Iyana inhaled deeply, closing her eyes to focus. Within seconds, she located the small flame within her, already feeling warmer.Here, magic, magic, magic, she coaxed. She reached tentatively towards it, but it danced out of her reach, same as the last time. Pulling back, she studied the magic, called to it, tried to understand it. The way Altair explained magic made it seem like it was sentient. As she attempted to meld with the magic, she felt somethingother. Something that definitely was not part of her originally. The flames coalesced into the image of a woman. She seemed familiar somehow, but the more she focused, the more the woman of fire evaded her. Iyana forced herself to relax, imagining shaking out her shoulders to ease the tension. She put out a small tendril of herself, directing it towards the magic, putting forth all of her curiosity, want, love, and happiness. The fire reached out a hand and ever so gently brushed against Iyana’s essence, like a stray cat meeting a friendly human for the first time. It felt… lonely, sad, scared—but also curious about its new host. Their connection was brief; the flame retreated almost immediately, but sheknew the next time she attempted contact it would be much easier. The magic now understood her: her emotions, her ambitions. And it had deemed her worthy.
Iyana smiled widely at Altair. “I did it! I touched it!”
“I’m proud of you, my star,” he said warmly. His eyes sparked with mischief. “Did you really call your magic to you like it was a cat?”
“Seriously, get out of my head!”
“You said that part out loud, love. No mind reading needed,” he said, his tone laced with humor. Regaining his more prominent stoicism, he continued, “Touching the magic, connecting with it, is only the beginning. If your magic is shy, it’s going to take more time getting to know it before it heeds your commands.”
“Why is it so shy?” Iyana asked. “It seemed so familiar…”
Altair frowned. “That, I cannot answer for you. As I said, everyone’s magic is different.” He shifted closer to her so their shoulders were touching. “You’re going to need shoes.”
“Fine,” Iyana relented. Altair snapped his fingers, and fur-lined boots appeared on her feet. She almost leapt out of her skin—the change was so abrupt and unexpected. She had expected they’d find materials to make her shoes, but in hindsight, this was so much easier. “Thank you,” she murmured. Although her toes were restricted in a way that verged on uncomfortable, the warmth the boots providedalmostmade up for it.
“We should get some sleep,” said Altair. “It will be another long day tomorrow, and you need your energy for the next leg of the Pass.” Iyana groaned inwardly. “And I’ll need all of my patience to deal with your complaining,” he added, the mischief back in his golden eyes. She shoved his shoulder, but the bastard didn’t move an inch, so she stuck her tongue out at him instead.
The mischief shifted to a predatory hunger as his gaze locked onto her tongue. She retreated it back into her mouth slowly, but her lips stayed slightly parted, and Altair’s eyes hadn’t moved. “Careful, my star,” he growled, finally glancing away from her mouth. “Or I’ll find a better use for your tongue.” Simultaneously, her mouth went dry, and deep heat sparked in her lower abdomen. The heat moved even lower as his thumb traced her lip excruciatingly slowly.
“Well,” she breathed. “Good night.” And before she could consider any other options, she swiveled away from temptation, lying close to the fire and curling inupon herself—only for Altair’s warm body to immediately press into her back, an arm draping over her waist.
“What are you doing?” she squeaked. Which was…embarrassing.
“Keeping you warm.” Iyana felt the rumble of his voice reverberate through her entire body. He hauled her even closer to his chest. “You’re shivering.”
She turned her head back towards him and immediately decided it was a poor choice, as his face was now only inches away from hers. Her traitorous eyes dropped to his lips before she regained control and faced forward again. “Couldn’t you magic warmer clothes for me?” she asked, scooting forward to putsomespace between them.
Altair didn’t answer her question at first, instead pulling her into his warmth. And he was really, really warm. “Yes,” he said. “But not right now. The shoes actually took a fair amount of magic, and I’m weakened compared to what I was before. After I sleep, I’ll conjure some for you.”
Iyana found herself settling into him. The heat from the fire in front of her and the star behind her, plus his intoxicating scent of earthy rain, was lulling her to sleep. His fingers drew lazy circles on her hip. It was the most relaxed she’d felt in—well, years, really. She tumbled into a deep sleep.
Iyana woke abruptly. It took her several moments to recognize where she was.Right, the cave.But she had fallen asleep warm by a fire with Altair behind her. Now it was dark, the fire having gone out, and Altair’s arms no longer enveloped her. Shivering, she scanned the darkness for him, finally spotting his silhouette at the mouth of the cave. Iyana rose from the cold, hard ground, wrapping her arms around herself tightly in an attempt to bring heat back to her body.
“What are you—” she began, but stopped when she saw Altair was shaking. “Are you okay?” she asked instead, dropping down next to him. Burying his face in his hands, he sobbed quietly and her heart cracked open. Her arms instantly engulfedhim, squeezing tightly, letting him process his emotions. Altair leaned into her, crying silently.
When he finally emerged from behind his hands, Iyana rubbed his back in what she hoped was a comforting manner. She had never really had this type of intimacy with a man. Her experiences with men were all of the sexual variety; she didn’t even stay to cuddle afterward. Sure, she had helped grieving families during her time with Imo, but this felt different. More intimate.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.
“Hey,” she soothed. “There’s no need to apologize. I’m sure even stars have their moments.” She grinned at him. Altair returned it with a watery smile, tears still lining his eyelashes. It made him appear more vulnerable. More human.
He took a deep breath. “I think I mentioned I’m uncomfortable in tight spaces.” Iyana nodded, continuing to rub his back. “I had a…a nightmare, and waking up inside the cave it just—” Another shuddering inhale. “It brought me back to a bad place.” He leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers, eyes closed. “Thank you.”
“For what?” she whispered.
“For being here. For not judging me.” When he looked at Iyana again, it was in trepidation, as if he was scared she would mock him, or leave him. In truth, it made her want him more. That was a problem. A relationship would never work between them; they were too different. And fucking him out of her system? Iyana knew if she were to try, it would only deepen the burgeoning feelings she already had. Admitting to herself that she cared for him was difficult. But she felt lighter now.
“I would never judge you,” she said, pressing a light kiss to his cheek. His eyes dipped to her lips, but that was playing with fire, so before he could act on any impulses, she rested her head on his shoulder and intertwined their fingers. They sat together in a comfortable silence until the sun began to rise.
Altair indicated that it was time to start their day by fashioning a warm cloak for her. It was heavy, fur-lined, and the warmest piece of clothing Iyana had ever owned. She wanted to bury herself in it and go back to sleep. Instead, they ate their meager breakfast of jerky and dates, then set back out onto the Pass. This day was better than the one before. Not because the going was any easier, but because Iyanawas comfortable. Her toes were warm, and the boots surprisingly had better grip on this rocky terrain than her bare feet. She begrudgingly admitted shoes did have their purpose, but she would never voice that out loud. She was willing to die on this particular hill.
Because she felt better during the trek, she became more chatty. Altair, for the most part, listened and would reply with short one or two-word answers. No matter how she asked, he refused to reveal anything about himself before he was in the sky. Other than what she already knew, of course, which was only that his magic was stronger before. Which was mind-boggling for Iyana, as what Altair was capable of now was still astonishing, and she was awe-struck every time she witnessed something new.
She succeeded in having him explain why there was so little magic now compared to thousands of years ago when stars still walked the earth. The way he told it, thousands upon thousands of years ago, stars and gods occupied the world as two separate species. While the stars were content to stick to the status quo, the gods and goddesses possessed more powerful magic and began creating life. There were a few iterations which did not last for various reasons—too violent, too long-lived, too powerful. The gods wanted a life form beneath them that was not a threat to their existence. So if any creations showed the potential to overthrow the gods, they eliminated them promptly. The stars watched from a distance, not interfering. They had powerful magic as well, and they outnumbered the gods. Should they decide to unite together, it would be possible to stage a coup and take over the world. Rule on top instead of the gods. But instead, they stayed in their individual family groups, their constellations, and were content to live peacefully alongside the gods.
Eventually, humans were created and deemed safe. Relatively short-lived, violent, but only towards each other, and no magic. They were perfect. For quite a while the gods used the humans as slaves and playthings, but as is the same with all immortal beings, they began to get bored. They decided to go into a hibernation of sorts and to allow their favorite creation some defense against the more powerful stars, they gifted a touch of magic to certain groups. Imera, Goddess of Healing, gave to the healers. Gana, Goddess of Nature, gave to the shifters. Yrza, Goddess of the Moon, blessed the royalty of Nyr. And Otho, God of Victory, and Thelena, Goddess ofTriumph, blessed the royalty of Athusa and Istora, respectively. The other gods and goddesses chose to slumber without parting with any of their magic.
