The crickets sing as I quietly clean my mouth with water before turning in. I lie on multiple silk sheets by the dying campfire, and Carmine Listo walks into my tent. The idea of him being in my sleeping quarters is titillating, but getting involved with him sounds like it could be dangerous.He is so tempting…
A moment later, he walks back out. “Are you not coming?”
“I will stand outside and stay watch.”
“Man, no. This is your tent. And there’s plenty of room for both of us.”
Arousal jolts into my core. “Very well.” The words leave my mouth before I can second-guess it. Even if we don’t have sex, I want so badly to spend the night with Carmine Listo. I put out the fire, pack my silk sheets, and make my way into the tent.
In the dark, Carmine Listo and I lie facing each other. I can only make out his silhouette. We are wearing too many garments for my liking, but I need to respect the man before me. I may have saved his life, but he is still a stranger, likely an alien from the stars. And I am but a prince. Our destinies are only meeting for a short period of time.
Still, I count the number of breaths he takes. And I can tell his eyes are open, likely studying me too.
“You do not have to tell me anything about your world,” I say in a hushed tone. All we can hear are the insects outside and the beating of our hearts. “I am simply content in helping you in the morning.”
“Why?”
I pause before I answer. “Truthfully…I long for adventure.”
He snickers. “Adventure is what I have in spades.”
“Spades?”
“It means like…I have a lot. It’s an expression.”
“How is your language so clear to me, yet so different? You bear no accent.”
“One of my devices allows me to talk in the languages of wherever I go.”
I gasp and smile. “Wow. Such fascinating technology from your world.”
He pauses. “I am from your world.”
“Then from the West then? I had no idea they held such mystical technology.”
“No, Kurun, not the West.” He takes a deep breath. “Hopefully no one will believe you if I tell you.”
“I will say nothing to anyone,” I reply.
“Right. I…am from a different time. Your future.”
After a moment, I reply, “Wow.”
“And if I don’t secure the Astral Jade Sphere, it could doom your time and all times.”
The gravity of it all hits me. Everything he says is unbelievable, but something deep within me trusts him. I have read folklore about the beyond, and I’ve wanted to believe in something bigger my whole life. And now, it is here, sharing a tent, my face less than a yard from him.
“Then…I will assist you. This sphere healed me, so I can identify it.”
“Why are you trusting me? In all my journeys, I’ve never had to explain myself because we were taught no one would believe I’m from the future.”
My heart beats faster. “I suppose…it’s instinct. Faith. I need to believe in something bigger than my destiny.”
“Aren’t you a prince? I know for a fact your destiny is great.”
I bite my lip. “An emperor’s duty is to be an ambassador. Also, I must marry a woman and father children. Having a wife and all the bureaucracy of being in meetings all day…is not the life I long for. If something unbelievable can come true, then perhaps I can be worthy to forge a new path for myself.”
We’re silent for a moment, and I’m afraid I’ve said too much.
