[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
who I was.
Enjoy yourself? he asked indulgently,
but I had, so I didn t care.
It s like magic, I breathed. I ve never
been so close to flying!
The expression on his face then& oh,
gods. It was tormented, is what it was. He
looked joyous for me, and so, so haunted, as
though this second, this moment, was stolen,
and he didn t want to give it back.
Aerie-Smith? I asked uncertainly, and
he shook his head and held out a sandwich
he d pulled from the basket.
Eat, Naef. You re happy. I d like to see
you happy for a moment. It s a treat for me
really, yes?
I scowled, the expression fitting my face
again as it should. Well it was, I sulked,
121/352
but then I took a bite of the sandwich ven-
ison, lettuce and tomato and all was right
with the world.
I finished the sandwich and the sun
started to penetrate my towel. I cast a furtive
look at Aerie-Smith. He was sunning himself
unashamedly, his face turned toward the sky
and his eyes closed in that self-satisfied way
that big cats have. I let the bath sheet drop
and did the same thing, letting the sun and
the slight breeze dry my thin linen shift and
shorts and feeling the glory that was good
health and sound bones.
I probably could have slept there, but
Aerie-Smith harrumed, and I looked up. We
need to get in the shade, he said regretfully.
Your skin is very pale. You ll burn.
I sighed, and we stood up and relo-
cated. I wrapped myself in the sheet again
because it was chilly in the shade, but the
soothing pleasure of watching the surf coast
122/352
in was still there, and I was happy enough for
the time being. It was into that contented si-
lence that Aerie-Smith spoke.
I stole a kiss, he said softly, and I
looked at him, blinking hard.
From who?
A pretty girl, he said with a sad smile,
and my heart plummeted like a shot bird.
I didn t know you liked girls, I said.
He d told me I d made his body respond, and
I thought maybe that had meant& .
I spent a lot of time at court, Naef, he
said in a matter-of-fact way. Court is like&
well, you can have your choice at court, and I
took my choice. Boys mostly, but girls were
nice too. But this was here. I d returned, my
great-uncle had passed on, and I was ready
to rule and be happy here. But one night, I
was walking home from the village, and I cut
through the woods. And there, in the
123/352
clearing, was a girl. He shook his head and
let a breath out of his wide cat nose. Still
one of the prettiest damned sights I ever did
see. She was wearing this diaphanous green
dress, and her hair was loose and glittering&
and sunrise orange. He shook his head
again. It was something literally out of a
faerie tale, and it is my own damned fault I
didn t notice the pointed ears.
His eyes were still out to the ocean. I
kept trying to see them, but he was avoiding
my gaze. You have to understand, he
began, and then snorted in disgust. Right.
There s nothing to understand. I d just spent
five years at court, where every no really
meant maybe , where a virgin was someone
who hadn t been had for money. And we
talked pleasantly, and she& she flirted, I
suppose, but I didn t know then that it was in
the nature of her people to banter. I went for
a kiss, and she said, No! and I captured her
hand and pulled her in for one anyway. She
124/352
slapped me across the face, not hard, but
hard enough for me to let go of her. I apolo-
gized, and I was sincere. I had& well, I d
thought my advances were welcome, but the
damage had been done.
He managed a sideways look at me, and
I kept his gaze, trying to figure out why this
should shame him so very much. It was a
misunderstanding, yes? A simple thing. A
young man s indiscretion. No worse than my
wandering hands on his chest when he was
not ready for them.
You re acting like you expect me to
kick sand in your face. I m tired. I ll do it to-
morrow. And I seem to have left my knives in
my bloody great bedroom. Keep going with
your story, I snapped, puzzled and a little ir-
ritated. If this was the worst thing he d ever
done? Well, I could wipe the floor with him
in a fight, that was sure, and that was when
my body wasn t working properly, either.
125/352
Aerie-Smith sat forward and crossed his
legs. It didn t look like it was even possible,
the way they were jointed, but he did it any-
way. You see, the thing is, elves may seem to
be a promiscuous people. From what I un-
derstand, they have sex as easy as breathing,
and nearly all of them will have sex with any
gender, race, or species that they can interact
with. Unless they re bonded wedded in
their hearts. That s when things get tricky.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]