The Beginning of Everything by Kristen Ashley Page 0,114

prescribed, met only the day before. In the sanctuary of Leuthea, the sacred sea goddess of distressed sailors.

There we knelt at the altar, giving our thoughts to her and not saying a word to each other.

For two hours.

But I’d felt his eyes on me.

And I had found my times to study him.

It was the way of things, for the King of Mar-el to wed his queen in this manner.

And now, months later, I was getting the courtship I should have had back then.

But although often endearing…

It was seeming my husband was no bloody good at it.

I sighed, got off the bed, and moved to the bathing room.

It would hearten me to be in the water.

I would not transform, as it wasn’t seawater, but it would feel nice and restore me.

And then I would face my day without my husband, and my night with him but still without him.

On this thought I decided I would give him some time.

He was a man, a very manly man, and perhaps would not take well to such overtures from his wife.

Very manly men preferred to make such overtures themselves.

But tomorrow, Silence would wed Mars, and from their demeanor when they were in each other’s presence, they would be down the hall doing what my husband of over seven months and I had not yet done.

We’d wasted enough time not communicating properly.

And there were a variety of ways to communicate.

That piercing ceremony taught me well.

Aramus would have my ear, my mind and my honesty.

He was also going to have my body.

Even if I had to throw it at him.

29

The Kindness

G’Drey

Streets of Fire City

FIRENZE

G’Drey walked (with difficulty) through the city toward the school where he taught.

As his pretense (for his real purpose in this realm was not thus), in a Go’Doan school he had charge of fifty-six Firenz children aged eight, nine and ten.

He taught them Triton history, some maths, reading, the language of the Vale, and how to draw and paint.

And he had found, to his surprise, he enjoyed doing this.

It had not started easily. He was an untried teacher and they had been annoyingly rambunctious and not mindful.

However, some days in, irritated beyond measure, he had been stern.

And somehow, from there, order had ensued (though, with the older ones, he’d had to be stern on other occasions, but for the most part, after their talkings-to, they’d minded).

And when one was proud of his or her painting or assumed a bright look on their face after they conquered the difficult conjugation of a Valerian word, Drey felt something curious in his chest which was not unpleasant.

He had never much thought of children, and to the truth—his thoughts on his warrior, when he would call upon Drey, his chosen one back home, The Rising and the role he played in that—he didn’t very much think of them now.

Unless he was with his students.

When he was, he thought, their innocence, excitement over foolish things or their implicit trust in him (which was foolish as well, though they did not know that) was rather, he had to admit, engaging.

This had made Drey seek an audience with G’Liam, who had come from Go’Doan with Jell to attend the ceremonies and be on hand for any diplomatic discussions that might need their skills.

Liam also oversaw the schools across the realms, doing this mostly by post and bird, but sometimes with visits.

Drey had informed Liam that his class was first, too large, and second, the spread of ages too long.

He’d then suggested the ten-year-olds be moved to their own class for they were advanced in studies and easily became bored as Drey looked after and instructed the younger children.

And Drey had learned quickly a bored child was not a child you wished to be around.

After he’d shared this, Liam had examined him at some length.

This he did before saying, “I am heartened you take such interest in your pupils. And in such a short time spent with them. It says much about you. And you speak sense. I will think on this.”

Drey had felt an odd sense of pride at this for Liam was known as a lofty personage and he was respected by most, even those priests of The Rising.

But G’Drey had only ever seen Liam in passing in Go’Doan, though he obviously knew of him, as most did.

This was because Liam was very young for his level of responsibility.

He also had an unusual pastime of examining bodies, those being cadavers, in an effort to understand how they worked. How