The Grove(145)

By that time, it was near dawn, the air cool but promising the heat of another late-summer day. Aradin sighed and leaned against one of his tables, the one the basket was still on. He plucked out a handful of nuts and raisins from one of the wide-mouthed bowls the housekeeper had packed, and looked around the Bower. The soft pastel nodules embedded in the roots and branches forming the Bower dome were no longer static lights; some shone brightly, linked to the spells the three of them had woven. The rest pulsed slowly with the flow of energies being managed, forming a rippling, soft rainbow over their heads.

Somewhere out there to the east, he could hear the creak-and-thump of one of the treemen returning and looking for a place to take root and rest, as commanded. The eastern sky above the hills had turned from star-strewn black to a dusky shade of dark blue, and a few of the local birds were starting to twitter. Tired though he was, he took a few moments to chew and contemplate.

Saleria moved up beside him and leaned back against the table, too. Sidling close, she sighed and leaned against him, letting her temple rest on his shoulder. “A lot of work . . . but a good night’s work. Yes?”

He nodded, swallowed, and offered her the last few nuts and raisins in his hand. Gently grasping his fingers, she pulled them open and nibbled the treats directly from his skin, then pressed a kiss to the center of his palm.

Aradin smiled softly and closed his fingers around the lingering imprint of her lips. He tucked his arm around her and rested the side of his head on the top of hers. “An interesting week, I’d say. I’m glad Nannan told you no one was killed in the rampage. I’d hate to have that on my conscience. And your permission to ‘do anything it takes’ also helped . . . even if it was a bit backward, saving the Grove by wreaking havoc with it.”

“Blame that one on Shanno, because you were saving it from him.” She shook her head slightly, not enough to dislodge their comfortable side by side cuddle. “Enough of him . . . You know, Kata and Jinga approve of you. In the Grove, and in my life.”

No fool, Aradin knew what that meant. As devout as she was, having Their approval would mean everything to her in regard to a relationship with him. He breathed deeply again, enjoying the lightening shade of the eastern sky. It was on its way from dark to medium blue now, picking up hints of green in anticipation of the pale yellow of sunrise. His favorite time of morning.

By chance, his gaze fell on the now nearly circular, bed-sized patch of thick, green moss at the very center of the Bower. The sap residue had been successfully cleansed from the Bower cobblestones, though there was still more than enough to cause problems out in the rest of the Grove if one touched the soil with a bare hand. But that patch of moss had been left alone because it made for a very thick, comfortable cushion for his beloved to kneel upon and pray each day.

No doubt she would want to pray upon its cushioning surface at least once before leaving Groveham for the Convocation . . . but his mind thought of another use for the bed-thick material. “Saleria, my love . . .”

“Yes, Aradin Teral?” she replied, letting him—them—know she fully accepted Teral’s presence. If there was one thing she had learned about relationships while at the Convocation, it was that her God and Goddess did not object to these two men sharing her life at the same time.

“I’m speaking for just myself, Aradin, right now,” he corrected her. “What say I send Teral off into the Dark, so we can honor the Wedding of Kata and Jinga right here in the Bower, hm? Or would that be blasphemous, making love in here?”

She grinned. “It would actually not be blasphemous. Before the Grove turned into a hazard, the previous Keepers had the right to shoo everyone out of here by nightfall . . . but nothing prevented the Keepers themselves from coming back in at night to do just that. But . . . you don’t have to send Teral away.”

Both Host and Guide stilled. Aradin blinked, not quite daring to breathe. Teral hesitated, then reached through the physical contact Aradin had with Saleria. (Are you absolutely sure, my dear?)

“Yes. You can stay and watch. And, erm, enjoy. Secondhand,” she amended, a little nervous with her choice even knowing it was the right one to make. Twisting a little at his side, she looked up at Aradin. “You see, I love Aradin deeply . . . but I’ve also come to love you. I’ve come to understand just how close your lives are intertwined. And I honestly accept that . . . and in accepting it, I accept you. Except I’m still a bit nervous about having you here, so let’s just have Aradin take and keep the lead this first time, hmm?”