable
, and have been unconquerable for over two hundred years.
You
will not
be the end of me.”

Ky scoffed. Was he joking? Two hundred years? She wasn’t sure if she should be hurt he was so strongly adamant about not wanting her, or laugh because he was an egotistical liar. “What is so funny, Princess?”