Chapter 51

His gaze didn't leave hers as he considered his reply, and then gave her the same that he had given Zelgadis before. "Ideally, no. In the best outcome, none of you would have known, not even Zelgadis. I'd have gone 'back home' and left you none the wiser." He quirked a hint of a grin that looked so very much like Zelgadis' that Amelia was more certain than ever that there was more than the hint of a familial relation. "I blew that one, didn't I?"

Amelia's own smile quirked a little and she nodded slowly. "In a way, I'm glad." His startled glance made her look at her water again. "I don't think I need to tell you, Jedah. I mean… even if you are… Hellmaster." She was surprised that he looked away when she named his title, watching him turn his head and cast his gaze at the fire. "You look away. Why?" He hadn't looked away before when someone had named his title, named his role in the Mazoku Hierarchy… it made no sense to her that he should do so now.

Jedah wasn't sure. He turned back to look to her, seeing the quiet reflection of the fire in her eyes, seeing the open and gentle curiosity. "I don't know. It almost seems… impolite of me to be Hellmaster." It was true, for some reason when he was with Amelia, he almost regretted being the creature that he was.

Amelia blinked, and then took another sip of water. "But that is who and what you are, Jedah. I just wish that you would show me the real you." She was a bit surprised that the words slipped out like that. She hadn't meant to say them, but there they were.

Jedah was startled too. He stood, clearing his throat and stepping away from the cozy fire, his back to the warmth that it provided. "Are you certain, Amelia?" He didn't turn around for her answer, he couldn't face the possibility that she might say no.

"Jedah, I saw only a glimpse of it before, a hint of who and what you are down in that cavern. Is it so wrong that I want to know?" She looked at his shoulders, saw how he was standing, the stiffness in his spine. She'd learned the hard way that when a man stood like that, it wasn't likely to go well. She had to try anyway.

He stood there for a moment before he lowered his head with a sigh and gave himself to his magic, calling it with reluctance, for the last time he'd appeared this way before her, she'd screamed. If she screamed this time… he'd spell her to sleep, take her back to her rooms and leave her there. But she had asked, and he would show her what she wanted.

Power pulsed, the light twisting around him, turning reversed for a moment, holding for just long enough for Amelia to realize that something had changed, and then it collapsed in on Jedah, returning to normal light, leaving him… different.

Amelia stood, placing her water goblet on the floor as she did so, walking towards him slowly. His hair was long, nearly down the length of his back, as black as night. She saw that even his clothing had changed, that he was now clothed head to foot in black, the shirt tucked almost seamlessly into his waistband, the purple and gold trim glittering ancient runes at her in the firelight.

He reeked of power, fairly glittered with it, a dangerous web of dazzling magic swirling around him, weaving in and out around his physical representation of Self before he lifted his gaze to her and dissolved before her eyes, leaving her standing within a glittered field of magic. As she held her breath, she saw a golden shimmer some few steps before her, and she moved to it, lifting a hand underneath the golden glitter, not quite touching her palm to it.

It was a small thing, a shimmering light that beckoned and shone with a pulsing beat, and with a jolt, Amelia realized that this had to be his heart, his one impossibility. She brought her other hand up, moving to cradle the pulsing glitter with both hands; eyes alight with the knowledge that he was willing to go so far to prove himself to her. "Oh… Jedah…"

The glittering pulse shifted, the swirl of magic around her beginning to coalesce, to draw in on itself as Jedah retook his mortal form, his hands forming in hers, grip gentle and light, squeezing her hands as he released her and took two hesitant steps away. Why had he done that? He hadn't needed to show her his heart, hadn't needed to risk her touch… but it had told him so much more than she could have told him in words. Amelia did love him, no matter how irrational it was.

"Sorry… I lost myself for a moment," It wasn't a lie; he had lost himself in a sense… lost himself to the hope that she wouldn't run or scream when he'd shifted. She hadn't, and he realized that it was relief that had made him shift the step further to reveal his own heart. Suddenly, after the fact, he found that was feeling more the fool than he ever had.

The silence spread through the room, catching the moment in a fragile crystal and holding it there breathlessly until Amelia moved, shattering the uncertainties and doubts. She crossed in front of Jedah, noting his hands held in loose fists at his side, his head still tilted down as if he didn't wish his face to be seen. But Amelia had other ideas.

She stepped into his space, stepped right into him, forcing him to look at her out of reflex. His eyes were still as brilliantly light as they had been before, though now the pupils were feline and they glittered with power. They were hypnotic, drawing her into them, and while she felt the pull, she knew that she was stepping willingly into its reach.

Up on tiptoe she went, reaching to his face, to place her hands on his cheeks and draw him down to her so that she could kiss him. For a moment, just as before, he froze. When she dropped back and looked at him, he lifted his hand to her cheek. "Amelia, I can't. If my power slips…"

She moved a hand to place gentle fingers on his lips. "That's a risk I'm willing to take, Jedah." She wasn't a child anymore, it was time to make her own decisions and on this she had chosen. This time, when she moved her hand and moved to kiss him, he drew her closer into him, returning the kiss with equal ardor.