by Sue Tingey
I sat on the edge of the pond and trailed my fingers through the cool water and wondered whether this was me now. I did feel there was something permanent about it, like I was now wearing my own skin and everything before had been a disguise. It was strange, I had been afraid to be this other person, but now I didn’t want to be any other.
As I lifted my hand from the pool, the green stone in my ring must have caught a glimmer of light from one of the two moons, as once again it appeared to burn with some inner fire, but when I raised it up to see, there was nothing there but sparkling green.
A splash from somewhere across the pond distracted me, my eyes jerking up to squint across the water’s surface. Fear blossomed in my chest—Amaliel had used a pond to travel, and there I was alone, in the dark, sitting right next to his chosen means of transport. There was another splash that had my heart heading straight for my mouth—then a frog called out to its mate and I let out a shaky sigh. My men would never have brought me here if it wasn’t safe. Never.
“Lucky,” I heard a voice call, and when I looked up Jamie was standing in the doorway. “Come back to bed.”
Jinx’s face appeared from around Jamie’s left wing. “We’re getting lonely,” he said with an exaggerated wink.
I smiled and got up to go to them. As I walked through the door Jamie put an arm around my shoulder and Jinx slipped his arm around my waist. There was another splash from the pond and I glanced back over my shoulder.
“What’s the matter?” Jamie asked.
“Are you cold? You’re shivering,” Jinx said.
“I’m fine,” I told them, pushing my fear aside. I was spooked that was all. Amaliel would never find us here.
“I think Kerfuffle and Shenanigans are going to have to get used to sleeping in another room,” Jamie said, bringing me back to the now.
“What about Pyrites?” I asked, determined not to spoil our first night together with my paranoia.
“We’ll have to find him a lady drakon,” Jinx said. “He’s old enough now.”
“Do they mate for life?” I asked.
“Yes,” Jamie said. “When they find that one special mate they are bound together for all eternity.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really,” Jinx said. “And, my lucky, lucky lady, you’d better get used to us, because the lad and I are the same, and we’re going to be around for a very long time.” And with that he picked me up, swung me around and around then dropped me down on the bed, flinging himself down beside me. “A very, very, very long time.”
At last the shadowy specter of Amaliel slipped away into the dark recesses of my mind, even if only temporarily, as Jamie sunk down on the bed to join us and I became entwined in two pairs of strong arms.
My breath caught as their fingers and lips began to work their magic and it occurred to me that if, in the future, this was how every day ended and began, it wouldn’t be such a hardship. Then Jamie pressed his lips against mine and my last vestiges of worry evaporated into mist—no, it wouldn’t be any hardship at all.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Tony and Frances and Sarah and Paul for all their hard work. I would also like to thank Stephen Jones for his sage advice and encouragement. And lastly I would like to thank the lovely Jo Fletcher and my wonderful and supportive editor Nicola who have both taught me so much.
Sue Tingey spent 28 years with a major British bank before leaving the corporate life to work as Practice Manager for an Arboricultural Consultancy. She lives with her husband (and Koi carp) in East Grinstead, West Sussex. Marked, Book One of the Soulseer Chronicles, was her first novel. You can contact her on Twitter at @SueTingey and visit her at www.suetingey.co.uk.
