Chapter 37: Chapter Thirty-Five

Persimmon walked over to me, and I crouched down to look at him better. "How is this possible? Persimmon is an actual ghost."

"Hmmm... interesting. You could see Persimmon in the mortal world?" Ciaran crouched down to the ghost cat and held out his hand. Persimmon sniffed at his fingers, but seemed unimpressed. He padded away and hopped up on the table to sleep.

"Yes, all the time. Persimmon lived in Mike's magic shop."

"He was a forest cat that died in cat form, I suspect. He wasn't human; he was Fae."

I blinked, staring at the ghostly outline of my old companion. "Then how did I see him? And how did I bring him here?"

Ciaran's lips curled in a knowing smile. "Another delightful mystery of you, Princess. You may have always been able to see all spirits—not just mortal ones. And I suspect the bits of lifeforce you shared with Adrian and Luis made that possible."

I frowned. "What do Adrian and Luis have to do with this?"

"Hmm..." He tugged at his bottom lip as if debating how much to say. "Having a piece of their spirit within you allows you to draw on their essence. It's not a complete connection like the roots, but it gives you access to... more."

Great. I'd been using my friends like batteries. "Was I hurting them?"

Ciaran chuckled. "No, no, but their desire to stay close was intensified. They gave freely, which allows you to tap into their strength without harm."

I reflected on my actions with Brin and Noc.  I could feel a tiny spark of both inside me, tucked away like precious secrets I wasn't ready to let go of.

I felt a moment of panic. I'd thought I'd only stolen a piece of Noc, but I'd stolen from Brin too?

Had I gone too far? Should I have pulled away sooner?

It had felt incredible.  But it also left me questioning how much I might be changing them, or if they felt as affected as I did. I glanced at Brin, who seemed lighter and even a bit stronger after our last exchange. Noc's energy seemed more reserved, as if he'd only allowed me to touch the surface, yet that fraction of his essence was enough to leave me feeling as though I could wield ice itself.

Before I could get lost in thought, Ciaran cleared his throat. "Now, Princess, next is Master Rielte," he said, nodding to the faun.

I gave him a worried glance, wondering if I would steal from him as well. "Are you certain? I did what I did to Adrian and Luis to Brin and Noc. I stole a piece of their lifeforce."

Ciaran looked both shocked and delighted. "I assure you nothing was stolen. You can't keep a piece of their life without it being freely given."

He looked far too happy for my comfort.

Rielte stepped forward with a modest smile, a hint of shyness in his gentle gaze.

"Ready, Mistress," he said softly, offering his hands.

As I reached for him, I reminded myself of the energy exchange with Brin and Noc, this time wanting to be more careful, more attuned to Rielte's essence. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, feeling for the pulse of his energy, ready to pull in whatever he chose to share.

The connection was immediate and gentle, like a morning dew settling over new shoots. Rielte's life force was different from Brin's and Noc's; it was nourishing, and rooted,  resilient yet tender.  It made me think of the earth, and rows of sturdy plants under clear skies, a simplicity I didn't know I'd been missing.

I could feel his essence moving within me, filling the spaces that had been left hollow by recent events. Rielte's spirit was a balm, restoring a softness I hadn't realized had hardened. As I slowly released his energy back, a sensation of gentle warmth lingered, a hum that settled in my chest and reminded me of the way plants reach toward sunlight. A little bit of that light was nearly thrust at me, and I grabbed it.

When I opened my eyes, Rielte's own were shining, not with awe but with quiet contentment. "Thank you, Mistress," he murmured, bowing slightly as if I'd done him a favor.

"Thank you, Rielte," I replied, meaning it more deeply than he could know. I felt a bit lighter, steadier, as though his calm had given me a sense of balance.

Ciaran approached, watching me with that familiar gleam of curiosity. "You handled that well. Rielte's gift is in healing, and it seems you might have absorbed a touch of it yourself." He raised an eyebrow, as if reading my thoughts. "Each spirit you connect with leaves something unique, something only you seem able to hold."

I nodded slowly, feeling the lingering warmth from Rielte and the contrasting energies of Brin and Noc. "It's strange... each one of them is still with me, in a way. Like pieces of a puzzle I didn't know I needed."

"Exactly," Ciaran said, his voice dropping to a tone that sent a shiver through me. "Now it's my turn."

A tension coiled within me as he held out his hands, his grin edged with a hint of mischief. I glanced at Brin, Noc, and Rielte, all three watching with the quiet support I was coming to rely on. But this—this was different. Training with Ciaran always was. His eyes sparkled with something more intense than before, and I felt an unspoken promise of what was to come. The brief calm I'd found with Rielte wavered under Ciaran's gaze, my pulse quickening at the unknown.

"Ready?" he asked, his voice soft, yet carrying a challenge.

"If holding a bolt of lightning while straddling a volcano is  what I'm getting read for, then no, not really. But I want to have some chance since I don't have numbers."

I had a feeling that I'd be going into this without Luis.

Ciaran's expression sobered as he gestured for the others to leave. Once the room was cleared, it was just him and me—and suddenly, the playful banter vanished, replaced by something heavier, more charged.

He took my hands, his touch sending a surge of life force into me before I was even ready. I clutched his hands tighter, instinctively trying to contain it, but it was like trying to capture a hurricane in a mason jar. I felt the energy spiraling, powerful and overwhelming.

"I need to Sto —"

"Relax. I can take it. You can take it.  The muscles in Ciaran's neck were straining, but a wild grin lighted on his face. "I cannot believe how powerful you are! It's amazing!"

I removed one of my hands from him, and I clutched the collar of his tunic. His free arm snaked around me and crushed me to him. Our lips were so close that our breath mingled along with the maelstrom of our energies within us.

He pushed, I pulled, and tried to keep it. I saw the hubs and spokes and heard the song of the trees, of every tree in existence as they connected, spoke, and hub, and spoke.

For a moment, I wanted to get lost in it. To give in and become one with that song of the trees -- to hear the story of the trees.  But then I felt Ciaran tremble against me, and he gripped my hips with both hands.

"Madeline... push it back!" His voice was tight with emotion, as though he was about to lose control of his senses. "Please, push it back before we go too far!"

The windows shook, and we glowed like suns. Sheet music on the grand piano went flying as a sudden wind blew things around. The table fell on its side and Persimmon howled in surprise then vanished. All the chairs but one flipped over and hurtled several feet, crashing into walls and clattering against the floor.

We were both breathing in quickening pants, Ciaran's swirling eyes had turned to white-hot lights.  His hands on my hips clutched tighter, and I arched with the movement.

Why? Why should I push it back? It felt amazing. I wanted to stay in that moment. Ciaran made a rough sound that was both pleasure and worry.  He took control and pulled his lifeforce back.

With a little bit of my senses returning, I helped and pushed his force back into him, and some of mine as well. He caught it, spooled it, and held it within him. A deluge of elation and need arched my back again. I had never felt anything like it and it felt like the whole universe was on pause. Ciaran bent me backward and stared down at me with his lips parted and his eyes ablaze with passion.

The only sound I could hear for a moment was our hearts crashing in sync. With my life force still caught like a minnow in a net within him and our bodies meshed together, the intimacy of the moment was nothing like I'd ever felt. Ciaran's eyes dazzled with sparkles and swirled with unnamable hues.

"Ciaran..." It was the only half-hearted protest I could make. If he continued, I'd be done for - we'd take this all the way.

He released all of his air in a loud shout, and my life force came back into my body with a slam which made me exclaim as well. I felt like the lifeforce he returned was mixed up with his, and it throbbed like something alive within me.

"Madeline... what on earth do you keep doing to me..." His voice sounded unsteady, with no hint of teasing.  His arms trembled against my back as our hearts tried to find a slower rhythm. I felt a gentle squeeze, and then he released me to go sit down with a heavy thump on the sole chair that hadn't been knocked over.

I was pulled into his lap.

He gazed at me with a wonder that I never thought I'd see on this arrogant and cocksure man. Then he clutched at his head as though it ached. He spat out a stone and laughed, and laughed some more.

The stone looked like an opal, but it flashed with multicolor fire all on its own the way Ciaran's did when he was overcome.

"I didn't kiss you! How!" I blushed from head to toe. I knew very well how. What we'd done had exceeded just kissing.

"If I were a young maiden, I should sob in a corner while exclaiming that I could no longer be a bride." He wiped his eyes. "Oh, sweetheart... If we had kissed, now that would have sewn things up."

I knew what he meant. I'd felt that sense that one more move would have had us naked on the floor.

He placed the stone in my hand.

My eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Did you know this would happen?"

I swear to the Almighty! If he knew...

Ciaran shook his head.

You've done a million impossibilities. First, you exist - a marvel that should have sent Duir to her knees in gratitude. Second, you possess our powers. Your magic chose your everlasting counterparts. It chose me!

Then he said, "I thought since your mother and your father were not supposed to be possible, that you'd be as sterile as a liger," he said.

Uh, what? I nodded for him to go on, but my heart beat faster.

"The reason there are trees that belong to the rose family, or the ash, or any number of families, is because at one time we would produce children until we were made unable to. All the trees on all the realms are empty avatars producing themselves but no children. Not really. I thought I was also as sterile as a liger."

"Did you make me pregnant, Ciaran?" I stood up, ready to beat him to a pulp.

His surprised laughter echoed in the music room as he pulled me back down onto his lap. "No,  not likely. But it's an instinct that I thought had died thousands of years ago. The same instinct lives in you - you first sent me some of your life force when you returned mine." His gaze became tender. "If you'd bloomed, well, that would have been a thing."

"Bloomed?"

He nodded. "It's how we Trees create life. A Tree will bloom when ready to produce life, and seeds made with her other partners will drop from the flowers when they mature."

I recalled the story about how the Trees created the faeries, and my heart stuttered in my chest.

The enormity of what could have happened crushed me. I had more questions in light of what happened with the men that night. "Um, Ciaran. I have Rielte, Noc's, Brin's, Adrian's, and Luis's energy in me..."

His brows climbed up his forehead then he tapped a finger against his lips. "I hadn't considered there'd be any danger since they are not trees. I doubt that anything will happen with any of the energy that you hold from your friends."

I exhaled in relief. "You don't?"

"I have every confidence that nothing will happen."  He looked at me through half-lowered lids as he stood, but I thought I caught a hint of uncertainty within our link.

"Thank you for not going too far with me." I leaned my head against our clasped hands and struggled to not think about the strange leftover glowing within me.

Sparks within me.

Ciaran's larger spark within me, mixed with mine.

Ciaran lifted my chin and pressed his lips to mine erasing my niggle of worry. "The missing kiss from my Princess," he whispered. "Since you've stolen my maiden virtue, it's only fair that I get a kiss."

I gaped at him, outraged. He chuckled as he released me.

"I did not steal your virtue, creep!"

He leaned forward. "Oh, but you did, Princess. I've never had the opportunity to share my lifeforce in a communion of two with my partner, and it was..." He closed his eyes. "Exquisite."

I flapped my jaw uselessly as he left me speechless. Finally, I said, "Well, if that's the case, then you took mine too!"

"Yes." His voice was low and warm. "I will take responsibility for that."

As I blushed from all this unaccustomed seduction, I didn't know what to say to that. I didn't want to admit at that moment that during our 'exercise,' I had no other thought but Ciaran. I was afraid of giving him that much power over me.

"Ha... Madeline, my Princess fair. You've changed us for good. I cannot be the wise and distant mentor I'd intended to be. I want to spirit you away to my land and feed you whatever you wish until you're too fat ever to leave."

I sputtered with amusement, "Ciaran, that would be entrapment, although I'm down for all the food."

"Yes," he said as he kissed one hand and then the next. "That's why I won't do it, sad as it makes me. Instead, I shall make my aim to be your royal consort a new goal of mine."

I pulled my hands away and stood. Now I had two men aiming for the same goal, and both were committed. "This has been a lot... I need to get to bed."

He stood up as well and kissed my forehead. "I agree... sweet dreams, Princess. You'll be in mine."

Persimmon had reappeared at some point and meowed, and I glanced at the ghost cat. I agreed with him. I was in big trouble.