The Fallen Stars (A Star Child Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page B

warmed my heart to see Alistair doing so.
    However, I didn’t say anything. Those few moments, as I looked into my father’s eyes, were my goodbye to him. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t look at Alistair or Gabriel. Because after this had all ended, I would be a mortal. Regardless of whether or not I’d chosen the fate, things would change between my father and me, and I needed a moment.
    The thudding of my heart reverberated in my ears. I could see Kellen shifting in my side vision, perhaps anxious for my answer, nervous about what my decision might be. However, in my mind there was never a decision to be made. From the instant that I first met Kellen, I’d loved him.
    Goodbye, Father .
    “Very well.” Father pulled me to him for one last hug, perhaps my last as an immortal. I held him close, but when I pulled back, my eyes found Kellen and I couldn’t help but smile.
    After Kellen destroyed Arawn, Síl, my family’s creator, had offered Kellen a chance at immortality. However, I’d known from the first moment that we’d met that Kellen wouldn’t want to be a god, or even a High King for that matter.
    I’d told Síl that Kellen wanted to stay mortal. Immortals can’t survive on Earth for more than a fortnight without losing their powers and such. If I wanted to be with Kellen, then my immortality would be lost.
    Alternatively, mortals couldn’t live in the Green Lands, my home. The decision had been made for me. But there was no challenge deciding to give it all up. I loved Kellen far more than I loved my immortality.
    Kellen stepped forward, his palms held out in front of him. “You can’t do this. You just can’t.”
    Panic rose within me. “You don’t want me anymore?” My words hardly reached my own ears, fear barely allowing me to utter them.
    Father stepped back as Kellen bridged the space between us. His fingers intertwined with mine. “Of course I still want you, but you’re giving up too much. How can I ask you to give up who you are for me?” Kellen said.
    Raising his hand, he tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear that had loosened from the intricate hairstyle that my mother had insisted on saddling me with. The braids that ran through my hair seemed as limp, as worn, as I felt.
    I frowned. What was this nonsense about? I’d already made the decision. Should we not just get on with it? “You didn’t object to it before when we discussed it.”
    “I know, but it didn’t seem real before. It’s real now. I’m afraid of what will happen to you. You’ll be able to get hurt, injured, die—” His voice broke.
    My annoyance vanished. “Kellen, you’re not thinking. So can you . Do you think I don’t know that you can get hurt? You need me as a mortal. You’re always falling all over the place, not having anything to eat. You need me,” I said. He’d be lost without me.
    “I do need you, but you need to want this for yourself. This choice is about you, not about me. I’ve had enough people control me in my own life to know that I’m not going to do that to you,” Kellen said.
    “I know who the choice is about!” I said. I would never make a choice that I myself didn’t want.I’d been taught to believe in myself, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t afraid.
    “Hey.” Reaching his hand up, he placed his palm on my cheek, tracing my bottom lip with his thumb. I leaned against his hand, finding relief and comfort in his touch. “If this is what you want, then it will work out. If it’s the right choice for you,” he added.
    I nodded. “It is.” He held my gaze for just a moment longer, perhaps trying to drink in the way I looked. I didn’t know how I would change, if mortality would make me look any different. Kellen probably considered the same.
    “Okay.” Lowering his hand, he turned to Father. “Do we have to do anything specific for this? Make a circle or something?”
    Father stepped forward, placing both hands on the sides of my head. “No. Surprisingly, the most