Things went much more smoothly from that point onward- it seemed that the key was to make sure she couldn't accidentally conjure or cast any kind of flame. Tolith had offered to take his earrings off as well, but it gave her peace of mind, to know that he could protect himself if he needed to, if she somehow accidentally invented a way to channel magic without a focus like a djinn. Such a thing was impossible, of course, but if she was going to do something, she would do it right. And this was not a time when she would like to be plagued by worries.

The motion of the boat fell from her mind, and as the magic began to flow through her again, she felt very nearly well, almost as if she was back on land. Had she been able to think properly, which she absolutely could not- because as far as she could tell Tolith's studies had, despite her misgivings, served him well- she would have made a connection between the strength of her emotions and the ability of her magic to push against the barrier created by the ocean.

Her headache was the first to go, and took with it the blurred vision, for which she was able to keep enough of her wits to be thankful. She had, it can perhaps be forgiven, been so caught up in the sensations, both magical and physical, that she had forgotten Tolith existed as anything more than the thing causing them. She had blissed out of reality so often, and felt she had no real reason not to simply give into that sensation, that she had forgotten he was a sentient person with his own thoughts, feelings, and emotions until she heard him screaming her name. This knocked her out of her cloud a bit, and she realized that she was, perhaps, stronger than she had once thought, and much more flexible, as she was bent nearly double and she had not, prior to that exact moment, realized that she could do that.

She didn't think on this for very long, but she did connect it to her rage at the inn when she had found out he had lied about his death, and managed to work out that she, like most people, did gain strength from any strong emotion, both positive and negative. Which was fortunate, because had she not been using that extra strength to push against him, she would be slamming her head into the charred headboard, as she had more or less disintegrated the pillows during her first orgasm, which rendered them useless as padding against it. But she was holding her own, and she made note of that fact before she flicked her eyes up to meet his.

When she locked eyes with him he took his hands from her thighs and instead cupped her face, and kissed her so hard that it pressed her into the wood beneath the burned mattress. It was a kiss more worth having, in her opinion, than the first one they had shared, and what he lacked in experience he made up for in passion.

He had gone completely rigid above her, and eventually pulled away from the kiss to draw breath, but not a moment before he would draw it or die.

She noticed that some of his hair came away with her hands at the roots, though it was still stuck in the ponytail, and realized that she had singed it off along the side of his head when she had scarred him. His hair had become matted, and he looked as if he had just run a race, which Orenda thought must be awful for him, because he was probably exhausted, but she couldn't remember ever feeling more relaxed. She stretched out under him and felt that all the tension had gone from her muscles. Her bones felt loose in their sockets, and she did feel tired, her stomach in particular burned as if she had been doing strenuous abdominal exercises, but it was not the kind of tired that came from stress or hard work. It was a kind of tired she had never felt before, but that she rather enjoyed.

Tolith pulled himself up and away from her, and she realized for the first time that it was possible to feel empty after having full, and considered that for a moment, considered opening her mouth to discuss the subject with him, but he was kissing down her stomach and the wisps of singed hair were tickling where her flesh folded, so she arched up to dislodge them and giggled.

“Toli, darling,” she said and heard the fatigue in her own voice, “that's how you scarred your face. Besides, I... there can be an 'enough', I believe. It has to end at some point?”

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“No, it doesn't,” he argued, “give me like... ten minutes to build up and we can go again.”

“If you have so much energy,” she said, “Could you get me something to drink?”

“You... I mean... seriously we're done?” he asked, “I'm not complaining, I just... I mean I can keep-”

“You look exhausted,” Orenda told him and pushed herself up on her elbows, “God, it's not just the bed, it's the mattress and everything. You'll be sleeping on... it's just wood. Maybe not even wood. It's charcoal. I'm covered in ash... I need a good washing. So do you- god, it's all over you too,” she giggled because he did have charcoal and ash all down his forearms, his knees, and anything else that had been touching the bed.

“I'm not saying it's not a clusterfuck,” he giggled. “Because I mean... yeah, it's... Look.” He blew on the remains of the pillow by her head and ashes floated into the air. “I'm actually not... super sure what to do about that? Like I don't know how to get it out? Maybe we'll just throw the whole bed into the sea and be done with it. We'll get new blankets and sleep on the floor.”

“Toli, get some towels or something,” she told him, “I didn't realize how gross I was until we called attention to it.”

“You use ash to make soap,” he argued, “It's pretty clean. Like... ashes and oil.”

“You have to distill the lye,” Orenda argued back, “Ugh... You know, your stupidity annoys me less now. Perhaps it really did change something.”

“My dick is magic!” he proclaimed, and threw both arms into the air, accidentally hitting one of the chests harder than he meant to. He pulled the injured hand to his chest with a yelp and Orenda laughed.

“A towel?” she asked, “And some water or... literally anything to drink. My throat is burning.”

“It's... weird, right?” Toli asked.

“What is?” Orenda sat up and looked around for any strip of fabric that did not belong to her to keep from sitting in the ash. Despite Toli's stupidity, that seemed like an excellent way to get an infection.

“That it's not weird,” he said, “that you were right, that it's not weird and nothing has changed.”

“That's very much how I thought it would be,” she told him.

“What are you looking for?” he asked.

“Toli, a towel or something, once again,” she said, “I can't sit in this ash. That isn't how women work.”

“Oh, um,” he jumped up, knelt, and opened one of the trunks beside the bed, “Here, this is one of my shirts? Can you use that until I get some cleaning stuff?”

“Yes, thank you,” she laid it out on the bed and went about cleaning herself as best she could while he hopped back into his pants, “I am really sorry about your face. Does it hurt?”

“Rendy,” he said seriously, “This is the best thing- like... you do realize that for the rest of my life, people are gonna look at me, and they're gonna be like, 'look at those badass battle scars. Hey, Captain Toli, how'd you get those scars?' And I'm gonna be all, 'I made the greatest fire mage on the planet cum so hard she melted my face'. Like... that's a thing, Rendy, that is gonna happen. I don't think you understand how fucking awesome that is. That's not a thing that happens to a normal person. That's a thing that happens to Tolith Glenlen, adventurer extraordinaire.”

“I,” She began, thought, and admitted, “I have absolutely no response to that, Toli. That's...” she shook her head, “It's nice to see you in better spirits.”

“Yeah,” he smiled, “You seem like you're feeling better, too. I guess my magic dick also cures illness. I'm gonna have to find a way to exploit that. Make me some money.”

“Toli,” Orenda told him, “I haven't anything else to throw at you, I've burned it all away. But get me something to wash with, and something to drink.”

He took the tiara from where they had put it on the desk and gently put it back on her forehead.

“Of course, princess,” he said, and kissed her again, but this time it was quick, light, and friendly. As Orenda watched him go, she thought that she hadn't made a bad decision at all, and had absolutely no regrets.

The boat lurched particularly hard on the next crest, and the ash around her flew into the air. As she coughed, she amended her thoughts- one regret.

In the future she would make sure that she had no focus, at all, on if she was going to lie with anyone.