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“And so we shall. But the world can wait until tomorrow. Tonight, I want only to take you.”
“Mm. And how you give in return.”
“If that’s what three nights apart do to you, I intend to make up for lost time.”
He chuckled. “I think you will have a naturally formidable appetite as a Hesperine.”
Her face heated, but she gave him an unrepentant smile.
He settled down beside her on the blanket to hold her close, sighing into her hair. “We are indeed a match.”
She lay in their Sanctuary in the darkest reaches of Orthros, utterly naked and entwined with the well-fed Hesperine who would Gift her. “Such good things really do happen in Orthros—and they last forever.”
“This, my Grace, is the first night of forever.”
THE PETALS OF HESPERA’S ROSE
Ritual, through which Hespera first gave us the Gift.
The Gift, through which we overcome death.
The Drink, through which we can thrive without the death of others.
Sanctuary, the Goddess’s realm, where we go if death does find us, and which we strive to realize in the world.
Grace, through which we experience abundance.
WINTER SOLSTICE
NOT A DREAM
Cassia woke to thebells. She could hear peal after glorious peal all the way down here in the bath. She lifted her head from Lio’s shoulder.
The bathwater rippled around them as he settled her more securely on his lap. He fingered his braid around her ankle. “Happy Winter Solstice, my Grace.”
The full meaning of that word, Grace, sank into her mind once more, and her heart filled with it. “My Grace. I am staying in Orthros.”
“You are staying in Orthros. Last night was not a dream.”
“It was too good to be a dream.” The mirrors that covered the walls and ceiling of the bath chamber showed her endless reflections of her new reality.
She caressed Lio’s throat and ran her hand down her own braid. “Have I succeeded in curing your three nights of Craving so you can fully enjoy the festival?”
With a smile, he displayed how they had tamed his fangs. “You mean that wasn’t the festival?”
“Happy Gift Night, my love.”
“Needless to say, I am holding the best Gift Night present I have ever dreamed of.”
“Shall I give you the same present next year?”
“And the year after that, please. And the year after that…”
“Why wait for a special occasion? You can have your present whenever you wish.”
“Now I don’t want to leave the bath.”
Cassia just smiled, unwilling to acknowledge the world outside their tower. Not yet.
