Chapter Seven #3
He smiled and it was as if clouds parted before the sun. His teeth gleamed dazzling white, and his perfect masculine beauty softened to stunning appeal. When Rain smiled, even Lightmaidens would weep with joy.
He drew her to him and his mouth covered hers in a long, sweet, melting kiss that made her legs fold beneath her and her hands clutch the broad strength of his shoulders to keep from falling.
He laughed softly against her skin and tracked kisses up her jaw to her ear, then whispered in a voice of pure enchantment, “Don’t be afraid.
” That was all the warning she received before he flung her skyward.
She soared up as if she were weightless, spiraling on a column of Air, breathless but unafraid.
The twenty-five-fold weaves surrounding the Baristani house peeled back before her like the petals of a blossoming flower.
Her arms flung out, and she turned her face up to the sky, letting Rain’s magic carry her as high as it would.
As she reached the apex of her ascent and began to gently fall back to earth, Rain’s tairen form rose up beneath her and she landed neatly in the cradle of the saddle.
Magic spun around her in velvety clouds, and when it cleared, she looked down and laughed in delight. He’d changed her cotton nightgown to long, flowing robes that looked as if he’d woven them from starlight. Each whisper of movement made the cloth shimmer and gleam.
?I was feeling romantic,? Rain said with a chuff of tairen laughter. ?Hold on.?
Ellie’s hands gripped the pommel as his wings spread wide. Together, they soared skyward, into the dark heavens.
They flew for nearly a bell, for no purpose except the joy of flight, soaking in the silent beauty of the night, basking in the silver light of the Mother and Daughter moons.
They skimmed effortlessly across the moonlit waters of Great Bay, dipping down so low Rain’s wingtips slapped the water, leaving a symmetric trail of rippling circles behind them.
They soared across the rolling vineyards on the north coast and over the dark, forested hills.
They flew until the restlessness deep inside Ellysetta faded into peace and her fear of nightfall was a forgotten memory.
By the time they returned to the house, the moons had already passed their zenith. Rain landed lightly on the roof, but when he started to escort her back down to her bedroom window, she stopped him with a hand on his wrist.
“Would you mind very much if we stayed up here for a while?”
“Here, on the roof?” She nodded, and he shrugged. “Of course, if you like.”
She sat on the steeply angled roof and leaned her head back to look up at the stars.
They seemed so much farther away now than they had while flying, and the shimmering glow of the Fey’s protective weaves dimmed some of the fainter stars from view.
“I’ve spent many nights up here since I was a child, staring up at the stars, dreaming. It always seemed so peaceful.”
He sat beside her. “What sort of things did you dream of?”
“Oh, what most young girls do, I imagine. Fey tales. True love.” She gave a small, self-conscious laugh. “You.”
“Good dreams, I hope.” His thumb brushed lightly across her lower lip.
“Of course.” Her voice came out breathless, just as it always did when Rain’s eyes looked at her that way. Selianne would likely call it sorcery, but Ellie knew it was simple, besotted love. She drew a deep breath and tried to settle herself. “How did the dinner with Lord Teleos go?”
“Not bad.” He told her about the assembly of nobles Teleos had gathered, and about the warm reception he’d received from several of the married couples. She blushed furiously but couldn’t help a sigh of relief to learn that not everyone considered her weave a disaster.
When he told her about Lady Darramon’s illness and the offer he’d made to heal her, Ellie’s heart turned over. “Poor Lady Darramon,” she said. “Poor Lord Darramon. I’m glad you didn’t use her illness to try to win his vote.”
“It was probably a mistake.”
“Kindness is never a mistake, Rain.”
His lips curved in an expression that seemed more grimace than smile. “That should be true, shei’tani, but when it comes to mortal politics, good deeds are rarely rewarded.”
Her head cocked to one side. When it came to mortals, especially noble mortals, he was so cynical. “If you believe that, why didn’t you do what Lord Dax suggested?”
Rather than answering, Rain drew his knees up and began twisting the large Tairen’s Eye signet on his hand, watching moonlight set off a shimmering rainbow within the crystal’s dark ruby depths.
“Rain?” His hesitance surprised her. She leaned over to lay a hand on his arm. Beneath the warm, supple leather, his biceps felt smooth and hard as river rock.
“I thought about it,” he admitted in a low voice. “Darramon is a powerful Great Lord. We could have used him to secure another dozen votes at least. He would have paid any price to save his wife. His thoughts in that regard were too obvious to miss.”
“So why did you offer to heal his wife without price?”
Glowing lavender eyes caught hers in an unbreakable gaze. “Because if you were the one dying, I would want someone to offer the same gift to me.”
Ellysetta’s breath caught in her throat. He’d never told her he loved her, never said the words. But his gift to Lord Darramon came as close to that declaration as she could imagine. It gave her hope that one day, the words would follow.
“You did the right thing, Rain,” she assured him softly. “Love should never be used as a weapon.”
He kissed her, a long, lingering kiss that combined intoxicating passion with exquisite tenderness, then leaned back against the angled roof, pulling her down with him. She lay upon his chest and listened to the beat of his heart while his fingers stroked through her hair.
“Rain . . . what will happen to you when I die?”
Black brows drew together in a sudden fierce scowl. “You will not die, shei’tani. I will not allow it.”
She propped her chin on her hands and looked down into his face.
“I don’t necessarily mean killed—though after these last few days, neither of us can rule out that possibility.
I mean die. Even if I’m only part-mortal like Lord Teleos, eventually I will die.
” She recalled what Rain had told her that first night of his claiming, when he’d followed her to Celieria’s National Museum of Art.
If the Eld managed to kill you, I should not survive it.
At the time, she’d only considered the consequences of an unexpected, violent death, but talking about Lady Darramon reminded her that, like it or not, all mortal lives ended.
“Ah.” The aggression faded from his expression. He reached out to brush a curl from her cheek. “Don’t worry about that, Ellysetta. Neither time nor sickness will ever claim your life unless you wish it.”
Her eyes widened. “You can grant immortality?”
He shook his head. “The Fey are not truly ‘immortal.’ We die just like men if we receive a grievous wound and cannot be healed in time. What we are, more specifically, is eternally in our prime, untouched by age or infirmity. Our bodies have a natural ability to constantly heal themselves. It is why we do not age after reaching maturity, and why we do not scar. Here, watch.”
Sitting up, he took a black Fey’cha from his chest straps and lightly scored the back of his hand. She stifled a cry of protest at the thin red line of blood that welled up in the wake of the blade’s point, but when Rain wiped the blood away, she could see the skin had already mended.
Ellysetta reached for his hand, stroking the unmarked skin as she followed Rain’s revelation to its obvious conclusion. “Fey shei’dalins are expert healers.”
“Aiyah, they can perform for mortals what nature does for the Fey.”
“Why have I never heard of that before?”
He shrugged. “It is a gift we have long worked to hide from the world. Too many ancient Fey texts in our Hall of Scrolls tell of shei’dalins enslaved and tortured by despots who demanded everlasting life. It is one of many reasons we guard our women so fiercely.”
“Of course. You’d have to. Eternal life.” She gave a dazed laugh. “Just think of all the possibilities. The twins can take all the time they want to find a man they truly love.”
Rain frowned. “You misunderstand, Ellysetta. This gift is not one I can extend to your family. We grant it only to those who share the matebond with a Fey.”
Dreams of sharing the centuries with her family crashed abruptly. “But they’re my family,” she protested. “You can’t think I’d want to live forever without them?”
“Everlasting life would be the greater cruelty, shei’tani. Mortal souls were not fashioned to endure the darkness of the ages. They become . . . twisted and bitter.”
“Is that the fate in store for me?”
“Nei, never. The shei’tanitsa bond ensures eternal strength for both our souls, until the gods call us home.
But a mortal soul unanchored by a matebond has no such protection.
” When she continued to frown, he added gently, “You know as well as I do your mother would never accept that gift at such a price, even if we could offer it to her.”
Ellie’s gaze fell. He was right. Mama would never risk corrupting her soul.
Rain drew her into his arms. “This much at least I can offer: If your family comes to the Fading Lands, they will live free of illness and the effects of age until the end of their time.”
“Thank you, Rain.” She knew how jealously the Fey guarded their borders, Rain more than most. Not since the end of the Mage Wars had the Fey opened the Fading Lands to any but their own kind, but his offer still seemed small consolation.
Her parents were the beacons in her life, standing bright and strong even against sometimes terrifying darkness.
She couldn’t imagine facing centuries of life without them.
“I have upset you.”
“No, you haven’t . . . not really. All mortals know they must eventually face the fact of their parents’ deaths, but it’s never been a thought I could bear without crying.”
“If I could offer you more, I would.”
“I know.” She rose to her feet. “It’s late. I should probably go to bed.”
“Of course.” With a wave of his hand, her shimmering gown changed back to her plain, cotton night rail. He helped her slip back in through her bedroom window. “Will you be able to sleep now? Your fear is gone?”
She bit her lip. “You knew?”
“I knew.” He laid his palm over his heart. “I felt it here, through the first thread of our bond. It’s why I left Teleos’s dinner. I could not stay there once I sensed your distress. You should have asked Bel to call me earlier. I would have come.”
“I didn’t want to be a bother.”
“You could never be that.” He nodded towards the bed. “Shall I stay with you again, as I did last night?”
“Would you?” The hopeful question popped out before she could censor it. Immediately embarrassed, she hurried to demur. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to. Really. I’ll be fine.”
His brows rose. “You think spending another night holding you in my arms is an onerous task? Surely I did not leave you that impression.” Without waiting for an answer, he swept her up into his arms and deposited her on the bed, then deftly stripped off his weapons belts and leather tunic before joining her.
His arms slid around her, pulling her to the warm security of his chest, and as her eyelids began to droop, she felt the press of his lips against her hair.
“Sleep, shei’tani.” His whisper spun over her like an enchantment. Without a whisper of protest, she did, and for the first time in weeks, she passed the entire night in dreamless peace.