In a few minutes, guards showed up to help fight the fire, and one pair took Elatum into custody and away.
Antenn lent strength, physical and Flair, to the mages who arrived, milling around, trying and failing to quash the fire with different methods. Three fell.
Finally Vinni T’Vine threw back his head and shouted, “Nuin Ash!” The begrimed eighteen-year-old trotted over to him.
“Didn’t I hint at what you should do, Nuin, not more than a week ago, should this happen?” Vinni said through gritted teeth.
The young man’s mouth dropped open and eyes widened. He flung his hand at the firefighters. “I am the youngest, the least.”
“You are a greatly Flaired Fire Mage. You are an ASH! Go organize them. Time to grow up, boy.”
Tiana gasped beside Antenn. She stepped up to the youngster, looked up into his face. “You can do it. Blessings.”
With a jerky nod, the young man loped away and, through force of will, made his colleagues listen.
Vinni sagged, and Antenn steadied him with an arm around his shoulders. “It could be worse,” the prophet mumbled. “I usually saw worse. And the later in the year this happened, the worse it was.” He turned his head to Tiana. “Your actions helped.”
Then he patted Antenn’s hand on his shoulder and paced away. “And yours. You two belong together. Do not forget that. I’m going now. I can sleep now.” With a half smile, he left.
Antenn would never forget the two septhours that followed. The cool bright and beaming stars peeking through roiling smoke, white against the night sky, billowing higher than a man. After the flames passed, stalks of bushes showed black against the night. Smoke clogged his throat, the stench of it saturating everything. Pitiful cries of small animals, fleeing or dying.
Many Lords and Ladies arrived from Druida, what contribution they could make was determined by Nuin Ash as he set them to work.
Tiana, along with the Chief Ministers and other priests and priestesses, succored the injured. Finally when all had quieted, once again Antenn, Tiana, and the four Hopeful ministers remained.
“The cathedral stands,” said Elderstone.
“The cathedral stands,” Antenn agreed.
“We were all blessed. In many different ways,” Custos said.
He looked at Antenn. “We will need to evaluate the land, the damage to the plateau, in the morning—say MidMorning Bell. It is a sorrow that the landscape around our great structure is burned.”
Tiana folded her hands into her opposite sleeves. “I am sure the FirstFamilies will do some rituals and send some Healing energy to the plateau.”
“We will do so, also, throughout the building of our cathedral. For now, let us go to our old church and pray.” He bowed to her and Antenn, joined hands with his colleagues, and teleported away.
Antenn looked at his HeartMate, the woman who’d hurt him so earlier that day. “We belong together.” He rustily repeated Vinni’s words. “And we need to work things out. Now. I’ll meet you in TQ’s back grassyard in half a septhour. Long enough for both of us to clean up.” He angled his chin. “I want the air cleared.” He grimaced at his own words even as he whiffed lingering smoke. He might need an energy drink, but they had to be easy with each other if they worked together.
But he just wanted his HeartMate.
He waited a good long minute for her to protest, then gave her a half bow and teleported to his waterfall room, telling T’Blackthorn Residence not to let his Family know he was home and that he’d be leaving shortly.
* * *
Tiana headed to the Temple and the largest staff waterfall room, cleansed herself, and pulled on an older, comfortable robe that she’d soon retire. Felonerb supervised.
Then she visualized TQ’s back grassyard and found her image boosted and refined by both Felonerb and TQ himself. Oddly enough, the place she recalled best was outside the block of the MasterSuite.
When she’d been in her own rooms, she’d spent most of her time in the sunroom or looking out the north window of her bedroom at the side yard.
Two more deep breaths in and puffs out, and then she held her arms out for Felonerb to jump into them, merged their vision of the space, double-checked with TQ, and teleported hom—into the back grassyard of TQ.
Felonerb jumped from her arms and raced around the yard, and Tiana heard rustles as other animals hid or left.
Her gaze fixed on Antenn, across the yard from her. He stood tall, his hair ruffled by the breeze, his tunic and trous dark. Yet the events seemed to have refined him in her eyes, and maybe to himself and others, too, she didn’t quite know. He had the bearing of the adopted Noble son but the shadows of the street boy who’d been abandoned and spent his first years in fear. Tough, a fighter, and it was easy to see that, while she’d just discovered the kernel of fight in herself.
Her heart ached for the man, the boy he’d been, his trials—and ached, in a different way, for him, a need that didn’t feel as if it would be satisfied.
He nodded to her, crossed his arms. With a little Flair, he made his words easily heard, though he spoke softly. “We had a discussion today.” He paused, the side of his mouth lifting ironically. “One that didn’t end well. I’ve had some time to mull it over.” Now he smiled and his eyes lit with humor. “While sparring at The Green Knight Fencing and Fighting Salon.”
Men. She still just reacted when in a dangerous situation, and here he seemed to consider it something like meditation.
“And it’s not only me who is wary of being HeartMates, dragging my feet on this, not ready.”
“Oh?” She jutted her chin.
“I trust you more than you trust me.”
“Untrue.”
“Let’s just try a little experiment. We’re HeartMates, right?”
Though she had to swallow before she replied, she said, “Yes.”
He nodded, raised his voice. “TQ, can you hear me?”
“Yes,” issued a voice from a speaker.
“Can you use one of your spotlights or project your Flair to make a light-spell beam to ‘draw’ a line bisecting the yard?” Antenn asked. “We’ll start out twenty paces away from each other and walk to the line.”
“What is this, a duel?” she asked.
“Hmm,” he said, and she could now see him better. He’d raised his brows. “You might think of it like that. A duel of hearts.” He grinned and gave her a flourishing bow, and the lightening of his spirit swept over her, simply charming her. “All talk and discussion aside, we’ll see who’s brave. I’ll meet you at the line of light, halfway. When we meet, we’ll join hands and state our intentions to be HeartMates.”
She didn’t say anything.
“All right?” Pure challenge from him.
She nodded. “All right.” Her voice sounded a little high.
“And to prove that I am sincere in changing, that I have accepted that I must change and will change to be a good HeartMate to you, I will . . .” He stopped and drew himself up, glancing over at TQ where a camera angled toward them.
“TQ, according to my schedule, the cathedral will be completed in six months. I wish you to issue an invitation, right now, to all the FirstFamilies Lords and Ladies, as couples, to attend a celebratory al fresco banquet in the back courtyard of my place of business on the first-quarter twinmoons of the month of Vine, in six months’ time, at the rise of the twinmoons in the evening. Please have them RSVP.” Antenn crossed his arms and stood hip-shot, his gaze burning with intensity.
“There. I’ve faced that fear—the fear of being rejected by the FirstFamilies, never being acceptable to them, never being good enough for them.” As if he noticed how tightly he held himself, he dropped his arms and stood more casually.
They looked at each other in silence, and his expression softened. “I know you are changing, too. You’ve started fighting for your rights. I will be with you all the way on that.”
Tiana found her voice. “Thank you.”
HERE y
ou are, said Pinky telepathically, teleporting in from somewhere to the grassyard. He promptly hissed at Felonerb across the width of the grassyard, turned with lifted tail, and hopped onto a cushioned chair at the patio.
“Thank you for joining us, Pinky,” Antenn said.
“Greetyou again, Pinky,” Tiana said.
TQ said, “I have already received acceptances to your invitation from T’Blackthorn, T’Vine, and T’Hawthorn,” he said.
A small breath whooshed from Antenn. “My parents and two good friends.” The line of his shoulders shifted. “Well, it’s a start.”
“Absolutely,” Tiana said.
His gaze focused on her again and his lips quirked up. “And now we will see about our relationship, and whether you will be welcoming guests with me that evening.”
“Proceed!” TQ said. Just the one word let her know the House was enjoying this. Their Fams, Felonerb and Pinky, sat on the sidelines illuminated in the stripe of light, Pinky at the edge of the patio, Felonerb across the yard, just outside a leafing bush.
With a steady step, his gaze on hers, Antenn started toward the lightbeam in the middle of the yard.
She began, too, aware of the eyes of feral animals watching them from the bushes. Amusement came from them as well as TQ. But at fifteen paces, her nerves began to twang and her steps slowed. At ten paces, she had to force herself to continue, but her steps lagged and became smaller.
At five paces, Antenn was already at his edge of the fifteen-centimeter-wide lightbeam and stood in what appeared to be a relaxed manner, but watched her with hooded gaze. She sidled one step, another to him.
If he held out his hands, it would help her. But he didn’t. His expression still wore that half smile he’d had when they’d started this experiment—that was turning out to be much more difficult than she’d expected—but the feeling she got from him now had no hint of amusement.
She thought he didn’t even look at her anymore, fixed on something in his mind’s eye or tried to distance himself from the situation. No, he wouldn’t offer any more than he had, standing there with the white light from TQ crossing the tips of his boots.
He probably couldn’t offer any more. She stopped and closed her eyes, wondered if she’d hear him gasp. No.
Centering herself, learning herself, the new self blown open earlier that night, still raw with uncertainty. She’d been angry with her parents, had felt for so long that she couldn’t trust them. And not to put her needs first.
No one had put her needs first, not even herself, as she conformed to the expectations of a priestess.
But here was a man who could. She examined their bond. He was painfully sensitized to her movement, spiraling high into hope, crashing into despair. He’d never be an easy man to live with, but that didn’t matter, because he was just the man she needed. Her HeartMate. They’d give each other a home.
Opening her lashes, she saw that he appeared just the same as before. One last big breath for courage and she ran, sped to him, across the light separating them, and leapt.
His arms opened and embraced her. And his breath shuddered out against her, and she realized his whole body trembled. With fulfilled hope.
Leaning her torso away from him so she could look into his eyes, she said, “We are HeartMates. I accept you as my HeartMate, Antenn Blackthorn-Moss.”
“We are HeartMates,” he replied, his voice rough. “I am honored to be accepted by you as your HeartMate, and I accept you as mine, Tiana Mugwort.”
All those words sank into her, but she felt his need and her own for more. “I love you, Antenn Blackthorn-Moss.”
“I love you, Tiana Mugwort. Stay with me, here, with the Turquoise House for the rest of our lives.”
“Yes.”
“Hold on,” he said, keeping her tight against him, then sent a message mentally. TQ and Fams, we are teleporting to the bottom of the secret stairs of the entryway to the HouseHeart.
TQ replied, My FAMILY!
“Yes,” Antenn said aloud.
“Yes,” Tiana said.
Felonerb and Pinky purred in agreement.
I have redecorated my HouseHeart entryway. Especially for my Family! TQ said.
“Oh, good,” Antenn murmured, lifting and dropping his brows.
You will enjoy it! TQ assured them.
“All right. Can we still teleport to the bottom of the stairs?” Tiana asked.
Yes! That area is clear. More clear than before.
“Thank you,” Antenn said politely, and then they were gone as he ’ported them—both Tiana and TQ giving him exact coordinates.
The light was brighter and before them stood a series of four different doors set into a white clapboard wall: a bright red one with brass latch and knocker, a turquoise one with an intricately engraved silver knob, a black door with a pattern of gleaming copper diamonds, and a green door with painted yellow button flowers.
“It’s a maze!” TQ caroled. “You will love it!”
“Uh-huh.” Antenn let her slide down his body. He was ready for sex, and that stirred her, too. He took her hand and they faced the doors—each wide enough for a couple—for them to walk through together.
Thirty-nine
And it will be easy for you, because I know you and you know me!” TQ said.
“Do we say the rhyme?” Tiana asked.
TQ paused. “No. I have disabled the rhyme until we can craft one together.” One of the door latches rattled, though Tiana couldn’t tell which one. “The cats are delayed because they are fighting.” TQ sighed. WE WILL ALL MAKE A RHYME FOR THE HOUSEHEART TOGETHER, EVEN CATS! TQ projected.
The cats grunted, almost in unison, then continued with their fight.
“They’ll be down later,” Antenn said absently. He’d been studying the doors. He squeezed her hand and grinned. “You take the first door.”
Naturally she walked to the green door with the Mugwort flowers. She didn’t even have to touch the handle.
Once they were inside, the wall behind them became solid and another wall with four different doors appeared on their left.
With a little laugh, Antenn led her to the very feminine white door with a heart-shaped window and tiny turquoise hearts running along the edge near the hinges. Again, when they approached, the door opened. Once more the wall solidified behind them, and they turned to the right and saw another set of interesting doors.
The Turquoise House was right. The trip through the maze was easy and fun for them . . . the light changed overhead, as did the flooring: fuzzy spellglobes beaming the yellow light of the Earthan sun, a moonsless night with only colored galaxies illuminating the sky, deep forest branches above and leaves below, a touch of rocky cavern.
They reached another small room with a door in each wall, but the one to their left Tiana recognized as the HouseHeart door. Antenn squeezed her hand and she turned with him to face it.
They sighed together, and Antenn let go of her fingers and studied the other walls. The last door they’d come through had remained open for once and beyond that, Tiana could see the maze of all the variety of doors. “That is fabulous, TQ,” Antenn said, taking her hand again. He must figure that they were so in tune they’d move together . . . and since they’d done so instinctively through the maze, he was right.
“I liked it a lot,” Tiana said.
The nearest door, a red one with a circular window above a shiny brass knocker in the shape of a hand, glowed. Thank you, TQ sent to her mind.
“You’re very creative.”
The door to their right hummed and they swiveled to see it—also shining turquoise and with a crackling of electricity like lightning.
Tiana chuckled. “Show-off.”
“Cut the electricity, TQ. You know us.”
“Yes. My Family.”
“Almost,” Antenn said. He tilted his head, and then Tiana heard it, too. Yowling threats as two cats threaded through the maze.
Stupid doors! Pinky said, with a hint of panting
even in his mental voice.
You are just little and fat. See ME jump through this window! See ME open this handle with my NOSE!
“Talk about show-offs,” Tiana muttered, but sensed both CatFams were easily negotiating the maze. And before she could say anything else, Felonerb sat by her feet, beaming up at her. He’d never be a beautiful cat, not like Pinky, but his fur looked healthy and smooth over his lean but not skinny body. He had no new scratches.
And he smelled good.
At the same moment, she and Antenn placed their hands on the door and chanted a jingle. Soon, soon, her muse would demand that she write a tiny ritual for her home and her Family, the Family that would come from her and Antenn, to enter the HouseHeart.
The door swung open and they walked in, the floor under her feet soft and springy, giving up a rich scent—moss. “Very nice, TQ,” she said, and paused a pace inside the door as her eyes adjusted to the lower light.
Felonerb and Pinky hurried by her, along the wall.
See, she is here. She still has not moved, said Felonerb of the cat on the wall. He sat in front of her.
Pinky sat beside him. We must send her energy and love. I know this.
I would rather go hunt rats, Felonerb grumbled.
Our humans will soon get boring and we will go hunt, meanwhile a little love for the Cat will be just right. Pinky purred and kneaded the moss.
Tiana laughed, heard Antenn’s chuckle, too.
Then her vision sharpened and she saw the mural on the opposite wall, no longer Maroon Beach. Her avatar and Antenn’s, prominent in the foreground, golden auras about them showing they were HeartBound.
Not yet. But soon. As soon as they bored the CatFams. Her body began to ready, her sex to crave release. From the corner of her eye, she saw Antenn’s body harden.
“Huh.” He frowned at the mural. Tiana followed his gaze and blinked. In the far background, over the treetops, rose a hill with a winding path. Atop the hill stood a castle of domes and spires and round towers, one too fanciful for even an Earthan Colonist to build in NobleCountry when they’d landed on Celta. An imaginary castle. Especially since the stone glowed turquoise. “What’s that?”
Heart Fire (Celta Book 13) Page 34