Page 100 of Summer of Sacrifice

Pushing every thought out of her mind aside from Cal and the potion, Seleste stared into the little black pool of water until her eyes glazed over.

Her cunning, her magic, and her spirit engaged.

A vague, cloudy image passed over the water. A crescent moon, descending to attach itself to a full moon. This jarred Seleste to the point that she almost lost her focus and the image with it.

Just before she was pulled by her rushing thoughts, she saw the crescent moon disintegrate, and the full moon crack into shards.

Seleste gasped, breaking the scrying magic. She knew exactly what that meant.

Oh, gods.

What had she done?

They rolled apart onto their backs, shoulder to shoulder, both panting and slick with sweat. Cal took her hand in his, and Seleste looked over at him, marvelling at the smile on his face and the bliss coursing through her.

“I love you,” he whispered, the music of cicadas dancing through the words like the fireflies floating amongst the sunflowers that swayed above them.

Filled to the brim with adoration, she shifted onto her side, resting her head on her hand. Gently, she ran her finger down the length of Cal’s cheek. “And I you.”

He looked at her as if she was the only person in existence. Turning his gaze to the stars that were peeking at their nakedness through the sunflowers, he said, “Do you remember our conversation about other realms?”

“Mm,” Seleste confirmed, her thoughts slipping away again to her worry over what the potion had done to Cal. She hadn’t noticed a difference in their evening devouring one another. Nothing tangible, anyway.

“...legend about a…” he was saying, but she’d missed the first part. “No one can open it, but it’s believed it leads to another realm…”

Perhaps there would never be a physical sign of the potion’s effects. Surely there was a valid reason for causing?—

“You’re distracted tonight,” Cal mused, pulling Seleste from her thoughts.

“Not from you, I promise.”

He grinned. “I like to think I’m always on your mind, as you are on mine.”

“Always,” she confirmed, lowering to kiss his chest. When she looked up, his smile had turned mischievous. “I know that look…”

Cal laughed, the movement of his body drawing her attention away from his eyes. “I have something for you.”

One eyebrow raised, Seleste sat up. “For me?”

He nodded and rose, slipping on just his pants, hanging loose around his hips. Without a word, he disappeared into the sunflowers, many of them taller than him, and returned a moment later with a large box.

“You sneak,” she teased.

With a tranquil shrug, he handed her the box.

Feeling silly opening a gift in the nude, Seleste began to summon a dress but caught herself just in time. Instead, she set the box to the side and slipped into her shift. Cal sat with one leg curled and one knee up, beckoning her to sit in the little space it created between his legs. She obliged, opening the box as he kissed the back of her neck and shoulders.

“Cal!” Seleste’s jaw dropped.

A gown of gold so pure it looked as if it could have been kissed by the sun sat inside the box. The neckline was embroidered with smoky quartz beading that rained down delicately along the bodice’s elegant lines.

“Cal, this is…” She shook her head, her throat thick. “Too much.”

He took her chin in his fingers and turned her face until she’d shifted enough that he could kiss her lips. “Nothing is too much for you. My father is feeling immensely better. Thanks to you.”

“Thanks to you. Not me.”

“You’re too modest, Seleste. But there is more to the dress than that.”

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