Page 38 of Shattered Magic

“It is. Oh, here is the confirmation text. Vega knows everybody, and Eon always is at the right place at the right time.” She checked her watch. “And I have two hours to get pretty.”

“You are stunning.”

“Yes, but I have to be stunning in public. It’s easy in a closed room with one audience.” She smirked. “This is sort of like stretching before a run.”

She got up and was about to leave when he cleared his throat and extended his hand. She sighed and returned to him for a kiss.

He had started it in the dreamscape and continued it during the previous day. Whenever she left the room, she had to kiss him goodbye.

She walked over to him, took his hand, and let him reel her in. He was still seated, so she only had to bend slightly to meet his mouth. He was smiling slightly, which made the kiss weird at first, but soon, she was tasting the green tea he favoured and the drop of honey he had put in.

In the dream realm, she would already be in his lap, and he would be inside her, but it was because of their experience in dreams that he had sought out the opener. He wasn’t going to get in without injuring her, and the experience would repeat if that happened.

When she lifted her head, she blinked. “What was I doing?”

“Going to get something to wear to dinner.” His smirk was gentle.

“Right. Can I have my hand back?”

He looked at his grip on her fingers. “Temporarily.” He let her go, and she wiggled her fingers in his face as she left.

It was time to go into the forbidden closet and find something for dinner.

When they pulled up in front of the restaurant, she was nervous. Hari hadn’t been out in a proper girly outfit just for fun in years. Even the cocktail dress from a few nights ago had been less feminine than the outfit she was currently in.

Hari could only describe the dress as a structured nighty. She had been going to pick something more rigid when Zerul had picked this one instead, saying that he liked the way it set off her eyes.

Zerul offered her his arm as they left the car to cross the sidewalk. Personnel opened and held the restaurant doors as they approached.

Hari smiled at the discreetly dressed hostess. “Reservations for Vega.”

The hostess smiled. “Of course, miss. Please come this way.”

The hostess led them to a table in a quiet area of the restaurant, and Hari saw a pale but relaxed Vega sitting next to the man who had taken over Orvuul.

Vega got to her feet and smiled. “Hari. Thank you for mentioning it. Dinner out is just what I need.”

Arkus moved around to hold Vega’s chair. “It is good to see any of Vega’s friends again.”

Hari looked at Vega’s hair and gasped when she saw her bare neck. “Your mark is gone.”

Vega shrugged. “It’s simpler this way. They don’t bother me; I won’t bother them.”

Hari was concerned. “Your family mark?”

“Yes. My grandmother came to the hospital, and I am not certain why. I mean, I know why Arkus brought her. I just don’t know why she came.”

Zerul murmured as he held Hari’s chair. “She came because she wanted to please her deity.”

Arkus sighed. “An error on my part. I hadn’t thought that they would become so insular. When I was formed as one of them, they were kind and open, accepting new members of their community, and the average-sized folk who were born in the village were helpful and trusted. Yes, they left to find suitable partners if they couldn’t find one in the village, but this contempt for all things external to the ideal of the community has caused those born there to be exiled.” He grunted. “It’s a mess.”

Vega smiled and sipped at her water. “Your mess, not mine. Have fun.”

Arkus sighed again. “You could help?”

“What? Stand next to you while they threw stuff at me? They are miners; they throw rocks. If I didn’t regenerate like I do, that would have made a permanent dent in my skull. That was the point where I was emancipated and sent on my way.”

Hari blinked. “I didn’t know you were emancipated.”

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