God knew she wanted him, too. But after the transcendent lovemaking, she wanted to linger in the tranquility a little bit longer, where nothing intruded. Andnotthink about the future.
He stroked her arm, then lifted her hand, frowning at the light red scar on her inner wrist that had formed the afternoon she encountered the white serpent. “This is still here?”
“It’s nothing.” She shrugged it off. “So,caeli, huh? I figured that’s me.”
He smiled, pressing her palm to his chest. “You hungry?”
She snorted at his sidestepping. “I don’t have nightwear since you ripped it apart.”
“You won’t need it with me. You wouldn’t have worn it downstairs, anyway. I don’t want anyone except me looking at you in those skimpy things.”
A smile tugged her lips at his possessive tone. “I’m okay. Besides, I really don’t want to move.” She lifted her gaze to meet his. “So, why the lake dunking?”
A weary exhale. “To swim off my frustration. Rebels are a blight to my world.”
Right. She knew far too well what they were like. She trailed a finger over his abs. “I wish I could have been able to help your world and your people, Aerén. The thought of no children, no animals, I cannot even begin to fathom Earth being like that…”
“We will find the rest of the Chosen.”
“And if you don’t?”
“Then we self-destruct—”
“What?” She sat up. “What are you talking about?”
He slid an arm under his head, his hair spilled like silken blue ribbons against the light sheet. “It means if we don’t find the rest of the Chosen, the remaining six Stones of Light will die out, too. And we, as a species, will go into destructive mode.”
“Why?” she breathed, pulling up the sheet to cover her breasts.
His gaze followed her action, then came back to her face. “Because those of us with immense powers will no longer have a place to expend them. The quartz found in the mountains will wink out, and we will likely self-destruct, taking out most of Empyrea and leaving only rubble behind. Good payback from a worthless Creator, don’t you think?”
Shocked, Leya clenched the sheet. “You’re going to die?”
“Not yet. But if we fail to find the remaining Chosen, then yes. But just those domains with no magic in them.”
“You know this how?”
“I’m an empath, Leya.” He reached for her hand. “I feel things. Nature speaks to me. Not so much now, but when I was younger.” He laced their fingers as fear eroded her insides.
And he lived with this burden throughout his long life?
“Did you tell anyone about this? Your parents, your brother?”
“Why burden them with this, too? We have the rebels who will bring this world to a hunk of rubble even sooner if we don’t stop them.”
He tugged her back down to his chest and moved the sheet away so they were skin-to-skin again. “Much better.”
She found it hard to smile at his teasing. “Why are your people worried about the oncoming storm season?”
His brow furrowed.
“I wasn’t eavesdropping. I overheard Thiorr at the stone cabin as I was leaving.”
“It’s all right.”
“Do the islands flood? Is that why?”
“No. It’s not the flooding.” A deep exhale escaped him, raising her anxiety. “During the last storm season, one of the islands sank. It was there one minute and gone the next, killing everyone who lived there.”
