Star-Crossed

Chapter Twenty: What good is livin' a life you've been given

IT'S QUIET ON the beach. The only sounds are the sounds of breathing-Xerxion's and mine-the waves crashing softly against the shore and the sounds of traffic off in the distance. I'm sitting with my toes in the sand, my arms around my knees as I press them to my chest. Xerxion sits next to me, silent. I can feel him sneaking looks at me every now and again, most likely he is worried. I haven't said a word since he found me.

I shudder to think of what could have happened to me if I had been any other girl. If I had been a normal girl-a girl who didn't harbor the soul of an alien princess-they most likely would have each had their way with me and no one would have been around to stop them.

I flinch at that thought and Xerxion, catching the movement with his sharp eyes, finally speaks up.

"You nearly scared me half to death when you disappeared on me, you know?" He says, his tone is stern and as he speaks he sounds like he is angry with me. "I waited outside of that convenience store for the longest time and when you didn't come out, I tried to reach out for your soul only to realize you were long gone. I almost had a heart attack, Rania."

My fear for a few moments ago vanishes as I snap my head in his direction, narrowing my eyes at his sharp tone.

"I only ditched you because I couldn't take it, Xerxion. What you were doing was the cruelest kind of punishment, you know. To feel your eyes on me everywhere I went, but to not be able to see you..." I trail off, drawing in a shuddering breath. "I couldn't do it anymore. I just needed a minute to myself. A minute away from missing you. Okay?"

Xerxion gives me only his silence as an answer and I just stare out at the ocean, feeling a warm breeze pass across my skin.

We just sit there in quiet before Xerxion speaks again.

"I apologize. I didn't realize that the bond that ties us together was as strong for you as it is for me. Because you're Human, I can't be sure how our Bond works with you. I wasn't sure if you would feel the pain of being separated, the anxiety that comes with being parted from your Consort for so long. If I had known, I would have come to see you, Rania."

I swallow hard but don't respond. From the corner of my eye, I see Xerxion reach out and, ever so gently, he caresses my bare arm. My head turns in his direction as a slow, steady fire ignites from within my bones.

"I apologize," he repeats as our eyes meet, his voice barely audible against the waves crashing in front of us. "I won't leave again."

"Do you promise?" My voice is small and I hate myself for sounding so frail.

His lips curl up in a soft smile. "I promise."

When Xerxion walks me home, I fill him in on what happened before I ran into him. He listens quietly, his face shifting from calm to horrified to angry and then so calm it's chilling.

"Are you not hurt?" He asks, brow creasing as he stops walking to stare at me.

"I'm not hurt," I assure him.

It's not a full lie. I'm not hurt physically, but emotionally? Well, let's just say that incident would stay with me for a long time.

"Hey, Xerxion, I've been meaning to ask you something."

He looks at me, tilting his head to one side in confusion. There is a biting cold in his eyes, though. This cold is not directed at me, but at the men who attacked me. I know from Rania of the Cosmos' memories just how wrathful Xerxion could be when it came to someone laying a hand on his Consort.