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I frowned at hiames"
"No This is a serious question" He slipped off the deck chair, and one knee touched the concrete balcony floor He never looked away froo ofto need a serious answer"
My heart froze, then skipped to catch up on its beats "I -- " I couldn’t begin to think of what to say I just waited I probably had it all wrong anyway
"Will youat all
My lips parted, and nothing, absolutely nothing, came out Was he serious? He couldn’t be serious We were coether, we had love, we had partnership, we had -- everything
Everything exceptwell, this An official kind of commitment
Not possible, some part of my brain reported briskly David was a supernatural Djinn, only partly tied to the ht have been a Warden, with extra powers over wind, water, air, earth, living thingsbut I was just human, when it came down to brass tacks He was ily aware of that, every day that passed between us
"David" I ca "I -- can we talk about this later?"
"Why? So you can co you?" He wasn’t angry; he didn’t ely even gentle "Jo, I need to know that you feel as I do I need to have you with me And -- it’son that last one
"Have you been married before?" There, I’d asked it We didn’t go into his past a lot, but I kneas ancient, and there had been plenty of relationships Djinn as well as human
He raised my hands to his lips, and I shivered at the waro Before I knehat I aiting to feel"
I stared at him "And now you know"
"Of course I know," he said His eyes had taken on the burning purity of newly My gaze went to it, startled, but I didn’t , and it cut off I wasn’t sure if the caller had thought better of it, or David had severed the connection
"If you say no, it’s all right I will stay with you as long as you want me to stay," he said "You won’t lose ree if this doesn’t feel right to you"
"But it’s iht it up" David looked troubled for a second, as if he was unsure of how ed ahead "When humans make their vows to each other, it’s the closest they can come to the depth of commitment a Djinn feels You see? I just want -- I’ you"
And it had taken him a lot to risk the question, I knew that David’s feelings for me were fierce and constant; it was part of who the Djinn were But hueable, and I had no doubt he lived in fear that one day, I’d wake up and be a different person, one he couldn’t reach
Being married wouldn’t lessen that risk, but it was a symbol A trust
It all came down to trust His, and mine
"This is crazy," I breathed "What the hell are the Djinn going to say?"
"Nothing, if they knohat’s good for thelimmer of coldness to his tone David was the leader of about half of the Djinn -- the good half, in h there were exceptions The other half was led by a Djinn named Ashan, a icy bastard who didn’t like me very much, and wasn’t especially war what it will do tothem, don’t"
But I had to think about that, didn’t I? It wasn’t just the two of us The Wardensa Djinn, too And whatto bless this union, anyway? Most of theood kind of way And I knew David He’d want complete honesty in this, nodarker, the sky darkening froo On the horizon, the sun was nearly down, pulling its glorious trailing rays with it
Black, greasy shed David glanced at it, annoyed, and the smoke disappeared -- moved elsewhere The air around us was fresh and clear
"Jo," he said "You don’t have to answer now I just -- had to ask the question"
I ought to say no I knew that I just knew
"Yes," I said, and so in me broke loose with a wild, silent cry I was off the cliff now, I realized, with a fierce joy, and that felt good It felt free
His eyes ignited into a color found only in the heart of the sun "Yes?"
"Yes, already I’ll marry you Yes Hell, yes What ao of my hands, picked up the extension, and thu away fro ood for you, you’ll reschedule your deadline"
And he crushed the phone, like it was rave;me, and dropped the smashed pieces on the patio table
"Oh," I said faintly "Problem solved Good approach"
On the horizon, the fire in Alligator Alley continued to glow I discovered that I didn’t care at all, as David’s hand pulled me to my feet and into his ar, and screaain My apart evacuated