Divine Agreements, page 9
Andrea’s eyes flared with power for a moment as Sean tagged her place in the pantheon. “Do you know what that feels like? When you reaffirm our place?”
“No.”
“It’s much like this— you holding us while the deep love between our Bonds rises and a warmth fills our hearts. It makes us know that we always have a place, and what that place is.”
“I had no idea.”
“I did come to get you for breakfast,” Andrea sighed as she shifted against him.
Sean laughed as he scooped her up. “Yes, my love. Let’s go.”
Andrea giggled as she kissed his neck. “Myna can be a good influence sometimes.”
“Our dear brat cat is an influence both good and bad, but we love her for everything she does, even when that makes my face as hot as the sun.”
“It was amusing when you carried her to the table. It’d been ages since we’d seen you that red. If Helga, Aria, and Hallie hadn’t already claimed you tonight, I would have.”
“That reminds me… isn’t the pause on sex supposed to happen soon?” Sean asked.
“That’s still over a tenday away, and Myna’s still arguing for two days— not two tendays— of no sex. Felora is fully on board with her at this point, too. Fiona’s firmly holding her line at two tendays, but the rest of us haven’t joined the debate, yet.”
“Ahh. I knew it was soonish. That might be the first real argument they have as a family.”
“No. It’ll be decided peacefully…” Andrea murmured. “It’ll come down to us keeping an eye on our pregnancies if we side with Myna.”
“That’s… not a bad idea. Even if the pause happens at two tendays, you can all easily check each other, and doing so every day isn’t a bad thing.”
“I’ll bring it up with Fiona after breakfast.”
~*~*~
Sean hadn’t figured out anything by midday sparring, so he excused himself to head up to spar. The cooks had been happy to hear he was going to spar with them again. They were waiting in the kitchen when he came up the stairs to the cellar.
“The others will be joining us to help round out the fighting,” Glorina said with a bright smile.
“Let’s go see who we have to help,” Sean said. “Ladies, have the stove and oven helped?”
“Immensely,” Mona said.
“Very much,” Lona added.
“Having three of them has helped us all work on meals at the same time,” Glorina said.
“Three? I made two…? Good job if it’s as good as the other two,” Sean started, then changed what he was saying.
“It was easy to copy what you’d done. We had two of them here to study.”
“It was fun to Shape it,” Lona chimed in.
“And enchant it,” Mona grinned.
“It was a group effort,” Glorina finished as they walked down the hall with him.
Stepping into the backyard, Sean chuckled. Arliat, Prita, Rumia, Quinna, and Cali were waiting with practice weapons in hand as they stretched. Helga came out from behind Sean and the cooks, looking everything over.
“My Lord, did you wish to lead the combat?” Helga asked.
“No. You can pair us off, Helga,” Sean replied.
“Very well. We will start with…”
~*~*~
The last spar wasn’t a mass all-on-Sean fight— it was just Helga versus Sean without Talents. Sean won, even with him tempering his physical capabilities down to Helga’s level. The joy in her eyes had been bright the entire fight, but surged when he disarmed her and held his wooden blade to her neck.
“Sparring is over. To the baths, everyone,” Helga said, still being pinned in place.
As people walked away, Sean lowered the blade only to find himself being kissed passionately. He had to brace himself before he could return the kiss. When it broke a moment later, Helga was breathing fast as she stared into his eyes.
“Sorry, My Lord,” Helga murmured.
“It’s okay, Helga. You’ve told me before how much you want me to best you in combat. Time and place for more, though? Right now, we need to go bathe with the others.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
Sean took her hand in his, leading her to the bathing room. The others were mostly stripped and showering already, leaving Helga and Sean as the last to make it over to the showers. He didn’t go straight under the water, instead grabbing the soap to get the backs of the others who’d sparred.
“You all did good today,” Sean said. “Just wait for me to get to you. I know we’ve stopped the daily sparring; I don’t feel like we’re in the same amount of danger we were in before Truestrike was dealt with. However, Helga, I’m going to ask you to make sure that everyone gets at least one good spar every tenday, minus those who are pregnant.”
“I will arrange it, Sean,” Helga said. “Do you want me to include you in that?”
“I should. Mine will be just weapon skill, though. I want to improve that, if possible.”
“Understood.”
“Thank you, Sean,” Quinna said when he finished her back.
“How are the cuons?”
“Good. I think Cuander is trying for pups already.”
“Not surprising,” Sean snorted. “What about Caleb?”
“He’s good. He and Shyla seem to get on well together, but no pups for him.”
“That’s fine. I should make sure to take the time to play with them, too,” Sean murmured. “I’ll have to see about that. I can’t stop taking care of my family.”
“You never would,” Arliat said when he started on her back.
Glorina looked down the line; she’d be the last staff member to have their back washed. She had done that deliberately, because no one else seemed to realize that Sean always took longer with the last person. She wasn’t sharing that little tidbit with anyone but Tiska. It was their secret for a little extra pampering from him.
In time, everyone was in the tub. Sean had Rumia on one side and Glorina on the other. Helga just smirked while she floated in the middle of the tub. Sean had been amused, but he wasn’t going to make either of them feel like they shouldn’t be beside him.
“Glorina,” Prita asked, “has Tiska finished the family portrait?”
“Not yet. She’s taking her time with it. Tiska said it will be perfect, and is making sure that nothing ruins her goal.”
Sean smiled at the thought. Tiska was talented, and he knew she’d give it her very best effort. One day, he might introduce her to cameras. With her eye for things, she’d likely make an excellent photographer, too. Combined, he was sure that she could take a picture and turn it into amazing artwork.
“Sean?” Rumia giggled. “You have that look in your eye again.”
“Huh?”
“An idea born,” Quinna said.
“You always have the same look whenever an idea strikes you,” Prita added.
“Did sparring help you with your goals?” Helga asked.
“Oh… uh… no. I had no idea I had a specific look for that. But no, this was unrelated to the Queens dilemma. It’s nothing for the short-term; something that can wait for years. After this bath is over, I’m going back down to work on my current conundrum.”
“You can do it,” Lona said.
“We know you will,” Mona joined in.
“All of us believe in your ability to find the way,” Glorina smiled.
“Never any doubt,” Arliat beamed.
Sean felt the rush of belief from them and bowed his head. How can I fail with all of you behind me? he thought. It might take a day or days, but I will find a way to make my goals a reality. I will keep this family safe from the Queens, from Thor, and from anyone else who comes to challenge us.
Chapter Thirteen
Eightday came and went, but Sean didn’t come up with a solution to keep him from flying if hit. Ida, Ryann, and Sean had worked on a few different ideas, but nothing came from them. Gravity was the wrong way to go, as it just didn’t work the way Sean wanted.
Tomorrow would be Tenday, meaning they’d be going on their family trip to the gardens. Although he was looking forward to it, it also marked how much time was slipping away from him. He hadn’t even touched on the idea of portals, and he’d nearly spent a full tenday on other problems.
“Sean, maybe we’re thinking of it the wrong way,” Ryann suggested.
“What do you mean?”
“If gravity isn’t the solution, what about a way to just increase the weight of your boots?”
“Maybe, but it’d have to be a lot of weight,” Sean mused.
“We can work on it as an idea and test it out,” Ida said. “Come on, Ry. Let’s do that while Sean thinks of other ideas.”
“I’d suggest waiting until after breakfast,” Aria said from the doorway. “It’s that time.”
“Time always seems to go by so fast when we’re working,” Ida chuckled. Taking Ryann’s hand in hers, she led her lover past Aria.
“Your turn, hmm?” Sean chuckled.
“We’ve staggered some because Andie wanted to tell you about her parents,” Aria grinned. “That’s why Ry got you the day before Andie, and Ida got you the day after.”
“Going in marriage order?”
“Nearly, minus the ones at Home. Fel should have had today, but offered to swap with me.”
“Which is why you’re here,” Sean said softly. “Chas would be the one to get me, otherwise. Lilly and Felora would follow her, then you.”
“Yeah,” Aria crossed the room to him. “Are you okay with this?”
Sean gently pulled her into his lap, holding her carefully. “I’m good. Just the normal spike of grief when I think of them.”
“We all know how that is. We’re looking forward to them being able to walk beside us in the future, too.”
Sean smiled at that, then looked into Aria’s red eyes. They reminded Sean of a bird of prey, as her heritage was reputed to be Harpy. Reaching up, he stroked the silky fine white hair she had; her feathers were gone, replaced at her request.
“I enjoy you stroking my hair,” Aria said throatily. “Thank you for making the change for me.”
“I’m just glad you like it. I was worried you’d hate it after a few tendays.”
“I’ll never get tired of you or the others playing with my hair. It feels nice.”
“That’s all that matters in the end. If you enjoy it, then it’s a good thing.”
“I do, but I was thinking of doing what Helga described to me last night.”
“What’s that?”
“Cutting the sides of my head short and leaving the top long.”
Sean was pretty sure he knew what Aria was suggesting. “It gives you a demure look when it’s down, then a more aggressive look when it’s pulled back.”
“I like that idea, but at the same time, if we have another major social event, I’d want to put it up like before. It might not work then.”
“Give yourself some time to stew on it. Honestly, though, it should be fine to try. We can regrow hair pretty quickly.”
“True.” Aria sighed, then gently tilted his head so she could kiss him. Soft, sweet, and gentle, their kiss was a loving one, only hinting at passion.
Scooping her up when the kiss broke, Sean chuckled as he carried her upstairs. It was starting to become a tradition, and Sean didn’t mind in the least.
~*~*~
Breakfast was finishing when Rumia asked, “Sean, we’re still going to the gardens tomorrow, aren’t we?”
“I thought we were,” Sean said, looking at Fiona.
“We weren’t sure if you felt comfortable missing a day working on your projects,” Fiona said. “I was going to ask at dinner.”
“Invite our friends again,” Sean said. “Everyone who’s a good friend should just come out and enjoy the day.”
“It’ll also make the point that Sean isn’t hiding away because he was injured in his duel,” Hallie said. “I heard the first rumors of that yesterday.”
“I have been pretty shut in, so I can see where that rumor could’ve started. Maybe Truestrike’s other friends are hoping to push me into a mistake they can capitalize on?”
“That is a good point. Tomorrow will put that rumor to bed. You being out and about will make anyone plotting against you think twice. No one will want to anger you if you’ve dealt with Truestrike and remained unharmed.”
“Venn, let’s get messages sent to our friends,” Fiona said. Her eyes were on the large contingent of Messenger Fairies that took up a few places at the table.
“I’ll make sure it gets done, Fiona,” Venn replied.
“Thank you.”
“Guess it’s back to work for me,” Sean said since his plate was empty. “As soon as I get this problem figured out, it’ll be onto the portal issue.”
“What are you working on right now, sir?’ Glorina asked.
“Finding a way to not get tossed like a doll if a Troll kicks me.”
“Gravity?” Prita suggested.
“Tried it. We’ll be working on something to just over-weigh my boots when I want.”
“Not ideal, but if it works, then it works,” Felora said.
“It’s not like you can just lock yourself in place,” Xenta said. “Chains and—”
Sean cut her off unintentionally, her words jarring his brain, “Locked in place? Locked in space…” Mumbling, he got up and walked out of the room.
“What did I say?” Xenta asked, looking at Fiona.
“I’m not sure, but the locking was key to him, Xenta. You might have just inspired a solution.” Fiona gave the worried Fox Moonbound a smile. “Even if you didn’t, you gave him a new avenue, so be proud.”
Xenta’s hesitation slipped away, and she smiled. “I will be, Fiona.”
Sean was lost in his thoughts as he doodled on his desk. Ida and Ryann came back into the room to work on the idea of increased weight, making sure not to disturb him. To anyone who knew Sean, it was clear he was working through a problem in his mind.
“No… maybe…? I’m… hmm,” Sean muttered as he sat back in his chair. “Only one way to find out, I guess.”
“What did you figure out?” Ida asked from where she and Ryann were scrapping their idea.
“I have an idea, but I need to make a prototype to test it.” Seeing them cleaning up, he gave them a hopeful look. “Any good news?”
“None,” Ryann said, “unless you want to stomp around and strain to move your legs.”
“Pass,” Sean said. “Let me make a boot to test out my idea on.”
“We have some,” Ida said. “You’d just need to erase the weight rune on it.”
“Who are they sized for?”
“Me,” Ryann said.
“I’ll resize them for me. You’re both carrying our children, so I’m not letting you be test subjects.”
“We understand,” Ida said. “Okay, here are the boots.”
It took Sean some time to get the runes inscribed the way he thought would work— Ida and Ryann were puzzled about him working on the inside and the bottom of the boot. When he finally finished, he put them on.
“If this works, it won’t look odd to start with,” Sean said. He walked toward the door and back without any trouble. “First test done; no hindering normal walking. Next, running.” He sprinted down the hall and back. “Lateral movement test.”
That was when it happened— he went to leap sideways, and his left boot stayed firmly planted to the ground, sending him sprawling awkwardly. Ida and Ryann were there helping him back up in the next instant.
“What happened?” Ida asked.
“The rune is supposed to set when my feet are flat, but disengage when I flex my foot to take a step,” Sean grunted. “I didn’t flex my left foot in that move. Because of that, the rune worked on my boot and stayed locked in place.”
“How? Why?” Ryann asked.
Sean went to his chair, taking a seat, and pulling the boots off. “Spatial lock. It anchors the boots to the spot they’re in. I need to tinker on it.”
Both of them studied a boot before Ryann grunted. “Wouldn’t rocking your foot have worked?”
“Maybe, but I can’t rely on remembering that in a fight. That dodge was something I always do.”
