PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

Like the rest of the girls in Garden, Revna had a strong resentment and intense dislike for men, Desmond being the only exception. The word thanks was not enough to cover what Revna felt towards Desmond; it was likely that words would fall short of describing such a thing.

One thing was for sure; to Revna, being able to satisfy Desmond was nothing less than her most fundamental duty. Deep down, however, Revna wanted to be appreciated by Desmond in the same way that Claire and Sasha were appreciated by him. One could imagine Revna’s reaction when Desmond invited her into his bed.

Receiving no response from the stunned Revna, Desmond began to speak, perhaps trying to get Revna to relax, or maybe because he needed someone to unburden himself.

“You know, Revna, I dreamt about my parents a moment ago.”

Desmond’s words snapped Revna out of her daze; she knew that both Desmond and Claire had lost their parents and that they had never talked about it. Recalling Desmond waking up with tears in his eyes, Revna guessed that no matter the circumstances of their passing, Desmond missed them dearly.

Knowing Revna wouldn’t interrupt him, Desmond continued to vent. “I miss them a lot, you know. It’s been so many years, but it feels like it happened yesterday on nights like this.”

For a moment, Desmond’s gaze was fixed on the full moon seen through the window, letting nostalgia and longing wash over him thoroughly, receiving those feelings with open arms.

“When I lost my parents, at least I had Claire; she always kept me alive. Now, in addition to Claire, I have Sasha to keep me company, my relationship with Cecilia is somewhat complicated, but she is still part of my family. No matter what happens, I am not alone. Aren’t you lonely, Revna? You have always hidden outside of this family in my shadow, just a spectator.”

.....

Desmond had always been a great archer, but not even he could have fired an arrow that went as straight to the heart as his words to Revna did. Loneliness was an emotion found in Revna’s daily life; she lived in the shadows and did not have the luxury of abandoning her loneliness.

After her traumatic experience as a captive, Revna had been mentally damaged, and her shadow powers gave her the perfect escape method to avoid facing her fears. Back then, Desmond was too naive and inexperienced to realize the damage Revna was doing to herself by spending most of the day in the shadows, but that changed after a wake-up call from Claire.

“How long do you plan to spend hiding? How many more times do you have to sneak up on me when you think I’m not paying attention? Claire had asked me not to say anything or make a move on you until you were better, but I just don’t have the patience.”

The moonlight reflected perfectly in those blue eyes that gazed at Revna as if they could pierce deep into her soul. It was funny, Revna hated it when other people stared at her, but when Desmond did, she wished such a thing wouldn’t stop for anything in the world.

Distracted and even a little hypnotized by Desmond’s gaze, Revna was slow to realize that Desmond seemed to know about her little misdeeds, but none of that mattered now. At this moment, Revna just wanted to keep listening to what Desmond had to say.

“You’ll have to excuse me for having the nerve to have Claire and Sasha all over me while I’m doing this; it seems I’m just too greedy and unreasonable. Revna, if putting on a thousand seductive disguises to get my attention when we’re alone makes you happy, that’s fine with me. If all you want is to be useful to me in Garden, that’s fine with me too. But I wouldn’t be satisfied with myself if I didn’t offer you at least a space in my bed, at my table, in my house, and in my family.”

It was as if the whole world had lost meaning; there were no colors or sounds, only those words Revna had just heard. Anyone will give Desmond more than a few insults for having the nerve to propose to a woman while he’s lying in bed with two women, but the matter never even crossed Revna’s mind.

Desmond, on the other hand, hadn’t planned on making a move on Revna in the immediate future. Still, after waking up from his sleep, Desmond was very emotional and spoke his mind seeing how Revna had been silently watching over him for who knew how many hours.

It might sound irresponsible and even worthy of foolish reasoning, but since there were already two beauties sharing his bed, Desmond didn’t think having a third would be too much of a problem. Of course, Desmond only dared to have such a nerve after receiving a degree of tacit assent from Claire in the past few months.

Desmond expected more than one type of reaction from Revna, who wasn’t exactly predictable due to her twisted and unstable mentality. However, Revna’s response was quite human and straightforward; she just burst into tears.

Only Revna knew how hard she had worked for her Master from the shadows, how hard she had trained to become a helpful tool, how hard she had worked to ensure she met Desmond’s goals and expectations, and most of all, only Revna knew how alone she had felt all this time.

Whenever Revna and Desmond were alone, she did her best to get his attention, rejoicing when her Master’s attention was on her instead of someone else, but how rare were those moments? Didn’t she spend more time fantasizing and craving her Master’s touch than anything else?

The tears of joy were hard to hold back, and the sobs hard to silence, but Revna didn’t care anymore. How could such things bother her now that her Master had finally given his approval? Like a sparrow returning to her nest, Revna lunged at Desmond with outstretched arms.

Desmond nearly had a heart attack when he saw Revna move, quickly pulling Claire away from his chest to make enough room to avoid a tragic accident. To say that Revna was heavy would be very rude to Desmond, but it would be a lie if Desmond said he didn’t feel the impact.

Trying to comfort Revna and stop her tears was a daunting task for Desmond; no matter how much he wiped Revna’s face with his hand, she was tearful all over again. Somewhat exasperated, Desmond cupped Revna’s face in one hand and kissed her.

For Revna, it was like having two planets colliding inside her mind, the impact almost making her pass out. Revna and Desmond had flirted quite a bit in the past, mostly playfully, but what was happening now was completely different, and they both knew it.

To Desmond, Revna’s lips were soft and juicy like a ripe peach ready to be devoured, while to Revna, kissing Desmond felt like kissing the sun, the heat overwhelming.

Unbeknownst to both, two pairs of eyes watched the situation with a combination of jealousy and fulfilled expectations. Sasha and Claire shared a look that said: it was to be expected, and they both decided to stop looking and try to sleep.

While Desmond didn’t know that both Sasha and Claire were awake, he still didn’t dare to be too passionate, not that he had the energy either; he could barely hold on from exhaustion.

As for Revna? Well, her mind had completely shut off. With the emotional overload that Revna had just received, it would be a miracle if she remembered what had happened in the morning.

Parting his lips from Revna’s, Desmond gave the girl a calm smile, and without a word, he pulled Revna close to his chest and lay down to sleep. At first, it was a bit awkward for Revna, who was used to sleeping alone, but soon she fell asleep as Desmond’s heartbeat served as her lullaby.

Worthy of divine retribution, Desmond made it a point to sleep with a woman on either side of him and one on top of him, but not before looking at his right arm, which he could barely feel. As expected, it was extremely difficult for Desmond to move his right arm, which was now covered in stigmata of black and white feathers from wrist to shoulder.

Seeing the almost imperceptible throb in the marks on his arm and feeling that sharp pain piercing his body and mind, Desmond sighed wearily, his experiment with the law of contradiction weighing much heavier on himself than he had expected.