“Patience. We have come to see something new,” he murmurs.
He takes us along the moving pathways, over the caverns of lava, past the pumps which control the air, and over to the forges.
When he sets me down, I sag against him and clutch onto his arm. He guides me forward, past tools, and the fire which is now merely a scattering of glimmery rocks.
He walks to a stone chest and removes the lid. Slowly, he pulls out a set of golden armor. In his hands, it looks as though it would be for an Enduar youngling.
I look closer at the breastplate, finding it was clearly madefor a woman and see some of the strange crystal glass from the underwater Enduar suits between the breasts.
Slowly, I approach.
My hands slide over the material, but the tune of this creation isn’t sharp. It feels like a star beam.
I bask in the excellence of the piece. The way the metal looks from the elbow caps and gauntlets, to the greaves and shoe coverings.
When I pick up a piece, I feel just how weightless it is.
My eyes find my mate. “Did you make this?”
He shakes his head with a smile. “I can do many things, but I leave metal and fine stone work to the benders.”
My hand slides over the smooth metal. “Will you help me put it on?”
He grins and comes over, picking up one piece at a time. Slowly, he fits them over my thin nightgown, fingers languorously trailing across patches of thin stone silk and bare skin. I shiver as he covers my torso, my arms, and then finally, my legs.
“Wait, I remember this,” I say, delighted to find a memory mostly untouched.
He looks up at me from his kneeling position and smiles. “Yes?”
My hands go to his head, which nearly comes up to my chest as he kneels, and my fingers slide through his silky locks.
“I helped you put on your armor before you left,” I say, luxuriating in testing my movements in the light coverings.
Teo hums.
Once on, I find each piece has more substance than I thought, but it is not so much to make my muscles groan. Perhaps after many hours of wear, it would be worse. I’ll bring it to show Svanna and Ayla tomorrow.
“Thank you,” I say quietly.
Teo beams at me. “So you like it?”
I nod. “Yes. I love it very much.”
His eyes grow heated as he reaches up and unclips my breastplate. He removes both of my arm coverings, and then he pauses to set aside the fine pieces and to trail his hands over my arms, across my back, and then around my belly.
“When I awoke and saw you gone, fear returned to me with a cruel vengeance.”
I place my hand atop his, marveling at the size difference between them, and soak in every inch of warmth that radiates from his skin.
“The crystal wraith’s call took me out of our room. She told me to come alone—I hadn’t thought to tell you.”
He leans forward and presses a kiss to my Fuegorra, and heat stirs between my legs. I press my hand down on his chest.
“It brings me joy to see you flourish in Enduvida. In this life as a queen,” he says. Then his teeth brush over the sensitive skin of my collar bone
“I never wish to leave. You should know that.” My voice is breathless.
He bites on the side of my throat, but retreats far too quickly.
