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grinned back at her. I had awakened to many worse things over the years.
"So& " she giggled. "Here I am."
"Then you must be a goddess& " I began with a smile.
"I am no goddess, Lord."
"Then you're here in disguise?"
That line usually made a woman blush, and with Rèalla it did the same, a rose
color blossoming across her cheeks and neck. I saw the twist of a smile at the
corners of her perfect red lips.
"You are sweet, my lord."
"Call me Oberon."
"As you wish, Oberon."
I swallowed hard, trying to think back to what had happened last night. Had
we done anything? I remembered lying down alone; Rèalla certainly hadn't been
here. The last thing I'd seen was Horace as he sat on his stool at the foot of
the bed, watching me.
Surreptitiously, I glanced around the room, but I didn't see the boy
anywhere. Where had he gone? Probably back to his room as soon as Rèalla got
here. He had enough sense to know when he wasn't wanted or needed.
But& more pressing& why didn't I remember anything of last night?
I frowned, thinking back. Maybe Idid remember. Somehow, I had a vague
impression of her having been here with me& of her body pressing tightly
against mine& her lips hot on my mouth and chest&
And then the ghost of last night fled. I knew nothing more about it& could
not even be sure she had actually been here with at all. Everything had a
distant, confused quality, like a half-remembered dream.
Could I have been asleep when we made love? Or maybe I had been drunk.
Vaguely, I remembered sipping brandy from a cup in her hand&
And then the memory passed and it was just the two of us in bed again. She
continued to stroke my face and nuzzle against my chest. Putting my arm around
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her shoulders, I drew her close. I felt warm and comfortable, and I hoped this
moment would never end.
"You are not like the rest of your family, Oberon," she told me. "There is a
kindness in you& a warmth& mmm . I do like it, very much."
"About last night, Rèalla& " I said, brow furrowing.
"You do not remember it," she said with a light laugh. "I know. Do not
worry."
"Was I that drunk?"
"A little drunk, perhaps& but I gave you a sleeping draught. Before, when I
first came to you, demons plagued your sleep. You moaned that the room was
moving, and you cried out that we were being attacked "
"Nightmares," I guessed. "Hallucinations."
"Yes, Oberon." She sighed. "You said hell-creatures were attacking us& and
you called me Helda."
"Helda!" The name went through my with a jolt. Helda& my lovely Helda, who
had been murdered by hell-creatures in Ilerium. She had been an innocent
victim. If not for me, she would still be alive today.
"That is right."
"I'm sorry, Rèalla," I said, trying to remember. Very little of it came back
to me. "I don't remember& "
"Shh, it's not important." She gave a little shudder. "Let us talk of more
pleasant things."
"Of course." I gave her a light kiss on the forehead. "Thank you."
"It was nothing." With a long, sharp fingernail, she traced a pattern in the
bristle of hairs on my chest. I found her touch sensuous. The smell of her,
the musk she exuded, surrounded me like perfume. I breathed deeply, head
swimming. "I was told to watch over you," she continued, "in case you& needed
anything."
"Anything at all?"
She smiled in reply, and reading an invitation in that smile, I kissed her
lips, her cheeks, and then her eyelids. Her long lashes fluttered against my
skin like the wings of a trapped butterfly.
"And now?" I asked. "What do you think I need most?"
"This."
Without warning, she leaned over and kissed me, long and hard and
passionately. I responded without hesitation, pulling her closer. The world
and my family and the Courts of Chaos be damned, right now I wanted her as
much as she seemed to want me, and nothing else mattered.
Some time later, as we lay exhausted atop a tangled mess of bedding, I felt a
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deep contentment spreading through me. Rèalla still nestled against my
shoulder, her breath warm and soft on my cheek, and I realized how much I had
missed a woman's touch and companionship. It made me feel less alone in this
world, more a part of something greater than myself. I sighed, sated, happy on
some deep level.
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