Page 62 of Thief of Roses
“Sleep better, my dear one.”
Rivani smiled and rubbed her cheek against him.Her fingers played with one of the curls on his far shoulder.
“Rest well, my love,” she whispered.
The soft purring of his slumber was his only reply.
XXV.
Rivani’s time in theOther Reality — dream, visitation, whatever it was — nagged at her long afterward, understanding now through her own distraction the effect it must have had on Baró.She had not bargained or pledged anything as she had agreed and now she gave thanks to her gods for not having attempted it.She could not imagine being beholden to such a hostile Being that could wield power without having the ability to change the direction of it.However, the experience provided insight and information even if that new information overwhelmed her.
Rivani loved Baró.Of course, she did.She had not wanted to consider it, knowing she would leave him.She had been content to call it a hormone-induced lust coupled with the closest friendship imaginable.But now having spoken the truth of it, it occupied the bulk of her attention.
She had other things to ponder too from that night — how she had lessened the time of his sentence and how she related to his physical changes even if her presence did not contribute to his changes.It was a matter of asking the right questions but she didn’t know where to begin.
“My apologies for disturbing you,” Baró offered as he came up from the buttery carrying two sets of ribs he carved away from a recent kill.“We should finish up the boar.”
“Hmm?Oh, yes.That’s wisdom,” she agreed.“Do you want me to cook yours too?”
He sat beside her on the bench in front of the hearth.“If you would, I would be grateful.Ribs are good for the teeth but tiring for the jaw.”
She patted his arm as she rose to get the knife so she could cut the ribs into smaller sections.Another item from her conversation with the Magic occupied her mind.She tried ignoring it but it was her body that urged her on.
“I spoke with Her — the Magic,” she said.
“Is that the cause of your distance?”
“I haven’t been distant.”
“You’ve been physically close, but distracted.”
“Not that distracted.”
He shot her a look that would make a weaker person wither.
“Last week while reading, you trailed off in the middle of a sentence and did not recall yourself until the candle burned itself out.”
