It was well into the late hours of the night as Lilly sat on the rug in the middle of the room. All around her was stillness and silence except for the faint breathing of her lovers. After their prayers, they spent the night making love and then curled into each other to sleep. Lilly laid with them for an hour but got back up to pray again. She felt a deep need to reach out to Balisha as if the Goddess herself was calling her.
Now she sat with her legs folded and her hands resting on her knees. Her head was leaned back slightly, and her eyes closed. She breathed in the way Gersius taught her, allowing the slow rhythm of her breath to carry her focus. Slowly her breathing became shallower, and then her mind reached out effortlessly.
She saw a simple iron gate and beyond it, a man. She couldn't see the man because of a shadow that stood over him, but she knew it was a man. He was important somehow, and he was there to offer them something. She saw an image of a sword. Its slender blade was made of a gray metal streaked with blue and had a gentle curve down its length. It ended at a silver handle wrapped in black cord with a single clear stone was set in its pommel.
The vision changed and she saw a snow-capped mountain peak. On the side of a sheer face was a dark tunnel with a narrow ledge. The vision swept into the cave, revealing a dark tunnel with high ceilings. Her vision swept around twists and turns rapidly, and she found herself looking at the sword again. It lay on a stone with that gave off a strange amber glow.
Thayle stood beside the sword and reached out for the handle. There was a flash of red light, and Lilly felt sick. Then the cave shook as Thayle turned with the sword in hand. She screamed something to Lilly, and a pair of blazing eyes appeared in the darkness. Lilly reached for Thayle, but there was a terrible roar, and the floor suddenly opened up beneath Thayles feet. Lilly watched in shattering horror as Thayle was swallowed up by the darkness. Lilly heard Thayle's scream fade away, drowned out by another roar.
Lilly gasped as her eyes came wide open in a panic. She trembled as she struggled to get to her feet. There in the darkness of the room was Thayle safe in Gersius's arms. Her head rested on his chest, slowly going up and down with his breathing.
Lilly shook her head to clear the vision from her mind. She wasn't sure what she had seen, had it come from Balisha? Was it a warning? Or maybe she had fallen asleep, and it was a dream? She had more of those of late. Ever since her heart opened her dreams seemed to open with them. She thought about the odd dreams she had when she was in her valley. Most of the time, she dreamed about other dragons. Sometimes she would see them hunting or flying, and many times sleeping. How odd she thought it was that a sleeping dragon would dream about other dragons sleeping.
She looked back up at Thayle and felt a terrible sense of loss when she remembered what she had seen. Carefully she crept back to bed, but instead of laying with Gersius she climbed in behind Thayle and curled into her tightly. The woman stirred for just a moment, and Lilly could feel her joy at being so close across the link. Thayle moved her hand and wrapped her fingers up with Lilly's and pulled her in tightly.
Lilly quietly lay there, listening to Thayle breathe. The woman began to dream, and it made Lilly smile. It was the most magical side effects of the binding. If they were close, they could read each other's minds, but if they made physical contact, they could see into them.
Thayle was dreaming about that day of the wedding outside her temple so long ago. Lilly got to see herself dancing with Gersius from Thayles eyes. Lilly smiled at how awkward she looked from Thayles point of view. The dream seemed to go on and on as she watched herself dance. When she and Gersius finally separated, they returned to the table and spoke to Thayle. It was here that Lilly got the surprise of her life. As she approached Thayle, a glowing white luminescence surrounded her. It radiated out with thousands of little shafts of white light interspersed with shades of blue and green. Above her head was the dark and shadowy form of a dragon. She understood now how Thayle had instantly known what she was. Seeing her own aura from Thayles eyes took Lilly's breath away.
She curled tightly to Thayle desperate for more contact. She wanted to see more of the aura, amazed by the beauty of it all. In the dream, Thayle turned to Gersius, and words were said, but all Lilly knew was the light that surrounded him. Now that she'd had the chance to see one, she thought of how wondrous it was to see auras. She and Gersius came together briefly, and she watched herself ask if she could try a bread on the table. When they were close, she saw what Thayle described a hundred times. The light broke off in tiny pieces the size of a fingertip and drifted between them. Thayle said that meant two people were in love, but surely they were not in love back then?
The dream faded, and Thayle was dreaming of someplace else. She saw a hallway and a door. Thayle opened it and went into a room where an attractive young girl with curly blond hair stood at a window. They spoke about something, but Lilly was so enthralled by the vividness of the dream she didn't hear. Then to her great surprise, Thayle and the woman began to kiss. Lilly suddenly felt very embarrassed as the kiss became much more and she wondered if perhaps it was not appropriate to snoop on such things. It didn't matter for long because the dream changed again.
Thayle was sitting on the floor of her temple leaning over two people. There on the temple floor was herself and Gersius laying side by side on some blankets. They were badly injured and soundly asleep. Lilly saw Thayle holding her hand while gently stroking it as she watched over them both. She also saw the auras, and the dance of light as Thayles light traveled to Lilly. Lilly had to wonder just how early Thayle had begun to feel for her. Surely this was too soon? Thayle had expressed no real interest until Eastgate, and even then it was just a friend? The dream suddenly stopped, and a sensation of feeling too warm came to her from Thayle. Lilly realized she had squeezed the poor woman between her and Gersius, and she felt terribly hot.
“I am sorry my love,” Lilly whispered in her ear as she withdrew from her to give her some space.
Thayle reached up with her hand rubbed at Lilly's cheek. “I miss you being in my arms sometimes,” she whispered.
“I miss being there,” Lilly whispered back.
“Are you not sleeping tonight?” Thayle asked.
“I wanted to meditate and practice opening my heart.”
“You are already very good at it. You learned much faster than I did,” Thayle said with a smile. “But you should sleep a little.”
“Thayle,” Lilly began. “While I was holding you, I saw one of your dreams.”
“Was it a good one?” Thayle asked with a smile.
“Yes, it was the day of the wedding at your temple.”
Thayle smiled at the happy memory.
“Thayle, I saw myself through your eyes. I saw it, Thayle, I saw my aura.”
“You did?” Thayle said, louder than she intended.
“Yes, I saw it as you saw it that day. It’s beautiful!”
Thayle smiled and put a finger up to trace Lilly’s lips.
“It is beautiful, and your aura is the most beautiful one I have ever seen. It’s so bright it’s like staring into the sun. I never tire of looking at your aura.”
Lilly smiled and had to look away in embarrassment.
“I saw one of your dreams once, and I have never forgotten it,” Thayle said.
“What did you see?” Lilly asked.
“You were flying somewhere. It seemed like you flew forever, but I got to experience it as you. There you were flying through the clouds, it felt so free, like nothing else mattered but the open sky.”
“I am very glad you got to see that,” Lilly said with a smile.
“It is my favorite dream now. I have always wished to see it again.”
Thayle suddenly struggled to get up prying herself out of Gersius’s arms so she could sit up and look into Lilly’s face. She smiled at Lilly with tired eyes. “I want to see more of your dreams. Will you sleep for me so I can see them?”
“There isn’t enough room for us to lay comfortably together unless we wake Gersius,” Lilly replied.
Thayle got up slowly and stretched. She took a pillow from the bed and walked over to the cushions on the ground.
“Come my sweet dragon and dream for me,” she said as she sat down in the bed of cushions.
Lilly walked over to her and laid into her arms. Thayle cradled her and rocked her gently as Lilly let go of the waking world.
“I will try to have pleasant dreams for you,” she whispered.
“Go to sleep sweetheart, I will keep you safe,” Thayle replied as Lilly drifted off and shared her dreams.
When the morning came, Lilly awoke to find Thayle still rocking her. A warm feeling flooded her across the binding link as Thayle realized she was awake.
“Were my dreams good?” Lilly asked.
Thayle laughed. “I did get to see some flying, but you were hunting deer, so I got to see that too.”
“Oh, I am sorry,” Lilly began.
“Shh, Lilly, I am glad I can share your life like this. Think of how much we can learn about one another by sharing our dreams.”
“If you two want to sleep in each other's arms I will move to the side of the bed,” Gersius said as he shaved in the mirror.
Lilly smiled as she rocked. “Tonight you will sleep in my arms so I can see your dreams,” she whispered to Thayle.
“How come neither of you wants to see my dreams?” Gersius asked.
Thayle and Lilly exchanged glances.
“Who was the girl with red hair I saw you kissing in a temple doorway when you were very young?” Thayle asked.
“Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” he suddenly replied.
Lilly laughed. “I saw him dreaming about running from a sheep once. He annoyed the animal, and it was trying to bite him.”
They both laughed, and Lily went to get up, but Thayle held her tight.
“I want you to stay here,” Thayle whispered.
“You do realize I could sleep in your arms for the next hundred years?” Lilly said with a smile.
“I am fine with that,” Thayle said with a smile beginning to rock her again. “I will wake you when the time is up.”
“Hmm,” Lilly said, suddenly going sad.
“What is it, Lilly? I can feel you going terribly sad all of a sudden.”
“I just thought, I am going to live for hundreds if not thousands of years, but how long will you two live?” she asked, looking up into Thayles eyes.
Thayle felt the weight of the words hit her like a hammer blow.
“I never thought about it. I just assumed you would be with us forever, but forever for you is much longer than it is for us.”
Both women began to cry as the thought started to sink in.
Gersius felt the wave of sadness, and he turned to see them holding each other tight as if one of them might vanish at any moment.
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“Ladies, has it ever occurred to you we might live as long as Lilly?” he said to them both.
Thayle looked up at him, “What do you mean?”
“We share her sight. We share her resistance to cold. We hardly need to eat or drink or sleep. You say you saw me drawing on her power when I channeled to you. I have even spoken with her powerful voice now. Who's to say we will not age like her?”
He felt both women's mood suddenly spike.
“He might be right!” Lilly exclaimed. “You might be with me forever!”
Thayle started to cry again as the new happy thought replaced the sad one.
“Ladies please, you are making my heart break!” Gersius said as they flooded him again with their emotions.
They held each other tightly again and cried into one another. “I hope he's right,” Thayle whispered.
“Me too. Think of all the children you can have in a thousand years,” Lilly whispered back.
Thayle's eyes went wide, and she suddenly recoiled from the embrace. “Ulustrah give me strength!” she said out loud.
“We should make a list of names,” Gersius said. “We will start with thirty boys and thirty girls and just work our way down.”
“Gersius, please!” Thayle gasped as the thought of needing so many names passed through her mind.
Gersius laughed, and Lilly looked at her with confusion.
“I figure by the time a thousand years have passed half the kingdom will be descended from Thayle.”
“Stop it!” Thayle yelled. “That is such a frightening thought. To see potentially hundreds of my descendants.”
“It would be well into the thousands,” Gersius corrected.
“You and I are never sleeping in the same bed again!” she cried as she released Lilly.
Gersius laughed, “I told you that you didn't have to do this yet.”
“I should have listened,” she said as she stood up with Lilly. “I should have waited a few hundred years.”
“We don't know though, do we?” Lilly reminded them. “We don't know for sure you will have this gift?”
Gersius nodded his agreement, “We do not, but we could always ask Balisha. She may know the answer and be willing to tell us.”
Thayle shook her head. “When was the last time you got a straight answer from a divine?”
“All we can do is try,” he said. “She may give us some indication that will answer our question.”
Lilly understood, but her mind wandered to another thought. She reacted to it with shock and looked up to see Thayle and Gersius looking at her.
“What is wrong?” he asked her.
“Nothing, I just had a dark thought,” Lilly said.
“I will pray to Balisha and ask her unless you want to do it?” he said.
She shook her head. “No, Gersius, you ask her. I’m not sure I can take such a question.”
“I am not sure I want to know the answer either,” Thayle said. “Especially if it is no.”
Gersius turned around and put up a hand.
“All of this is silly and pointless. There is nothing we can do about it by becoming upset. Right now all we have to worry about is getting to Calathen. Let us worry about growing old together after we survive the wars and rebuild an empire.”
Thayle hugged Lilly tightly and agreed with him.
He watched them a moment and then picked up a towel to dry his face.
“I am going to speak with Kilgian this morning and ask him to give Culver some chores. I want to keep his mind occupied. You need to spend some time with him and lead him in prayers.”
Lilly stepped out of Thayles embrace and sighed. “I will go see him after I get dressed.”
“Let me brush your hair first,” Thayle said as she turned to the table and her brush.
“We will meet Lengwin later and fly out for the town west of here,” he continued.
“How many more are there?” Lilly asked as she turned her back for Thayle.
“I am not familiar with this part of the world. There could be two or three or dozens.”
“Some of the islands of my homeland were like that,” Thayle said. “Some islands were empty and had only a couple of tiny villages on them. Others were heavily populated with major cities and harbors. I never understood why.”
“You two should take some time to relax and enjoy yourselves,” Gersius suggested.
“I enjoyed myself last night,” Lilly giggled.
“You are a beast,” Thayle huffed. “Why did you keep biting me?”
“Because I like how you taste,” Lilly said with a smile.
“I meant perhaps you could walk around the gardens,” Gersius corrected.
“We have to stay inside the walls?” Lilly asked.
“I would feel better if you did not wander beyond the protection of the guards,” Gersius said.
“And where will you be?” Thayle asked.
“I am going to spar with a few of the priests of Astikar. I haven't had a chance to practice for a long time.”
“You will get all hot and sweaty,” Thayle protested. “You can’t go out to meet the other towns like that.”
“I will take a bath before we go,” he replied.
“hmmm,” Lilly said with a smile. “Now there is something fun to do,” she added as she turned and gazed up at him.
He shook his head. “I married a dragon who was afraid of making love, and now she never tires of it.”
“I wasn’t afraid,” Lilly argued. “I was uninformed. I didn’t know it was going to feel so good, and besides Thayle told me husbands and wives do that to grow closer. I want to grow as close to both of you as I can.”
Thayle laughed as she began to bush Lilly’s long silver-blue hair.
“Sweetheart, we are bound to each other. There is no way for you to grow any closer to us. You can feel our thoughts and see into our dreams. You are forever a part of us, and besides, your aura said you were lying.”
Lilly folded her arms and huffed. “So it’s pointless to rub your feet while we soak in a warm bath?”
Thayle choked a bit and stumbled with her brushing. “I didn’t say that!”
“What's the point? I can't' get any closer to you,” Lilly said.
Thayle went to respond but read Lilly’s thoughts over the bind. She quickly reached down and swatted Lilly on the rear with the brush.
“You brat,” Thayle laughed. “You are teasing us intentionally.”
Lilly smiled and bounced a little as Thayle resumed brushing.
Gersius dressed and left them while Thayle picked through the outfits the people had donated. She selected a simple yellow and tan dress and helped Lilly get it on. It was a little tight in the chest and pulled on her shoulders, but it looked good.
A few minutes later, they descended the stairs, and Lilly set off to find Culver. He was in his little cell of a room, and she had him kneel while she led him in prayer to Balisha. She caught him looking at her again, but he quickly looked away and focused on his prayer.
She knelt before him and opened her heart and called out to Balisha. She felt the weight of the conversation in the room, and she dared to ask Balisha about it. To her surprise, she was given a vision, but she had no idea what to make of it. She repeated the question in her heart again and again, and each time it was the same vision. In frustration, she gave up and ended the prayer session.
She told Culver he would be given chores to do and left the room looking for Thayle. Gersius felt like he was in front of the estate, but Thayle felt like she was back by the room. Lilly found her on the lower floor of the guest house picking through the gifts.
“All done?” Thayle asked as she picked up a bread.
Lilly nodded and picked through the bread as well. She settled on a tiny dark loaf covered in seeds and took Thayles hand. They walked out into the back garden together and strolled along the wall while young girls practiced blessings in one of the gardens.
“What are they doing?” Lilly asked.
“They are learning to sing the blessing properly,” Thayle said.
“Can’t they just do it?” Lilly asked.
Thayle smiled and shook her head. “The divines all have rules about how one can access their power. They all require precise songs, or chants, or simple tones to call on the power. The girls are practicing that and building up their connection.”
Lilly swung Thayle’s hand and pondered that thought. “Why do they have to build up a connection?”
“We have to build up our connection to the divine slowly. Even then, the condition of our heart will determine how much power we can channel.”
Lilly looked down at her as another question formed. “Can I do blessings?”
Thayle smiled. “I am sure you can. Didn’t Balisha show you any?”
Lilly shook her head as she thought back. Balisha was far more focused on getting Lilly to agree to help her. Now that Lilly thought about it, all she knew was one song of Balisha’s and all that did was establish the meditation link. She had no idea how to access any of the goddesses power.
“I feel stupid that I don’t know how to do any blessings,” she said.
Thayle pulled her to a tree that grew in the back corner and turned her to the yard.
“None of them did either,” she said gesturing to the women who were practicing. “But they all learned. I am sure Balisha will teach you the blessings in time, and then you will teach them to your acolytes.”
Lilly nodded and thought about it. In a few days, the people of the town would come back seeking to be accepted into Balisha's faith. Lilly promised Gersius she would choose no more than twelve, but there were a hundred people at the gate last time. She was grateful Thayle would be there to use her aura sight and help Lilly choose. It was in this moment of thought she caught movement on the tree trunk.
A large insect with green wings was crawling up the side of the tree. Lilly forgot all about her worries as a smile crept over her face, and she reached out for the bug. It leaped away and flew a few feet to the ground, and Lilly raced after it.
Thayle giggled as Lilly chased the little bug about trying desperately to catch it.
“Sweetheart it doesn’t want to be caught,” Thayle said.
“I just want to hold it,” Lilly said as the grasshopper jumped away again.
“It’s frightened of you.”
Lilly looked up at Thayle and smiled. “Everybody is frightened of me.”
“I wasn't,” Thayle said. “I ran out to you on the road.”
Lilly stood up and pondered that thought. “That was very brave of you.”
“I knew you wouldn’t hurt me,” Thayle said.
Lilly snorted and shook her head.
“Thayle, I planned to run you down and trample you.”
Thayle looked at Lilly with mouth agape. “You did?”
“I didn’t know who you were. I saw armor and assumed you were going to try and stop me. I dismissed you as another bump in the road.”
Thayle was silent a moment and then she looked away. “I suppose it was lucky I yelled your name then.”
“That was when I took a close look at you and saw who you were,” Lilly replied.
Thayle put a hand to her head in dismay. “To think of how many times one of us has nearly died.”
Lilly shrugged and went back to hunting for the bug in the grass.
“Gersius says to walk the path of the divine is to put your life at risk,” Lilly said as she spotted the elusive insect.
“You don't seem to be bothered about death.”
Lilly clapped her hands and fussed as the bug jumped away.
“I suppose we dragons see life and death differently. We live so long that death doesn't seem too important, or it didn't.”
“What do you mean it didn’t?” Thayle asked.
Lilly clapped her hands again and smiled as she slowly stood up with her hands cupped. Carefully she parted her hands to look inside and watched the little insect crawl out. She laughed as it jumped away.
“Lilly?” Thayle pressed again.
Lilly watched the bug land in the grass but paid it no more mind. She turned to Thayle and took a deep breath.
“Time was meaningless to me,” she began. “I slept most of it away. Even when I was awake, all I did was fly over the mountains or lay in the entrance to my cave. I didn't even eat very often. I wasn't living for anything. I existed only because I did.” Lilly took a faraway look and turned her back on Thayle. Thayle saw her hands come up the sides of her arms as she hugged herself.
“Now, every moment is precious. I love you and Gersius, and I relish the time we have together. One day that time may come to an end, and I will be alone again.”
Lilly started to sniffle, and a moment later, soothing hands came to her arms.
“Sweetheart, you heard Gersius. We might get long years from you,” Thayle said as she put a hand on Lilly’s shoulder. “You might not be alone.”
“But what if I am?” Lilly cried. “What if all I have is the memory of how much I loved you? I will go on for thousands of years wishing I could hold you just one more time.”
Thayle felt tears forming in her own eyes, and she hugged Lilly from behind.
“I am sorry, Lilly. I don’t know how to help you with this. I can only hope this is another gift you will share with us.”
Lilly rubbed at her nose as she sniffed and nodded her head. “Gersius said it was silly to worry about, but it's all that matters to me. I have found a reason to be alive, and I can't keep it.”
“We don’t know that,” Thayle whispered.
“This morning, when I set with Culver, I prayed to Balisha about it. I know I told Gersius to do it, but I had to know.”
Thayle felt a pang of fear crawl up her spine and wondered what Balisha had said.
“What did she tell you?” Thayle asked.
Lilly shook her head. “Every time I asked, she shows me a vision of the night sky with a particularly bright star to the west.”
“And you have no idea what that means,” Thayle said as she hugged Lilly tighter.
Lilly wiped her nose again and nodded. “I don’t know what any of it means.”
Thayle laid her head on Lilly’s shoulder and closed her eyes.
“I love you, Lilly,” she whispered. “I don't know how, but I know you will always be with me.””
“But will you always be with me?” Lilly whispered back.
Thayle struggled not to cry as a tear ran down her cheek.
“Nothing will ever take me away from you,” Thayle cried.
Lilly hoped that was true. She tried to settle her heart and believe that Thayle and Gersius would gain a longer life as a result of being her loves. She repeated Thayle's words in her heart but remembered the vision from the morning and the sound of Thayle's scream as she vanished into the darkness. Surely she had fallen asleep while meditating and had a bad dream. Surely that wasn't a warning from the divine.