Those Savage Stars

Those Savage Stars Cameo Renae Those Savage Stars Copyright © 2023 by Cameo Renae All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronically, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brand, media, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Cover by Christian Bentulan, Covers by Christian Contents 1. CHAPTER 1 2. CHAPTER 2 3. CHAPTER 3 4. CHAPTER 4 5. CHAPTER 5 6. CHAPTER 6 7. CHAPTER 7 8. CHAPTER 8 9. CHAPTER 9 10. CHAPTER 10 11. CHAPTER 11 12. CHAPTER 12 13. CHAPTER 13 14. CHAPTER 14 15. CHAPTER 15 16. CHAPTER 16 17. CHAPTER 17 18. CHAPTER 18 19. CHAPTER 19 20. CHAPTER 20 21. CHAPTER 21 22. CHAPTER 22 23. CHAPTER 23 24. CHAPTER 24 25. CHAPTER 25 26. CHAPTER 26 27. CHAPTER 27 28. CHAPTER 28 29. CHAPTER 29 30. CHAPTER 30 31. CHAPTER 31 32. CHAPTER 32 33. CHAPTER 33 34. CHAPTER 34 35. CHAPTER 35 36. CHAPTER 36 37. CHAPTER 37 38. CHAPTER 38 39. CHAPTER 39 40. CHAPTER 40 41. CHAPTER 41 AUTHOR'S NOTE: Those Savage Stars is a New Adult Dark Fantasy Romance, which includes some sexual content and language that the author has deemed inappropriate for those under the age of 18. This book also contains subject matter that might be difficult for some readers, including physical and emotional violence, mentions of depression, suicidal thoughts, and murder. Please read with care. For those who have been in dark places and survived. one ELARA I killed him. Flashes of Cole Valente’s lifeless body and vacant eyes chase me as I run barefoot through the darkened streets in nothing but my underwear and his oversized shirt. The stain of his death still clinging to my skin like an invisible tattoo, branding me forever. Murderer. My body is trembling, my mind a torrent of questions—too dark and terrifying to even address right now. Questions I’m not sure I even want the answers to. I don’t know how it happened. I’m still unsure if it was me. But I felt it. Felt the life drain from Cole’s body as I lay in his arms with his mouth ravaging mine. It wasn’t like we hadn’t touched before. Tonight, was the fourth time I had been with Cole, but I sensed something was off the moment he touched me. My skin became too hot, the room too suffocating, and Cole’s body on mine felt much too heavy. His bare skin and warm lips caused a sudden burst of searing pain to reverberate through my entire body—through my veins—as if thousands of hot needles were pricking my skin. I gazed in both awe and terror as the veins in my arms radiated a luminous gold. Then, a shift occurred within me. An indescribable feeling. A rush of power that filled my entire body, almost making me black out, causing me to struggle to stay coherent. The surge of power was replaced by a chilling dread that gripped my chest as I observed Cole struggle for air, his eyes wide and mouth gaping open. Not a single noise escaped from his lips, which had turned bluish-purple. I watched as his body convulsed like a fish out of water, his grip crushing my wrists until the pain jolted me from my shock. His eyes, bloodshot and brimming with fear, met mine. “Elara. Why?” Those whispered words were his last. One I couldn’t give an answer to. Tears poured down my cheeks as I helplessly shook my head. It’s not me, I wanted to tell him. But I couldn’t because I wasn’t certain, and if it was… I didn’t know how to make it stop. His hold on my wrists intensified. “I’m sorry,” I sobbed, witnessing him dying right before my eyes. Then, his entire body went rigid—as stiff as an iron rod—his eyes rolled back into his head until there was nothing left but the whites. No, no, no. It happened so fast—too fast. Cole drew his final breath and the hands clutching my wrists slipped away, the marks of his fingers bruising my skin. I pushed his body off me, but it was too late. Terror gripped me, holding my body in place, showing me what I had done. I killed him. My body jolted when I heard a door slam downstairs. Grabbing Cole’s shirt off the floor, I flung it over my head before punching out his bedroom window screen and climbing down the side of the house. It’s a goddamn miracle I made it down two stories without injury, given the state of my trembling limbs. As soon as my bare feet touched the frigid ground, I ran like hell, moving farther and farther from the scene, tears falling in torrents down my face, blurring my vision. What the hell happened? Shadows swirl in the dark corners of the alleyways, beckoning me to run into them. Phantom whispers caressing my ears—whispers carried by the icy fall winds that embrace me, slipping through my long raven hair and wrapping around me in a gentle caress. “Elara,” a familiar voice whispers in my head. “Elara, they’re coming for you.” I know. I know they will come. My clothes are still on the floor in Cole’s bedroom. If I’m caught, how will I explain what happened when I still don’t have a goddam clue? Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I know what happened, and that realization scares the hell out of me. Even now, I can feel Cole’s life force buzzing inside of me—the essence my body stole from his is still coursing through my veins. What is happening to me? I duck into a dark alleyway as sirens