Star Daughter(12)

This close to the heat of him, her skin tingled. Her heart thrummed chords that matched the ones his heart drummed out. Something brilliant shone inside her, and she couldn’t tell whether it was her flame or what happened when you were just a girl who liked a boy.

Just a girl who wanted Dev to take all of her in, to really get her. And for his mouth to find hers.

Between kisses, she wanted him to tell her his private dreams and wishes. In return, she wanted to divulge all the things she’d kept in confidence for so long, air out all the truths moldering in the chambers of her too-full heart.

His arms felt so right around her. Strong, solid.

She was already breaking about thirty rules by being here, and he’d never believe her anyway, so what if she gave him a hint?

“When I was a kid, I used to sing all the time. With my mom,” she murmured, her fingertips learning the line of his jaw. “We’d go outside and look at the sky, and she’d tell me stories, and we’d dance and sing all these songs. Maybe it’s stupid, but I thought . . . I thought we’d always do that.”

Dev squeezed her hand. “That’s hard. I’m sorry.” His mouth was close to her ear, and his breath tickled.

“She’s the one who taught me to sing. Under the stars.” The song of the stars. “I—I miss her sometimes, you know?”

Dev nodded. “What if you sing one of those songs? Just for me. No one else has to know.”

“What?” Sheetal said too fast, the tapping in her heart turning to painful thuds of a sledgehammer. “I thought you were going to sing for me.”

“I’d rather hear you. But—”

“I’m not a performer like you.” The brilliance flared inside her again, and now it merged with the notes of the sidereal melody. She’d never sung for anyone but Minal and Dad. She certainly couldn’t sing for Dev. One note, and he’d know she wasn’t fully mortal; with the starsong chiming in her chest, she was sure of it.

Before Dev could argue, she took his face in her hands and kissed him.

She’d only meant to distract him, to turn him away from what she couldn’t share after all, but his lips were so warm and soft, and the way they parted against hers made her forget, too. He did taste sweet as he drew her to him, though nothing like a cookie. His fingers ran over her back, wove through her hair.

Here in the dark, the starry song she’d refused to sing aloud surged through her in a gale of thundering bass notes and shimmering ornaments. It rang in her blood, in her lips where they touched Dev’s, in the furious beating of her heart. Right now, as long as it didn’t try to take over, she couldn’t care less what it did.

For the duration of that kiss, and the one after, and all the ones after that, she was just a girl who liked a boy who liked her back.

She could stay like this forever.

They finally broke apart, cheeks flushed, lips swollen. “Wow,” said Dev. “You should sneak over to my house more often.”

“Yeah,” Sheetal agreed, trying to catch her breath. “Wow.” She hadn’t known it would be like that.

Dev lay back against the pillows, his hair rumpled. She’d done that. She nestled against his chest, enjoying its rise and fall like the sea.

Just a normal girl and her boyfriend.

They stayed like that for a while, the shadows cast by the candlelight dancing over them. Eventually Sheetal asked, “If you could have anything, anything at all, what would you want?”

Dev took a minute to think, and she breathed in his boy smell, a bit of shampoo and a bit of whatever it was that made him Dev. “A tiny elephant to ride on my shoulder would be cool,” he said. “That—and not having to care about what anyone else thinks I should do. ‘Dev’s going to be a hotshot lawyer!’ ‘Dev’s going to be a famous singer!’ How about ‘Dev just wants to be left alone’?”

Maybe he’d meant the words to come out sardonic, even mocking, but they only sounded frustrated. Sheetal knew how that felt, even if his situation was the mirror opposite of hers.

Dev played with a lock of her hair. He sounded light-years away. “What do you want?”

Sheetal started to answer. Then she realized she couldn’t. Not really.

What did she want? Adventures. Cupcakes and kulfi. To be star bright and mortal dark and make her own choices, too. To not be bound by other people’s expectations.

More than anything, to be seen.

If only she could just tell him.

But she’d taken so long to consider, his eyes had slipped shut. She remembered he’d stayed up all night working on his mysterious song. “You’re so comfortable,” he mumbled.

Sheetal kissed his cheek, then moved so her ear was pressed to his chest. Thump, thump, thump, beat his heart, a metronome keeping perfect time. It was steady, but slowing as he drifted into sleep. She snuggled deeper into his arms, wanting to be carried off like that, too.

Listening to his pulse, she realized she was humming. With the memory of last night’s music glinting silver in her mind, it felt good. Besides, he was out cold, so it wasn’t like he could hear her.

Her own eyes closed.

And the spark at her core ignited. The sidereal melody flared to life, its strains streaming from her throat like glowing garlands, each woven from shining threads of starlight.

The threads came together to form a web around Dev and her. A corner of her mind wondered what the hell was going on, but the starsong soothed it into silence. She was only dreaming.