StarShine (Temporarily On Hold)

16

Elara woke with tears in her eyes and her breathing erratic as she took in the familiar surroundings of her family home. Everything was just as it had always been and yet, Elara suddenly felt claustrophobic. 

Before she could even check the time, she kicked off the throw blanket that had been carefully tossed over her and headed for the porch. The crisp morning air nipped at the exposed skin but the cool feeling helped calm her rapidly beating heart. 

The wood steps creaked lightly under her weight as she sat down staring at the night sky. Her mind raced with all of what Kamaria had shown her. The pain, the heartache... the love all put on display for Elara to see. 

The stars shimmered in the sky like a million diamonds just out of reach. How often had Elara stared at them thinking there was more to them than what scientist said? 

They were more than they seemed. A love letter, by all definitions, from Ki to Kamaria. A way for him to be with her always, to remind her of his love. For what is something small like jewelry to a Goddess? 

Elara's heart cracked as her eyes traveled to the moon hanging low in the sky.  Even awake, Elara could now feel Kamaria watching her from where she sat full and bright, illuminating the darkness around Elara. 

Kamaria had always been watching over them, Elara was sure. All those tears she had cried under the moon, Kamaria had seen. She knew that the Goddess understood her pain when she cried about losing her parents, for Kamaria had lost much more than that. 

And when Elara had wished she too could be taken to the moon, like the village girl from her mothers' story, only Kamaria had known the true weight of that wish. 

In the wake of this new information, Elara felt foolish for being upset about those little things with her mate. Because it could be much worse. 

Forced to be so close, yet sentenced to an eternity away from each other. 

A branch snapped to her left and Elara is instantly on her feet in a defensive pose. Her eyes skim the woods around her home, but she sees nothing out of the ordinary. Still, the hairs on the back of her neck stand on edge and she knows without a doubt she is being watched. 

"It's just me," Bennett's voice was soft as he stepped out of the shadows that hid him. 

Elara relaxed her pose and watched with weary eyes as he approached her. It wasn't unlike how someone would approach a wild animal; careful and unsure of how they will react. 

Elara wanted to launch herself at him. She wanted to let him wrap his arms around her and forget that the world around them exists. She knew she was lucky that she and her mate could be together right now, but they had fought. She knew they couldn't just ignore that and pretend it had never happened. 

But what did that mean now? It was a stupid fight and Elara couldn't bear the idea that something so small, so insignificant had come between them. 

"I'm sorry," their voices blended together as they both spoke at the same time. Elara allowed a small smile to pass her lips as she took a seat back on the wooden steps. 

"Let me go first, please?" Bennett stepped forward and crouched so that he was eye level with Elara. 

She held his gaze, watching the different emotions flit across his features as if he were nothing more than a show on TV. She loved that she could read him so well and hoped that despite everything, he could read her just as well. 

"I'm sorry, Elara," he began, taking her hand in his larger one, "I think I overreacted because of how close they had came to you and after everything you just stood there." 

"I did believe you about the vampires, I just think it was still a shock that they were really here. I was hoping they would move on and forget whatever they wanted," Her eyes drifted toward the moon - toward Kamaria. 

The flashes of Kamaria's life flashed before Elara's eyes and she struggled to find the words that she wanted to express to Bennett. Where does she even start? Despite what she knows and what she has been shown, Elara is no closer to knowing what Sethos wants. 

The only thing she knows for sure is that, somehow, she has to stop the God of Chaos from getting it. 

Bennett notices the change in his mate. The small smile she had been wearing moments ago has faded in a frown. Her eyes are practically glazed over as she looks to the moon, her whole frame shrinking as if a weight he can't see is on her shoulders, pushing her down. 

His hands reach out and cup her face, pulling Elara's attention back to him. The sparks sizzle between them and a rush of calm settles over him. Come Hell or high water, everything will be okay as long as She is beside him. 

"Hey," his thumbs moved back and forth in a comforting motion on her cheeks as their gazes locked, "What's wrong?" 

His voice was soft as he spoke to her and Elara could hear the underlying promise. Tell me your troubles and I'll make them go away. She could almost hear the words he hadn't spoken, but she wasn't sure that he could make them go away. 

This wasn't something he could take on himself and even if it was, Elara would never let him. She wanted to protect him and if the roles were reversed, she knew Bennett would feel the same. 

If it was the other way around, Bennett would hide the truth from her until something happened for Elara to know the truth. She would get pissed and they would fight. She was certain of this, just as she was certain that the sun would be peeking over the horizon in less than an hour. 

She couldn't be a hypocrite. 

"I'm scared," her voice was a whisper and she reached her hands out to grab at Bennett's shirt and pull him closer to her. 

"They will never hurt you. I pro -"

"Don't promise that," Elara interrupted, dropping her forehead to his, "I don't want you to make promises you can't keep." she felt his eyebrows crinkle against her forehead and knew where this was going, so she interrupted him again before another fight could occur between them.  

"It's not that I don't trust you to protect me. I trust you with everything I have but they will be back, I guarantee it. And when they come back, you can't guarantee you'll be with me nor can you guarantee that I won't be hurt trying to stop him." 

"Him?" Bennett quickly pulled his head away, his gaze never wavering from Elara as a million and one questions started running through his head. 

Elara took a deep breath and pulled Bennett to sit between her legs on the step just below where she sat. She tangled their hands together, drawing the strength she would need from their bond before pointing their cojoined hands at the moon. 

"Were you ever told the story of the girl and the moon?" 

<3 <3 <3 <3 

wow. why was that so hard to write??? I hope you are all still with me! I know it's been erratic and the time between chapters is lengthy but I just for some reason am having a hard time finding the words I need. 

I promise it will get better! So stay tuned. In the meantime, I want to hear from you! What do you think of the story so far?? Any guesses on where it's going?? I won't tell you if you're right but I'm curious if anyone has figured it out. 

You are all beautifully amazing! Thank you so much for your support!