“It’s more than that. You are devoted to him. It’s something I find most appealing. I worry about this man and knowing that he has you beside him relieves a lot of my concern.”
I was growing uncomfortable listening to Cris say how I felt about Rafe. I was sure he knew that I’d give my life to protect him, just as I knew he would protect me, but Cris was making this sound like a lot more than a mentor/apprentice relationship. I gave a little tug, but she wouldn’t release my hand.
“You don’t have to worry, Tess. Rafe is just as devoted to you. You two will be partners for a very long time,” Cris said. “Assuming something doesn’t kill one of you.”
I yanked my hand back and put it in my lap where she couldn’t reach it. Rafe was still watching me and I got more uncomfortable the longer he did. I slid my chair back from the table and walked to the rail to stare out into the forest.
There was a lump in my throat that wouldn’t go down. What was this witch thinking to blurt out my deepest thoughts? It was almost as if she could read my mind.
I heard the soft pad of sandals on the deck behind me. Soft hands gripped my shoulders and turned me around. Cris was standing too close to me, but my back was against the railing and I couldn’t retreat.
Cris raised her hands to my cheeks and stepped even closer. Before I could react, her lips met mine again, but this was no quick peck. This warm, deep kiss seemed to go on forever. My own hands rose to her shoulder blades and held her to me. Eventually–I don’t know how much time passed–Cris pulled her head back and released my face from her warm touch. Her brown eyes were soft and kind and I could see that she bore me no ill will. That she had said everything she had because she thought Rafe and I both needed to hear it.
Her fingers moved back to my cheek and she wiped away the tears that had run down my face.
“Everything will be all right, Tess.” Her breath was warm against my face and as soft as her words.
I nodded and tried to smile. Cris leaned forward and kissed me again, lightly and briefly.
“You are so sweet,” she said. “It’s a great pleasure to know you.”
I almost laughed, not out of humor, but out of embarrassment. I pulled her tight against me and put my head on the shorter woman’s shoulder. She hugged me back and we stood there against the rail until Rafe’s heavier tread sounded behind Cris.
Opening my eyes, I found him standing a couple of feet from us.
“Is this a private party or can I get in on the action?” he asked.
Cris and I both laughed and pulled apart enough for Rafe to step beside us. We embraced in a group hug and Rafe kissed Cris. It was passionate. When they broke, he turned to me, and kissed me equally, sending quivers through me. When he pulled back, Cris’s lips found mine and we shared a kiss as passionate as Rafe’s had been.
My head was swimming. This visit with Cris was becoming something that I had no experience with, but it was as unavoidable as the sunrise.
Chapter 26
raphael
It was strange to have someone’s devotion spoken aloud in front of both parties. I prefer not to have my feelings open to anyone, unless I speak them myself. The decades of depending only on myself and a very few others did not lend itself to sharing. However, that said, these two women were the closest people in the world to me. Cris had not been lying when she said I shared Tess’s feelings for me. In truth, my feelings for her were much deeper than I cared to admit, but then Cris just opened her mouth and uncovered the only secret I had hoped to keep from Tess. If I were really being honest with myself, I was happy to know how Tess felt about me and for her to know I felt the same. I still worried about Cris sharing that truth. Wanderers were meant to go their separate ways when the student became a master. Granted that was still a couple of decades away, but it would happen.
After a bit of a mutual display of affection for each other, the three of us pulled back and more than a couple of eyes were wiped to remove excess moisture. These tears were tears of joy, a rarity in my world.
We sat together at the teak table on Cris’s deck and for a minute, we were quietly contemplating what had just occurred. At least I was. I wasn’t meshed with either of the women so I can’t say for sure.
I cleared my throat and said, “I hate to spoil the mood, but seeing as how this mutual affection isn’t going to fix me, I need you to explain your idea, Cris.”
Cris nodded and smiled affectionately at me. It was something she often did and it was another of those things that can warm an old man’s heart.
“Back when I was Abigail’s apprentice, she introduced me to a priest who was a white magic user. She’d known him for a very long time and I think he was even older than she was. I don’t know that he’s even still living, but according to Abigail, he was an incredibly powerful wielder of white magic. She said that he’d been known to banish evil from our plane with nothing more than the power of
