AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You may return my love all night long,” he purred in her ear. “We needn’t watch our backs tonight. We will spend most of our time among our friends, from whom we need not hide.”
As they followed the curve of the bay, they passed the Semna and Lord Gaius sitting together on a bench, looking out to sea together. Lord Gaius leaned closer to her, saying something Cassia did not hear. The mage nodded and smiled, tapping her foot in time to the music. Pakhne was some distance down the docks with the Cheran mages. The three women laughed together, slipping morsels of food under their veils.
“Where are Ariadne and Eudias?” Cassia wondered.
“He took her to the library. Without an escort.”
Cassia smiled. “Spending the Festival of Grace in the library sounds like just what Ariadne will enjoy.”
“He had something important to tell her.”
Cassia patted Lio’s hand. “You’re going to miss him.”
Lio sighed. “We could have been great friends.”
“You are great friends. I’m just sorry you have to be that on opposite sides of the border.”
“Perhaps I understand how you feel.”
“Yes. But Perita has Callen.”
“I think Eudias has Ariadne, however they express their devotion to each other, according to their devotion to their gods.”
The guest houses, coffee shops, and shipyards gave way to gardens, then grounds, then bare coast. Moonflower left enormous hoofprints in the snow amid Knight’s paw prints. The music drifted after them, mingling with the soughing of the waves and the wind. They rode beneath the aurorae along the meeting point of land and sea. Warmth rose from the horse’s body under them.
“I understand horseback riding was a favorite pastime of a particular suitor of yours,” Lio mused.
Was. They could talk about Flavian as someone who was in her past. “He galloped on race horses, jousted on war horses, and made daring jumps on hunting horses. He invited me to watch him from the back of a docile palfrey, who would not go faster than a safe and ladylike pace.”
Lio slid his hand under her cloak, caressing her thigh. “That’s no way to show a lady a good time. His feats in the saddle were not impressive enough for you?”
“No one is as graceful on horseback as a Hesperine.” She flexed back against him. “And your horse is the largest I’ve ever seen.”
Lio’s chuckle was halfway to a growl. His horse leapt beneath them, and suddenly they were flying along the beach. The gallop brought tears to Cassia’s eyes. Her hood fell back, and her hair whipped behind her around Lio as they leaned together over his horse’s neck. The icy air swept around her, but Lio’s body sheltered hers in silk and strength. The ground seemed to fall away. She thought they might race right up into the sky.
The arm of the bay curved far out to sea, and Lio raced them to the very end of it. On a long finger of land, he brought them to a halt. But he turned their mount away from the surrounding sea to face the way they had come. To one side, the harbor glittered and to the other, the cliffs of House Komnena rose toward the moons.
As they took in the view, Lio feathered warm kisses along Cassia’s neck. She let her head fall back and slid her hand along his leg, caressing him through his trousers. He brought his mouth to hers. They sat there tasting and touching each other until their breaths steamed the air around them, and Moonflower twitched.
Lio pulled his mouth away, grinning with all his fangs. “One course of the feast at a time.”
“How many courses do I have to look forward to?”
“As many as you want.”
He nudged Moonflower into motion again, and they headed for the cliffs that marked home. Despite his size, Moonflower navigated the rising terrain with ease, carrying them along a path up through the hilly grounds. As they emerged from the trees and approached the house, Cassia spotted Lio’s parents on the terrace outside Komnena’s study.
Apollon and Komnena danced together to some music only they could hear. He stood behind her, holding her to him with his face nestled against hers as they swayed and turned. The first Hesperine to receive the Gift from a Ritual firstblood appeared entirely focused on his young Grace in his arms and utterly content.
Cassia shifted on the horse. Should they stop before they interrupted a private moment? But Lio rode Moonflower right up to the edge of the terrace.
His parents looked up, not even halting in their dance. They made a playful two-step sideways along the terrace, and Cassia suddenly recognized the pattern of the timeless couple dance, although no Tenebrans ever dared dance it holding each other in such intimacy. Lio must have learned the Tenebran dances he performed so effortlessly from his parents. Of course his mother would know them, and some of them must even date from his father’s time as a mortal.
“Oh,” Komnena exclaimed, “look at our son. All grown up and riding to Grace Dance with his sweetheart.”
Apollon smiled. “And at a fine time of life.”
“You look lovely tonight, Cassia,” Komnena crooned. “Are those gifts from Kassandra?”
