He had noted the way she sometimes looked at him. Thoughtful. Curious. Admiring. The spark of attraction was still there for her. Was it for him?
He thought back to other times circumstances had brought them to each other’s beds and felt an old but familiar interest flare. Yes, he thought. It’s still there.
“I got to wondering today,” she said, setting her empty bowl aside, “if any of the other Wilds have survived.”
She looked up at him, seeking his opinion. He took another sip of Teepi, giving him time to slowly extract himself from pleasant memories.
“I doubt it,” he replied.
She pursed her lips. Which reminded him of another time when she had paused and made that face, considering what they might do next. She had been naked at the time, he recalled. He shook his head to clear his mind.
“If you and I are still alive, why not them?” Emerahl insisted. “We know The Oracle was killed, and The Farmer, but what about The Gull? What of The Twins and The Maker.”
“The Maker is dead. He killed himself when his creations were destroyed.”
She looked at him in horror. “Poor Heri.”
Mirar shrugged. “He was old. The oldest, apart from The Oracle—and she was half mad.”
“The Gull and The Twins were younger,” she said thoughtfully. “What about The Librarian?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I doubt he still watches over the Library of Soor. That place was a ruin even before the gods’ war.”
She sighed. He considered her carefully. His interest in her was still there, though dampened by the conversation. She was too distracted. If he got her attention, what would she do?
“This is too morbid a conversation for a celebration,” he told her. He reached out and took a piece of fruit, then carved a slice from it. She turned to watch him, but her gaze was still far away. Reaching across the table, he held the slice up to her mouth. “Life is too long to ignore opportunities for pleasure,” he murmured.
Her eyes widened, then narrowed. “You said that…”
“A long time ago. I wondered if you would remember.”
She took the piece of fruit. “I could hardly forget.”
He looked meaningfully at the slice. “Are you going to share that?”
Her pupils widened and a smile slowly spread across her face. “It would be greedy of me not to.” She rose and moved around the table, her eyes bright. Placing the slice of fruit between her lips, she leaned forward and offered it to him.
Oh, yes, he thought. He caught her waist, pulled her closer and bit into the slice. Their lips touched, their mouths met around the crisp sweetness of the fruit. He felt his teeth break through juicy flesh, felt her hands slide around his back, and the firmness of her back beneath his own palms.
His interest flared into desire. He felt her respond to it with equal passion. Suddenly he wanted too much at once. He was pulling her down onto his bed and trying to undress her at the same time, but achieving neither. She laughed and pushed him onto his back, then straddled him. Pulling off her clothing, she tossed it aside. He caught his breath as her breasts were uncovered. She was perfect, but how else could she be when she could so easily change her age?
She brushed his hands away long enough to pull off his vest and tunic. Her hand moved to the waist of his trousers. The ties came undone. She tugged the waistband down, then looked up at him and grinned. Then, without a word, she sidled close and he felt the warmth of her begin to envelop him.
No!
The thought was not his. An emotion tore though him, jangling his nerves. He could not put a name to it. Horror? Anger? He gasped in confusion and shock. He felt as if his entire being was sinking into misery. The fire in his blood was doused by a chill that he could not shake, and a lingering sense of another will fighting his own.
Leiard.
“No!” he protested. He sat up, the sudden movement causing Emerahl to lose her balance momentarily. “You bastard!”
Emerahl braced herself and stared at him. “I trust that’s not me you’re talking to,” she said dryly.
He found he could not reply. It took all his will to keep control of his body.
I can’t let you do this, Leiard said. I can’t let you betray Auraya again.
Auraya doesn’t matter! Mirar fumed. You can’t go back to her. You don’t even exist!