Apparently, word had gotten out about my part in Sin Garu’s and the demons’ demise — thank you Jonas and Sava — and many in Tanselm treated me with reverence.
Brother Giles, in fact, tripped over his feet every time he looked in my direction. The stalwart young Churchman had apprised us of Ordinary Nohjen’s responsibility in the death of Ravyn and several other loyal Light Bringers we hadn’t known about, as well as his partnership with Sin Garu to rid Tanselm of all things Dark.
Unfortunately, Nohjen had escaped. But I knew he would soon be brought to justice. Arim himself had overseen a thorough cleansing of the Church of Illumination. With Brother Giles’ help, the tide was turning in favor of accepting the Djinn and Aellei, now very much a part of Tanselm’s culture.
I waddled clumsily through the woods toward the roomy cottage Arim and I shared on the fringes of the western keep. Though I would have preferred that we live in Morn Mountain, I recognized the need for him to see and be seen by Tanselm’s people.
Even though the great Guardian of Storm tried to stay behind the scenes as he guided his nephews in the running of the land, many still looked to him when any grand decision needed to be made.
If only the new overking would show himself. Of the four pregnant affai, only Tessa and Alandra had given birth so far. Tessa delivered a healthy set of twins: one boy and one girl. There had been much excitement until she stopped pushing. Marcus had appeared extremely relieved and so much in love with his wife that I forgave him for his occasional arrogance.
Aerolus and Alandra produced a healthy baby boy, one with bright white hair and sparkling gray eyes. That one would be a handful, I thought with a smirk. Sava had been beside himself with pride, so much so I might have thought he’d been the father.
My smile dimmed at thoughts of my friend. He’d recovered well enough from his possession, but the carefree demeanor I’d come to expect in him was often mixed with a sobriety I didn’t care for. Too often, Sava seemed to stare at nothing, lost in nightmares or worries he wouldn’t discuss.
He was currently taking care of matters in Aelle, stifling more rebellions and dealing with pesky Aellei plotting mischief, though he continued to visit on and off, thoroughly pleased with his new nephew, as he’d dubbed Aerolus and Alandra’s boy.
As they typically did, thoughts of Sava reminded me of Remir. I still didn’t know how I felt about his predicament. Once Sava and he had destroyed the demon ladder and the bridge, Sava had decided Remir’s fate for him.
“He’d suffered enough for playing a part he had no choice in playing,” Sava had told me. “He thought he deserved death, but the Next is not his place, not yet.” The old sparkle in Sava’s eyes had returned, and for a brief instant, I’d seen the prankster of old I hadn’t wanted to admit I missed. “So I found him a body.”
“You what?”
“Remir is now an official member of Tanselm.”
I still wondered who the hell he’d found. Every time I passed someone I didn’t know in the kingdom, I secretly wondered if he might be Remir. That dastardly, sneaky Sava still wouldn’t tell me who he was.
“Remir needs a clean slate,” Sava had said. “Let’s give it to him.”
As much as I wanted to know his identity, I realized for Remir to truly start over, my not knowing was the best thing for him.
I would have tripped over a large tree root if one of the trees hadn’t reached out a limb to steady me. “Thanks.”
The trees whispered their pleasure, and I couldn’t help feeling at home for the first time in my life. I would never be welcomed by everyone, but those that counted loved me. Actually loved me. I laughed to myself, pleased with the way I’d kept Arim on tenterhooks for the past few months.
No man could fetch me everything I wanted, whenever I wanted it, and not love me. I’d made him travel to Seattle time and time again for pastries that didn’t taste “the same” when he tried to create them using magic. The foot rubs, the back massages, and the incredible, mind-blowing sex that just kept getting better should have put me in a fine mood.
I rubbed my aching back and entered my home. I would have felt better if Aerolus had agreed to let me teach at University this last month. And if my feet weren’t so swollen and my back hurting like someone had smacked me with a firn stick.
I sighed and patted my ripe belly. If the little guys weren’t so darned active all the time, I might get a moment’s peace. As I thought it, one of them kicked me below my bellybutton while another jumped on my bladder.
I’d kept mum about what I suspected, and Arim hadn’t voiced any concerns except to be absurdly happy anytime he looked at or touched my swollen belly. Though I couldn’t determine the sex of my babies, I knew I had more than one in the old oven, perhaps even more than two.
“Like Light-forsaken acrobats in there,” I mumbled, hugging myself.
Any day now and I’d be free from this heavy burden, free to love my young ones as Muri and Esel had once loved me.
That was the other thing that bothered me. I’d never had closure on my family’s death. Though Giles would investigate when he could, I had little faith the Church would find the records of the search into my foster family’s murder. Sin Garu and Balen hadn’t done it. Perhaps Ini had. I still had the feeling that a Light Bringer or two had been in on it.
“But not my Light Bringer.” My own personal Dark Lord.
I had yet to tell Arim what Ravyn had told me about his family. In time I would, but right now we were working on bettering our connection. As much as I knew Arim loved me, I still had my doubts that we could make our relationship work.
It was selfish of me, yes, but I needed at least one of us to be stable. Arim bent over backwards to show me how much he cared, how much he truly loved and trusted me. I needed to see it. Often.
Later, when I had more confidence in our relationship, I’d tell Arim he’d started life as a Darkling. Such stellar Darkness… I pressed my thighs together just thinking about the lusty sorcerer I’d married. By the Light, he really knew how to set me on fire.
A sudden wave of heat flashed through me, and I caught myself around my middle again. That type of fire didn’t feel good. In fact, it felt abnormal. During my pregnancy, my temperature had run several degrees cooler than it normally did. A perfectly healthy response for a Dark Lord female, according to a Dark healer Arim had found in Malern.
