Chapter 36 – Making a decision

Numair turned his back to the door and walked slowly over to the young woman who now screamed in pain and held both arms protective over her stomach. He could see that Daine still kept staring up at something invisible and therefore he grabbed her face and forced her to turn her head. "Shhh ... magelet" he whispered comforting, for whatever happened where she was, it had to be cruel. "Shhh ..." he whispered again and leaned forward and gently laid his lips against her forehead. He pulled her to him and pressed her crooked body against his. "Shhhh" he comforted again and again until he sensed that she relaxed. He let go of her again and held her away from him at arm's length. Her eyes were slightly blurred and tears ran down her cheeks. "Tell me what's happening?" he whispered, hoping fervently that she would answer him.

"He killing them" was her hoarse reply.

"Who?" asked Numair and lowered his face so he was level with her . He looked deeply investigating on her "Tell me who is killing them?" What she said next made his blood run cold.

"Ozorne" was the answer.

Numair felt his throat constrict "Where can you see him?" he asked again.

Daine turned her face again and stared at the invisible.

"Describe what you see ... where are you and where is he?" he commanded.

"I standing on a platform and he is standing before the throne, he points at me ... he points and laughs"

Numair didn't need to nod, he knew where she was because he had been there quite often in his time as the right hand to the Emperor of Carthak. He had attended all executions Emperor Ozorne had commanded. He looked at Daine and saw how she is now sobbing broke down. She lifted again first one foot and then the other. "What's wrong?" he asked as she again lifted up her nightgown. When no answer came, he asked again as he looked into the stormy blue gray eyes "What's wrong?"

"Blood ... I ..." she sobed even more "there is blood on my nightgown."

"No, there isn't magelet" said Numair and laid his hand against her cheek as she nodded.

"Yes there is," she answered again.

Numair moved his eyes to the floor and to his horror he saw dried blood on the hem of her nightgown. He put both hands on her cheeks "Daine wake up" he commanded now loud and sent a tiny spark into her, hoping to bring her out of the dreamy world she was in. He saw how his student came to herself with a twitch.

"Numair?" Daine asked and met his gaze. "What are you doing here?

"You had a nightmare ... and you have blood on your nightgown, you are injured or is it your ..." He hesitated for a few seconds, a bit embarrassed to have to ask something so personal "is this your period?" he asked.

Daine looked down at the floor, indeed the lower part of her nightgown was red. "No," she replied slowly "it is only in two weeks." She slowly took her hands away from her stomach and pulled up her nightgown again. This time she pulled it all the way up and stripped it up over her head.

Numair moving the weight from one foot to the other. He had seen his student half-naked before, but it had been in unfortunate situations and now she stood before him with small perky nipples, only dressed in under garments. He looked around the room and couldn't find a new nightgown, so he pulled the shirt he was wearing over his head and handed it to Daine, who let it cover her torso. Numair took the nightgown up off the floor, where Daine had droped it and was about to throw it into the fire, but failed. He folded nightgown out and began to study it. Not only was there blood on the lower part, but ... he lifted it up to the light and sure enough, inside the fabric was embroidered small almost indistinct symbols.

Wearing Numair's shirt again Daine climbed back in bed. Her head ached and every time she closed her eyes she saw the most vicious grin on an completely dark man pointing at her with an accusing finger. Daine sighed loudly. It was the first dream since her encounter with The Graveyard Hag she could remember ... did it mean that Elena's potion worked?

She regarded her teacher who stood with her nightgown. "Numair?" she called quiet and a bit cautious. She wasn't sure how their relationship was now since their kiss and this morning he had walked away from her in anger.

He turned and lowered her nightgown down on the chair that stood beside him. "Yes?" Something in her voice made his thoughts about the symbols to slip into the background. He had to investigate further at another time. He looked at her.

"About this morning Numair ... I didn't mean what I said" she hesitated a bit "I'm sorry". She lay with her head on the pillow and looked at him.

Numair smiled slowly "Don't apologize, magelet ... it was only my pride that was a little hurt" he replied and came over to her and sat down on the bed. He reached out and stroked her hair. His hand reached her cheek and he felt her skin burned a bit, but not as much as the previous nights.

She turned on her back "I'm still sorry" she whispered.

"Don't be" Numair let a finger slide caressing down her skin on her neck and let it dwell on the neckline where the badger claw hung. A single piece of jewelry hang next to it. "I'm not upset" he tried hard to stay away from her, but something drew him closer. Numair knew that he should stand and wish her good night and go to bed in the room he had been in all day, but he couldn't. It was like Daine sensed his inner turmoil.

She threw the blanket aside and revealed bare thighs where his shirt had slipped up. Daine said nothing, but waited only. She felt only disappointment when she saw how Numair got up, but was a bit relieved and a bit nervous when she saw how he let his pants fall, so he finally stood in under garments.

Daine tried not to look too much, but the nearly naked man in front of her was beautiful. Although Numair was her teacher and she always, since their first meeting, had regarded him as her teacher, she couldn't help but feel a slight burning sensation in her stomach. She tried to look away, but the half naked body drew her gaze. He was the beautiful man she had ever seen with a toned stomach with both slim and muscular body.

Numair looked down. "You are looking" he murmured a bit hoarsely and pondered for a moment what he was doing and if it would be possible to flee. He ignored both. There was somehow no way back, so he went around the bed and crawled beneath the blanket without touching her.

They lay for a long time without words and with a small space between each other until it was Daine who turned and with her head still resting on the pillow looked at him. "What are you thinking?" she whispered almost silently and smiled gently when Numair turned his head and looked directly at her. The usual twinkle in the hazel-brown eyes was gone, replaced by something ... else?

"I thinking that it is probably the last time that I can allow this," he explained.

Daine closed her eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath. She had to let him explain himself without losing her temper, because if it was a woman he wanted she couldn't react like a child "Why?" she asked and opened her eyes.

Numair raised himself up on one elbow and looked down at her. The light pink and thin cheeks revealed that not everything was as it should be and the blank eyes that usually shone with obstinacy was now changed. Whatever this unicorn fever did it wasn't good. His thoughts was interrupted by an old woman's voice 'Protect her Master Salmalin, the one with the reed eye will be here in a few hours...find a way to protect her now!' Numair froze. He was hoping that The Graveyard Hag was kidding 'I'm not' the voice sounded again 'I'm not taking any chances Master Salmalin, she has been dead once and I can't bring her back a second time and furthermore I'm not going to loose the only way to ensure this worlds survival...so handsome man... use your ring, but alter the originally spell'. Numair tried to form the ultimate question, was he going to survive the battle?

The Graveyard Hag laughed 'Oh no...I don't kiss and tell'. He wasn't going to tell Daine that the man how had hired the three men to kidnap her, was on his way to the town to find her again. Numair relaxed a little so she wouldn't notice anything.

Daine waited for him to react.

Numair reached out and let his infrequent chilly fingers caress her cheek "I would like that you get the option to choose any other" he explained quietly instead of saying anything about Inar Hadensra.

"Choose any others?" She was confused. What did he mean by any others?

"Other men" the words sweat on his tongue and hurt his body.

Now she reacted. Daine sat up abruptly and brought her thus outside Numair's reach. She reached up with one hand and removed rapidly locks of hair that hung in front of her eyes "Other men?" she stammered while Numair also sat up.

"Yes," he replied calmly "I would like that you get the opportunity to live, get some experience, laugh with any other guys who are closer to your own age ..." Numair stopped when he saw how Daine stubbornly lifted her chin.

"Other men or boys don't know that I exist," she whispered quietly. This was not quite true. She knew that Perin, who was not far from them found her interesting and others, some of stable boys had also approached her the last few months, but she had rejected every one.

Numair listened and replied, "Nonsense, magelet ... I have eyes in my head and every time you head around the palace, you have several boys who deliberately make excuses to go in your direction" he sighed before he went on to explain "you must have the opportunity to enjoy that there are so many who find you interesting and ..." He pointed to the jewelry Onua had given her. The new added accessories had not escaped his attention "you are protected, which is good."

She absent grabbed around the jewelry "You want me to lie with any other men?" she whispered.

He winced at the words. It wasn't what he had meant "No" he replied slowly, "I want you to have the opportunity to have fun, to learn that not all men are like William" he said and referred to the young man who had been Daine's date in mid-winter.

Daine doubted his word. Of course he was right in what he said, but the development between them was ... nice and she didn't want to stop now "What about you?" she asked hesitantly "Are you going to find another woman?" She hadn't fully accepted what he had said.

Numair looked grave and shook his head "No ... magelet" he said, reaching for her. He noticed how Daine voluntarily came closer and he lifted her chin. He looked at her and made his decision. He took the chain which hold two things, a black opal and a ring with a stone. He let the ring slide down in his palm and took her hand. He hesitated, it was surprisingly easy to alter the rings spell. Numair suspected that The Graveyard Hag had something to do with it.

Daine gasped surprised "Numair! What are you doing?"

"I'm making sure that you will remember, when you are done having fun, that I will always be waiting for you..." he paused and let the ring slide on her ring finger, it was a perfect fit "and if you choose another man I promise that I will always be your friend...no matter what".

She couldn't comprehend what Numair was saying "Why are you doing this?" she asked instead.

Numair leaned forward and put his lips against hers. The kiss was to tell her what he felt and Daine trembled in his arms "Because I can" he told her.
Their lips burned every time they touched each other and Numair lowered Daine down against the bed again as he slowly crept over her. He kissed her deeply and let her feel the passion and love he felt for her. With mind that this was the very last time he would allow himself to touch her, he let his fingers move to her inner thighs and willingly and instinctively Daine spread her legs for him.

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