* * *
Grace thought Leto’s speech was absolutely perfect. She was proud to be seated beside him. She had her arm hooked around his and had begun to feel a little more at ease.
He leaned forward, his gaze fixed on the runners in the mile-long race that ran in an oval around the entire field. He never let his eyes leave the field as he leaned down and spoke to Grace. “The man in the lead is from the Republic of Chad Two. A powerful Seer. He’s very fast and one of our best swordsmen. Jean-Pierre thinks that with a little work, and some of Jean-Pierre’s power, he could be brought up to WhatBee status.”
So this was the world Leto had built since she’d left. Yes, everything had changed.
All those months ago, he had been near-death because of his refusal to take dying blood anymore. He’d also been severely depressed.
Now he was a different man, a new man.
And at times, a beast-man.
She glanced at Fiona to her right. Jean-Pierre had his long fingers massaging the back of Fiona’s neck and he was kissing her and murmuring things in her ear that sounded like French. They were so in love.
She looked up at Leto again. She knew she loved him, but could they truly have a forever kind of love? He had been through so much, and she could once more sense in him a holding back, even a sense of guilt and unworthiness, that kept him in a tense state. She felt his restraint, even toward her, even as he desired her. Could they build a life together with so much between them?
Grace felt the bench move. She glanced to her left at Marguerite, who bounced next to Thorne. His hands never seemed to leave her, always touching her shoulders, her arms, her hands, and sometimes her belly. And when she asked for popcorn, he leaped up and moved so fast, the vendor at the bottom of the grandstand stumbled and would have fallen backward if Thorne hadn’t caught him.
How much her brother had changed. And he had made her an aunt-to-be. He was in love, too. Breh-hedden love.
She turned back to Leto. She had her arm around his, her hand on his arm. An intense desire to belong washed over her—not just to be Leto’s breh, but to have a place in this community. And yet this group of ascenders disturbed her, because the men were warriors and she had always loathed the war. Patience’s disappearance had driven a final wedge between her and a willingness to be involved.
Yet even her former refusal to participate in the war had changed. She had come back, determined to do what she could to bring Greaves’s reign of terror to an end. She wished she was more like Marguerite, however, who rarely flinched at a challenge.
Part of her wanted to rise from the grandstand, walk back to the landing platform, then fold anywhere else, to any other dimension. Another part, however, seemed to be calling to her from the depths of her soul to stay, to see this through, maybe even to become more than she had ever dreamed of becoming.
“Hey.” Leto’s voice was a soft hush as he broke through the overwhelming nature of her thoughts. “What’s wrong?”
She blinked up at him and realized that the entire crowd was roaring their cheers as the runner from Chad took a victory lap.
“Oh,” she murmured. The noise was profound, and Marguerite was jumping up and down on the wooden floor support, so Grace slipped into telepathy. Sorry, I was thinking about obsidian flame and the war.
He moved his arm from beneath hers, but slid it instead around her waist and pulled her close. Oh, that’s all … just the war and your emerging powers. Well, as long as it’s nothing serious.
She smiled, and he was so close that it seemed the most natural thing to do to reach up and place her lips on his. He turned into her and kissed her back until his tongue was in her mouth and his forest scent drenched her. In this moment, held within the circle of his powerful arms, savoring his body close to hers, feeling lightning streaks of pleasure penetrating her abdomen, she thought there was no place she would rather be, or even ought to be, than here, with Leto.
He drew back and shuddered. You work me up so fast.
It’s the breh-hedden.
But at that he smiled and pinched her chin. No, Grace, it’s you.
She smiled back. You sure about that? After all, we’ve known each other for centuries. Why now?
His thumb touched her lips. He shook his head. Maybe the breh-hedden brought us together, but it can’t be the whole picture. I value who you are, I always have. But hey. Try not to worry so much.
She smiled. Not sure that’s possible right now.
The noise of the crowd died down and a second race started, this time with massive hurdles that would require some levitation skill added to the running. Grace leaned into Leto and for once just tried to relax and enjoy herself.
* * *
Leto didn’t quite understand what he was feeling, but it was like grabbing at air. He couldn’t pin it down. Happiness? Contentment? A strangling fear that something would happen to Grace? Maybe it was everything: fear, hope, desire, anguish, all combined.
He held Grace against his side, one hand on her bare waist, the long sides of her blouse covering his fingers as he kneaded her skin, thumbing low into her hip then up to rub the underside of her breast. That her meadow scent kept flowing over him in waves sustained the certainty that he was pleasing her as well as forming a most inappropriate erection. He was hard as a rock and was grateful that the light from the torches and the tall, pole bonfires didn’t exactly reach the depths of their grandstand box.
The shadows were covering all sorts of misdeeds. In particular, he was ignoring how Jean-Pierre had been making out off and on with his breh for the last half hour. He and Fiona had been together for over six months, and it was clear the pleasure they took in each other hadn’t dimmed much if at all. He wondered how soon the two of them would take off.
But Leto was enjoying the games, despite the fact that his thoughts were fixed on just how soon he could get Grace back to his house, into his bed, and make love to her again.
Of course, these were unfortunate thoughts because now he was in pain. He gritted his teeth and breathed hard through his nose a couple of times. He pulled his hand out from under her blouse and went back to just offering her his arm.
That she chuckled softly told him she understood. He looked down at her. She looked up.
All I can think about is your bed, she sent.
He sighed. Same here. Soon enough.
He forced himself to look away. It helped that Brynna’s event was up next. The woman had powerful thighs and the log climb was one of her favorite exercises while in training, never mind the contest. But she was also competitive by nature.