“Yes,” Thea agreed, laughing, “this place will always be…interesting. I’ll give it that.” She could not quite place his tone when he reacted to her news (or lack of it), but he did reach out and touch her shoulder. Thea blinked into the darkness, trying to read his expression. She couldn’t recall him ever initiating contact with her.
Then, she remembered.
“New? Well…there’s this,” she said a little mischievously, cupping her hands between them and bringing a little pink globe of light to life. It twinkled, like a tiny, muted star, casting odd shadows over their up-lit faces. Her skin still glistened from her swim in the lake. She smiled up at him. “And a few other things. If I hadn’t just been in the lake, I’d offer to show you. But I’m out now, and it’s cold, and getting late…well, early. And I could use a snack from the kitchens. Care to join me? Or are you too old and wise now to pilfer treats from unguarded pantries?” She elbowed him playfully in the ribs as she turned toward her pack, then bent to pick it up, slung it over her shoulder. Then she laced her arm through his, balancing the orb of light in the palm of her free hand, and escorted him back toward the castle. Her dry skirt stuck to her damp legs as they walked.
“Honestly…other than the magic, and the flood, there isn’t much to report,” Thea continued as they walked. “Midnight – my horse, I don’t know if you remember him – is still as willful and stubborn as ever. Court gossip is still court gossip. Thoth and Tristan are Thoth and Tristan.” She smiled wryly, shook her head. “You must have more interesting stories. ” Her eyes traveled up his body, settled on his face. Studied his profile. “What’s it like? Do you feel…I don’t know…different?”
|
 |