Page 47 of Dark Shaman: Love Found
As they walked toward the dining room, his hand warm on hers, Areana marveled at how well the meeting had gone. Not only had her communication with Annani gone undetected, but she'd also managed to advocate for the couples. The tent was an unexpected bonus—a cool retreat that would make their inspections far more bearable.
"You're pleased," Navuh observed. "I can feel it radiating from you."
"I appreciate your accommodation with the tent," she said carefully. "It will make our visits to the site so much more comfortable."
"And here I thought your pleasure came from successfully manipulating me."
Her heart stopped.
For one terrifying moment, she thought he knew, and that this had all been an elaborate game to toy with her before the confrontation.
But his expression when she dared look at him was merely amused, the comment apparently referring to her successful manipulation regarding the couples' needs rather than her actual subterfuge.
"I prefer to think of it as a negotiation," she managed in an amused tone.
"Call it what you like." He squeezed her hand. "I know you, Areana. Every tell, every manipulation, every carefully crafted argument. Spending five thousand years together teaches a man to read his wife."
Thankfully, he didn't know her as well as he thought he did.
It was better for some mysteries to remain, even between truelove mates.
As they entered the dining room and everyone rose to their feet, standing until Areana and Navuh took their seats at the head of the table, she tried to imagine how it must feel for Tamira and Tula. To have their lovers so close and yet untouchable. To make small talk about the weather and the restoration while their bodies ached for connection.
"Look what I found." Tamira lifted one of the bronze bookends that were placed beside her plate. "Elias and I went on an expedition to the storage area and found this treasure. I want to take them to my room, if that's okay."
Areana looked at Navuh, who nodded his approval. "You can have any of the furnishings and decorations from the basement. Just don't go overboard. I'm not convinced that moving backward aesthetically is the answer to your discomfort with the current design. It needs to be a coordinated effort done by professionals."
"We can give it a try," Areana offered. "Just add a few warm touches and see how they blend with the modern decor. If itdoesn't work, we can put things back in the storage for a professional designer to rearrange."
"Fair enough. You may continue your scavenging, but it will have to wait a few days. I'm having some work done down there, and it's better if you stay out of the way until it is done."
It suddenly occurred to Areana that Navuh's generous offer of a tent was less about her and the ladies' comfort and more about getting them away from the house while his building project was going on.
"What are you building down there?" she asked.
"Nothing that concerns you, my dear."
15
TIM
Tim shifted against the pillows, noting how different everything felt in his new body. Even something as simple as sitting up required recalibration. His limbs were longer, his center of gravity different, and he was pathetically weak.
Today he was supposed to start his physical training, and he was looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. The looking forward part had to do with having his arm around Hildegard as she helped him walk, and the dreading part was about sweating like a pig from the effort it took just to move one foot in front of the other and grossing her out.
Did pigs even sweat?
He had no idea, but he was pretty sure that he would.
If that happened, he needed to think of a way to make it up to her.
The sketchbook Thomas had brought earlier lay open on his lap, pencil moving across the page in quick, confident strokes. His hands might shake when he tried to lift a glass of water, but apparently, muscle memory for drawing transcended physical transformation. The emerging portrait captured the subtle arch of an eyebrow, the determined set of a jaw, the way certain blue eyes could shift from professional assessment to wicked humor in a heartbeat.
A knock at the door made him scramble to shove the sketchbook under his pillow. He wasn't ready for Hildegard to see this yet. It was supposed to be a surprise. A thank you of sorts that hopefully she would like and that would make her forget all the unpleasant moments he'd subjected her to.
"Come in," he called.
The door opened, but instead of Hildegard, Roni walked in. The kid—though he wasn't really a kid anymore, was he?—carried a bundle of clothes and wore his trademark smirk.
