page55 (1/2)

“Send hi hiive his mother and Jondalar some time to reach a decision

The three , then stood near the fire in the central hearth for a few moments They said little but enjoyed each other’s coes had occurred that would soon ain

Shadows of the terrace walls had already brought an evening chill, though fro down the river gorge Standing by the fire together, they could alet the devastating tragedy They stayed long into twilight, wanting to hold the hts that, had they shared the of the events that had brought the Zelandoniiif he would ever see either of the other two again

“Aren’t you ever coer She had sensed their need for this last silent communion and hadn’t wanted to disturb them Then Shamud and Serenio caroup of youngsters, other people came to the central fire, and the mood was irrevocably lost Roshario herded everyone toward her dwelling, including Jondalar and Serenio, but they left soon after

They walked in silence to the edge, then around the wall to a fallen log It made a comfortable seat from which to watch the sunset upriver Nature conspired to keep the sun; a panorama presented in ray clouds were highlighted in silver, then spread out in gleaold that shattered on the river Fiery red transfor copper, which flattened to bronze, then faded to silver again

As the silver leadened, then tarnished to darker shades, Jondalar came to a decision He turned to face Serenio She was certainly beautiful, he thought She wasn’t hard to live with; she made his life comfortable He opened his mouth to speak

“Let’s go back, Jondalar,” she said, first,

“Serenio … I … we have lived …” he started She held a finger to his mouth to silence him

“Don’t talk now Let’s go back”

He heard the urgency in her voice this time, saw the desire in her eyes He reached for her hand, held it, fingers to his lips, then turned her hand around, opened it, and kissed her pal mouth found her wrist, then followed her ar back her sleeve to reach it

She sighed, closed her eyes, and tilted her head back, inviting him He held the back of her neck to support her head, and kissed the pulse in her throat, found her ear and searched out her ry He kissed her then, slowly, lovingly, tasting the softness under her tongue, touching the ridges of her palate, and drew her tongue into hisheavily Her hand found his war response

“Let’s go back,” she said again, her voice husky

“Why go back? Why not here?” he said

“If we stay here it will be over too soon I want the warmth of fire and furs so on’t need to rush”

Their love had become, not stale, but a little perfunctory recently They knehat satisfied each other, and they tended to fall into a pattern, exploring and experiht, he knew, she wanted er to comply He took her head in both his hands, kissed her eyes and the end of her nose, the softness of her cheek, and breathed into her ear He nibbled at an earlobe, then sought her throat again When he found her mouth once more, he took it fiercely and held her to him

“I think we should go back, Serenio,” he breathed into her ear

“That’s what I’ve been saying”

Side by side, his arm over her shoulder and hers around his waist, they walked back around the jutting wall For once, he didn’t step back to allow passage around the outside edge in single file He did not even notice the precipitous fall-off

It was dark, the deep black of both night and shadow, in the open field The h side walls; only a few scattered stars could be seen between clouds above It was later than they realized when they reached the overhang No one was out around the fire of the central hearth, though logs still burned with licking flames They saw Roshario, Dolando, and several others inside their shelter, and as they passed the entrance, they saw Darvo throwing carved pieces of bone with Thonolan Jondalar sahts, one that could take half a night to resolve, and it held the attention— easier

The dwelling Jondalar shared with Serenio was dark when they entered He piled wood in the stone-lined fireplace, then got a piece of burning wood froht it He leaned two planks across each other at the entrance, then stretched the leather drape across,a warm private world

He shrugged out of his outer garot the skin of fermented bilberry juice and poured for both The iiven him time to think She’s as lovely and passionate a wo liquid I should have for to come back with o back, I want her for my mate