THE BEDROOM was dark. The glow of the moon leaked in through the windows, sending a sliver shaft of light spilling across the bed.

Andorra couldn't sleep. Nohx, however, was passed out beside her, his soft breathing steady in her ear. The way his arms banned across her waist was proof enough of how much he cared for her. He was holding her tightly to his chest, almost as if he were afraid she would run.

She wouldn't. She couldn't. How could anyone run from their soulmate? Andorra found it suddenly increasingly hard to understand how Prince Desmond and his wife had turned their backs on theirs.

She felt at ease in his arms. She let her mind wander, savoring the memories she held there. The ones that were gifted to her only hours prior.

A young Nohx holding her hand.

A young Andorra smiling up at him.

A young Oberon, playing with the two of them, so unaware of what would happen to their friendship.

But, there were a few that Andorra already wanted to hold closer and treasure. A few of Andorra couldn't believe she had forgotten. It made her chest burn, thinking about how she shared so many memories with Nohx, yet she had forgotten.

He had not.

She couldn't even imagine how painful it had been for him to look at Andorra that first time in her high school, realizing that Andorra had known none of what they had shared as children. How painful it had to have been for Nohx to look Andorra in the eye, knowing their childhood promises were one sided.

She twisted in his arms, pressing a kiss to his cold cheek. There was a little moment where he stirred, but he didn't wake up. Instead, he pulled her closer, his face pushing into her neck. His breath made goosebumps race across her skin as his lips skimmed her skin.

A childhood memory resurfaced from that action alone. It was of the three of them; Andorra, Nohx, and Obeorn.

They were laying under the stars. The night sky stretched above their heads, but while Nohx was busy staring at the night sky, Andorra was squirming against the cold, damp grass.

"I'm going inside," she had whined. Sitting up, Andorra had looked down at Nohx, then over at Oberon. "Let's go, Obe," she had said to the white haired fae.

Oberon shrugged. "Okay." He was quick to agree as he jumped to his feet. He wiped the dew on his pants. "I'm starving."

Andorra moved to leave as well, but Nohx had shot her an irritated look. Then, he had whirled that expression onto Oberon. Lightning fast, Nohx yanked Andorra's arm until she was laying on the ground again. "No way," he had said to her. "You're gonna miss the best part."

"Best part?" Andorra was giggling at Nohx's sudden movement. She pushed lightheartedly against his shoulder. "I'm bo-ored." She stretched the world, her lips twisting into a smirk at Nohx's narrowed eyes.

She made to get up again, cookies on her mind. "Let's go, Obe. Your mom made cookies earlier-"

Nohx tackled her to the ground. His arms were tight around her as Andorra squirmed against him, her laughter loud and contagious. Her little giggles floated up into the night sky while Nohx held her tightly.

"You will stop being a baby and watch!" he had protested.

"If Andy wants to go, let her go," Oberon protested.

"Andy wants to stay. Don't you?" Nohx peered down into Andorra's eyes, a flash of hurt crossing his expression. "You said you wanted to watch."

Of course she couldn't say no. It was Nohx. Instead, Andorra grinned up at him. "Only if we can get cookies after."

The memory popped as she felt Nohx slide his hand across her back. "Andy?" he murmured in the dark. "Are you awake?" His cold breath skated across her skin, causing her to shiver in his arms. She felt the way he pulled away, likely thinking the shiver was a bad thing, and she tightened her own hold on him.

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep." She looked at his light eyes, smiling at the way he looked at her beneath hooded lids. He was sleepy; something Andorra didn't see often.

Nohx pressed a kiss to her forehead. Then, deciding it wasn't enough, he trailed kisses down her temple, down the slope of her cheeks, across her jaw. Soothing kisses, just because he could. Just because she was there, in his arms.

"I was remembering something about us watching the stars. You were mad I wanted to leave." She tried to smother her little giggle at the memory, wondering if Nohx remembered. If it was a memory he had held onto, or if it was something that had faded over time.

Nohx pressed a kiss against the spot beneath her ear. "Mmm. You wanted to get cookies with Oberon." Even his voice was sleepy, and it sent a thrill through Andorra. She rarely got to see this version of him, and her chest felt tight at that realization. She wanted this, for the rest of her life. And she would get it, too.

"You wanted to show me something, but I don't remember seeing anything."

Nohx's hand moved slowly, pulling from her back to sneak under her shirt, pressing against her warm, bare skin. She flinched against the chill, pushing herself closer against him. He kissed her against her throat in an apology.

"I was reading the stars, I think. You were too impatient to understand, you little imp."

His words startled a laugh out of her. "I was young!" She protested. "Show me now."

Nohx froze against her. He pulled back slowly, looking into her eyes, reading the truth he saw there. "Really? I don't think you'll be able to understand. When I first tried to show you, I didn't realize it was a skill other fae didn't have. You won't be able to see what I'm seeing."

Andorra shrugged. "Looking at the stars is pretty enough."

She thought back to that night at her school, when they were stargazing. She paused, thinking over what she had wished for on the shooting stars. I wish I was home.

Nohx watched the way her eyes widened. He rubbed his thumb against the bare skin of her hip. "What is it?"

"How does it work? Reading the stars?"

Nohx sat up, his back leaning against the headboard. He rubbed a hand over his face, then rubbed his eyes, properly waking up. He motioned Andorra to sit up, and when she did, Nohx pulled her against him so that she was straddling his lap.

He let his hand rub up her bare spine lazily. "The stars rearrange themselves for me. Sometimes in words, sometimes in images. I can't always make sense of what they're trying to say, and sometimes it takes weeks for a message to make sense. Sometimes, I'm reading the future. Sometimes, I'm reading an urgent message."

Andorra's fingers found his face. She held his cheeks, marveling at how smooth his skin was. "I... there was a moment in the human realm, before I met you. I had wished upon a shooting star..."

Nohx leaned forward so his nose was touching hers. "If you're asking whether or not I got your message, I had."

Surprise lit up her face. Her eyes widened, her mouth opened, and she stared.

"How?"

"Like I always do. I had been watching the stars that night. My father had been looking for a new seeker after his first one was murdered. The stars were busy showing me something else, something about the daemonium. But mid-scene, the stars had scattered, and one message came across. I wish I was home. It was from you, and I had felt that it was a sign. A sign that you missed me, or that you were ready to take the Snow Clan into Anlithamy. I had read home as the Snow Clan."

Andorra was surprised when she felt the tears in her eyes. She hadn't even realized that it had been her words to the stars that had brought Nohx. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't remember me. When I came to find you, you had no idea who I was. No clue who you were. I knew whatever message you'd sent, it either was sent unconsciously, or it was a mistake."

She gave him a soft smile. "I meant later. Why didn't you tell me later?"

Nohx shrugged. "I don't know. I had filed it away in my mind as a lucky mistake. You hadn't meant to send that to me, but I thank Cornomous you had."

Andorra kissed him then. She let her hands wrap around his neck, let herself get swept away in his lazy, sleepy kiss. She felt the way his hands gripped her waist tightly, fingers pressing against her soft skin.

When he pulled away, he let his forehead rest against hers. His eyes were impossibly white. "It's not the first time you've spoken to me that way, you know. I don't think you realize how often you spoke to the stars."

Her cheeks warmed in embarrassment. "Really?"

"It doesn't matter how far you go, Sunshine. I'm always attune to you."

"I want to go stargaze with you. Right now."

Nohx pressed a lingering kiss against her lips, but he didn't let himself get distracted by deepening it. Instead, he moved both of them off of the bed, carrying her in his arms until they reached the door. He pushed her against the closed door, letting her slide down his body until her feet touched the floor.

He pressed a harder kiss against her lips, teeth nipping at her bottom lip. "There's a guard outside your door," he breathed against her. "Not sure Callum will enjoy the nightly stroll outside."

Andorra kissed him back, just as hard. "It's a good thing Callum isn't my keeper." Then, she pulled the two of them into the inbetween before Nohx could blink. She continued to kiss him there for a moment, not moving into the gardens.

"Andy," Nohx groaned into her mouth. "If you want to stargaze, now would be wise to stop kissing me."

She grinned against his lips. "Little Noah wouldn't have been swayed by a little kiss. He was determined to watch the stars with me."

Nohx tilted her head further back, pushing against her as his tongue danced with hers. It was several heartbeats later when he pulled away, staring down at her with dilated pupils. "Little Noah didn't know what it felt like to kiss you."

Andorra laughed against him. "I can picture your little face scrunched up in disgust. I feel like you would've said ew."

Nohx's laugh against her ear was husky and strained. "Oberon would've offered to kiss you, and that would've made me change my mind immediately. Gross or not, I would've fought him."

Andorra tugged playfully against his hair. "You do realize Oberon is gay, right?"

"I didn't know that as a kid. I definitely saw Oberon as an invisible threat against who you liked more. And that bastard knew it was him."

Another surprise laugh exploded out of Andorra. "Was it him?" When looking back at her memories, it was so clear how much she had loved Nohx, even then. How much she had vyed for his attention, how much she had wanted to play with Nohx.

"All I know is that you called him your best friend-"

Andorra interrupted him with another laugh. That, she could believe. Oberon was her best friend.

"Okay, okay. Your eyes are turning blue, let's go stargaze. You jealous little idiot."

She pulled them to the gardens. She found a little spot, hidden against the hedges, with a perfect view of the sky. Nohx pressed a lingering kiss against her lips as he guided her down against the grass. He hovered over her for a moment, but not in a romantic way. He was checking to make sure she was comfortable against the grass, his fingers pulling tiny sticks out from under her head. He untangled her hair for a moment, anxious over her.

She slid a hand against his face. "I'm fine, Noah. Lay down."

He did, after she asked. He laid for a moment, eyes staring at the night sky, and then his hand found hers. He intertwined their fingers, then brought them up to his lips to press a kiss against them. Then, he let their hands rest between them as he stared.

Andorra stared at the side of his face, a smile pulling at her cheeks. "What are they saying?"

But, Nohx's face hardened. His eyes began to go dark. His eyes took in the scene in front of him, watching as the stars clustered into constellations, then moved again and again, weaving a story. One that had his stomach turning into thick knots.

Panic gripped Andorra's chest. "Noah?"

"It's moving too fast. But... something's wrong. Something is coming. Someone is coming." He sat up suddenly, not taking his eyes off of the stars as he read them. A mix of images, a mix of information, his brain sluggish to catch up.

There was a clicking sound. The soft sound of steps against the ground. Then, Andorra watched as Ero stepped into view.

"Lovebirds stargazing? What a sight to see. How wonderful to see that love is still abundant in Anlithamy."