Hidden Priestess by Barbara Lund

Author:Barbara Lund [Lund, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781944127411
Publisher: Barbara Lund

Jay

It rained overnight, and come morning the clouds were still tight and dark. Unusual for summer.

Despite the late morning hour, their room had a cool, damp breeze blowing through. Jay shifted Sumi off his chest and eased out of bed. She stirred. Looked at him with sleepy red eyes and tousled red hair. He wanted nothing more than to tumble back into bed with her, drive his fingers into that hair and kiss that mouth—

“Would you buy some wood? Cheap stuff? Enough that the boys can build something oh… bed-sized?”

Obviously she wasn’t thinking about sex.

Jay sighed. “Do I even want to know?”

She smiled, but her eyes had already closed again and her second breath turned into a tiny snore.

So he went out into the gray morning and found what she’d asked for, left it on the pavers in the backyard. Climbed up the new ladder to the new second story of the house. Untacked the waxed hide from a window and slipped inside.

He and Thom had gotten the exterior walls and the roof up, but the inside was rough. Jay started on the walls and soon enough had two little helpers.

When they came down for breakfast, Sumi was awake.

“Morning.” She wrapped herself around him and he seriously considered carrying her back to bed.

But the breeze had died and the thought of skin on skin in a shut up, muggy room— no.

Still, when she stepped back, he groaned. He wanted her so much— but she was still healing. Thought he hadn’t noticed how tired she was after yesterday. How her body hurt after the walking and the stress—

“How fares the addition?”

“Coming along.” He grinned at the boys. “I’ve had excellent helpers.”

“Wonderful. If you can spare them for a bit, they have a project of their own.”

“Of course.” He emptied his cup and took a piece of bread with him. “I’ll get back up there then.”

He kissed Sumi. Patted Wil on the shoulder. Caught Andy’s eye and nodded. Then climbed back into the addition that would soon enough be one large bedroom. Started finishing work on one wall, then heard their voices out back and let curiosity distract him. Leaned on the window ledge.

Watched.

The boys laid the wooden planks flat on the ground, one next to another; enough to cover a patch of ground a bit larger than a child’s bed. Shoved until the pieces touched, but the wood was rough-hewn and uneven, with gaps and gnarls, and he wondered what they were going to do with it.

“Quiet now,” Sumi said. “Even quieter than before. Make sure no one will notice you. Balance each other out. Smooth the ripples.”

What ripples, Jay couldn’t see, but she had to be talking about magic. Having the boys do magic, even though both Zerth—no, Enzo— and Lena had found them yesterday and said they could feel it.

Resting betweens, she was courting disaster.

He had to trust her. Had to believe she wouldn’t bring them all down on his family.

“Quieter.” She leaned forward like she wanted to help.

Antero placed one sun-darkened purple hand down on the board farthest from Jay.

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