And yet everything inside me yearns.
Flint’s voice jars me back to the present, as he waves his hand to gesture to the meal. He’s, somehow, brought all of my favorite things — fresh fruit, yogurt. I spy a bowl of candy and, oh my fucking Gods, he also has a carafe of coffee and a small container filled with crisp bacon, cooked just the way I like it — one degree south of burnt to a crisp.
Putting away my daydreams, I refocus my energy on the moment. If nothing else, I will be grateful for this time and this man.
I put on my sternest expression and reach for a piece of bacon. I almost lose it when I see Flint’s face fall.Struggling to keep my expression schooled, I crunch into its salty perfection.
“How?” I ask, keeping my tone level as my tastebuds water.
“How what?” He genuinely appears perplexed.
I swallow the food and smile. “How did you plan something so perfect?”
The tension leaves his shoulders and his smile returns, lighting up his eyes. “You’ve been under a lot of pressure and, given everything that’s happened… I just thought you could use a break. Some bright, happy.”
He fixes me a plate, making sure I’m settled before starting on his own.
I’m filling my mouth with creamy yogurt and tart strawberries when he swears softly under his breath and sets his plate aside.
“What’s wrong?” The words come out thick, through the yogurt I didn’t quite finish swallowing.
He seems to consider it, sitting on his knees, his hands resting on his thighs. Then he smiles again and says “Just watch.”
He closes his eyes, and I feel the air around me stir. Gently, the barest hint of a breeze. He raises his hands and cups them together, then slowly expands them until they are chest width apart. Opening his eyes, he moves his hands until they are hovering over the small pizza I had forgotten about, then lowers them to the ground. A weird sensation flows through me, almost like a faint strike. Before I can comment on it, he sits back and softly calls “Calida?”
‘PRESENT,’ she all but shrieks into our minds. I put a hand to my forehead to block the sun as I scan the treesat our back. I see a glint of sunlight reflecting off blue scales.
“Ah, so you are. Your lunch is ready.”
Calida drops to the ground, and streaks towards the blanket, a shot of sapphire cutting through the swath of emerald. Just when she reaches the pizza, she disappears from sight.
I sit up abruptly, as Flint settles in and picks his plate back up.
“Where did she go?”
‘I’m here,’she announces, but it definitely sounds like her mouth is full.
“Just a sight shield,” Flint explains, nibbling on his own bacon. “She wanted to be part of today’s activities, but I figured with the other people here, this was the safest way.”
“A sight shield?” I repeat. Seriously? He’s never done any magick around me before.
He nods, swallows. “Simple, just asking the light and the air to work together to keep her from sight.”
I sit back on my ass, hard. Despite everything, despite the damndragonwho lives in my apartment, part of me hadn’t believed Flint had magick. Having such a low-key display of it in such a nonchalant way is…so fucking cool.
“Amazing,” I whisper.
‘Thanks,’Calida says.
I smile. She’s amazing too, so there’s no need tocorrect her.
The longer we spend in the sun and the air, the more I can see Ash relaxing, bit by bit. I think she often underestimates how much tension, worry, and stress she carries with her during her day to day. I can’t imagine how much worse that pressure would be if she knew the truth, both about home and about me.
When I went to Annemarie and Betsy with the vague notion of a plan for a surprise, they were all too happy to help me in my plans and preparations. Anne was able to help with the food preparations and gave suggestions for what would travel well and keep inside a picnic basket. Betsy helped me find a flower for what I wanted to say as sadly, plant life and I have never gotten along very well. My mother despaired of my lack of gardening abilities and, eventually, barred me from helping her in the garden.
Even Calida was quick to volunteer, flying and scoping for the perfect location for today’s picnic.
With a hefty dent made in the food and coffee, Ash helps me pack away that debris before stretching out in the soft sunshine, laying her head on the pillows I brought. She squints at the sky through the canopy of leaves and sighs, contentedly.
