Description: Numair's feelings are finally revealed, but the mage is afraid he has deceived Daine into thinking she's in love with him. The pair meet up with the Stormwings and travel to the Dragonlands.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Everything belongs to Tamora Pierce.

Author's Note: I really felt there needed to be a scene between the one by the river and when Numair kisses her again in the Dragonlands. Daine asking to continue as they have doesn't seem to follow through when he's kissing her again and they're holding hands. In my opinion there aren't enough fluffy moments in the book between the couple so I'm taking the opportunity to add a few more.

Chapter 12

"Food done." Jelly squeaked.

Numair started "Very good."

The mage sat up hearing the echo of voices but nothing he could identify clearly. He glanced across to check on Daine and blushed avoiding her eyes seeing her already awake.

"How in the name of Shakith did you find me?" she demanded.

The mage fidgeted uncomfortably wanting time to think before he answered any questions. He'd hoped his friend would have slept longer. "It was merely a simple magic, Daine –"

"Mouse manure," she scowled. "D'you think I've lived all this time with mages without knowing what it takes to find somebody and go to them?"

Numair knew it was pointless trying to lie to her. "I had a focus," he mumbled

"A focus?" she tilted her head, those blue-grey eyes intent on him. "Something of mine to connect us?"

"Yes – and I'm glad I had it," the mage said defiantly.

"Yes – but – may I see it?"

Numair wanted to refuse but he'd created the focus without her permission, and she had a right to know. He held out his left arm and unclipped the locket which released the invisibility spell, letting the oval drop into her palm. The mage held his breath while Daine examined the locket with the miniature painting and smoky-brown curl of hair. Would she really believe it was a magical focus and not a lover's token? It certainly wasn't a conventional focus, but it had been used twice for that purpose, so he wasn't lying, technically speaking. Daine returned the locket, and the mage quickly reattached it to the gold bracelet as it vanished again.

"I thought you might laugh if I asked you to sit for a portrait," he swallowed nervously. "The painting was done by Volney Rain. The hair I got when you were delirious with unicorn fever six months ago."

Numair went to the fire and filled three bowls with soup praying she would ask nothing more about it. He gave one bowl to Daine, one he placed on the floor for the darkings and the last he kept for himself. They ate in silence for a few minutes, both lost in thought, while the mage tried desperately to work through what had transpired.

"What happened to you?" Daine asked quietly blowing on a spoonful of soup. "What about those rock things?"

The mage gave her brief account of his experience. "When I returned to the Chaos vent and realised you had gone over the cliff –." He swallowed hard remembering his terror.

"You can thank a number of trees and a deep part of the river that I'm reasonably alive," she said moving to sit beside him, edging closer until he was forced to raise his arm as she rested her head on his chest. "You're trembling."

Numair squeezed his eyes shut trying to calm himself. He didn't know how to act around her anymore when he'd wanted this so much. "I'm only tired. I used my entire Gift to reach you." That wasn't a complete lie.

"You shouldn't have. You need it to defend yourself –" she said practically. "And we still have to reach the Sea of Sand."

He tightened his grip protectively. "If I'd lost you and kept my power, I would hate myself. Eventually magic returns, even after a draining. I had no way to know if you would."

Daine looked up at him and smiled warmly. "It would take more than falling off a cliff to keep me from you."

Numair kissed her softly waiting until she responded. "I'd hoped you felt that way," he whispered kissing her eyelids, the tip of her nose and capturing her lips again. He caressed her lips keeping the kiss tender and light, feeling a giddy sense relief. Pulling her closer, Numair deepened the kiss until he could feel her trembling in his arms and withdrew reluctantly. "I should look at your cuts."

Daine sat forward and began to lift her shirt as the mage carefully dragged the pack towards them. It took his mind a fraction too long to realise what she was doing.

"Daine!"

"What?" she demanded.

He had turned a deep shade of crimson. "You – We aren't – You should be clothed!"

"I've a breast band on, dolt," the young woman said crossly. "Besides, this shirt's in shreds. Like the rest of me."

Numair really didn't want to contend with her reasonable arguments at this moment. "It doesn't seem right. I feel that I'm…taking advantage of your innocence," he shifted uncomfortably. "A man of my – years, and reputation –" Shame filled him as he voiced the two reasons the mage had sworn to stay silent concerning his feelings.

"'Taking advantage of?' And what reputation?" she asked incredulously.

"You of all people should know that I've been involved with ladies of the court," he explained, wishing he'd behaved more appropriately over the years.

"What has that got to do with the price of peas in Persopolis?"

"It's easy for an experienced man to delude a young woman into believing herself in love with him. It is the basest kind of trickery, even when the man does not intend it."

"Do you love me or not?" she demanded hotly.

His hands trembled as Numair retrieved the bottle of ointment from his pack. "That is not the topic under discussion." The mage had no intention of revealing his feelings until she admitted feeling anything for him. The brief moment his brain had managed to examine the situation, made him appreciate that all they had shared was a rather passionate kiss, and this could all be the result of adrenaline on her part.

Jelly and Leaf slowly dragged a container of water between them, and the mage smiled gratefully accepting it. "Thank you."

Daine shot him a defiant look and stripped off her shirt, turning her back to him. Her breastband was as badly shredded as the shirt revealing a multitude of cuts and bruises. Numair's hands shook nervously as he began to clean the cuts on her back.

"We're not talking about love? What are we talking of, then? Canoodling?"

"Daine! Is that what you think I want?" He hated being compared to her swains who had only offered to bed her. "Sex?"

The mage opened the ointment and carefully smoothed it over her back watching as the cuts began to heal. Why should she think any better of him since he'd already mentioned his terrible reputation? Numair couldn't deny he did desire her sexually, but he wanted so much more than that.

"Isn't it?" Daine got to her knees and stripped off her breeches sitting before him in nothing but her under garments.

The mage placed the bottle of ointment next to her and moved back deciding she could tend to the rest of her cuts. Depression was starting to creep back into his heart that his friend could think so little of him, not that he blamed her. He could barely meet her eyes when she whirled around to face him.

Her eyes lit in understanding as she grabbed his left wrist. "You're in love with me?" she gasped.

Numair looked away hating the shocked expression on her face.

"Love's fair wonderous. Where's the harm?"

"I was 'canoodling', as you so charmingly put it, when you were four," he said miserably. "You're so young, Daine. I knew that if I spoke, you might think yourself in love with me; you might mar –"

"Marry?" the young woman squeaked. "Marry you?"

The dismay in her voice was like a dagger through his heart as all his hopes and dreams crashed down around him. "One day you'd turn to me and see an old man. You'd want a young one."

Numair rose to his feet and walked to the river crouching down needing some time alone. Tears ran down his cheeks as he fought not to break down and start sobbing at her rejection. What had he really expected was going to happen when he kissed her like that? Daine didn't love him romantically and never would. The age gap between them was too great for her to consider him as anything more. The reasons he'd tried to hide his feelings all these months were now glaringly obvious.

The mage heard footsteps approach and wiped his eyes quickly, turning to face her. She was dressed in one of his shirts, and only his shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. The image was horribly intimate, even though Numair knew Daine was only thinking practically, having grabbed the only clothing available to her. He kept his eyes on her feet as she neared, trying to piece together his broken heart.

"Can't we just go on as we have?" she asked gently. "This is a fair weight to solve when things are so – mad."

Numair looked into her blue-grey eyes and attempted a friendly smile. "That is certainly true."

"I know I love you. Maybe I always have –"

His heart sank at her words as the possibility he'd already deceived her hit him. "Which is what I was afraid of."

Daine rolled her eyes. "Once we're home – once the war's done – we can work it out. We'll talk then."

The mage stood resignedly and cupped her cheeks in his hands. Bending down he placed one final kiss on her lips. "Indeed we will." Numair needed to end this now and let his friend come to her senses. Once the shock and adrenaline wore off her practicality would return, and she'd realise what a mistake this was. "Do you have the strength to shapeshift and relocate the path? I believe this river paralleled our route."

"I'm recovered enough," she said as they returned to the hollow. "What am I going to do for clothes? I lost my pack when I fell into the river."

A shiver went through the mage. He did not want to think about her fall. "I can cut down my spare clothes." It wasn't ideal but he didn't have magic enough to resize his clothes to fit her.

The Wildmage nodded and started to shapeshift into a hawk letting the oversized shirt fall to the floor as she launched herself into the air.

Numair retrieved his shirt and sat appreciating the solitude. When the two darkings rolled up to observe him, he blushed in embarrassment having forgotten about them entirely during his private interaction with Daine.

"She come back?" asked Leaf.

The mage retrieved his belt knife and began to carefully cut the sleeves of his shirt. "Daine has flown off to locate the path. She'll return as soon as she has confirmed our route."

"What doing?" Jelly pointed at the knife.

"Daine lost her pack and all her clothes so I'm cutting mine down as best I can to fit her." There was nothing he could do to fix the chest width and he could only hope it wouldn't fall off her shoulders.

The darkings watched in silence as the mage finished cutting down the shirt and his breeches using her shredded clothes for reference. He used some of the spare material to fashion a make-shift belt for the young woman, folding the rest into the pack thinking they might be useful as bandages. Numair poured himself a cup of tea and sat feeling miserable as he waited for his friend to come back.

The sun had reached its zenith when the Wildmage returned. Daine informed him she'd managed to find the path while he turned his back as she dressed. If they followed the course of the river, like he'd suspected, they'd meet up with the path again at the end of the canyon. The cutdown clothes still hung off her slender figure, but they'd have to do.

"Why don't you get some rest while I keep watch," he offered.

"You need sleep too," Daine argued.

"I'd rather keep an eye out for any more spidrens as my Gift hasn't returned enough to set protection wards," the mage said.

"Fair enough," the young woman shrugged and sat next to him lifting his arm and snuggling into his chest.

"Daine! What are you doing?" he spluttered.

"I'm going to sleep on you. I've done it before," she pointed out reasonably. "Besides, you said you loved me."

"Yes, but you do not love me and therein lies the issue. You only believe yourself in love because I kissed you and revealed my feelings." The phantom blade in his heart kept twisting painfully as he spoke.

"Since when did you become all knowing about my feelings?" she accused looking up at him. "I may not have realised I loved you until you kissed me, but I'm not some empty-headed court lady. I know my own heart and mind well enough, thank you very much – and I do love you." Daine grabbed his neck and kissed him hard to prove her point before snuggling into his chest. "Besides, I like kissing you," she muttered rebelliously.

Numair sat in stunned silence for a few moments while his brain tried to process this new information. He swallowed and licked his dry lips tentatively. As a kiss it left a lot to be desired. As a kiss from Daine, however, it stirred something deep within him. Up until this point her only experience of intimacy had been sloppy, lip-mashing and hurried groping in dark corners. The mage gently placed a finger under her chin and tilted it to look into her eyes seeing irritated affection reflected in them. Numair was absurdly relieved to see that look. If her eyes had held a dreamy daze, he would never have believed her words. He bent down and brushed his lips gently against hers in the barest whisper.

Daine grinned up at him, a hungry look on her face. "You can definitely keep doing that."

The mage longed to show her just how good kissing could be, but he was also very wary of unintentionally seducing her. Numair caressed her lips again gently until Daine leaned into the kiss, and he lost himself in her. The kiss became heated as she clung to him, burying her hands in his hair freeing it from the tie. His arms went around her, one hand on her back while the other cupped the back of her neck. When Daine moaned softly, he broke the kiss knowing he'd gone too far. The mage knew exactly how to lure a woman into his bed, and he didn't want to use any of that knowledge on his friend. Daine had other ideas however as she dragged him back down and captured his lips again. Numair carefully took control and gentled the kiss until she was limp in his arms.

"You need to sleep, love" he whispered.

She looked at him tenderly. "So do you."

"We watch," a voice squeaked.

Numair jumped having been so caught up in Daine he'd forgotten about the two darkings, again!

"We watch. You sleep," Jelly said.

"Thank you," man and woman chorused and grinned foolishly at each other.

Numair shifted slightly as Daine snuggled back onto his chest. He smiled and kissed the top of her head feeling a deep sense of contentment settle over him. His hand idly stroked her back as he felt himself drifting off to sleep.

The mage stirred hearing reports from the north about Scanran raiders, but those were quickly forgotten as he felt soft, full lips pressing hesitantly against his. Numair smiled sleepily responding to the kiss and pulling the young woman on top of him, so she straddled his thighs. This felt much more real than any of his previous dreams, although Daine wasn't usually so timid with her hands. He opened his eyes, breaking the kiss to admire his love, and was very confused to find her wearing his shirt. Usually in his dreams Daine wore her own clothes, an elegant gown or, more often, nothing at all. The mage's sleep fogged brain finally snapped fully awake and alert.

"Daine?" he licked his lips nervously trying to shift her back slightly.

"Who did you think I was?" she scowled irritably.

Numair reached out and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. "This isn't a dream. It really did happen," he whispered searching her face for rejection.

The young woman arched an eyebrow. "Would you rather I was a dream?"

"Gods, no!" he pulled her roughly against his chest and kissed her passionately, revelling in the feel of her slender curves pressed against him. The kiss continued until they were both breathless and trembling.

"Don't stop," Daine begged as he pulled away regretfully.

He smiled smugly. "I don't want to, sweet." Numair kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, both cheeks and her stubborn chin before capturing her lips again in a sweet, lingering kiss. "But its late and we need to get moving."

The young woman gave him such a mournful look he couldn't help but kiss her again. Leaning back, he stroked his hands up her back and sides rather astounded by the situation he found himself in.

"Kissing never felt like this before," Daine confessed sounding more than a little dazed.

Numair was sorely tempted to flirt and say that was because she hasn't been kissed by him before but opted for honesty instead. "Kissing should always feel like that."

"And does it?" her attention was focussed on his lips as she licked her own.

"We could find out," he suggested huskily.

"What happened to 'we need to get moving'?" Daine smirked impishly through her lashes.

Numair sighed regretfully and brushed his lips against hers in a promise. "Another time then."

"Mm-hm." The young woman leaned in and kissed him again as they share another long sensual kiss.

It took several more kisses before they finally parted and got ready to leave. Numair kept stealing glances at his friend and love, not sure he believed this was really happening and his depressed mind wasn't creating another vividly cruel dream. When he caught Daine glancing at him, they both blushed and grinned like fools. Leaf chose to ride around Daine's neck while Jelly decided to travel inside the mage's shirt. The sun was setting as they followed the course of the river down the canyon. Numair took the lead, keeping a wary eye out for spidrens, while Daine followed collecting rocks for the improvised sling she had fashioned from the spare material. She hadn't liked the idea of being unarmed while they travelled and was upset to have lost her father's bow and quiver.

It was after dark when they met up with the path and found the Stormwings waiting for them. Rikash had brought his flock including Queen Barzha and her consort Hebakh. Numair was amused when Daine introduced him to the Stormwings but bowed to Barzha and Hebakh out of curtesy. He must have forgotten to mention speaking with the pair when they were caged in the Cathak menagerie. The Immortals had brought two large slings, which Sarra had assisted in making, to convey the humans over the Sea of Sand. While the mage climbed into his sling, Daine related what she had heard about the Stormwings from her dream. Barzha spoke a guttural word and red-gold magic spread over the slings lifting them into the air. Three Stormwings flew to grab the guide ropes of Numair's sling while two flew to carry Daine's. Once the Immortals had the mages securely in their claws, the magic to lift the slings vanished and they were carried purely by the Stormwings.

Jelly trembled in the mage's shirt and refused to come out and admire the view. Numair gazed around in awe of the vast desert trying to comprehend how some of the legendary heroes from old could have survived this ordeal.

"How did two mortals end up in the Divine Realms?" Queen Barzha asked swooping in close to the mage's sling. "Not your doing, surely?"

"We were attacked by strange creatures called Skinners," the mage explained. "Daine's parents pulled her through – and I tagged along."

"Weiryn will try the Great Gods patience if he continues to interfere in mortal affairs," the queen snapped. "First, he takes one as his mate and next he requests her to live with him. I'm surprised he let his daughter leave his lands."

"I believe he wanted her to stay," Numair grimaced. "But Daine can be quite – persistent when she has her mind set on something."

The Immortal grinned wickedly. "I remember the girl's way of doing things in Carthak."

The mage shuddered at the memory. "How did Ozorne escape you?" he asked carefully.

"He knew too well that in our society we follow a strong leader," the queen sneered. "Only those defeated in combat are worthy to rule a flock. He lured Jokhun into a trap and killed him. By our ancestral laws he had no right to control the flock, but that winged worm used pretty words to convince those fools in the Stone Tree Nation to follow him. Once we caught up, we were attacked and went to war with them. I lost six of my own in that fight."

"I should have killed him when I had the chance. Who knows what sort of schemes he is plotting?" Even now those words still sounded like an empty threat. Numair truly didn't know if he could kill Ozorne and he had more than enough reason to want him dead.

"Mortals and their self-pity." Barzha mocked. "Stormwings have more sense than to regret past actions."

"If I had killed Ozorne in Carthak perhaps this war might never have happened. Ozorne has called many to ally with him, unleashing mayhem and destruction upon Tortall and any Immortal who does not support him. The Scanrans and Copper Isles never would have combined forces without a hand to guide them."

"And if the Graveyard Hag had taken her revenge instead of scheming and taking wagers the situation could have been resolved sooner," the queen snapped. "You waste time on 'what if's'. The war is what it is, and with Uusoae gaining more power against the Great Gods, it is inconsequential."

Numair remained silent for several beats before speaking again. "Daine and I spoke with Lord Gainel. He seemed to think Uusoae was working with a mortal to bring about the end of existence. Do you think Ozorne could have found a way to contact her."

Barzha scowled in thought. "I would be more worried that she found a way to contact him. There's a bitterness to that one. He doesn't care what he has to do to get his revenge."

"Do you think Jachull would work with Uusoae?" the mage probed.

The Stormwing shook her head. "She is ruthless and has no regard for Stormwing law, but I don't think she'd be fool enough to destroy the realms."

"We would stand a better chance of defeating Ozorne and his allies if you and your flock were to join us," Numair said innocently.

The queen barked a laugh. "Stormwings ally themselves with humans? It truly must be the end of days for you to suggest such a thing!" Barzha continued to cackle for several minutes before turning serious. "I will consider it though."

Numair nodded knowing he couldn't ask for more than that. "Do you have any advice on how to convince the dragons to return us?"

"Be honest."

The mage frowned. "Nothing more – conducive?"

"Dragons are old windbags," the Stormwing bated. "They'll talk until the end of time before they decide to actually do a thing."

They flew in silence for a time leaving each to their own thoughts. Numair glanced at Daine who had been speaking with Rikash but was now curled up in her sling sleeping. He couldn't allow himself the luxury of thoughts about a future with her when there were too many uncertainties ahead of them. They first had to survive an encounter with the dragons and after that they would return to war.

"If you live through the experience and actually manage to convince one of the winged lizards to return you, then my flock will fight with you." Barzha hissed in agitation.

Numair bowed his head in gratitude. "Thank you. If you will forgive me, I should rest before we meet with the dragons. I need to gather my strength."

The Stormwing flew up to her mate without another word and began to converse with him. The mage closed his eyes, settling himself into the sling and slipped into meditation for the rest of their journey across the desert.