by Joe Jackson
“Aye, that’s true,” Galdur said.
“Would any of your officers be willing to swap rooms with Grakin?” she asked, receiving a curious glance from Galdur and Jori-an. “Then Katarina can have my bed.”
“I’m not sure I understand. If you want to sleep in a hammock, then Katarina can just have your bed,” the captain said, and he took his hat off and ran his hand back over his hair. “Why would one of my officers need to switch beds with Grakin?”
“Well, if he has a larger room and bed…I can stay with him,” Kari said quickly before she could lose her nerve.
Sonja put her hands to the sides of her snout, and the smile Grakin turned on Kari nearly melted her heart. Erik did a double-take, a smile crossed Serenjols’ face, and a silence spread over the group for a minute until it was pierced by a loud – and surprisingly jubilant – HA from Typhonix. Erik didn’t seem to share his mirth at first, but after he stared at Kari for a minute, the blue-eyed male squared his jaw and nodded. “You two did have sex on the island,” Erik stated as much as asked, and he nodded again when he received an affirmative response from both. “I thought as much.”
Kari’s eyes were drawn to the blonde demonhunter sitting next to the blue-eyed male, and she couldn’t believe Ty was smiling at her. Ty turned his eyes away when their stares met, but the smile remained undiminished and he gave Grakin a thumbs-up. It was the first time Kari could think of that the obnoxious brute had smiled without first insulting her or making some lewd comment. Given the way he had harassed her throughout the trip, she found it strange that he would find her a suitable mate for one of his siblings. Kari supposed that perhaps she wasn’t the only one full of surprises amongst this bunch.
Kari was thankful for it whatever the reason, and she turned her attention back to Grakin. Eryn rose and moved down to her friend, and gestured for Kari to go take her chair. The terra-dracon woman felt a little exposed as she stood with the eyes of everyone gathered upon her, but she walked over and sat down next to the priest. After a moment, they shared a passionate kiss, and Captain Galdur nodded appreciatively while smiles sprouted on the faces of the rest of the gathering. Under the table, where the others could not see, Kari and Grakin’s hands interlocked. She gave him a strong squeeze, and received one in return.
“I’ll relinquish my room to them and take Karian’s cabin, Captain,” Jori-an said. She turned her attention to the couple. “I only ask that you not disturb any of my belongings while you are in my room. I will move my clothing and such to the footlocker in Karian’s cabin, but my wardrobes and bookshelves should remain untouched.”
“That is more than reasonable, thank you,” Grakin said.
“Then it seems as though everyone is satisfied,” Captain Galdur said. “Sherman, you will be afforded a hammock with your half-demon friends in the general quarters. Grakin, if you’d be so kind as to show Katarina to her cabin when you go to clean out your things? For now, we can welcome our new guests with a game of cards.”
“I think I’ll pass, but thank you, Captain,” Kari said. She kissed Grakin again and made her way out to the deck. She hurried up the stairs to the sterncastle and the back rail, and she looked east toward the horizon. The second moon was just cresting the edge of the world, and she looked to its radiance and that of its sister with a smile. The sense of loss that had dogged her since they left the island was gone, and she closed her eyes as the wind slid over her shoulders and through her hair.
Soon Grakin’s hands took the wind’s place, and he ran them over her shoulders and down her arms gently, kissing the side of her neck as his fingers interlaced with hers. She tucked her wings tight to her back, and he pressed close to her and held her in a gentle hug for several minutes. Kari turned around and Grakin stared deep into her dark eyes, and she did the same to him. The lantern light from the pilot’s station showed in the depths of his ebon eyes, and Kari could also see her love for him reflected there as well. They kissed again briefly, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as his encircled her lower back. “I love you,” she said. “And I’m sorry I didn’t say so when we were on the island.”
“But you did,” he said quietly. “In the way you made love to me, I could tell. If there is any blame for things not being said, then it belongs to us both. I love you too, Karian Vanador.”
She poked the end of his nose. “Kari,” she corrected. “I don’t like being called Karian. I know I introduce myself that way, but I prefer my friends – and my lover – to call me Kari.”
“Lover?” he repeated.
“Mate,” she corrected herself, and she kissed his cheek affectionately. “I offer myself to you as your mate. When we are finished with this mission, I will bear you children.”
Grakin cupped her face in his hand and touched his forehead to hers for a moment before he met her gaze once again. “It is my honor to have you as a mate,” he said. “But let us not make plans beyond tomorrow. We have a very long, very dangerous task before us, and our focus must be on it and it alone.”
“Of course,” she agreed, but then she flashed a mischievious smile. “Can we make plans for tonight?”
Grakin laughed and sat down at the rail, and Kari sat down beside him. “May I ask you a question?” he asked, and she nodded. “Why did you choose me? Why not Erik, or Aeligos?”
Kari’s brows knitted, and she shook her head. “I’m not sure how to answer that,” she said. “I guess it’s because…you remind me of someone I loved a long time ago, in my past life. Someone that kept me safe and made me feel like I was more than just a demonhunter. You’re a healer, a gentle man driven by compassion. I…probably sound silly right now. Erik and Aeligos are both handsome, but both of them just…I don’t know how to say it. Neither of them interests me. Erik’s too damned big and hard-nosed, and Aeligos strikes me as a bit of an opportunist, at least when it comes to finding a woman. Not to mention he’s already involved with someone.”
“So it is not because you feel sorry for me?” Grakin asked, though it was clear he already knew the answer and simply wanted to hear it from her.
“Of course not,” she said, laying a hand on his thigh. “I’m not like that; I wouldn’t do that to you.”
Grakin waved his hand. “I was not suggesting that,” he said.
“I know,” Kari replied, cutting him off. “I just want to be clear. What we shared was special to me, and you are special to me. If you were going to die tomorrow, it wouldn’t change the way I feel about you.”
Grakin closed his eyes for a few moments, and when he opened them again he smiled and leaned in to kiss her. He rose to his feet and held his hand out to her, helped her to stand, and then he took both of her hands in his. “Would you like to make love tonight?” he asked.
Kari touched his face gently and he rubbed his cheek in her palm. “Just understand: I won’t always be interested,” she said, to which he nodded knowingly. “In a few days, depending on what I smell like, you may not be, either.”
Grakin laughed and turned toward the stairs down to the lower decks with her beside him. “I guess you did not know that the officers’ quarters have bathtubs in them? Or Jori-an’s does, anyway.”
“They do?” she asked. “I didn’t think they would waste water on a ship.”
The priest shrugged. “They have another stop planned along the way, and this ship holds quite a bit of cargo. I would not worry about water or any other type of supplies. You cannot bathe nightly, but we can share a bath every few days at the very least.”
“This trip is getting better and better,” Kari said, and Grakin joined in her mirth. The two were met by Jori-an once they descended to the cabins, and the terra-dracon and seterra-rir women swapped the contents of their footlockers while Grakin brought his own pack into the larger cabin. Kari sat on the corner of Jori-an’s bed and watched Grakin place his pack with hers. They looked up as Jori-an returned one last time.
The seterra-rir first mate closed the door behind her and put her bac
k against it. “Let me be a little clearer,” she said, and Grakin sat beside Kari on the bed. “I didn’t want to be crass in front of your siblings and friends, but I have some very specific rules about your usage of my cabin. Remember that this room is my home. Be clean: if you make a mess, I expect you to clean it up. Keep your lovemaking confined to the bed or the bathtub, and do not touch the clothing or other articles in my wardrobe under any circumstances.”
“The bathtub?” Kari asked, looking at the secured metal tub – not unlike the one she’d used at the Bloodied Blade but for the fact that it could rock within its frame upon rough seas.
Jori-an rolled her eyes but did not elaborate. “You may read my books, but they are kept in a specific order, so mind where you got them and return them there when you are finished. Do not read them while bathing. I already put the spare sheets on the bed, so do as you will in them…I’ll just burn them when the voyage is over.”
Kari chuckled, embarrassed. “Thank you, Jori-an,” she said. “How did you enjoy the short stay on the island?”
Jori-an smiled, though briefly. “It’s always a pleasure to return to see my mate and my children,” she said, “but my home is on this ship. Now: do you want to ask me questions, or do you want to use my quarters? Get to your lovemaking.”
Once Jori-an closed the door behind her, Grakin began undressing while Kari walked over and secured the latch. When Kari turned around, she glanced at their new abode and gave an appreciative nod for how well-furnished it was, given its size. There was the bed, which was large enough for two, with efficient night stands on both sides, a secured wardrobe on the wall between two portholes, short but well-stocked bookshelves along the inner wall, and, of course, the secured metal tub.
Kari glanced at the bathtub and then fixed her mate with a curious stare. “The bathtub?” she asked.
Grakin cocked his head. “Certainly not something I feel inclined to try. If you had said in the water at the beach, then perhaps, but in a bathtub?” he asked, and he looked at the metal tub with contempt. “I cannot imagine one person can get comfortable in that, let alone two.”
They got undressed and slid into the soft bed, and Kari smiled as they snuggled under the blankets and he stroked her hair. She kissed him gently and met his stare. “Your brothers took what I said better than I expected,” she said.
“What makes you say that?” he asked.
“I expected some of them to be angry, or at least jealous,” she clarified.
Grakin propped himself up on his elbow. “Why would you think that?” he asked, but he touched his finger to the end of her snout to stifle her reply. “The only ones I could understand you thinking about that way are Erik and Typhonix. Ty is a jerk sometimes, Kari, but he is my brother, and in the end he is actually fairly protective of me. All of my brothers are, as they are fighters and I am not. I know Ty is suspicious of you, but despite the way he acts, he is not determined to make us miserable. As for Erik, he is just protective of us all.”
“It was more the way Erik looked at us when he found us on the beach,” she said. “Almost like he couldn’t believe I was with you rather than him.”
“I do not think it was that,” Grakin said, stroking her cheek softly. “It may have more to do with his suspicions about your past and, again, his overprotective nature, especially where I am concerned.”
“Oh,” she said, considering his words for a minute. “I would’ve thought he’d confront you about it, and that you would’ve told him the truth about me.”
“I am having sex with you,” the priest said with a slight frown. “He would not believe me any more than he believes you. I do not think it will be an issue, given that we are now mated, but it may still take a while before he accepts the truth of the matter in his heart.”
“Good,” Kari said, and her words drew a curious glance from her mate. “I’m supposed to report on his abilities as a leader and as a demonhunter when this mission is complete. If he still doesn’t believe me, then it means he won’t rely on my experience, and I’ll learn a lot more about him than I normally would.”
“Ah, I see,” Grakin said with a slight smile. “I will keep that in mind and make certain not to try to change his mind in the future, then.”
“Aeligos and Serenjols seem happy for us,” she commented.
“Do not be fooled by Jol’s silence,” the priest said, stroking her cheek again. “There is much love in that man; he simply does not know how to express it. Erik is more headstrong, but Serenjols is no less protective of us in his own, less direct manner. He wants us all to be happy and safe, and ultimately together. You should have seen him during the Apocalypse; you would hardly know the man you have seen was the same man who fought in the War.”
“As for Aeligos,” he continued, shaking his head lightly, “whatever you may think of him on account of his relationship with Eryn, he has a good heart.”
“Your parents must be very proud of you all,” Kari said, and she kissed him. “I hardly know you all very well, but I’m proud to call you my friends. Well, most of you, anyway.”
Grakin chuckled and hugged her tightly. “May I make love to you, my wondrous mate?”
Kari answered wordlessly. Their lovemaking was no less passionate than the first time, and afterwards they fell asleep nestled in each other’s arms. The gentle rocking of the ship further eased them into blissful slumber, and the only sounds were the muted wind as it passed by the room’s two portholes and the rush of water along the hull. For the first time in years, Kari slept the whole night through.
*~*~*~*
Kari stirred lightly the next morning as Grakin’s hand traced up her side softly, and he kissed her on the cheek before rising. She stayed asleep a while longer and found her mate gone when she awakened fully and sat up. Kari assumed he had headed up to the ship’s deck to pray with the sunrise, and she stretched out, pulled the blankets close to her snout, and drew in the scent of his body. She marveled at how perfect he was for her, and the way her body and soul had reacted to his presence and his touch. She considered the chain of events that had caused them to meet, and as her mind flashed across the previous weeks, she thought about how Grakin must feel, considering that she’d been returned from the dead.
She was Grakin’s first lover, of that she was sure, and yet it made little difference to her. Somehow, he seemed to already know her so intimately, reacting to her every thought and desire without her having to speak a word. He was amazing; there was little other way to say it, and Kari ran her hand down her side, following the spectral path of the remnant of his touch. The feel of his skin set her own on fire, and she understood just what Eryn had meant the prior evening.
Kari sat up and dressed herself, but she didn’t bother with her armor, which had proven unnecessary aboard the ship. The leisure clothes she kept in her pack weren’t fashionable, but they were comfortable and the only other thing she had to wear. Once dressed, Kari made her way up to the deck, and as she approached the quarterdeck where her companions normally congregated, she could hear the sound of a guitar being played.
Kari stepped up to the quarterdeck, looked up, and politely saluted Jori-an, as seemed to be the custom. Jori-an kept her seat but returned the salute crisply. On the quarterdeck, Kari found Sonja sitting before their favorite bench, and the scarlet-haired woman’s hands were pressed to the sides of her snout in awe. Behind her, Erik and Typhonix were practicing their combat routines while Aeligos and Serenjols watched. Grakin sat on the bench with a guitar in hand. Kari had no idea he – or any of his siblings, for that matter – played, and certainly not with the degree of skill he displayed. His eyes were closed and yet his clawed fingers danced across the strings with such grace, his left hand caressing the neck of the stringed instrument with the same precision as it had Kari’s body.
Kari didn’t recognize the piece he was playing, having had little contact with music outside of the occasional bard she heard perform in taverns across Terrassia. The piece
was lovely and moving, and it struck a chord somewhere deep within her. Kari closed her eyes, listening to its structure, feeling its pulse, and she sighed lightly when it came to a close. Sonja hugged her suddenly, and Kari’s eyes came open as she was nearly knocked from her feet. “Don’t hug me, hug the bard,” Kari said as she regained her balance.
Grakin laughed – it was such a beautiful sound, and seemed so commonplace now – and his sister turned so that she could look at both of them. “He hasn’t played…gods, since he was fourteen? It’s been ages since I heard him play and his skill hasn’t diminished at all.” Sonja met Kari’s gaze and her ruby eyes sparkled. “It can’t be coincidence that he’s started playing again after everything that happened in the last two days.”
“I hear music when I touch Kaelariel’s mind,” the priest said pensively, and he sat back and stood the guitar up alongside the bench. “He seems to always have music on his mind, and sometimes, when I meditate on his thoughts, rather than hearing instructions, I hear such music.”
“His son is very fond of music too,” Kari said with a nod. “He entertained our battalion with a song or a guitar piece a number of times during the war.”
“With Kaelariel, it is more than just a fondness,” Grakin countered. “His thoughts seem to be arranged like music, if that makes any sense. It is as if his every thought, every action, is carefully constructed so that it follows a rhythm and a pattern, like a piece of music. It lends a cadence and a canon to his ways that brings me strength and comfort, even in the midst of something like the Apocalypse.”
“What’s it like to touch the mind of a god?” Kari asked as she sat beside her mate. Sonja sat cross-legged before them with a warm smile on her features.
“Humbling,” he answered. “The gods think much like we do, as they were once mortals, but the things that occupy their minds…it is humbling to touch such power and responsibility, and muster the strength to ask for even the simplest of things. In the morning, when I pray, he is asking and I am listening. When I meditate in the evening, I am asking and he is listening. At times, though, when he is satisfied with my current goals and my work, what I hear is music…as if even he, as a deity, sometimes needs to indulge in simple beauty.”
