A Star is Born: The Coming Dawn: Book I (41 page)

Then Ky saw it: her former self. Kylie was home, getting ready for the day, sitting on the floor in front of the mirror listening to music. Ky watched herself putting on mascara, and curl her eyelashes without a care.

“You’re beautiful, Ky,” Cobaaron said, watching over her shoulder.

“Not as beautiful as you made me,” Ky confessed.

“I don’t think so,” Cobaaron replied.

They watched Kylie stand and then talk to her roommate Gale, in the messy area of their living room. She couldn’t hear anything, but Ky guessed they were planning on sharing a ride to class. As suspected, Gale and Kylie dashed out of the apartment and jogged down the stairs before getting in Gale’s black classic convertible.

“What is that?”

“A car,” Ky said simply.

Cobaaron twisted the jar so he could see more clearly. They watched as they drove the few short blocks to the campus, while Cobaaron kept saying, “That is so odd. How is it doing that?”

A few minutes later, Kylie was in her first class, but it wasn’t how Ky remembered it. “This is my class, but not a subject I was studying. Am I still there?”

“You were never there. This is a dream. Your dream is continuing without you. You can keep this to watch your old life,” Cobaaron said, and lovingly gazed at her.

“This is amazing.” Ky smiled at Cobaaron. “And so are you. I love you so much.”

“I’m glad you like it.” He cleared this throat. “But as I was saying there is a reason why I brought you here. Dreams are curious things. They flutter into your ears, help you fall asleep, and take any dream you would have had, and replace it with the dream its holding. Then two dreams escape the other ear when the dream is complete. It doesn’t take long. Only a few hours.”

“That is fascinating, Cobaaron. This world is full of amazing things. Like this zero gravity.” They were floating in the middle of the cave.

“I don’t know what zero gravity is,” Cobaaron said, and smiled.

“Never mind. It’s hard to explain, like cars,” Ky said, and faintly laughed. “But anyway, thank you for my dream. I’ll cherish it.” She moved to kiss him, but he stepped away.

“No, don’t kiss me Ky. This is hard enough.”

“What do you mean? How is this hard?” Ky asked.

“I’m letting you go, Ky. Dreams can also be digested. The dream you’re holding, the life you were living, you could digest it. As a Star, you would fall asleep and dream that life until the day your dream passes away with you as an old woman. You would fall in love, have children, and live a life without peril. I want you happy, Ky. You don’t want to be here where your destiny is planned out and fraught with danger. You wanted nothing to do with the prophecy. I can’t always protect you in this world. But I could lock you safely in a tomb, and let you sleep peacefully.”

“You don’t want me?” Ky asked, and blinked. Instantly tears fell and ran down her cheeks.

“No, love. Don’t cry.” He wiped away her tears, looking as pained as she felt. “I’m trying to do the right thing. I could never
want
you to leave me. I secretly hope you say no, but I’ll understand if you can’t stay. Most Stars would do anything for this opportunity. Some have died trying to get here. You don’t want to face this destiny, and in this world you will certainly be in danger. But if you chose your dream you would have the life you say you want. You asked me when we first met how to go home. This is the way—the only way. You can go home and you will forget about me. I’d gladly live a tortured life of loving you but feeling the bitter agony of not being able to touch you, make love to you, or hold you again if it meant I could see you happy. I’d visit you often and mourn you like a widower, because I could never wake you. I’d take your jar and keep it for myself, because I could never truly let you go. I’m sure I’ll sorely regret taking you here later, but you said you didn’t sign up for this. You’re not here by choice, unless you decide now to stay. I just want you happy and as your husband I’m trying not to be selfish, when I debated never telling you about this place. Truthfully, I hope you choose me, even if loving me in this place is hard, because I am desperate to be with you, Ky. You are the one true love of my life. No matter where you are that will never change.”

“I’m not even going to pretend to think about this. That girl is Kylie; I’m Ky. We’re two different people in very different worlds. I’m not leaving you in darkness. You’re my husband and I will not depart this world until we leave it together.”

Cobaaron immediately seized and kissed her. He tightly squeezed her to him, and didn’t let go of her. He showered her with passionate kisses before he whispered, “I’m so glad you said that.” His forehead dropped to hers. He took a deep breath.

Then his kiss became more zealous. She opened her mouth, letting him take her with greater passion. Her tongue lightly pressed against his, as their lips closed perfectly around one another. He took his time leisurely drawing his tongue around her in delicious slow caresses. Ky moaned. Her sounds seemed to make him realize what he was doing because he broke the kiss.

“I want you to dream of me.” Cobaaron gently grasped a silver strand that floated. “Take another, Ky. I want us to share our lives up to this point while we sleep.”

He held out his hand, and waited for her to take another. He then led her out of the cave, to lie on the bed of cotton. The chimneys all puffed until they were lying over a thick layer of fibers that felt as soft as a cloud. Cobaaron drew her closely to him, hugging her with a protective embrace, as her head rested on his arm. His need to keep her, and relief she wanted him, was felt in his embrace. They took the white fluff from their ears. At the same time they exchanged dreams by slipping it into one another’s ears. The silver glowing strand easily slithered into the canal. There was no sensation of Cobaaron’s dream entering her subconscious, though Ky felt herself grow tired.

“I love you,” Ky said as she gazed into his blue eyes, and let her hand rest draped over his broad shoulder.

“And I you, Ky.” His words were barely a whisper, and before they could wish each other sweet dreams, they fell asleep knowing when they awoke, their bond would be stronger than ever.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Austen Knowles’s inspiration for
The Coming Dawn
came to her in a vision of a woman warrior with long, glowing, crimson hair standing over a dark cliff. From that first glimpse, she wrote the beloved trilogy in two years. Before publishing her first romance novel under the pseudonym Lacy S. Kinsley,
A Star is Born:
The Coming Dawn
was already completed. In this realm, she is married to her loving husband, Aaron, and together they raise their two children.

www.lacyskinsley.com

[email protected]

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