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"Two?" I asked.
"I couldn't choose." Letting go of my hand, she picked up the blue flower and turned in Zaide's arms to face him. "A forget-me-not flower symbolizes true love. This is for you." She tucked it into his hand and beamed up at him.
He pressed a slow and gentle kiss to her lips. "I will treasure it."
I wasn't jealous he was kissing her. It felt natural to watch them. I was only jealous I couldn't approach and kiss them both.
She allowed him one more kiss before she turned to face me and left the circle of his embrace. She offered me the larger purple flower and said, "It's a crocus. They bloom in the spring and symbolize new beginnings and joy. It's also purple, and since Zaide and I have purple eyes, you have a little something to match us …"
It was the most thoughtful gift I had ever received. My heart, which I’d long thought dormant, burst at the seams as I stared at her small present. She shifted anxiously on her feet, so I took the flower and pulled her close to me, leaning down so our noses were only inches away.
Staring into the violet eyes of my soul mate, I whispered, "You are as sweet as you taste, Sunlight. Thank you for my gift."
I pressed a barely there kiss to her lips and pulled back to watch the blood rise to her cheeks and desire spark in her eyes.
"Would you like to try?" I asked Zaide, who was also staring at me with heat in his gaze. He raised a brow at the question, flicking his gaze to Clawdia, and my lips twitched at the quizzical look. "To manipulate the dreamscape." Comprehension cleared his expression, and he nodded before holding out his hand. Within a few moments, an oval gray stone that had carvings on it had formed in his palm. "What is that?" I asked.
His eyes opened, and he examined his creation.
"It looks like your prayer stone, Zaide, but different," Clawdia said.
"It is different. Clawdia made you a gift, so I thought I would do the same. The carving around the side is our names in the old language. Maybe that way, you'll be able to pray to us until this dragon is defeated and you can see us in our waking hours." He offered me the stone, and I took it with an awed carefulness, admiring the carved names. There was a fourth I had forgotten to expect— Charlie. But it didn't prevent the overwhelming gratitude I felt shine in my eyes and bathe my heart in warmth.
"You wanted a kiss too, didn't you, Zaide," Clawdia chuckled.
My gaze shifted up to see him narrow his eyes playfully at her, his scar pinching tight on his cheek, but his slight pout told me she was right.
I straightened and pulled him toward me by the wrists until we were inches apart. He was taller than me, broader, but I was older, wiser, and more dominant. Reaching around to his neck I pulled him down so we were face to face, and his pupils dilated.
There wasn't any fear in his purple gaze, just anticipation. Our connection hummed as we touched, reassuring him that my red eyes were not those that could ever hurt him. My lips were firm on his, and my fangs dragged across them as I pulled back. He shuddered.
"Thank you for my gift," I whispered.
"You're welcome," he whispered back.
We stood in silence for a moment as we stared at each other, our need, hunger, desire for one another palpable and charged.
Not the time. They need to learn.
With a deep breath, I looked away and continued teaching as though I hadn't stopped, "You can manipulate the dreamscape setting in the same way. While it looks like I have taken you to akari, it is only my version of it. There will be things missing from this setting, things I’ve forgotten or never noticed. As this is a much larger manipulation, it will take a lot more thought and practice, and now is not the time."
I took Clawdia's hand again since I could see she was squinting into the distance, struggling to make it out. She gave me a grateful smile as I tugged her across the grounds, Zaide following closely behind, looking around curiously.
"Pulling someone’s consciousness into a dream is also a skill you'll need to learn. I need to ask who got injured today from one of the trainers so I know who to pull. You won't be able to see the process as I do it, but it is similar to manipulation. You create a version of the person you know and call their consciousness. It's complicated and messy, so I won't teach you that yet. With our connection, you'll be able to call out to me in your dreamscape, and I can pull you into mine." By the end of my lecture, we reached the healing tent, a long blue rectangle at the outskirts of the training grounds. I turned to them when we came to a stop in front of the tent flaps. "Any questions?"
They both looked at me a little wide-eyed and shook their heads.
Pushing inside of the tent, I moved to sit on a desk facing the long line of beds on both sides. Focusing, I called Theris, and he materialized in front of me.
As the first titan I had rescued, we’d built the army together and often communicated through dreams. He didn't look surprised to find himself in the healing tent. "Baelen," he greeted me. "Have you been hunting? I haven't had an update in a while."
"I've been busy. My fathers called me away."
"Your fathers? Something is wrong?" He frowned, looked around, and spotted Zaide and Clawdia standing behind me. His eyes widened. "Who is this?"
"This is Clawdia and Zaide. They are the titan soul pair who will be assisting the gods in the recreation of titan society." His mouth dropped open, but I pressed on before he could ask questions. "They need to learn how to use their gifts of healing. We are going to practice on the injured from today's practice."
He gaped like a fish out of water for a few moments before finding his composure again and saying, "I have questions, but I can see you're in a hurry. I'll take pity on you this time and give you what you want." He laughed and gleefully started explaining with his hands.
