by Pati Nagle
Your hair has grown.
Well, it has been a season.
Yes. Too long.
His kiss caught her by surprise, deep and intense, lighting fire in her loins. Their khi blended and her anxiety burned away, replaced by desire.
They had spent the night of their handfasting in the Star Tower at Hallowhall, surrounded by luxury. Now Turisan spread his cloak on the forest floor, a much humbler bed. Turning to her, he began working to unfasten her leathers.
She reached for his in turn, impatience making her fumble at the straps. His soft laughter tickled her ear.
We have all night.
He removed a bracer from her arm and kissed her wrist, and made a game of it, kissing whatever part of her he freed from the next garment. She did likewise, and by the time their clothes were gone they were deeply entwined in thought, beyond drawing back.
They slid into one another, sensations both familiar and new enthralling them. Turisan kept the pace slow, driving Eliani mad. Each shift, each touch sent responses echoing between them. They moved together toward a perfect height of ecstasy, so deeply lost within each other that the echoes rang again and again before subsiding slowly, leaving them spent.
Resting, they spoke in feelings, having abandoned words. Wellness, peace, agreement. Together, no outsiders, no distractions. They sought passion again, rested again, until the forest began to lighten with morning.
It was Turisan who first drew back into himself, not completely but enough to remember that self. Eliani reluctantly let him go, returning to awareness of herself as an individual. So lonely; she preferred to remain entwined, but Turisan thought something was important.
We must ride.
Yes.
I do not wish to say farewell, Eliani.
I am coming with you.
His concern and worry rippled through her. To shield herself she withdrew further.
Ehranan expects you.
I will go after we have reached Woodrun.
It is too dangerous.
I am not leaving you.
Eliani opened her eyes, inhaled deeply, relishing the smells of the forest and her partner, her love. At last she slid away from him and sat up, stretching her arms skyward. Her handfasting ribbons glinted softly, still tight on her forearm.
Not here, then. A relief; she had no desire to make a home in the wilds of Fireshore.
We are running out of possibilities. I hope we do not discover our home in Eastfæld.
Or the Steppes. Turisan rolled onto his side and ran his hand over her flesh, making her shiver.
Eliani—
Four days. It will make little difference to the army. They will reach Woodrun when they reach it, whether or not I am with them.
Uncertainty, then resignation. It was what he wanted, too. Selfish, yes. This bit of selfishness they would permit themselves.
If the alben are in Woodrun, you will ride south at once. Promise me.
I am a guardian—
Promise me.
Very well.
He kissed her again, long and slow, then withdrew completely at last, leaving only a thread of connection that neither was willing to release. They held it gently as they dressed each other, making ready to face the coming war.
Preview: Eternal
(coming in April 2012)
After the human race evolved the ælven went into hiding, still struggling against their kindred foes, the alben, and now fighting to survive in a world that belonged more and more to humans.
= 1 =
I never should have let them talk me into giving blood.
It was almost eight and the donation center was getting ready to close. Still light outside, since it was late May, and the view from the center's picture windows of the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque was fantastic. All the couches faced those windows, for which I was thankful as I lay squeezing a little foam bar and contributing my pint.
I hated needles, and I didn't much care for the sight of blood even if it was in neat little plastic bags. I was pissed at myself for letting Len wheedle me into this. Ever since she switched to pre-med, she was nuts on this kind of thing.
She and her boyfriend Caeran had already finished donating and were over in the lounge area with the cookies and punch. So sue me, I bleed slow.
The technician came by and jiggled my little bags of blood. “Almost done,” she said cheerily.
I didn't answer. I was working up to a first class sulk.
Ever since Len had hooked up with Caeran, I felt like a third wheel. Now that the semester was over they were heading up north to visit his family—tonight was our farewell fiesta—and I was looking at a boring, lonely summer.
I sighed and gazed out the window. The mountains were turning pink in the sunset, earning their name, “watermelon.” Not as picturesque as the Sangre de Cristo mountains east of Santa Fe, named for the same reason but rather more graphically. Those Catholics.
My eye was caught by movement just outside in the parking lot. A man, I thought: tall and slender in a hooded sweatshirt, walking toward the side of the building. For an instant I thought it was Caeran, but I could hear his voice behind me, and he wasn't dressed like that.
The tech returned and declared me done. She removed the needle and made me hold my arm in the air for a minute, asked me if I felt dizzy, then wound some hot pink vet wrap around my arm and released me to the snacks.
I got up carefully, since I hadn't done this before. I'd heard of people passing out, but I just felt a little lightheaded, and even energized.
Len looked up and smiled as I made a beeline for the drinks. “Feeling OK?”
Ignoring her, I filled a paper cup with lemonade. It was bad, from a powdered mix. I chugged two cups.
“I'm always thirsty too,” Len said. “I wish they'd have something besides all this sugar.”
I glanced involuntarily at Caeran, who was munching an apple. Probably he'd brought it along. He was Mr. Healthy Eater, claimed he didn't like sweets. I could have hated him if only he wasn't so damned gorgeous. And nice. Disgustingly nice.
OK, I was jealous. Len had scored the best-looking guy on campus. I'd had some dates, but none of them came close to Caeran for all-around wonderfulness. I kept telling myself I'd find the right guy eventually, but it was hard not to wish I'd spotted Caeran first. Or rather, that he'd walked up to my station at the library desk instead of Len's.
“Movie starts in twenty minutes,” Len said. “We'd better go.”
She and Caeran headed for the door. I hung back to look through the cookies, grabbed the last packet of Oreos and shoved a Moon Pie into my pocket, then hurried after them.
The front parking lot had been full when we arrived, so we'd parked in the lot to the north. Now the center's lot was empty except for one car at the end of the row. The pavement radiated the day's heat.
I paused to open the Oreos and stuffed one into my mouth. As I looked up, I glimpsed the man I'd seen through the window standing by the blood red wall that surrounded the center.
He had long hair like Caeran's, and it was white even though he looked young. Goth, maybe? His clothes were black. Same lean bones, same high cheekbones as Caeran. I stood ogling him, then he looked at me and his nostrils flared.
Cold flooded my gut. Not a rational reaction; purely instinctive.
My lizard brain knew he was a killer.
April 2012
Other Books by Pati Nagle
Blood of the Kindred series
The Betrayal
Heart of the Exiled
Swords Over Fireshore
Immortal series
Immortal
Eternal
About the Author
Pati Nagle was born and raised in the mountains of northern New Mexico. An avid student of music, history, and humans in general, she loves the outdoors but hides from the sun.
She writes in a variety of genres, but is most often drawn to fantasy or (as P.G. Nagle) historical fiction. He
r stories have appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and in various other magazines and anthologies, including Elf Magic, which featured “Kind Hunter,” the story that sparked the ælven world. Her Blood of the Kindred series includes The Betrayal, Heart of the Exiled, and Swords Over Fireshore. A contemporary series featuring the ælven began with Immortal and continues with Eternal.
Pati Nagle still lives in the mountains in New Mexico, with her husband and furry feline muse, where she loves to walk in the woods and look up at the stars.
www.patinagle.com
www.pgnagle.com
About Book View Café
Book View Café is a professional authors’ cooperative offering DRM-free ebooks in multiple formats to readers around the world. With authors in a variety of genres including fantasy, romance, mystery, and science fiction, Book View Café has something for everyone.
Book View Café is good for readers because you can enjoy high-quality DRM-free ebooks from your favorite authors at a reasonable price.
Book View Café is good for writers because 95% of the profits goes directly to the book’s author.
Book View Café authors include NY Times bestsellers and notable book authors (Madeleine Robins, Patricia Rice, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, and Sarah Zettel), Nebula and Hugo Award winners (Ursula K. Le Guin, Vonda N. McIntyre, Linda Nagata), and a Rita award winner (Patricia Rice).
bookviewcafe.com
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Map of the Ælven Lands
Creed of the Ælven, third stave
Swords Over Fireshore
Preview: Eternal
About the Author
About Book View Café
Contents
