My stomach let out a loud growl.
“You must eat,” Leaping Deer said. “And then, the joining ceremony shall commence.”
She and Red Bird sat numerous food baskets on the floor, smiled at us, and departed.
“Goodness,” I said, reaching for a bite of food. “I haven’t eaten all day.”
“Nor have I. But allow me.” Roman intercepted my hand and plucked a juicy morsel of deer meat from the basket with his fingertips. He lifted it to my lips and fed it to me.
I sucked on his fingers as I drew the meat into my mouth. The slipperiness of my cheeks against his fingers hinted at other slick places welcoming something else hard and delicious.
An erotic sensation swirled in my belly.
The roasted deer tasted better than anything I’d ever eaten.
I picked up cooked wild turnips and fed them to Roman. A gush of heat flooded my core when his mouth closed around my fingers.
“Mmm,” I said.
We continued to feed one another that way until nearly all our food had been consumed. Once we were done, our arousal was at an all-time high.
More voices headed our way.
Leaping Deer held the leather door open and said, “Retrieve your daggers. Place them in Red Bird’s hands and come with me. It is time.”
We stood and retrieved our knives from their sheaths on our thighs. Then, we stood in the doorway and handed them to Red Bird.
She gazed at us with solemnity as if holding our most treasured objects was her honor.
The memory of the purification ritual, the long dance ceremony, and even my dark vision washed away as we were led from the teepee.
Ahead stood a circle of tribal members.
Many held torches to ward off the waning light. A few stars twinkled in the deep-blue sky while a thin strip of orange hovered at the horizon.
Chief Grey Feather stood in the center of the circle with an elaborate feather headdress covering his head. He leaned against his sturdy staff for balance beneath a hand-woven blanket held high at each corner by a young warrior.
Marcellious and Emily flanked one another at the opening of the circle.
Emily beamed at me, practically jumping up and down with excitement.
“You look beautiful,” she whispered.
Marcellious appeared calm and regal. He and Roman exchanged a nod.
Emily and Marcellious fell into step beside us as Roman and I walked toward Grey Feather, with Leaping Deer, Red Bird, and Earth Bear behind us.
A sudden chill, as if I were in the presence of unseen entities, launched up my spine. Roman and I took our places beneath the blanket, with Marcellious and Emily flanking us.
“Let us begin,” Grey Feather said. A stone bowl with a bundle of smoking sage sat at his feet. Coils of the smoke curled around him in lazy wisps.
He picked up the stone and invoked the four directions. An air of solemnity surrounded us.
Out of the corner of my eye, I swore I glimpsed the spirits of many ancestors, their visages transparent, as they stood witness among us.
We stood silently until Grey Feather said, “This is an honor to our tribe. There has never been a marriage between two Timebornes. Darknesses have wed time travelers but never have two time travelers married. This is an auspicious ceremony. And you two, Swift Hawk and Little Moon, have been drawn together through destiny, finding one another through time. Your union was meant to happen.”
I took Roman’s warm hand and flashed him a loving smile.
