StarPyre

shrugged. “Who knows? Perhaps then the Stars will lead someone to save you.”
“What do you mean, I can’t do anything about it?” I demanded, not caring if the other two heard. “Tell me what’s wrong before it’s too late!”
“Look at me! My colors are dimming because I have no more energy left!” He jerked his head towards me and leaned closer until our faces almost touched. “Now tell me I’m wrong! Tell me there’s some way for me to draw on the energy of the stars, because in this room, I will never gain access to them.” He winced. A flash of pain crossed his face as he backed away, slamming his head against the wall. “If I’d known all of this would happen, I would’ve stored more while we were between missions. I wouldn’t have mind-scried Tori.”
“You used up all your energy on Tori,” I murmured incredulously. He flinched in reply.
“I needed to know who and what she was.” He flicked a hand at her. “I just never thought I’d find out she was sterile.”
“And what good has come from your search for answers?” I hissed, throwing up my arms in frustration. “How will you make contact with someone to save us if you’re drained?”
He shook his head in defeat. “I don’t know.”
I stared at him in utter disbelief. He was our last hope, and now that was ruined. We had no chance of escape if our Cosmic Soul was incapable of using his abilities.
“What’s the matter?” Auro asked as he sat down in front of us. Tori wrapped herself in a blanket before she joined us on the floor. She leaned against Auro’s side as he wrapped an arm around her, holding her close. “We could hear you arguing across the room. I want to know what all the commotion’s about.”
“He’s dying, and he didn’t want to tell us.”

Thirteen
TORI
There was something the matter with Celyze, and no one was clueing me in.
Not that they could; we’d only covered the basics of each language over the last few days. I didn’t fault them for not including me in their conversation. There was a clear language and—who was I kidding—culture barrier between us. If Celyze had a dire problem, trying to break the trouble down to a game of charades wasn’t going to solve anything in a timely matter.
I studied their interactions as I tried to interpret their body language and decipher what was wrong. For all I knew, he could just have a case of the space flu, but from their grim expressions, I was starting to doubt it.
Wait... How could I be sure that I hadn’t caught anything? I’d freely had unprotected sex with two members of a completely different species! What if these aliens had space STDs?
“Tori,” Celyze said gently, pulling me from my thoughts.
I looked up from my blanket and saw he had offered his hand for me to take. Glancing at my two alien boyfriends—or whatever they were, because I didn’t think we’d made our relationship official yet—for guidance, I shot them a questioning look.
“Tori talk Celyze. Yes?” Luwyn stood, shaking his head, looking subdued with his drooping wings. “Luwyn no talk.”
I watched him retreat before guiding my attention to Auro, seeking an explanation from him. He also shook his head as he dropped his arm from around my waist and pulled away. “Tori talk Celyze.” He pointed to where Luwyn sat, watching us. “Auro there. Luwyn there.” Leaning in, he kissed my forehead. “Tori here. Celyze talk Tori. Yes?”
What the fuck did Celyze have to tell me privately?
I offered Auro a weak smile. “Tori talk Celyze here. No Auro. No Luwyn.”
He nodded and stood, saying something to Celyze as he turned to leave.
I didn’t get it. Why did they have to leave? Now I was stuck alone with Celyze. Granted, we were never really alone in this room, but the point was, I was uncomfortable with this arrangement.
“Tori, yes?” he asked gently, holding out both of his hands to me. His honey-smooth voice didn’t sound as sweet as it once had. “Celyze talk Tori. Yes?”
Now I understood his meaning. He was asking for permission to repeat his alien magic-mumbo-jumbo from before. But why did he need to touch me, when he’d been able to project a thought at me from time to time?
I trusted that Auro and Luwyn wouldn’t have left me with Celyze if he was planning to hurt me, yet I didn’t want to relive the whole mind-rape maneuver he’d subjected me to. Whatever he wanted to say must be significant enough for Auro and Luwyn to allow this form of communication, because they knew how badly the experience affected me. They’d witnessed my reaction the first time. I had to believe that they wouldn’t force me to go through that once again unless the matter was of life-or-death importance.
Hesitantly, I placed my hands in his, flinching when he covered them with his thumbs.
I am not going to hurt you. His voice felt like a whisper. Not again. I only want to talk.
Blowing out a nervous breath, I tried to calm myself. Pulling my gaze from our joined hands, I met his once frozen eyes in shock.
“What happened?” I muttered as I searched the rest of his face. His whole body's coloring was muted. The teal highlights in his white hair were fading, along with the star-like silver speckles throughout his body.
How had I missed this?
It’s not your job to notice such things, so don’t feel responsible for my condition. It’s entirely my fault that I’m dying.
“How can you say something like that?” I hissed. “Newsflash. Death isn’t a laughing matter. I don’t know if you know, but it’s permanent.”
I don’t understand this ‘newsflash.’ His eyes hardened. But I do know full well what death entails, female. Unlike you, I know it isn’t permanent.
Shaking my head, I tried unsuccessfully to stifle my nervous laughter. Giggles escaped as anxious tears gathered on the edges of my eyes. How