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“Hm?”
“Thank you for getting this house for the baby.”
“You’re welcome. But it’s not just for her. It’s for you, too.”
“I know. Thank you,” I said and smiled as I snuggled into my pillow.
Chapter14
Ari
He was blooming right in front of my eyes. Every new plant he willed into existence seemed to make him shine even brighter, like they were feeding him life energy straight from the earth. Istil danced through the room, hair shimmering like pure sunlight on clear water, laughing to himself as leaves unfurled and flowers pushed through the spaces we’d cut in the floorboards.
I was sitting out front at the table made from the old front door, attending to Aunt Kanea’a.
“I’m intrigued with what your mate has done with the house,” she said, peering past me at the indoor forest. “I hope I’m not being intrusive, but I can’t help but notice you have two beds.”
“Aunty, he’s not my mate,” I reminded her.
“Is this what the forest dragons do?” she said like she hadn’t heard me. “I’m sure your grandmother would agree that separate beds are very unusual for a mated pair. As they say, the sea bed is the marriage bed.”
I quickly finished measuring out the medicine for her stomach aches. Was I going to be subjected to the opinions of every distant relative and clan member with whom I’d barely exchanged more than a few words throughout my entire life?
“My grandmother would remind you that it was explained to the clan that Istil is not my mate,” I said. “Here’s your medicine. Take it three times daily, and next time please don’t wait so long to come to see me when you have pain.”
“Of course, of course,” she said, tucking the packet into her robe. She patted my hand. “But remember, the sea bed is the marriage bed. That’s one.”
I forced a smile, and she left.
“Ari,” Istil called from inside. “Can you come and take a look at this?”
He was reclining in a nest of vines suspended in the center of the room, surrounded by vermillion camellia blooms and soft ferns.
“What is it?” I asked.
“How does this feel to you? Can you lie down on your bed? I want to make sure we can both see into the nest.”
I did as he asked and laid down on my bed like I was going to sleep. I was able to see him in the nest of twisted vines, but it completely blocked my view of his bed on the other side.
“It’s fine, right?” he said.
“Seems to be,” I replied. “But, uh… perhaps it might be sensible for us to share one bed?”
“Share?”
“There would be more space,” I said, feeling foolish about the suggestion.
“But nowhere for us to retreat to at the end of the day,” he said. “Would you be fine with that? I figured you’d want more privacy.”
“No, you’re right. I’m not sure what I was thinking.”
Istil eyed me curiously from the nest. I thought he was going to question me further about the beds, but he pointed at the door and said, “Ari, looks like you have another patient.”
“Uncle Noa,” I said, looking outside. “Seems like every clan member who couldn’t be bothered to make the walk down to the main house is coming by for a checkup.”
“Well, now that the great healer Ari is in the neighborhood, why wouldn’t they?” Istil said with a grin.
He climbed out of the nest and crouched beside a hole in the floor, gently cradling his bump. Bright green tendrils sprouted up following a graceful wave of his finger. He smiled at the little plants as they pushed up between his fingers. I didn’t think plants could seem happy before meeting Istil. There was so much care and love in the way he looked at them, as if he were their father. Perhaps he was, in a way. He was a life-giver. It made me think of the fertile oceans surrounding our home. Forest and sea, the two great bringers of life.
