The Star Chronicles, City Of Stars

Chapter 4

Nyla

I hung on for dear life as we bolted into the sky, my arms clasped around Leo. I could feel his hard muscles though his thin cotton shirt and I had the terrible desire to put my hands inside his shirt.
I shook my head. I couldn't think like this. I just met him.
I busied myself with looking around us as we flew. We weren't flying all that fast so I could take in all the sights.
It was beautiful. The city sprawled beneath us and I could make out tiny boutiques and restaurants. The city buildings were of the same Starlight glass Leo mentioned earlier and the stars above reflected off of them.
I looked behind us and I could see a faint light trailing behind Shadow. I wondered if, to all the spectators, we looked like a shooting star.
The flight was over much too quickly and we were soon landing softly on the sidewalk.
Leo sprang off of Shadow and landed lightly on the ground, barely making a sound. Even beside such a massive steed, he stood tall.
He reached up for me and to my surprise, his large hands grabbed me around the waist and pulled me down. My hands grabbed into his arms instinctively and I gasped. His biceps were huge and as I glanced at them I noticed how they bulged under his tight T-shirt.
My feet touched the ground, "Are you okay?" He asked.
"Perfect," I said. Thankful he didnt catch me staring.
I looked up at him and noticed how he towered over me. I want sure if he was actually very tall seeing as I'm actually very short.
"Well here we are," he said and patted shadow on his haunches. Shadow launched into the sky and disappeared.

"How does he know when you need him?" I said. Shadow seemed to have just appeared out of nowhere without Leo having called him.

"I'm part of the Queen's Guard. We are warriors. Let's just say I have special talents," he said and dug his hands into his black jeans.

"Ooooh. Aren't you special," I said and grinned. "So where to, my noble Guard?"

I caught a slight blush on his face before he turned away. He looked down the busy street across from us and seemed to see something he liked, " This way".

There were no cars in sight but I noticed other horses waiting in front of shops and restaurants.
The people looked tall and regal as we passed them. I caught some speaking in a weird language I hadn't heard before.
I assumed it was the native tongue.
We passed a couple holding hands and I noticed that their hands had matching stars on them. It looked like a circle with two people touching foreheads together.
"What is that?" I asked Leo as they passed. He glanced at them wistfully.

"It's the Bonded Mark. They are each other's better half," he said.
I opened my mouth to ask another question but we had arrived to the store and I was cut off by a tall beautiful woman with onyx hair.
She spoke in the same language as before and Leo saved me from humiliation by answering for me.
I watched him as he spoke. His voice sounded like music to my ears.
What was this that I was feeling? I thought about he had said earlier about Bounded Pairs. Could he be mine?
Just then the lady touched his arm and I snapped to the present. I saw myself step forward and caught myself.
What the hell was I doing? I dont own him. He can do whatever he wants. We're not even dating.
They both looked at me. The lady seemed perplexed and politely excused herself. Leo was staring at me oddly.
I just looked away and walked into the store, my cheeks burning. I'm such an idiot. He was probably flirting with her and I ruined his chance with her.
The thought of him with someone else made me angry for some reason.
I shook my head and decided I would just look for a stupid dress for this party.
My mind wandered to my mom then, as I ruffled through dresses.
Was she doing this to make amends with me? As if a party is what I want. I dont know anyone here and I dont even know the language. I was beginning to feel like such an outsider. And I'm supposed to be their princess? I'm probably the shortest person here. I had a suspicion that being tall was the standard here. I was obviously well below the standard. That became very evident as I looked at the dresses. They were all too long.
" We have children sizes as well," a voice at my elbow said. I turned and saw a woman with turquoise hair and blue eyes staring down at me. She appeared to be looking me up and down, clearly dissapoving of my size.