Allistar and Anabel looked at each other for a long moment.
"Good thing we are greedy people."
"No wonder he doesn't like me."
They spoke simultaneously then froze, looking at each other without expression.
She smiled into those blood red eyes and saw the hope and peace that she had lost long ago. She knew she was making a mistake but life was filled with mistakes. She walked towards him ready to embrace her latest mistake and accept all of the consequences.
"Do not worry he will love you again soon."
She put her arms around his neck and his cold skin with his hot, ever sparking, soul magic mixing with his humid dense death magic made her body tremble ever so slightly.
Her full breast pressed into his chest as he put an arm around her waist and drew her near.
"I guess it's time for us to resume our quest. We can connect more dimensions…" She paused. "You are seeking death magic now though so…"
He kissed her mouth, perhaps a bit too hard, stopping her mid sentence, causing all thoughts to seep from her mind. She sank into his embrace as if she wanted to be one with him. They kissed passionately for a long moment and when they separated they did not know where they were or who they were.
Allistar was the first to regain himself. He smiled and cupped her chin in his fingers.
His touch was soft as silk and the gentle kiss he placed on her lips was like satin.
"Do not worry. As long as we are together I will always find what I need. And I promise to be honest about all my rituals in the future."
She blinked several times before she regained herself fully. She cleared her throat. "Speaking of that."
Her voice was husky so she paused and cleared her throat again. She ran her fingers over her long supple neck as she spoke again. "What do you need for your next advancement? We need to plan our next mission. I want to help Jolan with his time magic. Since he hurt himself his advancement has stalled. We should be able to plan your advancement along the way."
Allistar smiled. 'Always planning.' He kissed the back of her hand as he held it in his.
Amethyst materialized beside Anabel. "I think we should first heal Jolan and then bring him with us to that island within the whirlpool." She looked in the direction of the other newest island in this chain. "It is within a magical time loop. I think Jolan could find something very interesting there." She jutted her chin towards the other island. "And there is something there I want."
Amethyst bounced on the balls of her feet and clapped her hands together in excitement. "A family mission. This is what I have always wanted. Spirit Warlock can I go talk to Jolan? You have Lost Within Time with you so…"
Anabel held up a hand. "Only if you stop calling me Spirit Warlock."
Amethyst looked perplexed for a moment, then smiled, "But this is what all your wards call you. No favoritism mother." She winked and looked at Anabel in expectation.
Anabel sighed. "Go ahead. Tell Marela we will be there with the ebon water soon."
Amethyst actually squealed and Anabel physically jumped. Allistar laughed at the sight.
Anabel looked at him with a frown. "Since when did your emotionless ass start laughing?"
This just made him laugh harder. She pursed her lips, shook her head, walked off and called her wards to her.
They set up a huge camp on the island closest to the one in the whirlpool. The natives of the island began calling it Drousan which meant "lost from the world" in their native dialect.
The camp was massive. They decided to hire natives and they had already built a temporary village and were excavating an area for a walled town. Anabel instinctively knew that they needed a city near the island.
She sighed. 'Why am I always finding more wards?"
She planted seeds from the red pears they found in the caves behind the ebon falls. Lost Within Time said that these were medicinal fruit that healed many human ailments and enriched the soil so that many varieties of plants, herbs, and trees could thrive even in less than optimal conditions.
They worked together and created a substantial orchard with fully grown towering trees in a matter of hours.
Lost Within Time showed the farmers how to collect the fertilized soil to enrich other areas. He also provided them with seeds to sow.
Eveline helped negotiate sells of the pears with other islands and she had left to negotiate with the mainland.
Anabel wanted the town to stabilize and thrive so that she did not have to worry about this area. She decided to leave Femir and Hortense to help set up a viable government for the islands. They were all separate chieftains without real structure. They were more like separate tribes and less like countries.
She wanted the islands to form a union and help each other with trade defense. She did not want the individual tribes to lose their cultural identity because of her. If they evolved into something more singular that had nothing to do with her.
The city was being built fairly quickly. It was becoming a mix of the native architecture and a defensive style known to Eveline's people. The buildings were built on robust platforms made of the hardy trees and a dense material created with things native to the islands. The material was made of a substance similar to metal that was found in swamps and marshlands on several of the islands within the chain and a pupl made of native trees. It was similar to concrete but was much more durable and flexible.
The buildings set upon these platforms with a minimum of six pillars extending deep into the sandy island soil. Due to the tree pulp the pillars were able to extend out root type appendages to anchor them to the island at its rocky layer.
The buildings were made of the same material with a layer of stucco over it. The windows were all thick frosted colored crystal.
The walls of the city were going to be made of a very durable, flame retardant, material that was found in an inner dimension of one of the central islands. It was stronger than steel and as pliable as bamboo. All the materials were sustainable and easy to use.
Anabel and Allistar oversaw all of the work. Lost Within Time helped prepare materials and made sure the natives understood how to work with the new plants, trees, herbs and animals.
When Anabel felt that the city was stable enough and able to maintain itself without much more assistance she and Allistar left for home. Anabel left many of her wards to help protect and train new protectors for the city.
It all only took less than seven days.
The night before their departure Anabel was a bit perplexed. Why was she sharing a bed with her husband again so quickly? Why was she sleeping so well by his side? Why? Why?
She sighed and his arm pulled her close. Why did his touch arouse her as it did? Had to lost her mind? Was she now some easy slut? Ready to sleep with someone because she was lonely and horny?
He kissed her forehead. "What are you thinking about? I can feel the tension in your muscles."
"Nothing specific."
"Nothing specific can cause you to be this tense?" She heard the smile in his voice. He was so emotional now that it was a bit unnerving for her.
She cleared her throat and went to move away from him.
"No. Talk to me. Have I done something wrong? Tell me and I will make it right."
His words made her stomach tighten.
She wanted to complain but her mouth wouldn't function properly. He tightened his hold on her and she felt as if her mind would melt into oblivion.
Should she continue to fight it or should she give in?
'Give in.'
She knew it was Lost Within Time without thinking about it or processing the words.
'It is okay. He made a mistake. You two love each other more than any mistake either of you can make. Believe me when I say he is not on some mission to destroy you. I am apart of your soul now. You can tell if I am lying or trying to manipulate or purposely deceive.'
Her body had relaxed before he finished. She had allowed her body to meld Within Allistar's and as they became one their souls touched and sparked.
They became entwined on a soul level and their every motion triggered sparks of pleasure to ripple through their beings. They brushed against each other like feathers against silk and nerves within nerves ignited and they trembled as one.
She did not know anything after that last tremble. All she understood was her soul needed this and wanted it. It took it in as if it had been starved. They drank of each other as if they had been lost deep in an unforgiving desert.
And then all they knew was light. All they felt was white, pleasure, and cool flows of magic embracing them.
'What would happen if I actually made love to him?'
The thought drifted through her being as she drifted back to sleep, knowing she had too many things to do.