“So, we celebrate as well as mourn Persephone’s return to the underworld today.”
“And her return to uninterrupted time with her dark, forbidden love,” Ana added wistfully.
Gertie smiled with a shake of her head. “To brightness, even when the nights turn long and dark. We welcome the change of season and the changes happening within ourselves. Blessed be.”
“To the mother, the maiden, and the crone,” Celeste added within her practice.
I looked around at the rest of my little coven, repeating the simple send-off. I watched each of their lips as they spoke the well-known trio that had made up the world.
The mother. The maiden. The crone. Life represented by each cycle of the moon.
I spoke each on silent lips as my eyes met Gertie’s, who spoke more than just the words with her eyes as we echoed each other.
“Now, turn and help your partner share this feast with you. Take their pomegranate as they move forward into their life, leaving what is no longer serving them in this world or in the ether behind.” Faith turned toward Gertie to carefully pass each of the seven seeds past her lips. And her in reciprocation.
Slowly, I turned to my right, facing Ryan with our own little bowl still settled between us.
“Too weird?” I asked.
“Not at all,” Ryan responded. His voice had, however, turned a bit shaky and breathless as he lifted his gathered pomegranate seeds.
I could feel the energy vibrate between us.
“I’ll go first,” I said, my words but a hushed sound as I lifted the tiny seeds up to Ryan.
He ran his tongue over his lips before parting them, pulling back after another second. “Take turns instead?”
After a second, I nodded. Of course.
I let the seed drift right outside his mouth, touching his lip before he pulled it in, tasting the burst of flavor. He shut his eyes at the taste. When he opened them again, a striking blue staring back at me, he lifted the next seed up.
Carefully, I parted my lips and opened my mouth to him.
His fingers grazed up past my chin as he stared between my eyes and mouth, similar to the way he had that night in the library. Only now, there was trust and concentration as we traded gentle touches and fruit back and forth until all I could taste was honeyed desire.
The slightest bit of tart pomegranate juice ran down my lips the same way it caked the corners of Ryan’s mouth. Our fingers were stained the deep-red color as they froze between our bodies. I couldn’t pull my gaze away from his lips. His eyes, in the low, flickering light, were hooded as he looked back at me, stuck, as if we, too, were being pulled down.
Down.
Down.Drawn into the underworld, like Persephone, where every hidden desire would never see the light of day or anything else other than how Ryan’s mouth gleefully took each sweet, juicy bite of pomegranate, like he’d never tasted anything better. I wanted to prove him wrong. And I’d stay right there for eternity to do so.
I blinked.
Inhaling, I turned my head back to the flames. No one else seemed to have noticed that anything had just happened or changed.
Gertie stared in my direction, swiping her fingers back over her tongue once more to get the final taste of summer. She dried each off on her gladiolus-embroidered lace handkerchief.
“Did you have a moment over there, Lu?” Ana asked. Her head cocked to the side in study.
Swallowing, I shook my head. “I’m good.”
Her dark eyebrows rose. “You sure?”
“Mmhmm.” I nodded once more.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ryan still slightly twisted in my direction, blinking back to himself. The corner of his lips tentatively curved up. Soft and mellow.
“Sweet,” he whispered.
