Page 4 of Married By Wind
Vinn’s expression remained unreadable as he asked, “What are you proposing? That I take this lamp and guard your people from the sand devils?”
I nodded. “You know my people; you’ve lived among us, even though it was brief. Please, help us.”
Vinn glanced at the lamp as he considered my request. “I’ve seen these sand devils you speak of,” he said at last. “But the cycle of nature must go on unhindered. If this enemy falls, a new one will rise in its wake. If I interfere, the consequences will be felt for generations.”
“Please,” I begged. “We will die.”
“Death comes to all mortals at one time or another, Ulika,” he said gently.
I drew a sharp breath, for my name on his lips would be my undoing. Words failed me as he advanced, and I backed away, but he did not stop until my back pressed against the rough edges of the wall, the rosebush only a few feet away. Panting, I inhaled, and his scent filled my nostrils. Vivid flashes of landscape and scenery burst through my mind, roses, blood, dark red, a tantalizing musk with undercurrents of citrus. My heart pounded so loudly I was sure he could hear it.
Vinn, the god of wind, towered over me, leaving just enough space between us to breathe. He held up the lamp again, a deadly caution in his tone. “Do you know what this is?”
I licked my lips, suddenly hot despite the chill of the mountain. My answer would change everything and nothing at all. “It’s a lamp, a golden lamp.”
Tucking it into his trousers, he threaded his fingers into my hair. Those familiar dark eyes roved over my face, studying me as though he could read my mind. Under his touch, his power, I wondered if I had truly known him at all.
He was close. Too close. Allowing me to see the flecks of amber in his deep eyes, the flare of his nostrils, and the curve of his wide lips. His knuckles brushed my cheeks, my lips, causing a surge of fevered desire to rush over me. Flashes of memory returned, of a time when I had waited for his kiss, the kiss that had never come. Blood roared in my ears as my pulse throbbed, as though I was standing on the edge of a cliff and if I let myself fall, there would be no going back.
Instead of kissing me, he let go and stepped back.
I gasped in a deep breath of disappointment, blinking to hide the tears that stung my eyes.
“You truly don’t know what you’ve done,” he relented. “I know you, Ulika. You’re mortal, without magic, yet somehow you’ve performed it.”
I waited, unable to speak even if I wanted to. He was focused on the lamp, not on our past relationship, which was how it should be. Then why did it hurt so much?
His shoulders slumped as he held the lamp between us, his deep voice softening. “Long ago, the lamp was hidden beneath this world, where no one would find it and put it to use. You found it and came here, and although I guess it was not your intent, between your words and the flame of fire, you’ve trapped me with this.”
He trailed a finger down the curves of the lamp, slowly, tantalizingly, and I squirmed. Trapped?
“This is no gift,” he continued. “It’s a curse, and even if I wanted to, I can’t help until you free me.”
I gaped, my jaw moving up and down. Just my luck. The gift was a curse instead of a blessing. Panic swirled around me, and tears burned my eyes. I held them back by sheer will. “How do I free you?”
A breeze howled in the hollow above the bush of red flowers. Petals trembled, and some tore free, tossing and turning in the updraft as Vinn moved closer. He slid his arms around my waist, pulling me into an intimate embrace. I’d tried to forget about him and move on with my life, but when he wrapped his arms around me, all I could think of was how much I yearned for a future that included him. Warm fingers brushed my skin, and more flashes of lush scenery captured my vision. When he spoke next, his lips were next to the shell of my ear. “We must go to the gates of Val Ether and ask the gods for advice. Hold tight.”
5
Vinn
Ulika fit perfectly in the cradle of my arms, as I’d known she would. It was not the first time I’d held her like this, and being so near her again made me ache for what I could not have. Her head lay against my bare chest, and her silky hair was the only shield between us. Instead of shying away, she kept her arms fastened tightly around my neck. Even though it was likely she was afraid of flying, I preferred to think she enjoyed being close to me.
Wistful thinking made me recall the couple kissing in the tent, and the acts of love between mortals. It had taken all my willpower to hold back from claiming her lips with mine. Her anger burned like a smoldering fire, and I held back for I’d created a rift between us. It was no use reminiscing the past, because a future together was not possible. The fact that she’d returned to me to ask for help was a cruel twist of fate. Like a knife driven into my ribs and turned from side to side. I’d left because I didn’t want to see the disappointment in her eyes and because I’d reached a turning point. I couldn’t be with her without professing to her what she meant to me.
Love was a connection that went much deeper than physical actions. It was emotional and spiritual and physical. It was the kind of companionship and connection I’d never have because as a powerful god, I was meant to be alone and above the desires of mortals.
The gods would not be pleased if I brought a mortal into their halls, but I hadn’t lied to Ulika. I truly did not know how to dissolve the bond between us. She’d trapped me with the lamp, causing an odd tie, as though an invisible string bound me to it, or perhaps to her. When she’d lit the flame, it had sucked me into the lamp. In the future, I’d have to be more careful around fire.
Her request was admirable, but it also worried me. If Ulika had known I set the sand devils free, she never would have ventured to my home to ask for help. It was a problem I’d considered for a time, since it was my responsibility to make them go away again. But how? They’d bested my winds, blown me almost into oblivion. I was a strong god, but I wasn’t all-powerful. I was only the wind and evidently able to be captured by flame. Taking Ulika to the hall of the gods was an excuse to ask for their wisdom and advice. Soon all this would be over. The desert would be mine again, and I’d think twice before knocking over piles of stones that kept monsters from the void where they belonged.
Snowcapped mountains loomed in the distance, and the tang of the air turned sharp and crisp. It had been a long time since I’d visited the Frost Mountains, and usually I did around summer when the land was lush with new life. The gods would not be thrilled to see me. I hoped, on account of Ulika, they would be lenient.
6
Ulika
Unsure what to do with my arms, I faltered before wrapping them around his neck. Despite my misgivings about being pressed against Vinn, my body craved his touch. As the wind grew stronger, I tightened my grip. A vortex whirled around us, reminding me of the sand devils roaring as they advanced, the sand stinging my skin from the violence they created.
