It was a declaration of peace. Golath, the Director of Iturtia, declared in writing that he would not seek to rule Todor, that he would honor the laws of Todor and live as an obedient subject to whomever the Terrenes put on the throne. When he was finished writing it, he signed the bottom and folded it.
As he dripped wax on the parchment to make his seal he looked deep into Gemynd’s eyes. “I want you to have the life I gave up, my son,” he said. “I want to spare you from the impossible choice I had to make and a life of regret. By declaring my peaceful intentions, you will not have to betray Iturtia in order to make an oath of loyalty to Aerie.”
Despite his efforts, Gemynd’s eyes filled with tears. “You would do that for me?”
“You are my son. I love you,” Golath said in reply.
“I cannot ask it of you,” Gemynd said, swiping at his eyes with the back of his hand.
“You didn’t ask it of me. This was my idea,” Golath said. “And so that my intentions will not be questioned, I give this declaration of peace to you to deliver to the Keepers of Aerie. Put it right into the hands of Keeper Clary himself.”
Gemynd tried to swallow, but his throat was constricted. “No one has ever shown me such kindness in my life.”
“I will miss your presence here,” Golath said. “When Aerie’s isolation does come to end, promise me you’ll visit.”
Gemynd nodded in response, afraid his voice would break if he tried to speak.
“Give me a whole brood of grandchildren,” Golath continued and walked around from behind the desk, pulling Gemynd into a tight embrace. “You’ve made me more proud than I can ever say.”
“I don’t know how to thank you, father,” Gemynd said. “For everything.”
“One more thing,” Golath said and pulled away. He reached down into his belt and pulled out the jewel-handled dagger. “I want you to take this. To remember me.”
Gemynd took the dagger and smiled. Holding it felt like being reunited with an old friend. He slid it under his own belt and tucked the parchment into his boot. “I am honored to be your son,” he said.
Golath smiled, but Gemynd saw the glitter of tears in his eyes. “Go now,” he said. “Let us not drag this out.”
Gemynd closed his eyes and found Numa’s mind. He nudged her and received a nudge-back immediately. “Bring me to Aerie,” he said without preamble. “It’s time to go home.”
Gemynd held Numa in his arms at the foot of the cliff to Aerie and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. “You’re radiant,” he said and kissed her luminous cheek.
“Because I’m overflowing with Joy,” she said and kissed him back. “I’d all but given up hope of this day ever happening. But here we are. Together, and home at last.”
Gemynd pulled Numa against his chest and kissed the top of her head, inhaling the flowery scent of her hair. “This is where we were meant to be,” he said.
The rope ladder unrolled near where they stood and a voice from the top called, “Come up!”
Numa looked up and smiled at Gemynd. He felt a surge of Joy in his heart. He was with Numa. They were going back to their lives in Aerie. And with the declaration Golath had given him, true peace would return to all of Todor. Gemynd felt as though he was emerging from a long night of torturous, fearful dreams and into the sun once again.
Numa put one foot on the bottom rung of the ladder, but then stopped and turned to face Gemynd again. A look of concern filled her eyes. “Soman is here already,” she said. “I can feel it.”
Gemynd felt his muscles go rigid. He’d been so caught up in his feelings about his father and Iturtia and being with Numa again that he hadn’t stopped to consider he’d be forced to face Soman again. How was that possible? How could his mind fail him this way? Gemynd closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “Aerie is not large enough for me to avoid him indefinitely,” he said.
Numa grabbed Gemynd’s face, forcing him to look into her eyes. “You’ve made it clear that you will not accept that Soman is not the one who betrayed you. I wish with all my heart that you’d love him as you once did, but I cannot make that happen. So, please, at least promise me that you’ll treat him as you would any fellow member of Aerie. You don’t have to love him, but please don’t hate him. Can you do this for me?”
Gemynd gritted his teeth. He had efficiently managed to block Soman from his life and mind for the last three years. When he’d first had to leave Aerie and then endure the initial agony of the pit, he’d held Soman responsible for all of it. He had believed Soman to be the reason for all his pain. But then, as time carried on, he had locked those memories away into some deep corner of himself. His life in Iturtia had not been so bad after all. He was glad for the experience. In fact, he’d come to love it and would have been fulfilled there if only Numa could have been part of it.
Gemynd realized with a start that he could no longer blame Soman for his pain, since he no longer considered the pain he had endured to be a bad thing. But he could still hold Soman responsible for betraying him. And he did. “How can I ever trust him again?” he asked.
“But you can trust me,” Numa said. “And I see the truth. Soman did not betray you.”
“We’ve gone round and round about this a dozen times,” Gemynd said and placed his hands over Numa’s. “Let us not ruin our homecoming with an argument. I give you my word that I will treat him with civility. I can promise no more than that.”
“Good enough for now,” Numa said and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the mouth. “The first thing I want to do when we get up there is pick out our sleeping house.”
Gemynd moaned deep in his throat. “I’m going to love you properly until we’re both spent and then fall asleep in your arms, knowing that we are safe. And then I’m going to do it all over again. And again. Until you’re sick of the sight of me.”
“Then let’s get moving,” Numa said and began climbing quickly up the ladder.
At the top, they were met by a small group of Keepers as well as Ruddy Tom and Bronty. Keeper Clary stood on shaky legs in the center. Gemynd reached down into his boot to give Keeper Clary the peace declaration, but then decided to wait. He needed to get settled in first.
“Welcome home,” Keeper Stout said and rushed towards them, enveloping them both in a fleshy embrace. “Joyous day! I have waited so long to see your faces again. We have worked day and night to find a way to bring you home and, at last, we came up with the oath.”
“Yes,” Keeper Clary interrupted and cast a displeased look at Keeper Stout. “Before you can enter Aerie, you must swear the Oath of Loyalty.”
Gemynd inhaled deeply and looked all around. It was just as he remembered it. The scent of fairytooth in the warm air. The sound of the waterfall. The perfect sunlight and the shadow of the Baldaquin tree. Paradise. Home. He looked at Numa and smiled giddily. “Let us swear this oath quickly so we can get to the Joy,” he said.
Numa nodded emphatically.
“To swear the oath, simply repeat after me,” Keeper Clary said. “I swear by the Deis this sacred oath that I will be faithful to Aerie and obedient to its Keepers; that I will observe and follow the rules of Aerie as well as the laws of Todor; that I will refrain from glinting or be banished for eternity; and that I will give my life for this oath if necessary.”
Gemynd repeated the words, but they left a sour taste in his mouth. Refrain from glinting? He would have to become re-accustomed to the tediousness of moving objects with his hands. But, more importantly, he would not be able to communicate with his father through psych-speak. Once again he realized with a start that he hadn’t thought this through at all. Could it be that his love for Numa clouded his power of discernment? What was an Iturtian without his ability to think and discern?
Gemynd swallowed hard as he realized the truth. With that oath of loyalty, he had ceased being an Iturtian. He was now an Aerite through and through.
Gemynd
Shouts of “Joyous day” and “Welcome home” came
from the group that surrounded them, but Gemynd hardly heard them. He felt disconnected and far away; engulfed in the feeling that he had just made a terrible mistake.
“Would you like to find your mother?” Numa asked, squeezing his hand.
Gemynd met her gaze. “Not yet,” he said and forced a grin. “Let’s choose a sleeping house first as we had planned.”
He wanted to see his mother; he had much to tell her. But Gemynd’s head was beginning to spin and he felt that what he needed most was to be secluded with Numa and time to sort through all his thoughts.
“The sleeping house you shared with your mothers is still empty, Numa,” Keeper Stout offered.
“Perfect,” Gemynd said, glad that they wouldn’t have to waste time choosing one.
Gemynd held Numa’s hand and walked quickly to the sleeping house. He kept his gaze on the ground in front of him, hoping to avoid seeing anyone along the way. He wasn’t ready for conversations yet. He wasn’t ready to smile and say how Joyous it was to be back. When they finally slipped through the doorskin, Gemynd let out a sigh of relief, only then realizing he’d been holding his breath.
“Are you all right, my darling?” Numa asked, peering at his face with concern.
“I’m just eager to have you alone knowing that I won’t soon be terrified of the forest around us.”
Numa smiled and looked around the small dwelling. Three chairs and a table sat in the center of the room. Piled on top of the table were the shreds of Numa’s wedding garment. “I am sorry you never got to wear this,” Gemynd said as he picked up one of the strips of cloth.
“Me too,” Numa replied with sadness in her voice. “But I choose to focus on the Joy that we are here together now.”
“Yes and I’m glad that this is now our sleeping house,” Gemynd said, surveying the room. “You grew up here.”
A dust-covered bedsack was pushed against the far wall and next to it was a pile of folded blankets. Stacked around the house were pots and cups of varying sizes. And all throughout were dried, crispy remnants of what had once been herbs and flowers. “It is exactly as we left it,” Numa mused. “No one has been in here in three years.”
“I guess that doesn’t surprise me,” Gemynd replied. “With no one being allowed to enter Aerie, they haven’t needed the space.”
Numa picked up one of the dried bits of plant and crumbled it to dust in her hand. “I didn’t realize we’d left it such a mess,” she said then laughed.
Gemynd walked to the far wall, hoisted up the bed-sack and flipped it over. “We’ll get us a clean one sometime soon,” he said, then turned to face Numa. “But for now this will have to do.”
Numa walked over to him and took his hand in hers. “I feel I’ve waited my whole life for this moment,” she said. “I am, at last, truly your bride.”
Gemynd felt his whole body swell with love for this woman who stood before him. Suddenly nothing else mattered but being with her. Touching her. Tasting her. Dissolving into her. Gemynd lunged at Numa, but she took a step back.
“This time, let me serve you,” she said and Gemynd’s body hardened while his insides unraveled.
“As you wish,” he replied and let his arms drop to his sides.
Numa pushed against Gemynd’s chest until he collapsed backwards onto the bedsack. Then she kneeled down on the floor in front of him and pulled off his left boot. When she pulled off the right one, the peace declaration fell to the floor. “What is this?” she said, picking it up.
“It’s a document my father asked me to give the Keepers,” Gemynd explained hastily, not wanting Numa to lose her focus.
“Oh?” Numa asked with obvious curiosity.
“Just set it aside for now,” Gemynd said and propped himself up on his elbows. “We have plenty of time to deal with that later. Right now we have more important matters to attend to.”
Numa set the paper down and gave Gemynd a wicked smile. She bent low and placed a kiss on the top of each of Gemynd’s feet. “Even your feet are too thin,” she said. “After I’ve had my way with you, I’m making it my mission to fatten you up. You are not in Iturtia anymore. You can eat as you please here.”
Gemynd sat up. “As long as you promise to always have your way with me, I will eat whatever you want me to,” he said and pulled Numa’s kirtle over her head.
Numa’s naked body was more beautiful than a thousand sunsets. It was perfect. Round in all the right places. Simultaneously firm and soft. Her wine-colored hair flowed down her entire torso so that only the tips of her breasts and patches of her luminous skin peeked through it, making the vision all the more tantalizing.
Gemynd reached for her, but she swatted his hands away. “Remove your clothing then lie back,” she commanded.
Gemynd offered no argument and pulled off his tunic and breeches in a flash, tossing them to the floor then lying flat on the bedsack. With Numa in charge this way, he felt like an inexperienced whelp and he relished every second of it. “You’ll have me so wound up, it’ll be over before it’s begun,” he warned playfully.
“Good,” Numa said as she leaned over and trailed kisses down Gemynd’s body from his neck to his navel. “That will give us more time for a second and third and fourth go at it.”
Numa teased Gemynd with scintillating flicks of her tongue, and when the warm softness of the inside of her mouth closed over him, his back arched of its own accord. All the breath was drawn from his body. He did his best to remember his training in Iturtia and keep control over his thoughts so that he could fully enjoy the experience without going over the edge to completion. It was the most exquisite anguish he’d ever endured.
After several moments, Numa retraced her trail of kisses back up his body then sealed herself against his mouth. With their tongues still entwined, she straddled him and took him deep inside her. Her movements were slow at first, but then came faster and faster. She pushed against Gemynd’s chest with her palms and ground herself against him.
Everything coiled and twirled inside of Gemynd and he felt that he was a mere hair’s breadth from falling over the edge of a cliff. The cliff to ecstasy. When, at last, he heard Numa’s cries of elation and felt her body shudder, he let go of all form of control and crested wave after wave of perfect pleasure.
They made love twice more as moonlight replaced sunlight in the sleeping house. And then again as the sun rose once more. As they lay in each other’s arms in blissful satisfaction, a voice called from the doorskin. “Gemynd? Numa? I’ve brought food.”
“Mother?” Gemynd asked and pulled a blanket up to cover their bodies.
Molly entered the sleeping house then without invitation. She carried a large tray, but set it down quickly and rushed across the room, pulling both Gemynd and Numa into a fierce embrace. “My son has returned,” she said in a weepy voice. “Joyous day!”
“Joyous day, mother,” Gemynd replied and smiled at her. “It is wonderful to see you.”
Gemynd could see that his mother had aged more than just the three years he was gone. Grey hair had grown in at her temples and lines etched the skin around her eyes. As he met her gaze, he saw a look of deep concern in her eyes.
“You look wretched,” she said. “What have they done to you? You’re like the walking dead. So pale. So thin. And look at these scars!”
“I am fine, mother,” Gemynd explained in a calm voice. “It is all part of the training. But I am back now and have much to tell you.”
“Well, you can eat while you talk then,” Molly said and retrieved her tray, placing it on the bedsack between Gemynd and Numa. “Numa, we must get some meat on his bones.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Numa said and grabbed a piece of dried meat from the tray, pushing it playfully into Gemynd’s mouth.
“Have your mothers not returned with you?” Molly asked Numa.
Numa shook her head and a flicker of sadness passed through her eyes. “They have chosen to stay where they are. That is their true home,” she explained
.
Gemynd felt a tug at his heart. As usual, he had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts, he had not considered what Numa had given up to return to Aerie.
“To be honest, I feared the two of you might not return either,” Molly said and poured three cups of tea from the tray. “Many don’t after their training.”
“As much as I love Turiya--the forest,” Numa said, “Aerie will always be my home. After all, Gemynd is here.”
Gemynd smiled at her and pulled the back of her hand to his mouth, putting a tender kiss there. “I saw father,” he said to his mother as he stood and pulled his breeches on.
“I figured it might be so,” Molly said, fidgeting with her cup.
“He is the Director of Iturtia,” Gemynd added.
Molly’s eyes widened for a moment, but then she quickly shrugged. “Doesn’t surprise me much,” she said. “He never did run short on ambition.”
“You knew he was there all along,” Gemynd said, taking a step towards her. He felt a deep seething awaken inside of him.
“I knew nothing for sure,” Molly replied and leaned over the bedsack, rearranging the food on the tray. It became obvious to Gemynd that she was unable to look him in the eye. “But I suspected as much.”
“And you never thought to mention it to me?” he asked.
“As I said, I only suspected,” she said and picked at an imaginary speck on her skirt.
“So you choose to continue lying to me,” Gemynd snarled, knowing there was malice in his tone. He was surprised by how quickly his mood had turned. He had expected to give his mother a chance to explain. He had anticipated feeling hurt and disappointed and was not prepared for the sudden enmity that now possessed him.
“I have not lied to you,” Molly insisted.
“You’ve been lying to me about my father my entire life!” Gemynd shouted, throwing his cup to the floor.
Molly faced him then, her eyes full of bluster. “I told you that he left,” she said and put her hands on her hips. “That was all I knew for certain. I told you about his leaving so don’t come at me now, full of your misdirected Iturtian rage, and ruin your homecoming. I’ve waited three years to see you. This is a Joyous day. Don’t spoil it with anger.”
Revelation: The Todor Trilogy, Book One Page 23