Goddess of the Rose (Goddess Summoning #4)(94)

She collapsed against him, breathing hard and feeling limp and replete. She was smiling contentedly against his chest until she realized it wasn't just his breath that was causing his chest to shake. He was trembling violently. Mikki pulled back to see that his eyes were closed and tears were slowly tracking their way down his face.

"Asterius?" She put her hand against his cheek. "What's wrong?"

He opened his eyes and kissed her palm. "It is only that I have been alone for so long - I find that I am unprepared for the happiness you bring me." He reached up and felt the tears on his face as if he hadn't realized until then that he was crying. "Does this make me appear foolish and weak to you?"

"No, my love. It makes you appear human."

Chapter Thirty-Three

THEY didn't leave his lair. They ate and discussed more changes Mikki wanted to enact in the realm - like a specific limit to the time the rose gate would be opened to allow men into and out of the realm. And the fact that the weather was growing colder as winter approached, so it would be prudent if Mikki commanded Flame to warm the gardens, even if just briefly during the darkest part of the night. Black spot, she explained to Asterius, liked to creep out in cold weather, and it was hard to get rid of once it spread.

Mikki loved talking with him, and it didn't take long for her to realize why. Asterius listened to her. Truly and completely, he heard what she said. She tried to think of the last man she'd known who had actually listened to her, and she couldn't remember one. Not one man had ever shown her the quality of respect and sincere interest Asterius showed her. It was supremely ironic that a being who wasn't literally a man knew instinctively what so many "real" men didn't seem to be able to grasp: women want to be heard and respected. It was really that simple.

His power thrilled her. It was a seductive lure of which she didn't think she'd ever get enough. She loved the exhilaration she felt just to be able to touch him, to stroke that incredible body and know he was hers.

That night they made love on the fur pallet, tenderly discovering more of the secrets their bodies held. Mikki delighted in the fact that his skin was so sensitive and that a light caress could leave him engorged and ready for her. Satiated, they fell asleep in each other's arms, secure in their love and the knowledge that tomorrow would be another day they would spend together.

"Empousa! You must come!"

Mikki thought she was dreaming. She knew she was in bed with Asterius - she could feel him tense and surge from their pallet - but she also clearly heard Gii's frantic voice. What was the handmaiden doing in Asterius's lair? Then her sleep-clouded mind cleared and understanding burst in.

"What is the danger?" Asterius boomed, pulling on his tunic and buckling his cuirasse.

"The roses . . ." Mikki's mouth had gone dry, and her stomach clenched. "Gii, what has happened to the roses?"

Gii hurried to her Empousa's side, quickly wrapping the chiton she'd carried with her around Mikki's naked body while she spoke in quick, short sentences.

"The Elementals and I went to the rose gate at dawn. We thought to be certain no trace of yesterday's violence was left to disturb you." Gii's voice shook, and her face was deathly pale. "They're dying, Empousa. All of them."

"The roses!" Mikki said.

Though it wasn't a question, Gii answered, "Yes."

"The wall - is the barrier still intact?" Asterius said.

"Yes, and there are no Dream Stealers in the realm. No one is in the realm who shouldn't be. We made certain all the men departed yesterday, and none have been invited to return."

"I must go," Asterius told Mikki.

"Yes - go, go quickly. I'll be right behind you," Mikki said.

He paused only long enough to touch the side of her face in a gentle caress before the sound of his hooves echoed from the cave walls as he thundered from his lair.

"Hurry," Mikki said. "I need to get out there, too."

Minutes later, the two women rushed into the gardens. Mikki felt the change the instant she left the cave. Her head ached, and nausea rose in her throat.

"Show me the quickest path to the gate," Mikki told Gii and then neither woman had breath to waste on talking. They ran.

Women were crowded around the rose beds that ringed the gate, milling like frightened sheep. And Mikki understood why. It was worse than she had imagined. She pushed her way past them, taking only a cursory look at the dying beds. She needed to get to the heart of the disease that had suddenly afflicted the roses, and she knew she would find its center at the gate. She broke through the last group of women and staggered to a halt. Asterius was already at the gate, his keen eyes studying the forest as he paced back and forth before it. The other three Elementals weren't watching him; they were staring at the roses in the beds adjacent to the gate. Their faces were strained and pale. When they saw Mikki, they rushed to meet her.

"Empousa, it is terrible," Aeras whispered.

"What has happened to them, Empousa?" Nera said, keeping her voice low.

"I don't know. I can't tell yet. Give me room and let me examine them." Mikki felt the press of the women's fear almost as much as she felt the roses' sickness. "Have the women move back."

All the Elementals except Gii hurried off to speak to the watching, waiting groups of women.