“Mages, Denith.You can’t say that mages are real and not want me to beat feet down there.”
“Bring Teyval.”
“Yeah, like I could stop him.”She chuckled.“See you soon, and warn the others.”
“Your feet are wiggling.”He was laughing.
“Shut up, and cook good.I don’t want them leaving before I arrive.”Myrtle hung up.
* * * *
Denith smiled, walkedto the table, and said, “If it is all right, my mate will be joining you in the time it takes her to grab her primary and get her ass in here.So, about twenty minutes on the outside.In case you wonder, she’s a writer on a fantasy bent right now, so she is very interested in the idea of mages.Can you tell her about how it works?Please?”
Meritha looked at him.“I can explain it.Our locked-in focuses are frustrating, but they can be bent a little.”
Denith grinned.“Any allergies?”
Emhara raised her hand.“It isn’t an allergy, but I hate broccoli and a lot of cruciferous stuff.”
Denith knew a soft expression crossed his face.“My mate has texture issues and a touch of ARFID.Going around that isn’t a problem.”
He nodded, turned, and whirled, whistling softly.
* * * *
Emhara looked at Duran’sastonished look.“So, you haven’t seen him acting like that before.”
“No.This is new.”
Echel chuckled.“Well, he still uses knives.”
Emhara smiled.“Did you all get to keep your inclinations?”
“Well, we came over as a colony and military force, but all male, so our partners were always going to come from the local population.”
“Whether they were willing or not?”
Samsor said, “Willing is important.It is everything.”
“Well, that is something.The pack was starting to talk about renting me out by the hour.”
The deltas froze.Echel asked, “Did they ever?”
“No.They hadn’t gotten past the planning phase, and they could never not mark me up.It was wrecking my value.They wanted to make some money, but Augusta had no self-control.”She shrugged as she read her menu.
Emhara made her choices, and when the server came by, she made her selections and handed her menu off with a smile.The woman smiled at her and took the rest of the orders.
There was a quiet kerfuffle from the front of house, and Denith headed forward with a grim expression.He spoke for a minute and came back with a dazed expression.
“Oh, good.Nimue is here.”Meritha smiled.
Emhara asked, “How can you tell?”
“Watch the men and women coming through.That is how you can tell.”
Emhara watched and smiled as she saw what Meritha was referring to.Everyone came in, floating as if in a dream.Smiles were everywhere.
Emhara asked, “Do you think she will come and visit?”
