Stormlight - Ed Greenwood [85]
"Thank the gods," she sobbed, clutching him, and dissolved into helpless weeping that shook them both. Corathar cradled her awkwardly, suddenly very aware of the gently spicy smell of her hair and of the softness of the body she was pressing against him.
She was a long time crying. She sobbed her way into silence and started trembling against him. He wasn't expecting the lips that found his, or the raw hunger with which she embraced him. He made a brief, wordless protest as he lost his balance and fell backward, but she clambered atop him, and the next flash of the coronet showed him her face as she bit her Up and tugged at his robes, panting.
"Corathar," she almost snarled. "Yes. Yes. Give me…"
Corathar reached out and gently set the coronet on her head. She responded by kissing him wildly and running her hands all over him, searching for buckles and lacings and openings, and…
Suddenly she stiffened, came to an abrupt halt with one deUcate hand tugging her gown down and the other busily exploring its way down bis bared chest. She sat up and pulled away from him.
"L-Lady?" Corathar whispered in sudden foreboding. "Have I… offended?"
The next flash of the coronet showed him a face that was somehow both sad and triumphant.
"No," she told him, in a voice that trembled a little "No, you haven't. If s just-"
She was silent for so long that he dared to prompt her. "Just?"
Shayna Summerstar gave him a smile, and leaned close to him again. "I… you'll be my first," she whispered, eyes very close to his, "and there's a family tradition I must uphold. We must use my bed-and, as we won't be able to wed, you must claim a gift of me. There's a spellbook none of us can use in the strong chest under my bed; one of the treasures my father gave me. It shall be yours… if you can use your magic to get us to my bed."
Corathar sat up slowly. A spellbook! Was this truly happening?
"Where is your bed?" he asked, looking up and down at her slender, gowned beauty. Shayna pointed down the passage where he'd seen the roof come down… hours ago, it seemed, though it couldn't have been more than half an hour…
"There," she said, and smiled weakly. "Or somewhere under there."
"Lady," the young mage said, his lust ebbing, "are you sure-"
"Corathar," she said, making his name a caress. The coronet flashed again. Her eyes were very large and dark. "Please? For me?"
She got off his legs, and he struggled to his feet. "Of course," he told her. "Yes. Just show me… I've a spell that can lift the fallen stones aside."
Soft hands stroked his cheek, and then took his arm. She leaned against him, and they walked together along the rubble-strewn passageway, moving slowly,her hip pressed against his with every step. "Do this for me," the noblewoman said softly into his ear, "and you'll always be welcome at Firefall Keep. Sometimes wizards need patrons…
“Lady Shayna,” Corathar protested weakly, “I’m not a great wi-my magic’s not that good.” He cursed himself inwardly for a dolt…
“And how do I know that?” she purred. “You are kind, and modest, and a mage who’ll grow to be powerful and wise-what more can a woman ask for?”
What else, indeed? The coronet’s flash became a steady glow, now, and as Corathar cast a startled glance at it, she gave him an encouraging smile and pointed. The bed must be just about there… about a dozen feet in, I'd guess."
"What if it's crushed?"
Shayna shrugged. "I don't think tradition demands that the bed be a certain size or condition-we'll make do." She flashed a dazzling smile, and then leaned close and whispered, "Hurry, my lord to be. Hurry."
Corathar smiled, nodded, and drew back his sleeves. "I'll need a little room," he said apologetically. She peeled herself away from his side and stepped back with another slow smile.
The youngest wizard of the Sevensash swallowed, collected his wits carefully, and then worked the most precise and exacting telekinesis spell he'd ever cast
First that rock… no, think of Shayna's smiles later rocks first… now that one… and that one…
Block after shattered block rose