Part 20 (2/2)

Rusby snuffled. Garrett could imagine kitten comments on the smell of s.e.xual release and the state of the linens. Discretion wasnat cowardly. Not in the middle of the night. So, he whispered a tiny spell to keep the kitten asleep while he stripped and remade the bed.

When he stood, he moved like an old man, muscles creaking worse than after head survived the Iasc sickness for the second time . . . a couple of nights ago.

He knew the reason. His hearta”and his bodya”wanted Artemisia, despite the thorns of the past embedded in his brain, and the fear of loss screaming inside him. Head never thought that head been a man who gave in to fear. He was wrong. Head let fear eat him alive.

Head let his fear rule his thoughts enough that head been a complete idiot and had made a terrible mistake.

He did want Artemisia.

Lifting Rusby to an empty s.p.a.ce atop his bureau, he grabbed the sheets and yanked them from the bed, stalked to the cleanser in the waterfall room, and shoved them in. Got clean ones. Not as smooth as those head slept on at TQ or sensed at Artemisiaas. Harsh in comparison.

He could afford better, now. The past was truly past.

Time to also acknowledge that Dinni had been right in not wedding him because he had a HeartMatea”and Artemisia had been right when she spoke of the girl that head loved. Childhood sweethearts, first lovers. All that was good and real and right.

He had a HeartMate who would fit him better, who head ignored because head wanted what he wanted, not what was best for him. Dinni had been wise and head refused to see that. Just because shead ended their relations.h.i.+p first? Before he was ready to let go?

All right. Dinnias timing had sucked, and as a pract.i.tioner of sleight of hand, he knew excellent timing was essential.

His own timing had sucked, too. Namely discovering that he truly, mind deep, heart deep, bone deep, wanted his HeartMate, Artemisia Mugworta”a courageous and compa.s.sionate and strong woman. After head already rejected her.

He wondered how soon shead forgive him. What head have to do. He couldnat sit back and wait, the womana”his womana”was meeting other men to check them out as a husband and father!

Oh, yeah, that hurt. That idea d.a.m.n well sliced him in two. Pain enough for him to stagger as if the linens he held were ma.s.sive boulders.

Head have to figure out how to prove himself to Artemisia, but head make sure he was a part of her life as much as he possibly could. At least the liaison job would keep them together, and give him time to plan how to court her.

He made the fliggering bed, took a d.a.m.n shower, and slipped under a sheet. Then he chewed a sleep-inducing pill and let sleep drag him under. The herbs worked. An image came of the sacred grove, then the rusty gates behind which his dream garden beckoned with lush growth and a Healing pool.

He recalled that Artemisia lived near Healing pools. His last thoughts were idle wonderings about Artemisiaas home and the itch of curiosity settled under his skin. He would find out.

Artemisia awoke a septhour before WorkBell at the sound of dawn songbirds singing outside her window. She wanted to sleep more, lounge in bed after the intense few days . . . and, all right, pull the covers over her head and forget the deep wound inside her. Forget that her HeartMate had visited her in her dreams. She would not let him spoil her for someone else.

But more than anger and the sensations of s.e.x with Garrett weighed on her emotions. There was lost hope of a true HeartMate marriage. Not to mention murder, and the discovery of the murder weapon, and how her Family was being implicated again.

She had to take the knife to the guards. And she and Randa had an appointment with Danith DaAsh.

Whoosh. Flop.

Rising to sit, she followed the sound . . . and her mouth opened in surprise as she watched a Fam opening swish back and forth in the bedroom door. Randa waddled toward her, and she let out a sigh. She had a Fam, another blessing.

Randa hooked her claws on the long comforter that draped over the elevated bedsponge and climbed up. Greetyou, FamWoman. The racc.o.o.nas muzzle lifted and her mouth stretched in a smile, showing little pointy teeth. She hurried over to Artemisia, stopped to sit and clasp her paws together as she stared at Artemisiaas body under the covers.

Artemisia patted her lap. aCome on.a Randa ran up her body and snuffled under Artemisiaas chin, leaving a slight wet smear. Love you, FamWoman!

aI love you, too.a aI am pleased that you are here, Randa,a said the Residence.

Yes! I am! And I will be a good Fam. I will no longer be a feral ac.o.o.n. I will stay on the estate. There is no reason to go outside the walls. I am home.

Artemisia smiled, and looking into Randaas eyes, she said, aYes, you are. But weare still going to DaAsh to make sure all is well with you.a Artemisia dressed quickly in one of her best work tunics and tops.

Her father knocked at her door, then opened it. He held a simple square wooden box. His face was pale, his expression weary. aI studied the knife. It is definitely a cross-folk altar knife, crafted by one of their more famous artists.a aValuable?a aValuable enough for me to extrapolate that it came from a private chapel of a n.o.ble cross-folk Family.a One that had been luckier than the Mugworts.

Her father continued, aOr one of the chapels in their main church.a He shrugged, offered her the box.

Though head s.h.i.+elded it to keep the vitriolic negativity within, she still took it gingerly.

aAnd, Artemisiaaa”his green gaze, the same color eyes as her own, met hers in a heavy, straight looka”athe knife was created after the Black Magic Cult murders, so it is unlikely that the murdered man had it in his possession.a aYou mean that he used such cross-folk objects to point the authorities at us long ago, but didnat have this knife then.a Her father smiled slightly. aIave always been proud of your intellect.a She didnat feel so smart for letting her HeartMate have dream s.e.x with her, letting him hurt her. She refrained from rubbing her chest over her heart. aThank you.a She concentrated on the murder weapon, not really recalling what a regular altar knife looked like. aRanda and I are leaving now for Danith DaAshas office.a Randa whimpered.

aYouall be fine,a Artemisia said. She kissed her fatheras cheek and accepted his hug before walking into the corridor and checking to see that Randa followed.

Artemisia sensed that her sister, Tiana, had left for the day, and a small pop told her that her father had teleported away.

At the northeast side door, she paused. aIall see you later, Residence,a she said.

aYes. I am studying the rosters of the FirstFamilies for a good man for you.a Artemisiaas mouth dried, then she swallowed. aAll those FirstFamily n.o.bles are extremely powerful; do you think theyad be satisfied herea”and being bespelled never to speak of you?a aAll FirstFamilies keep secrets,a BalmHeal said absently.

aUh-huh.a aAnyone would be honored to live here with us,a the Residence said. aPreliminary research is favorable for the Blackthorn men, sons of a cadet branch who were brought into the Family and took that name.a Artemisia figured she wouldnat be able to talk the Residence out of his newest plan right now. aI do insist that the man I marry be someone I can love.a aYou can love a man who is n.o.ble as much as one who is not,a the Residence retorted.

aSee you later,a Artemisia grumbled.

aI love you, Artemisia,a BalmHeal Residence said.

aI love you, too.a But it didnat stop her from being exasperated with the Residence. She and Randa walked to the area that held the secondary Healing pools. The estate had two sets of natural Healing hot springs and a trio of warm swimming pools. Near the secondary pools were the chapelsa”the small round Temples, one open-air and one enclosed, and a small building that Artemisiaas mother used for her wors.h.i.+p. It was an equal-armed cross with a tiny dome in the center painted yellow on the outside and deep blue and silver on the inside.

About once a year, the whole Family celebrated a ritual with her . . . but for a long time, Tiana and their father had crafted more spiritual and less Lady-and-Lord-centric rituals that the whole Family would partic.i.p.ate in. Occasionally, they included both the cross-folk quadri-spirited G.o.d and the Lady and Lord in overlapping rituals.

Theirs was an eclectic household, and the flexibility of spirituality and religion had helped Tiana in her career since she became accustomed to crafting unique and creative rituals. As for Artemisia, she took great comfort in the old rituals of Celta, in the belief of a dual and loving Paira”a Lady and Lord.

Randa walked with her but occasionally coursed into the underbrush. They didnat speak to each other mentally, were quiet together, but the bond between them hummed with affection and that was nice.

Yet when she reached the door of her motheras chapel, she experienced the serenity that permeated this equally sacred place. Her ruffled emotionsa”from s.e.x with Garrett and the whole throbbing hurt of the last few daysa”were soothed.

Until she thought of the prejudice and intolerance of people for those who were different. Like Garrettas distrust of n.o.bles.

She had to stand and breathe deeply as she marshaled her feelings before she entered the holy place.

Hadnat their ancestors left Earth because they were persecuted for their psi power? Why couldnat people learn from history?

She stood and let the sounds of nature, the sun filtering through the tall trees, soothe her spirit. Then she left the knife box outside the building, put her hands together, fingers upright, and bowed to the door.

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