Star Crossed In Time - Chapter 234

Bai Lei looks to the cave and asks “Do I need to destroy the whole thing?” I lift my head and look to the cave opening and say “Xia is in there… she showed up and attacked Eli.” Bai Lei doesn’t look like he cares either way so I quickly say “I will come back later and destroy everything. Let’s just go home.”

It looks like he wants to argue or even ask what happened but he keeps silent and nods his head. Zhen and the others walk over with black blood covering them from head to toe. Mogui, Hundun, and Ai all have a look of excitement while Zhen looks disgusted.

Bai Lei uses his magic to clean Zhen. Zhen gives him a grateful look while saying “I think it’s safe to say we’ll all sleep well tonight. Thanks again for your help.” Hundun smiles and smacks Zhen on the back while saying “Nova is a friend of ours and like family. We’ll always come to help if she needs it.”

A friend and like family? I roll my eyes but I can’t help the grin as I say “Let’s go home.” We say goodbye to the Demon brothers and go back to the Night Palace with Zhen and Ai. The others all wait in the garden with looks of worry but when they see all of us return, they all let out a sigh of relief and smile from ear to ear.

My mother nearly knocks me over as she hugs me with all her strength. Lady Xue walks over calmly before giving Bai Lei a large hug with a low chuckle. “Welcome back kids.” She says with a large smile. My mother pulls back and starts checking me all over before asking “Are you hurt? Is this your blood?”

I cringe a little as I say “No, it’s not mine. I’m okay I promise.” Little Bun sniffs at me from my mother’s shoulder with a concerned look so I send him a reassuring smile. After saying our initial hellos, I quickly take off to take a quick but much-needed bath. I feel like soap and water are the only things that can truly clean me.

When I come back to the garden, everyone’s laughing and talking. I take a moment to take them all in before walking over to them. Bai Lei pulls me onto his ŀȧp and wraps his arm around my waist as he asks “Are you hungry?”

While I was taking my bath, my thoughts kept going back to Eli’s death and even though I’ve scrubbed myself until I was nearly raw… I can’t get the images or the smell of death to go away. I give him a warm smile and shake my head saying “I’m just tired.”

When I turn back to the others, I notice that Guozhi was still down. I frown and ask “Guozhi, what’s wrong?” He quickly looks up and gives me a strained smile before shaking his head and saying “Nothing, I guess I’m tired too.”

I frown at him in concern but I don’t say anything else. Bai Lei tightens his arms around me and says “Let’s go to bed then. It’s getting late.” My mother quickly jumps on board and says “Yes! You need to make sure to gets lots of rest after using a lot of power.”

I smile at her and don’t bother correcting her. I didn’t really use a whole lot of power… I glance at Guozhi again when I see Ai handing him a small bread roll. Guozhi looks up to the roll before looking up to Ai with confusion.

Ai awkwardly clears her throat and says “You haven’t eaten all day… you need to keep your strength up.” Guozhi blinks in confusion before slowly reaching out to take the roll. He slowly brings the roll to his mouth and takes a small bite before slightly smiling at her and saying “Thank you”

Ai quickly nods with a small smile and looks away. Was that a blush I saw? “Let’s get you to bed.” Bai Lei says lifting me up into his arms. I turn to look at him as I say “I’m not so tired I can’t walk.” Bai lei chuckles and says “No, I just want to hold you.”

I chuckle at his words and say “I guess I’ll spoil you then.” I rest my head on his ċhėst as he carries me to our room. He could have shifted us there but I think he took the long way just to hold me longer. I smile at him and close my eyes, finally allowing myself to relax.

Eli stole so much from me but from now on, I refuse to allow him to keep taking from me. I have a family, a man who loves me and treats me like I’m his world. I’m going to start enjoying each moment from now on. It’s finally time to tell him goodbye, once and for all.

He lays me down on the black bed that looks like a see of stars itself before crawling in with me. I feel so whole here… being with Bai Lei, surrounded by the stars as I sink into the bed under me. Bai Lei lays on top of me but holds his weight up by his elbows as he gently strokes my hair.

“Whatever happened in there… you can always talk to me. No matter what.” He says looking me in the eyes. My eyes begin to tear up as I look at him. He slowly leans down and places a soft kiss on my forehead.

I slowly close my eyes, feeling my tears run down the sides of my face as I say “I’m free..” He pulls me to him and flips so that I’m laying on his ċhėst. He wraps his arms around me and rubs my back in a soothing way as he says “Yes, You’re free and you did well. I’m proud of you little star, so very proud. He won’t be able to hurt you or others anymore.”

I close my eyes again as a new wave of tears hit me. That’s what I needed to hear… That I’m not a killer and that what I did was right. Why could I kill all the men from the Under Realm with no guilt but when it comes to Eli… I feel… Was it because we were once lovers? Because he was someone I once loved and now I’m happy he’s dead?

I keep my eyes closed and focus on the feeling of the gentle breeze on my skin as I listen to Bai Lei’s heartbeat. It was strong and steady, lulling me to sleep instantly. Suddenly, I’m standing above a large body of water.

Standing isn’t quite right… I was floating? I slowly look around me and realize I’m above an ocean! I look around me for any signs of land but there’s nothing! I look up and see a night sky filled with stars but when I hear a hauntingly beautiful voice, I stiffen and slowly look back to the water.