Free Clockwork Goddess (The Lesbia Chronicles) by Loki Renard Page B

importance."
     
    "That's a role you've learned to play quite well, isn't it?" Ayla lifted the corner of the blanket and slid in beside Vix. "The quiet observer at the fringes of the fray, always working, never noticed."
     
    Vix felt her face grow warm again, though she didn't know if it was Ayla's words or the witch's proximity which made her react. The witch smelled like wildflowers, the upper part of her bosom was bare under the low cut of the slip and the rising swell of her breasts drew Vix's gaze just as surely as they took away her ability to form words.
     
    "I make you uncomfortable." Ayla's words broke the spell.
     
    "No," Vix said, lifting her eyes to Ayla's face. "You don't. You have been as kind to me as Moon and Trebuchet, though you barely know me - and though I hardly deserve it."
     
    "You deserve kindness," Ayla said firmly. "Everybody does."
     
    "So you invite everybody into your bed?" Vix gave Ayla a half-playful, half-curious look.
     
    "No," Ayla smiled. "That is a privilege reserved for a rare few." She reached out and tapped Vix lightly on the tip of her nose. "Though I know you cannot imagine being rare."
     
    Vix blushed and curled up under the blankets with a sense of contentment so deep she could no longer make room in her heart for fear or concern. Ayla turned the lantern out and they were both cloaked by darkness. Outside, the furore had died down to a dull roar. With Ayla's warmth just a few inches away, Vix drifted off into a most comfortable sleep.
     
    *****
     
    She woke many hours later nestled under Ayla's bosom, her nose against the witch's ribs. Ayla's left arm was resting along the length of her back, holding her in light embrace. Sun was warming the tent, filtering through fiber to create a private pocket of warmth.
     
    "Did you sleep well?"
     
    The question answered the question as to whether Ayla was awake or not. Regretfully, Vix moved away enough to lift her head to look at Ayla.
     
    "I did," she said. "I've not slept that well in a very long time."
     
    "A result of magic, perhaps?" Ayla was teasing. She looked more beautiful than ever, her brows raised not in censure but in playful question.
     
    "I do not think so," Vix said, shuffling up the bed as Ayla moved her arm away. "I think it was the lateness of the hour and the pleasantness of the company."
     
    "Everything has an explanation with you, doesn't it?"
     
    "Of course." Vix watched as Ayla pushed back the covers and rose gracefully, her slip clad form intoxicating in the morning light. Ayla donned her green and gold robes with the elegance innate to her every movement, leaving Vix wondering how she managed it. Was there some kind of deportment school for half-elf forest witches? No. Ayla's grace was not a trained air, it was her natural state, as native to her as fluttering to a butterfly or singing to a sparrow.
     
    "Come along." The witch lifted her hand and crooked a finger at Vix. "Time to begin the new day."
     
    Vix slid halfway out of bed before realizing that she was not precisely dressed. Her tunic had ridden up to her hips, revealing everything from the waist down. She would normally have been mortified to be seen in such a state, but Ayla simply smiled quietly and handed her leggings over and Vix dressed herself without any hurry or shame.
     
    Strange how comfort had sprung up between them, an understanding of minds and hearts. Little was said, but glances and smiles confirmed that a new closeness had been formed.
     
    "I need to go and see Kira," Ayla said. "You should eat."
     
    Vix cocked her head to the side and grinned knowingly. "You mean I should avoid Kira."
     
    "If you wish to avoid a warrior's wrath, yes. I doubt she has forgotten your insolence."
     
    "I was not insolent..."
     
    "You were outspoken, insolent and entirely out of line," Ayla asserted. "But it was what Kira needed to hear. I would not make a habit out of it however, there tend to be consequences for those who speak the truth