The Light of Asteria (38 page)

He lifted me up; my feet came almost a foot
off the floor, his smoldering eyes never left mine as he carried me
to the bed. We lay in the sun’s warming rays, and I stroked his
hair as we took in the view of the kingdom. Our circle was now
calm. Only love could be felt, and I knew the anger had subsided
for the moment.

We eventually got up and changed for the
evening. I looked in the long closet and my heart jumped. All of
the dinner dresses now inhabited my side.

“When did I acquire these?” I asked, and
Gavin chuckled.

“I had Elaine bring them up this morning. I
thought you might want something other than the pink to wear,
although I wouldn’t mind.”

I chose the deep lavender dress. The front
was very simple; the back was completely open and elegantly draped
to the base of my spine. Edna’s silver necklace and matching
earrings made up the ensemble, and I put my ponytail in a simple
bun. There.

His desire engulfed me as I met his eyes. I
grinned mischievously and opened my arms wide, leisurely rotating
so he could get the full effect. His smooth hands found my back as
he turned me to face him. I never thought about how many nerves the
back had until I met Gavin. It was truly the most sensual of
feelings, and I let it flow through to him.

The evening passed in comfort and ease.
Stories of Edna shined through the appetizers and into the main
course. More plans for the wedding were in the works. To be honest,
I really didn’t care about the specifics, it was the afterwards I
was interested in. Gavin squeezed my hand under the table. It
wasn’t until dessert the subject of Mia came up.

“My captain of the guard has informed me of
your edict this afternoon,” the queen declared. I appreciated her
voicing this aloud, as it would have been easier for her to speak
of such a difficult subject telepathically. My thumb rubbed his
hand under the table as a gentle reminder of control.

“After hearing what happened, I admire your
compassion, my son. Had it been me, Mia would have been banished
from the kingdom immediately.” Queen Lera felt my shock and
explained.

“Nora, you must understand. It is concerning
that Mia is getting stronger with the dark emotions that she so
desperately clings to. This surely is not the right path. We have
tried to work with her and heal her, but Mia’s decision to focus on
the negative is changing her. To spit at anyone’s feet in this land
is a terrible transgression. I apologize to you for the offense,
and agree with the prince that it will not happen again.” Her
demeanor was warm but still held power and authority.

“Thank you, my queen. I have forgiven Mia; I
understand her pain. Gavin’s self control is always impressive, but
I wish not to dwell on the subject. Mia has ownership of her
actions, and I won’t let Gavin despair any longer in guilt he
doesn’t own,” I said with candor that had them both slightly
stunned.

“Pardon me if I’m too forward, but I know
Gavin has agonized over this. It’s time to put this issue to rest.
If Mia ever has need, or if she chooses to try and understand, I’d
like to be there to help if I can. If she chooses to wallow in self
pity, well, there’s nothing anyone can do.” Trying to clear my
mind, I took a spoonful of the dessert that had my favorite fruit
with dark berries.

“The combination of the two flavors is truly
beautiful.”

Gavin rested his hand on my lower back the
entire walk home, and I didn’t fight it. The need for him to
concentrate on the positive was my only thought. We stopped at the
door, and he kissed me as he opened it.

My senses heightened—I smelled dirt.

Gavin startled, and out of nowhere flashed
Rena, Elaine, Tark, Elias, and six other guards. Rena stayed, as
Gavin ran upstairs. The feeling of old panic caused me to lose my
concentration, and my shield went from solid, to fog, to mist.

“Please Nora,” Rena whispered, and I brought
it back to full strength, making sure I felt no despair in her. The
guard swept the lower chamber, but Gavin remained upstairs.

“Rena, I need to see what’s taking so long.
You wait on the landing; I have to know before I go crazy.” Rena
quickly checked with Gavin, while I took the stairs two at a
time.

The door creaked open, and shock sent me
reeling. The hands I’d made were broken. The circle sculpture was
still intact and lay on the floor, but everything else I owned was
cut or torn. Edna’s quilt lay in tatters. The slashes through the
old textiles made tears stream down my face. Gavin stood in the
middle of the room, and the fury of him hurt as his emotions spun
out of control. His protection clamped around so forcibly it
weighed on my chest. But I was stronger now and used my energy to
keep it from becoming incapacitating. My sketchbook lay open in the
center of the torn bedding, and the drawing of Gavin getting out of
the shower was stained with tears. The dirt smell of Mia lingered
on the bed. Gavin turned with fire in his eyes. The warrior within
made his features truly frightening.

“What did you just say?” he said in that low,
menacing voice that always brought a little fear to my heart.

“Gavin, let’s clean this up. We’ll let the
guard handle this.”

“What … did … you … just … say?” He blistered
quietly again, as his emotions roared. Making sure the door was
closed, I opened my mind, and the scream of the webs shone so
brightly, it was like looking in the sun.

His emotions didn’t cycle through me—they ran
over me. Fury reeled out of control, and I knew if it didn’t stop
soon all would be lost.

These are just things.
I can mend
Edna’s quilt. She’s with Michael now, anyway. I need for you to
calm down and come back to me. Your emotions hurt right
now.

He physically winced at that thought.

I’m angry too, but these are just
things
.

I kept repeating that to him while visions of
our nights together, our love, and our future poured over him. The
bright lights in the webbing had burned for so long, that sweat
dripped down my back. I wrapped my arms around him; I could feel
raw fury dissipate to anger. It no longer mowed me down, but still
painfully coursed through. I put my hands in his hair, now damp
with perspiration, and touched his lips to mine. He aggressively
rubbed my slick back with his hot palms.

When the webbing finally subsided, Elias and
Elaine came through. The shock and anger they both felt almost
started Gavin back up, but I calmly glanced at all three of them,
my fog thin, and my intent strong.

“It does no good. You’re more aware than I
the power of hatred. We have what’s important. Gavin and I are
together, and we’re a clan. The queen grows fond of me, and the
ceremony is just a few weeks away.” My voice was steady and calm. I
was trying hard not to open up, which at the moment was extremely
difficult. “We need to clean up; we need new sheets. Elaine, I’ll
need new clothing for tomorrow, but we’ll not fall into darkness
over this. Is everyone clear?”

Elaine and Elias worked furiously around the
room. Edna’s quilt had been given to Rena. The finest seamstress in
the land had been summoned to repair it. Elias gave Tark my
sculpture of our hands, and he was taking it to the stone masters
to fix. A basket of fresh clothes appeared on the landing, and all
of the shredded clothes had been put in a large cloth sack and
would be destroyed along with the sheets. The sketchbook had been
closed and was now on the new bedding, the circle sculpture was
back in its proper spot.

Gavin roared commands in his mind, but my
hand stayed on his heart, keeping him barely under control. Elias
turned as Elaine left the room.

“My lady, you amaze me with your wisdom. We
will make sure the situation is taken care of.” He bowed and then
turned to Gavin, his features suddenly sharp.

“Fear not, oh Prince. I will take care of
this menace before daybreak. You concentrate your energies on your
Light of Lights. You have more important matters than a common
vandal.” His eyes held the same glint as they did the day I shouted
at all of them after the first Dokkalfar attack. He startled as I
touched his arm.

“Take care, my friend, and make sure no harm
comes to you or Elaine,” I said, knowing they would track Mia down
to the end of the lands. His lips thinned in a hard smile of
recognition.

They left, and I faced Gavin once more. I
needed a shower, feeling like I had run a marathon. The hair at the
nape of my neck was soaked with sweat from the webs’ glow, and
fatigue took over. Gavin exhaled aggressively. He was grappling
with the idea of searching down Mia on his own. I reminded him that
that’s exactly what she wanted.

We sat on the bed. He studied the sketchbook,
thumbing through the pages. The only one affected by tears was the
one of him coming out of the shower.

“Can you claim someone without giving them
your amulet?” I asked.

“You can, but the bracelet will come off, and
the only person it will stay on for is the one you have claimed. I
see your thoughts, Nora. It does make sense she would think
that.”

He turned to the next page; shock flowed
through me.

“Nora, when did you draw this?” he demanded.
I looked down to see the unicorn scene. My heart jolted.

“I was here waiting for you, and thought I’d
try to draw a unicorn. It felt foreign to my hand, and so I emptied
my mind and this is what appeared.” Anger churned in accusation.
“I’ll never keep anything from you, please don’t doubt me. This
couldn’t be a picture of the future … I’d never ride a unicorn …
you know that.” He searched the drawing, and his hands started to
shake.

Taking the sketchpad from him, I tossed it on
the floor. My palms pressed against his broad shoulders as I pushed
him down on the bed and landed on top of him.

“This is what’s important, my love. Please
don’t lose sight of me in all of your anger. Focus your intent on
what you deem most important in your life. Everything else will
fall into place.”

Gavin’s lips aggressively found mine. I
surrendered to the joy of the moment, but the powerful emotions
that coursed through me were mingled with aggression as passion and
warrior mixed.

Pulling away from his lips, I rested my head
on my hands so that I could see his face. Our circle now flowing, I
lay motionless as he stroked my back. The weight of my body seemed
to calm him down as nothing else would. I put my head on his
shoulder.

I’ll get up in a minute, but I love the
feel of you under me. It calms me in some weird way, all right?
His smooth hands tightened on my waist, and my eyes became
heavy.

I awoke in the same spot with the sun shining
on my back. Kissing his jaw, our circle ramped up once more.

Good morning, love.
I let the feel of
his hands cycle through my thoughts. After we were married, I vowed
to just sleep naked. His palms were truly the most sensual feeling
in the morning. I lay my head back down on his chest.

That did it.

Gavin kissed me with a passion that caused
the webs to glow. Warm hands slid from my waist, thumbs circling my
hipbones, causing me to plunge deeper in the sensation. I had no
thought, only the feelings that he brought out in me, and they ran
sure and strong through our energy. His emotions meshed with mine.
My pulse kicked into high gear, as I felt his nose push aside the
strap of my dress. His whisper soft kisses found his favorite spot
on my shoulder, while his hand ran the length of my body to find
the edge of my dress that had ridden up through the night. The feel
of his palm sliding up to the back of my thigh sent a soft moan
through me, as the pit of my stomach warmed to an ache. He rolled
me to his side; the strap made its way past my elbow.

A soft knock on the door startled me, but
Gavin’s focus never wavered. His hand slipped from my outer thigh
to the leg below, inching its way past the tender flesh just above
my knee. My breath came in short hitches, but his mouth found mine
once more. I lost all sense of time and space, every nerve rejoiced
as his fingertips slid up, caressing my inner thigh. The knock was
louder, and this time I jumped again and pushed against his
shoulder. His eyes searched mine. The deep green was so full of
need that I almost gave in. Frustration reigned as the timid knock
rapped for a third time. He rolled onto his back.

“Leave it,” Gavin growled at the door, trying
to slow his breathing.

I got up, retrieving the breakfast tray. The
rage had strengthened his desire for me, but not in a good way.
This almost seemed a little too possessive, and I knew he must soon
resolve the issues at hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter
24—Lineage

Rena and Tark were missing, and two strange
guards met us at the door. Gavin didn’t elaborate. We held hands
and walked in silence down the corridor that led to the heart of
the mountain.

Hello my friend. Can I please see the
Ancient One?
I asked the blue sheet of energy surrounding the
halls. The mountain shivered, and the archway appeared.

This time, the Ancient One opened the door. A
marble sculpture of two hands stood in the center of his workspace.
Tears welled, and I hugged him; Gavin stood amazed.

“The stone master could not fix it, and so I
asked to try my hand. It seems to have worked.”

“How did you do this?” I questioned,
searching his gentle diamonds. He patted my arm.

“It was broken with malice. How should it be
repaired?”

I thought about it for a moment and finally
found the answer. “With honor and love,” I said, and he laughed
with delight.

“You are right, Nora of Light.” His eyes
twinkled with joy. My stomach flipped.