Doira'Liim (The Beautiful Whisper of the Goddess Saga) (30 page)

     Shaking her head, Arizira leaned back to kiss Talliea's forehead before returning to their previous position. Her hands still kept Talliea's held tightly and the reality of matters became quite real for her. She had just kissed Talliea. Everything she had been hoping for had come to pass, and the knowledge that Talliea had feelings for her and wanted to act on those feelings left her feeling better than she had in weeks.

     "It is too soon," she repeated. "We will not do this now. Please understand." Talliea closed her eyes and felt her mind returning to her. The foggy sense of lust from before, though still present, was not nearly as strong now that she and Arizira were no longer kissing. "You do not want me in this way?" she asked, her voice small.

     Arizira shook her head and squeezed Talliea's hands. "I want you in every way, but I respect you, Tah-li. My feelings for you are not only physical. We are changed now, the two of us. This has made us different and there is no need to rush anything."

     Talliea swallowed the lump of anxiety that had settled in her throat and nodded her head. She understood what Arizira was telling her. The other woman was right. They had only just declared their mutual attraction to one another. Their first kiss had only just taken place. There was still a lot to talk about and a lot to understand about each of them. Besides, waiting to solidify their relationship could only prove to strengthen the feelings they each had.

     "You are right. I am sorry," she said after a time. Arizira kissed her lips softly and Talliea could not help but smile at the easiness in which she did it. "Never apologize. I want to experience you in every way."

     Talliea smiled again and let her hands slip from Arizira's grasp. She moved her right hand up to Arizira's collar and began to slowly run her fingers over the expanse of exposed skin. Sighing at her own sense of peace, she let herself enjoy her newfound status with Arizira.

     "I like the way you touch me," she said in a small voice, her eyes watching the movements of her fingers. Arizira smiled herself and let her hands once again wrap around Talliea's waist and back. "This is good because I enjoy touching you."

     Talliea laughed out loud and sighed contentedly. "Then we are a good match." Laughter sounded from the cave and floated in the wide world outside of it. Two hearts--two spirits, despite the odds had found one another and, without any knowledge on their parts, set future events into motion.

                                                        Chapter 21: Failira

    
"You are mistaken." Markahn's words were spoken without the need for any further elaboration. Lao'dahn paused, anger crossing over his features, and hurried to catch up to his friend.  "I am anything but! Who else could have shot at me?" he argued.

     Walking to the edge of their camp where the fertile grasses gave way to the wide plains that spanned in front of the forest, Markahn sighed and placed his hands on his hips. He let his eyes travel across the lands the clan had so recently traversed and his mind immediately thought of Talliea. She had been gone for over two weeks now. There had been no word or sign from her and, with each passing day, Markahn had grown more and more depressed.

     Talliea would have never believed him, but he fancied himself in love with her. Her continuous displays of reluctance over the years had upset him more than she could ever know. He had wanted what was best for her, but she had been too stubborn to realize that what was best was him! Despite everything, Markahn was still of the belief that Talliea could have eventually learned to love him if she had only given them a chance.

     Now, however, the plans he had for his life no longer seemed to matter. Other men in the clan had been encouraging him to forget about Talliea and claim another woman to be his mate. Even Talliea's own mother was insisting that he let her go, but, how could he? There was no other woman he wanted.

     Turning to Lao'dahn, Markahn let his thoughts focus on the other problem in his life currently. His friend had, over the past weeks, shown more and more of a growing obsession with Talliea. For the life of him, Markahn could not understand from where that obsession stemmed.

     "Lao'dahn, it was you not long ago claiming that she was most likely dead, and now you stand here with some absurd allegation of Talliea, not only making a bow and arrows, but learning to shoot that bow with the skill you claim?"

     Lao'dahn walked closer to Markahn and his frustration was shown in his body language. "There was no skill!" he lied, his voice cracking. "It was luck! Where she got the bow, I do not know. Perhaps she snuck back into camp."

     "But you said the arrows were marked with characters you had never seen?" Markahn retorted with a disbelieving tone.

     "That is besides the point! That woman shot at me and you dare to stand here and question me?"

     Turning to face his friend and standing to his full and imposing height, Markahn stepped forward and lowered his face to Lao'dahn's. "What exactly is your point,
friend
? Where is this magic arrow Talliea supposedly shot at you, hm? For that matter, what reason would she have for targeting you?"

     Lao'dahn, in that moment, wanted nothing more than to knock some sense into the other man. What blindness took him where Talliea was concerned? He knew why Talliea would wish to exact revenge upon him, but he could never tell Markahn about it. If the other man learned of his actions  he would be banished for immoral conduct toward another man's claimed property.

     How ridiculous, he thought, that he, a devout follower of Esuval, could be punished in so severe a fashion for teaching a heathen such as Talliea a much needed lesson! Looking into Markahn's stormy grey eyes, he tried to quell his anger and focus his thoughts.

     "My point," he emphasized, "is that there could be no other culprit. Unless one of the other men has been lying to us since we arrived, Talliea is the only person who could be responsible. I believe she has been using that cave we discovered the night of the storm. I was nearing it when she shot at me. Her reason for targeting me, Markahn, could have been because she did not desire me to learn of her location."

     Markahn leaned back and scratched at his chin. His skin glistened in the sun and the furs around his shoulders only made him look more intimidating. Lao'dahn's theory was not without merit, but it relied too much on speculation. Talliea was a free spirit, but he doubted whether she had the fire to attack one of his brothers.

     "Listen," he said, "without proof of this deed, we can do nothing else. You claimed she landed an arrow in your bo-staff. Where is it?"

     Lao'dahn hesitated a moment. The arrow in question was with his personal belongings. He intended to take it to the Sage woman and see what she could divine from it. The characters on the shaft almost appeared to be an alphabet to him, but he was no master in such things. Taetylona, on the other hand, was. She possessed knowledge and information on topics most ordinary people never thought of use. How she knew such things was beside the point, as far as he was concerned. The old woman could be useful. That was all he needed to know.

     "It must have been knocked loose on my return to camp. Perhaps a scouting of the area will bring the other arrows to attention." He knew no such thing would happen. The day after the incident, he had returned to the cave, or as near as he could get, and the evidence of his assault had been gone. There was no arrow near the cave entrance as there also was no arrow in any of the nearby trees. He'd been relieved when he had not been shot at a second time, but had not wished to tempt his good fortune by going any further.

     Markahn took in his words and nodded his head. "Very well then, we will scout the area and see what clues the landscape provides. Do not speak of this to any other, Lao'dahn. Unfounded allegations of this nature are not something to be made lightly. We will investigate this matter ourselves and see what answers we come to."

     Markahn walked away from him before he could respond. He watched the man until he disappeared inside one of the dugouts and grinded his teeth together. It was time to pay a visit to the Sage woman.

                                                                      *  *  *  *  *  *

     Talliea sat against the rock wall of the cave, her
Ophe'las
bed providing an abundant warmth, while she looked down adoringly at Arizira. The other woman's head and shoulders were resting in her lap and her hair was spread out around her face. Talliea's fingers were slowly running complacent trails up and down Arizira's neck while she slept. Arizira had fallen asleep while the two of them had talked some short time ago.

     When Talliea realized Arizira had passed to the lands of dreams and slumber, she'd only smiled to herself before reaching for her wolf blanket and used it to cover her companion up. She now held Arizira close to her body and watched her in her most peaceful state. Her life had taken a rather unexpected turn and she found the new rush of excitement to be exhilarating.

     The perfect, gentle, and beautiful woman in her lap was not only her friend and protector, she was also the person she loved and adored. Arizira had shown her that goodness still thrived in the world. She had shown her that not every action was calculated or shallow or wrought with a steel-bent pain. Through Arizira, Talliea had come to experience joy and wonder and happiness.

     Never before could she recall laughing with such freedom or smiling with such openness. Arizira was the single most astounding being she knew. Most of the time, Talliea barely understood Arizira or her reasons and ways for doing something. She was so very different,  and it was that difference that had first attracted her. Arizira did not respond or react the way Talliea was accustomed. She did not do things because she wished for something in return.

     She was honest, loyal, respectful, curious, and loving. Were all Arnira the same, Talliea wondered, or was Arizira unique in yet another way?

     Probably the most confounding thing about Arizira was her feelings for Talliea. How could someone who saw the world the way she did have feelings for someone as humdrum as Talliea? The thought was baffling. Talliea felt that she had nothing to offer Arizira. She did not have so rich a culture nor did she possess any skills that were of use.

     The only thing she had for Arizira was her feelings. That was all she could give, all she could offer. As she looked down at the beautiful woman resting against her, Talliea prayed to whatever spirit was listening that her feelings were enough. Now that she had finally given a name to the emotions she felt, she wanted only to share them with Arizira, both verbally and physically.

     The other woman had stopped her attempt to express herself physically and now, as Talliea let her fingers softly curl along the underside of Arizira's jaw, she found herself wondering if a verbal attempt would be met in much the same way. She knew Arizira had feelings for her. She was not sure how, but she could feel them as if they were her own. Why then had Arizira denied the two of them? She had claimed it was because Talliea was not ready, but what if it was because the thought of lying with an Esu woman gave her pause?

     Talliea's insecurities flared inside her and she felt her breath become thick and heavy in her chest. She was not as beautiful and magical in appearance as Arizira or her people. Did her dark skin and hair upset Arizira? Was she deluding herself by thinking someone as pure and good as Arizira could love someone as tarnished and broken as she was?

     Suddenly, she felt foolish -- very foolish. She could not shake the nagging thoughts from her mind. It was not fair to Arizira, she knew that, but it was hard for her to believe in something so good with the way her life had been laid out thus far. Life for Esu women was about duty and responsibilities. It was difficult for her to fully accept that what she was doing with Arizira required neither of those things. Arizira asked for nothing while she gave everything. Was that what love was? Giving of oneself fully while expecting nothing in return from your mate?

     Looking down at Arizira, Talliea smiled when she noticed a small twitch at the corner of her lips. She remembered kissing those lips and a flush touched her skin at the memory. The way Arizira had kissed her had been unlike anything Talliea had ever experienced. She had felt the barely restrained desire in the embrace and the passion transferred between them had been electrifying. When Arizira's hands had smoothed over her bare stomach, a hot flare of emotion had settled in her belly and everything had become a blur. Arizira had kissed her, truly kissed her, and she still felt tingles when she recalled their encounter.

     She wondered why she had tasted mint in their kiss. Markahn, the only other person ever to kiss her -- though, if she thought about it, he had been in the act alone and that, by her definition, meant that Arizira was the first person she had ever kissed -- had not carried such a tantalizing flavor. Did all Arnira have such a taste? Was it normal? Her lips and tongue had felt both cool and hot as she had kissed Arizira, and she wondered if Arizira had noticed it as well.

     Her fingers moved from Arizira's jaw to her mouth and she tentatively ran them over full and beautiful lips. Her insecurities faded away suddenly. Her worries were baseless. Her thoughts and fears were without merit.

     Arizira was perfect. If she had been repulsed by her, she would not have kissed her as she had. She would not have touched her so enthusiastically. Talliea knew her worries stemmed from who she had been, not who she was becoming with Arizira.