Alründ:
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It was a perfect time for dancing—three a.m. in the middle of a moonless sky, with only the stars sparkling overhead. As Alründ showed Ash the steps of a waltz, all he could see was her hand on his shoulder and her face smiling up at him. Her dark coat and pants blended into the sky, and other than his white wings, they were close to invisible up there—closer to keeping their secret. Spinning Ash under his arm, she went flying to the side. He spun her back again. She slammed into his chest and kicked him in the shin.

"You're an atrocious dancer," Alründ said.

"I can dance. See..." Ash did a small curtsy as she clung to Alründ's shoulder. The curtsey was clumsy, as was the spin that followed, but she looked so free in the air that Alründ wished they could dance all night.

"Debatable."

"You're just jealous."

"I'm more jealous of the air between us."

"Curse that air!" She laughed, floating towards him. Her mood quietened as they met with a kiss. The kiss was tender, her lips soft and warm against his. His mouth tingled. Their gildé beads might not have been visible, but they were going crazy, running back and forth over their skin. He swayed back, catching his breath. One kiss and he was all worked up. It didn't help that he could feel Ash's spirit burning lustfully, compounding his own lust. Two weeks of kissing Ash was pushing his restraint to the limit.

Ash hovered in front of him, fiddling with his hair, and he found himself kissing her lips again. Alründ floated back, hating that it was the right thing to do.

"It's late," he said, "and you need your sleep."

"And I say we fly to the beach like last night."

He raised a brow, amazed that she would want to fly anywhere. Her dancing was worse than usual, and her eyes had shadows beneath them. She had been surviving on three hours of sleep a night for the past fortnight. Alründ was expected to sleep after a nightshift, but Ash had been living two lives—school by day, and flights with Alründ at night.

She shrugged. "I'll sleep later, like next month...or whenever this ends." She stilled at that last part. He knew she hadn't meant to say it aloud.

"If it never ends, you'll be very tired. Not that I'll mind."

"Good." She leaned her head against the crook of his neck. "I'll just rest here, then."

"Stay as long as you like."

Holding onto Ash, he slowed his wings and began to drop, taking her with him. Ash never startled or looked up from her spot, she just held on. Seconds before the darkness gave way to streetlamps and house lights, Alründ scanned the roads and the gardens below, checking each lit window for onlookers, or worse, Lücan in the sky. If there was an emergency, Lücan could set flight at any time. And as the Head Sepheri was currently across the road, he would no doubt fly in this direction. It was instinctive for him to check on Ash and Marianne, even for a split-second. If that happened, the secret would come to a dramatic end.

Alründ clutched Ash's head to his chest. She sighed softly, and Alründ grunted a laugh. She's falling asleep. Mid-air!

Seeing the coast was clear, Alründ kept hold of Ash and drifted towards the Rendwick's house. He hovered by Ash's window and leaped onto the ledge. Halting his wings, he pressed them together and stepped onto Ash's bed. Her room was full of shadows and a sliver of moonlight, but Alründ had her tucked beneath the blankets in seconds. With a kiss to her forehead, he moved away. Tonight, he would return to his post outside her window. He would do the right thing—at least for some of his shift. Stepping onto the end of her mattress, he was within reaching distance of his exit when she sat up, and whispered, "Stay."

Alründ clutched the window frame and stared at the crescent moon, fighting temptation. He peered back to the girl beneath the covers, giving a slight shake of his head. She made him weak, so weak that he took a step backwards and sunk to his knees, crawling up beside her.

With a quick smile, he kissed her. The kiss became long, heated, and a golden sheen began to shine over Ash's skin and then Alründ's. It was like tiny currents of bliss were zipping through his body. His spirit felt unnaturally bright, like it was filled with magic. Shocked, they pulled away, staring at each other's glowing hands and faces. The sheen dimmed the longer they were apart, and Alründ craved that tingling warmth again.

"Alründ, why are we glowing?" Ash asked nervously.

"If I said you're not a normal girl, would that explain it all?"

"Not really. And I'm normal."

"You don't really believe that?"

She huffed. "Fine. I'm probably not normal, as I am shining. But you're shining, too."

"And who do you think made me shine this way?"

"That's just crazy talk."

He laughed. "Maybe. But I'm not the one bound to a star from birth."

"You think..." Ash pointed at herself, her hand softly glowing. "That I'm...part-star?"

He stopped laughing. It did sound crazy, but it was true. Crazier than that, with every kiss she was binding him to that same star—and he wanted it more than anything. Their lives would be connected to the very end, to the star's death. Exactly which star in space this was nobody knew, but it had become one of the most guarded secrets in the universe.

"There's something you're not telling me. What is it?" she asked, her glow gone.

"I shine because your spirit is bonding with mine."

"I've bound you to my star?" she breathed.

"You have."

"And what does that mean exactly?"

His wings ruffled restlessly. "So many things that I don't even know where to begin. You could say we are tied in every way. You don't remember, but you have gifts, unimaginable gifts, Ash, and those gifts come from your star."

"And the bond?"

"If we are fully bound, I will live as long as you live, and we will live as long as your star." Or Will and Ash will, he thought.

Ash bounced on the bed, extreme happiness coursing through her spirit. "If that's true, which I'm not saying it is, as you could be pranking me at this very moment—"

Alründ laughed.

"—we could live for millions of years!"

His smile faded. Millions of years with Ash—it was more than he could have asked for. But she didn't know why she was bound to a star, or the life that awaited her. It would be a hard life, cruel, and he would have to endure it with her.

"Hang on," Ash said. "You said if we were fully bound... We're not?"

Alründ shook his head. He was about to mention her partial bond to Will, that it was the stronger of the two, but the words never formed sound. If Alründ was a loyal Sepheri, the best thing to do would be to walk away and encourage her bond with Will. Her life would be easier. But Alründ couldn't bring himself to be loyal.

"Do you want to be?" she whispered, turning on the bedside lamp.

Such a torturous question. He could see her doubting everything, his feelings for her, the possibility that he might never have wanted the bond at all. "You could have kissed many other boys and never formed a bond, but when we're together it just happens. We're drawn together, as if it was Fate's choosing, and I don't have the strength to fight it. Do I want the bond? Yes. But I'm not the only boy you're bound with. Someday, you will have to choose." There, I said it.

She scoffed. "What other boy?"

"Will."

"Will? No. We're just friends."

"Don't tell me you don't feel it."

Ash blushed, holding her cheeks. She looked worried as she checked back through her memories of Will. "I might feel close to him. But I want it to be you."

"Ash... we shouldn't. We're not meant to complete our bond."

"Who says?"

"I can't say."

They stared at each other, waiting for the other to break the connection. Alründ should have flown out the window, but their mouths came together desperately. Kicking off the blankets, Ash fell back to the bed, taking Alründ with her. His elbows came to rest on either side of her head. Feeling her every curve beneath him, he deepened the kiss, the golden sheen upon their skins shining brighter. No matter how many times they kissed, or touched, or how bright they shone it never felt close enough. Hearing her sigh softly, he moved against her, then stopped. He could not do that, not even while clothed. It was a whole new level of suffering for them both. Breaking the kiss, he rolled onto his side, folding his wings closed.

Ash rolled closer, her golden irises glowing slightly, her heart-shaped face shimmering. He doubted she knew how she looked—like she'd been bathed in stardust, or that she had mischief in her eyes. "You don't really want to stop, do you?"

A smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Fate, no. Don't tempt me."

"Kiss me."

He sighed heavily and turned out the light. "Goodnight, Ash."

She rolled onto her back, and mumbled, "Night."

They were asleep in minutes, falling into the same dream that haunted her every night...

Hiding between the rosebushes and a park bench entwined with roses, The Boy was rocking seven-year-old Ash in the snow. Alründ's hands might have been small at age eight, but they were large enough to cover the children's mouths and stop them from whimpering. The ground trembled and the maze walls shook. A boom rent the air, making the three children jolt and cover their ears. A light shot up from the sky, like a shooting star going in the wrong direction. Not quite a star—Lücan amidst a flight of fury, and he was wrestling a sword-wielding Konstantin as they vanished into the stratosphere.

Alründ pulled Ash from The Boy's hold and took flight, taking her with him.

"Stop, Alründ. Stop!" Ash shouted. "We have to go back." She began to look over her shoulder, towards the snowy steps by the rotunda, but Alründ blocked her view.

"Don't look."

"You don't understand!"

Present-day Alründ understood perfectly, and he was pleased with Dream Alründ's decision to cover her eyes and ignore her kicks and punches of protest. Alründ flew towards the front of the palace and hovered before the second maze, right above the crossing of paths. Ash bit Alründ on the neck. His hand instantly flew to the pain, but he kept his grip on her back. It wasn't enough. She broke free, darting to the side, only to have Alründ slam into her, catapulting them down. Ash's back collided with the fountain below and she let out a scream.

His eyes filled with alarm. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Ash. Are you alright?"

"I am not alright! Now let me go!"

"No."

As Alründ went to fly higher she flew backwards, dragging him down through the streams of frozen water and the surrounding statues of the Elder Sepheri. They fell into the fountain's pool of ice, the pair drenched from head to foot. Ash tried to wriggle free, but Alründ held her tighter. She sobbed.

The front doors to the palace flew open and out dashed Amaryllis and Syreese. The sisters ran towards the children and pulled them from the fountain. Alründ and Ash screamed at being separated, but soon she was clinging to Amaryllis, her face buried in the woman's blonde curls. As they entered the palace, Amaryllis began to sing a Lyrethian lullaby. Ash never stopped crying. Nor did Alründ. They were still in the entrance when Lücan burst through the doors. He was covered in red, and Ash couldn't tell if that blood was his or somebody else's. There was a look of horror in his eyes, but he strode towards Amaryllis and scooped up Ash, holding her as if she was the only thing left in the world. "When I hum—"

"No!" Ash yelled.

But Lücan continued, "You will forget what you saw on the steps of the courtyard today, you will forget Alründ coming to your rescue, and you will forget this moment with me. All you will recall is playing in the rose garden with your friends, running through the maze. That is all."

"Why keep those memories and nothing else?!"

"Because part of you needs a connection to this day, to know that danger follows you more than any other child. And when you leave, you will remain cautious—"

"You're sending me away?" she cried. "Where?"

"A place where the reapers will never think to look."

"I don't want to go! You can keep me safe. The other Sepheri, too."

"Find your friends. Say goodbye. I'll be ready to leave within the hour."

Ash pummeled his chest with her little fists, but Lücan never faltered. He lowered her to the floor and strode down the corridor, humming a maudlin lullaby. All memories she'd been ordered to forget vanished. But Present-day Ash remembered the events of the dream perfectly. Unfortunately, Present-day Alründ remembered what was to come. He had to wake up. He had to wake Ash.

The dream continued...

Dream Alründ hugged Ash, and was about to lead her up the marble staircase when she paused at the first step. She stared down the hallway, past the little glowing orbs that moved around the ceiling. As a man walked in the shadows, each orb flew away from him as if commanded to do so. He moved closer, and she saw it was Lücan, carrying a lady against his chest. Her gown skimmed the ground, leaving a trail of red. Her brown ringlets and hair of blossoms and lilacs hung limply over his arms. Ash sought the lady's face, but it was pressed into Lücan's coat.

"Why is Ashala still here?!" Lücan shouted at Amaryllis and Syreese.

Syreese stepped forward. Her ire looked out of place against her ethereal gown and her soft blond locks that were almost identical to Amaryllis'. "Be gentle, Lücan. The rest of the universe moves at a slower pace than you. Sometimes you forget that."

"Not that slow!" he bellowed.

"We were just on our way to say goodbye to the others," Alründ said quickly. He grabbed Ash's hand, pulling her onto the second step.

"Then go!" He walked forward, and the lady's dress came into the light, the red satin was wet and Lücan made sure never to show her face. "No, wait, Ashala. Hold still."

Ash paused on the first step. Her tiny hand gripped the banister, and she let out a cry as Lücan pulled a vine of peoré roses from her head. He laid the vine upon the woman's chest. Blood seeped quickly into the petals.

"Will she be okay?" Ash whispered, nodding to the lady in his arms.

Lücan went to speak, but his eyes filled with tears. The gildé beads within his skin barely moved and they were losing some of their light.

Ash's hearts' beat faster and she rounded the banister, standing before Lücan. He was about to argue, but Ash took the lady's dangling hand in her smaller one. The lady was cold, her skin too white, her spirit like a wisp of cloud. Ash searched for a sign of any gildé and was lucky to spot two silver ones on the lady's arm.

Present-day Ash started to panic, but Dream Ash kissed the lady's hand, her golden gildé speeding from her lips and onto the lady's skin.

"That won't be enough, Ashala," Lücan whispered. "But thank you."

"I'll give more!"

"I have already given her plenty of gildé. I am taking her to Lumirion. Say goodbye."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Ash forced herself not to cry—for Lücan's sake. She took the lady's hand again and kissed the back of it. "Don't say goodbye," she whispered.

Lücan sidestepped Ash and strode out the palace doors. As Ash looked out the window she saw Lücan take flight, the lady's brown ringlets blowing wildly in the air.

Present-day Alründ ripped himself out of the dream and shook the girl beneath the covers. He turned on the bedside lamp and shook her again. "Wake-up, Ash!"

Her eyes snapped open and she gasped. With one look at Alründ, she sat up and burst into tears.

This chapter has been split in half for Wattpad - please continue to the next chapter to find out more!!