“You must come home, Angeni,” her brother softly chided.
She saw her brother Askuwheteau’s face appear in the fire. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.
“Father has been asking for you,” Askuwheteau warned.
She scoffed and waved her hand. “Distract him. He isn’t the only one who starts fires. Isn’t there a place you can burn?” she inquired.
The sound of wings alerted her to Dyami’s approach. This time her brother came in the form of a large owl. He landed on the limb of the juniper tree that was growing out of the side of the cliff. She rose to her feet and scowled up at him with a defiant expression.
“Are you here to warn me as well?” she hissed, rubbing her hands up and down over her chilled arms.
“You are in danger, Angeni,” Dyami said.
Tears burned her eyes and she glared back and forth between her brothers. She knew they loved her, but they were also asking something of her that she couldn’t do. They were asking her to leave Aditsan.
“I know,” she softly replied, her eyes focusing on Aditsan.
“Come home with us,” her brothers murmured.
The longer she stared at Aditsan, the more certain she was about her decision. She couldn’t leave. She loved Aditsan and wanted to stay with him—forever.
“I can’t,” she replied in a voice thick with emotion. “I won’t leave him. I love him.”
“He will only live a short time, Angeni,” Askuwheteau reminded her. “What will you do then?
Tears filled her eyes at the thought. Aditsan’s life was a mere blink in time, or a grain of sand in the desert. Her heart hurt for the inevitable consequences.
“You grow weaker the longer you are in this world, Angeni. It is not safe for you here,” Dyami said.
“I know, but it is a choice I have made. If it means giving up the Spirit World, then I am willing to accept the consequences of my decision,” she softly replied.
“We will try to talk to father. We love you, sister,” Dyami finally replied before he and Askuwheteau faded away.
Angeni knew they would do what they could to help her, but she also knew her father. He would be very unhappy with her decision. Her gaze softened as she watched Aditsan wipe the water from his face.
“I want to feel your touch again,” she murmured.
Aditsan stood up and turned to face her as if he’d heard her quiet confession. The smile on his lips as he walked back to the campsite told her that the wind had carried her softly spoken words to him. He removed his shirt as he walked, tossing it on a boulder as he passed. His hands moved to the top of his breeches.
By the time he reached her, he was gloriously naked. She ran her hands over him as he removed her clothing. He cupped her hand and pulled her down on the pallet of blankets. This time, she remained on top. Pleasure filled her when she straddled his waist. His hand slid along her hips and across her ribs to cup her breasts.
Her soft cry of pleasure filled the air when he pinched her hardened nipples. She splayed her hands on his chest and rose up far enough to align his thick shaft with her feminine core. She rocked back and forth until he lifted his hips and impaled her with one swift motion.
“Forever, Aditsan, I want to stay with you forever,” she cried out, knowing deep in her soul her words were true.
“Yes, Angeni,” he passionately replied.
The sounds of their lovemaking filled the air. The shadows of their intertwined bodies, cast by the fire, danced across the canyon wall. Above them, the stars of her sisters and brothers watched protectively over the lovers while her sister, Tayen, tried to conceal them with the darkness of the new moon.
Their lovemaking continued throughout the night and she embraced each moment. Angeni lay in the protective arms of her human lover, holding him and studying his face as he slept. When he woke, she leaned in and kissed him.
“Don’t leave me,” he ordered, gazing into her eyes as he drove into her again and again. “Don’t ever leave me.”
“Never, my love,” she promised, cupping his face and losing herself in his eyes as she came.
“You are mine, Angeni,” he declared, the expression on his face twisting with a pleasure so intense it bordered on pain as he came.
“Always,” she whispered.
She tenderly stroked his hair and stared up at the stars. A shudder ran through Aditsan’s body, as if he could feel the accusing eyes glaring down at them. Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to allow them to fall.
Come home, Angeni, her sisters begged.
It’s too late, she replied, wrapping her arms protectively around Aditsan as he fell asleep once more.
Aditsan woke early the next morning. The low hoot of an owl pulled him from his exhausted sleep. He lay on his back for a moment, wondering if he even had the strength to move. He slid his hand out, searching for Angeni. The empty space next to him caused him to jerk into a sitting position. Panic struck him as he frantically scanned the area for Angeni.
“Angeni?” he called.
“She is gathering firewood,” a voice said.
Aditsan twisted on the pallet. The owl he had heard a moment before swooped down off the branch of a juniper tree and landed on the boulder across from him. He pulled the blanket over his lap and stared back at the unblinking eyes.
“Who—who are you?” he demanded in a choked voice.
“Angeni’s brother, Dyami,” the owl replied.
“Why are you here?” he demanded, rising to his feet and tucking the blanket around his waist.
“You must send her away,” Dyami said.
Aditsan’s hands froze at the top of the blanket. His mind shied away from the thought. The pounding of his heart when he woke and realized that Angeni wasn’t beside him left him feeling weak and shaken. The idea of never seeing her again was beyond repugnant to him.
“Never,” he snapped.
“She will die in your world. Even now she grows weaker, more fragile. She tries to hide it from you,” Dyami stated.
Shock held him rigid. He stared at the owl with growing fear and anger. The creature was lying to him. Surely Angeni would have told him if it was impossible for them to stay together.
“You’re lying,” he gritted out through clenched teeth.
“If you love her, you must let her go,” Dyami instructed.
Aditsan swayed when the owl suddenly disappeared as if it had been an illusion. He lifted a trembling hand to his brow. What if the creature was telling him the truth? The thought of losing her sent a shaft of pain through him. The emotion was so intense that he sank to his knees, breathing heavily and breaking out in a sweat despite the cold air against his bare skin.
“I can’t. I can’t let her go.” He looked up at the pre-dawn sky. “I love her. Please—don’t take her away from me,” he begged.
Chapter 9
Angeni picked up another piece of wood, ignoring the call of the wind. She needed to get back to camp before Aditsan woke. A wisp of wind blew around her again, this time with a little more force. A tiny tug pulled loose several strands of hair that swept across her face.
“Go away,” she ordered.
You must come home. Father knows. He has requested you return, her sisters begged.