Chương 77: Chapter 76- Counterpoint

The meal was delicious as usual, even bone tired and in a rush, Cooper never failed to impress. Elias had gotten used to eating more than usual due to the heavy attribute boosting over the last couple weeks, but after the healing from Astrid and his body emptying its reserves to repair his wounds, his stomach was a ravenous, bottomless pit.

Astra was not exempt either, and between the two of them and the prodigious appetite of a quickly growing young wyvern they may have actually consumed a meal that was if not the weight of an actual horse, probably wasn't too far off from that of a small pony. The platters of roasted meats and vegetables, pastries and prepared grains, soups and salads, rapidly vanished in a magic trick all their own, and soon all that was left was two satisfied people and one snoozing wyvern.

Eli took a sip from his glass of the thick, strong, and sweet liquor that Cooper had left behind, and glanced over to the bed in the corner where Tia was splayed out, swollen belly in the air as she gently snored. The satisfied somnolence of the tired beast shifted in his mind as she settled into an even deeper sleep. He turned back to find Astra also watching her with a bemused expression, before turning back to catch him watching her with a soft smile of his own.

She swirled her glass for a moment, the sloshing of the liquid causing the heady scent of the sweet liquor to fill the room for a moment before she took a sip of her own. Eli could feel her amused patience in the depths of his mind as she waited for him to speak. He reached over the table to take her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, before sitting back and enjoying the silence for a moment as he considered where to begin.

Eli had only known Astra for such a short time, a little less than a month, but in that time it felt like they had lived half a lifetime together. His feelings for her were complicated and nuanced, but unsubtle in a way that made him anxious that he might have trouble communicating them clearly, and given just how strongly he felt about her he felt nervous that he would be misunderstood.

The reassurance of knowing at least a small corner of her mind eased his anxiety somewhat, and despite whatever it was about her that made him feel like a lovesick puppy, he was not one to miss out on a chance for something great. He had made a promise to himself afterall, to live this second life without regrets. He gave her a smile, before taking a deep breath, and deciding to just start somewhere, anywhere."

I have been thinking about this for a while, about you, for a while, and if we had spoken earlier tonight I would have been much better prepared." Eli waved his hand, " I had this whole big speech prepared, I took notes, and even asked Tia for her opinion, useless as it was. Now that we're sitting here, I honestly can't remember a single word of it but here goes." He took her hand again, " You are different from anyone I have ever met, in this world or the last, and I like you Astra.

And not just a little, more than I have ever liked anyone before. From the moment I met you I felt a kinship, a sense of familiarity and connection, that frankly I didn't know I was missing. With all the excitement and mystery of a new world, it took a while to sink in." He smirked at her, " I am sure it is no surprise to you that I have been attracted to you since the moment I met you and, since modesty isn't exactly one of the pillars of your personality, I'm sure you know you are an extremely beautiful woman."

She chuckled a low throaty laugh, and gave him a small smile, " Aye, I may have been told that a time or two, still nice to know you agree." Eli grinned, " I bet," before giving her a more serious expression, " it is part of the reason I was so unsure for a while. A beautiful, charming woman practically falling from the sky out of the blue, in the midst of exploring a new exciting world full of magic, wonder, and dire threats in equal measure?"

He shrugged, " It was hard to be sure I wasn't just being swept along in a wild ride, the excitement bleeding over into making me think there was something more between us than there was." He squeezed her hand again, " The last few weeks of getting to know you though? All the sparring in the woods, the late nights around the fire, walking through the forest bantering with you and Mira." His gaze softened, " That night by the river, watching the ringlit dance across your face."

He looked up at the ceiling for a moment, before shaking himself and looking back towards her once more, " Honestly it's all so much it's hard to put into words, and it almost feels that if I try to explain these feelings, I won't be doing them any justice. I just don't know if I have the words to say exactly how I feel." Astra gave him a soft, warm smile that put him at ease, " The words do not have to be perfect Eli, we have all the time in the world to get it right if need be.

But there are some things a girl just wants to hear out loud." Elias closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and upon opening them, fixed her with a fierce expression." I care for you Astra." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website." I care for you more than anyone else I have ever met. I feel more for you even more than I knew it was possible for someone I've known for such a short time.."

Astra's smile grew, and the ember at the other end of the tether in his chest, kindling into a tiny flame." I knew it might be the case for days now, and I've been trying to figure out what to do about it. I know next to nothing of your world and my place in it, much less yours, but I am not stupid. I know with your position and your family the prospects of us having a relationship and being together are slim at best.""

Even in my world, back when we still had nobles, they rarely were able to choose their own partners, even if the other person was interested romantically. Hell, it's a big part of the reason I've been working so hard to get a good class when I evolve, hoping that if I could match some of your potential I could be seen as a viable partner."

Eli shook his head before closing his eyes, the scenes from earlier in the night playing through his mind, the joy of their budding connection and sense of completeness that it had brought. He opened his eyes and looked back at her again, emotions warring in his chest as he spotted the tears and emotions pooling in her eyes, " And that was before tonight."" After what just happened, whatever this connection I can feel between us?"

He shook his head again, " I would sooner cut off my own arm and toss it into a fire than part from you." He squeezed her hand again, before looking back at her as a single tear tracked down her face, " I am pretty darn sure I love you Astra, and while I haven't felt this way before and I'm not one hundred percent on what it all means; the one thing I am certain of, is the way whatever is going on between us makes me feel and I will do whatever it takes to figure this out and make this work."

He sighed, feeling both wrung dry as if he had run for miles in the course of the past few minutes, but curiously free as he finally put words and actions to his feelings. Knowing that whatever came next he did his best to explain his feelings, and that the result of the conversation would ultimately depend on hers.

Astra's POV Waves of emotion rolled over her, a raging storm warring in her heart, and it was all she could do to restrain the emotions enough that she only shed a single tear and not a flood. Her heart thundered in her chest as it swelled with conflicting emotions: fear and anxiety had their place in the torrent, but the overwhelming majority of the current was affection, longing, and hope.

Hope that an impossible dream may actually come true, that a new path may lay before her, one that very well may be awash in blood and fire like so many before her, but also with a new feeling. One that welled up from under the current strong and warm, with a bittersweet feel, that reminded her vaguely of her grandfather's smile, her sister's laugh, or the strong warm arms of her father, but different with a heat that she had never known before.

A second tear followed the first as her heart thundered in her chest, is this love? A noblewoman's life had no room for love, at the very least not the kind found in a storybook romance. Her mother had warned her, her sister too, that if she was lucky she would be well matched, and if she was very lucky they would grow to love each other in time. The calmer gentler love that grew out of building a life together, bonding over shared goals, and the small moments that made most people grow closer.

The feeling she felt in her chest on the other hand, was not the small well tended flame of a hearth, no. This was the spark among tinder, a kindling flame that even now threatened to blossom into a bonfire. A passionate flame born something stronger, a deeper connection of the soul, whipping in a strong summer wind, that in time could grow into a raging all consuming wildfire.

The kind that if not brought to heel could sweep life from the land, but also carried a promise of strength and kinship, that she would never feel cold and alone again. The flame she felt was different from the very first moment she felt it, back in the dark woods on death's doorstep.

It spoke not of a small gaggle of heirs, the chains of responsibility, and a comfortable manor house, but of adventure, of running free beneath the summer sky, the only thing holding her back the wind beneath her wings as she soared as high as she could go. As Astra looked back into the eyes of the man across from her, she reveled in her newfound connection, as she could feel the truth of his words, as she knew that this was different.

That Elias saw her, not her talent, nor her potential, not the connections she could bring, or the prestige her name could add to his. He wasn't interested in how many heirs she could bear, the soldiers that swore to her service, or even how far she could climb, if he could just convince her to let him chain himself to her back. No. The song had spoken tonight and she had listened.

He saw her as an equal, a partner, a woman, a warrior, a trusted friend, and a kindred soul that came to her from an unfathomably long distance. For that was what he was to her too. The other half of her soul, of her warrior spirit. No longer would she be consigned to listen to a single hymn, a lonely voice singing in the darkness of her heart, strong and fierce to be sure, but even a voice strong enough to be a choir all of its own was still not a song. Together though?

The voice in her heart rang loud and clear, and with her counterpoint it became a melody. A song hale and proud, one with promise, a promise of the potential to become a ballad to shake the heavens themselves. When viewed from this new perspective, the choice before her was no choice at all. There was only one decision her heart would accept and it was an easy one. He was hers after all, her counterpoint, her twinborn soul.

Astra looked back into Eli's eyes as hot tears rolled down her face, as the longing and hope in her heart shifted and bloomed into something new, something wild, free, and oh so precious to her. She froze, and her heart skipped a beat at the expression on his face. Ancients forgive, I left the poor man waiting, probably thinking I hate him.

She laughed out loud, knowing that he would never think such a thing, taking comfort in the knowledge of their connection that no matter what he would at least know some of the contents of her heart. They could figure out the rest in time." Oh Eli, of course I care for you too. I would have thought my feelings obvious by now, you big oaf."

"I am no expert in relationships either, but I think I love you too."