by Linda Mooney
The roaring muffled into a low moan, then all went silent. He felt a stirring in his arms, and the sensation of sand sliding off of them.
“Muam?”
The surprise in her voice made him open his eyes. Was it his imagination, or was the sky brightening?”
“Muam, is the storm over?”
Incredibly, the winds had calmed. The sands no longer swept over them. It was also becoming easier to breathe. He inhaled deeply to discover the stench had disappeared.
“Muam? Did we…survive?”
They both were too afraid to move. “What if this was not meant to be our death? What if it was a prelude to it?” he murmured.
She emphatically shook her head. “This has never happened before. We have never survived, only to be forced to face death a second time in the same life.” Touching the side of his face, she peered up at him. “Have we found our one thousandth life, beloved? Could this be the end of the curse?”
“I…” He tried to speak, but his throat closed up on him. Tears blurred his vision as he fought the hope that rushed through him. “We cannot think that, Gova. We cannot allow ourselves to believe…”
The sky turned blue as the last of the dark clouds moved away, and the gods threw the orb of fire back into the heavens. Slowly, Muam and Gova unlocked their arms from around one another. More sand rolled off their protective suits as they shook themselves free. He got to his feet, holding out his hand to help her up, when a shaft of light reflected off something half-buried in a pile of sand not far away. Something bright and shiny.
Unable to resist, he went over to where it was, dropped down on one knee, and brushed away the loose soil. When he recognized the object, his body went numb. Dizziness overtook him to where he almost blacked out, but he fought the sensation to pick it up. Unable to speak, he held it out for Gova to see. At the sight of the little spoon, she burst into tears.
“How?” she sobbed as he laid it in her hands. Almost reverently, she ran her thumb over the still visible engraving in the handle. Her name.
“I think… I think it is a sign from the gods,” he admitted. “I am terrified to hope we have come to the end of the curse, but how else can we interpret what we see? And what we have just been through?” He held out a hand to encompass the area around them. “We have returned to where it all began. To the home we briefly shared. To find this spoon I made for you before our wedding day. Remember what you told me when you said I had to give you silver? So I made you those ear spangles?”
“To show you would always provide for me,” she smiled. “You promised to keep me warm and comfortable, and never have need. You did that for me before you offered to share a place at your fire. And I, in turn, said I would give you gold to prove my worth to you.” Picking a few bits of sand with her fingers, she began rubbing them together. “So I made gold from this, the same way I made a rock into a copper dua.” A look of utter shock came over her face, and she stared at her hand. Before Muam could question her, she pressed the front of her buckle, and her protective shield vanished.
“Gova!” He started to order her to turn the suit back on, when she held up her other hand in a signal for silence. Her gaze concentrated on the sand she continued to roll between her fingers. Leaning over, she opened her hand to show him what had happened. Muam stared at the smudge of yellow covering her fingertips. “Is that…”
“Gold.” A smile broke over her face. “It is gold!” she repeated almost joyously. “I sorcered it, my husband!” She stopped, almost gasping for breath. “We are done! We are home, and it is our wedding day. The curse is over, my husband! We have survived!”
He could no longer deny it. Overwhelmed with joy, he pressed the button on his belt to drop the shield, and she smeared the metallic dust down the bridge of his nose before he swept her into his arms.
“My Gova. My beloved. My wife.” He said no more as their lips met, and they pressed tightly against one another, as if silently daring the gods to pull them apart.
The sun continued to beat down on them, but its light and heat was welcome. They had come through their ordeal more in love than the day when the curse had begun. Each death had strengthened them, and now they were ready to live out their remaining years in peace and happiness together.
Together. Finally forever.
For eternity.
About the Author:
Linda loves to write sweet and sensuous romance with a fantasy, paranormal, or science fiction flair. Her technique is often described as being as visual as a motion picture or graphic novel.
A wife, mother, grandmother, and retired Kindergarten and music teacher, she lives in a small south Texas town near the Gulf coast where she delves into other worlds filled with daring exploits, adventure, and intense love.
She has numerous best sellers, including 10 consecutive #1s. In 2009, she was named Whiskey Creek Press Torrid's Author of the Year, and her book My Strength, My Power, My Love was named the 2009 WCPT Book of the Year. In 2011, her book Lord of Thunder was named the Epic Ebook "Eppie" Award Winner for Best Erotic Sci-Fi Romance.
She also writes naughty humorous romances under the name of Carolyn Gregg, horror under the pseudonym of Gail Smith, and elementary teacher workbooks as L. G. Mooney.
For more information about Linda Mooney books and titles, up-coming releases, contests and giveaways, and to sign up for her newsletter, please visit her website.
http://www.LindaMooney.com
Other Urban/Fantasy Romances by Linda Mooney
36 Exposures
1000 of You
AEquana Series
AEquana
AEquana’s Quest
Bequeathed
Breath of Christmas
Castle’s Keep
Deities Series
Sky Titans
A Faerie’s Tale
Fly Me to the Moon
From Out of the Shadows
Healer of the Heart
Jones & Jones
Lionmeade
I’m Not Ehrynn Rose
Sandeflay
Secret Identity
Stone
Tall, Tall Trees
Your Heart, My Home
