Amatista

“Is that all it says?” she asked him softly. “No instruction on how, no clue, just that?”

Kavi’s eyes smoldered. He whispered, “I love you.”

“It says that?”

“No. Liana, I love you.” He took her face gently and his lips met hers lightly, tenderly kissing her. “I am here. You are not alone.”

“I know you’re here,” she said with a nod, and that knowledge indeed made her feel a little powerful.

Plus, how hard could opening a portal be?

She guessed all it took was simply believing in it.

Determined to get her new family home, she wound her way through the group until she’d reached the edge of the dry river, even more magnificent up close. The wind kicked up, flapping her hair behind her as she spread her arms, palms facing the skies. Her eyes drifted shut and she whispered, “Open.”

She gave it time to do so, and when she opened her eyes, a smile danced on her lips—lasting only a second when she realized nothing had happened. “It’s not working,” she said with a shake of her head, whirling to stare at Kavi. “It’s not working, Kavi.”

He was chuckling. Chuckling. The lug. “Are you a witch, Liana? A magician?”

“No.”

“Then why did you expect a magic river to obey you?”

She flung her arms up high. “Well, I thought it would!”

Smiling, Kavi drew closer to her. As if sensing her growing frustration, he took her upper arms and gently squeezed. “Liana, I ache to have you for myself, to show you how much I want you. Get us home. Use your touch, walk into the river, claim it as yours as you claimed me.”

Liana closed her eyes and leaned into him. “Kavi, I want you.”

He made a choking sound, hands reflexively tightening on her arms. “I need you. Please do this now, so I can have you. Touch the river, Liana, and think of me.”

He sounded desperate, eager to enter into this home his ancestors had left, this home with locked doors with no one to open them but her.

Liana nodded, rubbing her palms against his strong, hairless chest before she pulled away, turned to the brilliant river and thought, Sumi Amatista.

Drawing forward, she tested the area with one foot first. Then, finding a flat spot, she moved the other forward until she stood just past the edge of the river, and slowly made her way toward the center, balancing her weight with her arms.

“Sumi Amatista,” she whispered, bending down so she could touch her fingers to the rocks. The tips were blunt, no doubt the effect of a hundred years of wait and wind. She stroked them with her eyes closed, loving the hard, raspy feel of them under her hands.

She continued to stroke the area, running her palms over the rocks like she’d done to Kavi’s chest, memorizing the texture like she knew his. Enjoying the feel of it. Thinking—sumi.

A gun blast broke through her concentration then a rock exploded behind her, tiny pieces of it hitting her exposed flesh.

“Step away from the rocks,” a deep, ominous voice said.

Liana gasped at the sound of the voice. Her gaze whipped up to find Lyle standing several yards behind the startled Fohers, his gun trained on Liana’s forehead.

Liana held her breath, hands motionless over the rocks, heart pounding fast.

Quickly, the Foher children were ushered to the side while the Foher males stood to face their enemies, their stances proud. But Liana knew. She knew the Fohers were tired and hungry, and she realized by the concerned look on Kavi’s face that he knew they weren’t fit for battle. The humans, too, looked haggard, their clothes damp and dirty, but the wild spark in Lyle’s eyes put Liana at unease. He looked like a man who’d do anything, anything to win. He’d done so much damage already!

Kavi had turned to face him, fingers curled around the dagger slung behind his back, easing it off the sheath. “We do not wish to fight you,” Kavi said, shifting the dagger to his side.

Lyle was looking at Liana. “Come forward,” he said in a commanding voice. “Step away from the amethysts.”

Liana frantically began to touch the amethysts, looking for a way to open the portal. Her mind raced, pleading to the river. Please open up, open up, please, please, please!

“Stop I said!” Lyle thundered.