Unveiling the Sorceress

His face was a hair's breadth away from hers. He ran his warm palm up the back of her neck beneath her hair.

She tingled with self-awareness, looking at his mouth, longing for its touch on hers. “Make me believe,” she breathed.

He nodded. Cupping her head slowly, he pressed his mouth to hers, opening her up.

Her response was immediate, her hands on him, her lips parting, his kiss met and returned. Beneath her fingers, his body was hard and taut, desire rising in him as surely as it was in her. Her eyes closed and her fingers clutched at him. Her limbs turned to fluid, her intimate parts afire. The firm demand of his kiss fanned the flames deep inside her, flames that seemed to burn all around them.

She whimpered with need.

"Hold onto me, you will see,” he whispered hoarsely, as he moved to kiss her earlobe.

Something had changed.

Her eyes opened. They were no longer inside the tent. Instead, the cold night air surrounded them. The tent fell away around them. She was locked in his arms and they were moving up and away from the spot.

"Amshazar!"

She clung to him, her fingers locked around his neck while she looked this way and that, her eyes widening as she realized how far above the encampment they were. Wind whipped around them, their robes flapped and their hair wavered as their bodies moved as one, rising from the ground and soaring high, into the night sky. The tents were just small patches of color beneath them, lit by the fires dotted here and there between them. The rocky outcrop nearby was a distant blur in the darkness. He held her against him and she clung to him, her body crushed hard against him for support.

"There is no need to be afraid,” he said.

She couldn't help herself. Her feet scrambled against his.

"Trust me.” He lifted her chin to look into her eyes.

She saw the warmth there, the tender humor at her responses, the power, and the desire. A vital force burned within him, holding them safely aloft.

"Join me,” he said, his voice reaching her above the roar of the rushing air. “Remember how it felt in Suzin. Use your inner strength to master this."

Doubt swamped her. The roar of the wind seemed to blast through her as she resisted. Her body and mind were locked into the jeopardy.

"Trust in your emergent skills in the art of sorcery, Elishiba,” he said to her, encouraging her. “Feel for it inside you and ask it to make you a safe path here."

She saw faith in his eyes. He believed she could do it too. And yes, she wanted to know this, of course she did. She had seen what he could do, what was possible. If she could make it real, it would help her to achieve her goals.

"Hold me?” she asked tentatively, still incredibly afraid despite what she had previously seen.

"Yes, I will keep hold of your hand, I won't let you fall. But you will find your path."

Light blazed from his eyes, she felt it willing her power to grow, willing her to move forward with this. She nodded. Closing her eyes, she counted to ten, recalled the sensation that she had felt in the marketplace in Suzin, and summoned it again. Instantly, heat throbbed in her, hitting her with a dizzying rush.

Make me a safe path, she chanted within, willing the power to grow.

After a moment her feet leveled, as if being supported from below. She loosed her grip on him. Even though he held her, she trembled, her legs wavering, but she did not fall. Her eyes flashed open. It worked. A dazzling rush hit her, her heart pounded wildly in her chest.

They were surrounded now in gleaming white light, and she felt the tug deep within her, just like the pulsing sensation that had passed between them in Suzin, now more pure and serene as it meshed them together in this moment. He held one of her hands in his, and encouraged her to move. Slowly, she stepped apart from him, as they rode the night sky. He took a step forward. She moved alongside him, cautious but thrilled by each part of the experience. Her senses were filled with the experience, the very physical nature of it. She felt as wild and restless as the elements themselves, joyous laughter escaping from her open lips.

He smiled and gestured toward the distant sky beyond them.

She followed his gesture, attempting to gain the measure of the experience. Thin layers of cloud shifted across the moon, splaying the fall of light to the far edges of the sky and beyond.

"The stars,” she exclaimed. She was amazed at their luminosity. The sky was alive with flickering lights, the stars vivid and alive against the vast sky. The surface of the sky looked as if it ran on forever, much deeper and more immense than she had ever imagined.

His hands moved back in around her waist, so that he held her loosely. “Yes, so beautiful, and near enough to touch."

She nodded at him, enjoying his hands on her. Then she was captured by the passion in his expression. He wasn't looking at the stars. He was watching her. His eyes were dark with desire, his expression intense. Stillness had fallen over them, she realized, as if his focus was solely on her and they no longer whirled into the sky. She had a sudden feeling of significance, as if this moment had torn away some facade between them. The desire in his eyes mirrored the undeniable craving deep within her. She wanted him, this man who was watching over her as if encouraging her to be as passionate and strong as the wind itself. “Am I dreaming this?"

"No,” he replied, and his smile made her cling tighter to him.