Sunny - Mona Lisa Blossoming

I drew back and looked down at him, my lonely prince, wondering why he drew me so. Wondering if his warm eyes would grow cold like his father's as the centuries marched slowly by.

"This attraction between us is now endangering you," I said. It had almost gotten me killed before. Now it had almost killed him. "We must end it. For both our sakes."

He shrugged, gave a wry smile, and answered simply, "I cannot. I cannot stay away from you, though I truly tried."

"Oh, Halcyon."

"You have so much love within you," he said quietly, his eyes searching mine. "Can you not spare a little for me?"

My heart twisted at his words. I did love him. And not just a little. But telling him this would only worsen things, not help. Wouldn't it?

"You are my only friend." Halcyon sat up suddenly and folded me into his arms. "My chosen mate," he whispered against my lips. "Do not leave me alone."

I closed my eyes, unable to resist his plea otherwise. "I cannot stay here."

I felt a sad smile curve those soft red lips. "I know. And I cannot be long away from here." A soft releasing sigh, a promising kiss.

"But I shall see you when High Council meets. And perhaps upon occasion at Belle Vista, your home, if your invitation still remains open to me."

I gazed into his eyes, into those bittersweet eyes so like his father's and yet so different. They swirled, alive with emotion. It was those eyes that helped make up my mind. I could not bear the thought of those eyes growing cold, detached. Becoming neutral. He'd been alone for so long. I knew how precious love was; it did not matter how long or short a time you held it for.

I sighed and smiled and yielded. "You are always welcome, Halcyon. In my home and in my heart." And I kissed him, sealing my soft pledge.

"Mona Lisa," he murmured and crushed me to him. I opened my mouth to him and he stole in, a sweet marauder, plundering what I offered and giving so much more in return. His tongue sought mine out with rough passion, glided sensuously against my tongue in a sweet wet slide. He trembled against me, broke the seal of our lips, and laughed softly against the sensitive hollow of my ear. "Ah, Hellcat, you make me ache when I am too weak to do anything about it."

My hand slid down to stroke his bold length, to measure his sweet arousal. He groaned and shifted against my hand as I savored the lovely fullness of him. "You don't feel weak," I purred.

He gave me one last hard, almost husbandly peck and set me away from him. "We will not put it to the test." His eyes grew heavy-lidded, slumberous. "Until later, when I am fully recovered."

"Until later." I echoed his promise with a sultry smile. "Heal quickly." One last glance at the son, and I closed the door behind me and made my way downstairs to the waiting father.

Without a word the High Lord led me outside. My attention was caught immediately by the two horses on the front lawn, if that was what they could be called. I stared at them with both wonder and apprehension.

Suddenly the dark tower groaned. The walls shook and the ground quaked. I whirled back to catch the High Lord calmly removing his hand from where he had pressed it against the smooth black wall. The trembling ceased.

"What was that?" I said.

"I set the wards. Nothing can enter now."

That sounded nice. It would keep Halcyon safe until he regained his full strength. "What about getting out?" I asked.

"The stones of Darkling Tower are keyed to Halcyon's hand as well. He will be able to leave when he is ready." Darkling Tower. Another edifice with a name. And how appropriately named.

Once that task was accomplished, Blaec seemed like a different person. His eyes were no longer empty but filled with energy, with purpose. He strode down the front steps, fairly strumming with impatience, as if he couldn't wait to be off or rid of me. I trailed warily after him. Wary because he headed straight for those giant demon horses.

I was getting a bad feeling about this and was trying to find a polite way to tell the High Lord that I didn't ride, in case he was getting any ideas that way, when he plucked me up and swung me onto the back of one of the animals, completely ignoring my sputtering sounds of protest. Blaec's hands lifted from me and then I was alone on the terrifying beast. I squeaked as I felt myself sliding sideways and instinctively tightened my hold on the flowing mane, but it was the gentle unseen power shifting me upright like an invisible pushing hand that really kept me from falling.

"Was that you, High Lord?" I managed to squeak out.

Blaec leaped gracefully onto his own mount, a jet-black stallion that neighed and snorted, eager to be off. And I noticed then that it wasn't only its greater size that set the demon horse apart from its equine brothers up on Earth. It was also the eyes. They flared to life, a fierce, fiery red then faded slowly back to dark brown. Sharp intelligence glinted in those knowing eyes.

"No, that was Mary, your horse," Blaec said.

I gazed down at Mary with surprise. Whereas the stallion was ebony black, she was pure white, like fresh-fallen snow. "Er… thank you, Mary."

The mare tossed her head in acknowledgment and gave a polite little neigh. Her eyes, I noted thankfully, were not glowing red. No doubt they would, though, if I aggravated her enough. I tried not to do so. I tried to hold real still as Mary took off in a gentle canter after the stallion, as if by not moving, I wouldn't imperil my perilous balance. It sounded good in theory, but like many good theorems, did not work out in application. I continued to shift and tilt and slide sideways, and Mary continued to patiently push me back upright with that invisible hand.

The stallion snorted in disgust, prancing in place, waiting for us to catch up with them. His rider snorted in equally impatient disgust.

"Hell fire," Blaec said, not bothering with charm anymore. "You're stiff, like an iron poker's shoved up your ass. No wonder you keep falling over. You've got to relax, girl, if you want to keep your seat."

"Why didn't you say something sooner!" I said. He wasn't the only one disgusted. "This is my first time on a horse."

"Really?" Blaec said dryly, "I couldn't tell. Oh, just pretend that it's my son you're riding."

I gasped in outrage but the High Lord turned and galloped off before I could come up with a scathing retort.

"Stupid, arrogant male," I muttered. Mary neighed. Her eyes laughed kindly back at me, as if I amused her. "Well, he is," I said to her and groaned as I slid sideways once more. Gently, she shifted me back.

"Let me just walk," I called ahead to Blaec.

"I told you before, no time."

"What's the rush," I muttered, and grimly concentrated on relaxing, letting my upper body roll with the easy rocking motion of my mount. Surprisingly, it did help me keep my seat, and the fact that the High Lord was right only served to rankle me more.

We passed a scattering of shabby abodes. The demon dead were out and about. Men, women, but no children. They bowed to the High Lord, eyed my white glowing skin hungrily. They made no effort to approach me, but their hot gazes itched my back.

When I finally seemed to be getting the hang of staying on Mary, Blaec said, "Hang on." With that one warning, he murmured something to the stallion. The great beast gathered itself and sprung up, stretching out, soaring into the air, floating up, up, and then down in a long effortless arc, covering well over a hundred feet.

I only had time to say, "No!" and squeeze my knees tightly around Mary's barrel sides, and then she was also springing up, air-bound, dropping my stomach down into my feet and choking a gasp out of my throat as she landed a soaring distance away. Her feet barely touched the ground before she sprang up again in another giant leap after the High Lord's stallion. "Goddamn it! You're supposed to be horses, not leap frogs."