Description: Their final secrets are revealed as Daine courts Numair in her own unique way.

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

Author's Note: I really wanted to have this scene where Daine finally understands what it is that Numair is offering. He doesn't just see her as a woman but accepts her as a Wildmage too. This is a shift in their relationship from the initial desire and passion of discovered feelings to acceptance and love.

Chapter 6

The next morning Numair was woken by a knock at his bedroom door a scarce few hours after dawn. The mage had stayed up reading last night after he'd escorted Daine to her room and was regretting that decision as the young woman entered and sat on his bed.

"I want to talk," she said, not looking at him. "Like we did before."

"Alright," he said sitting up slowly rubbing his eyes. "You're going to have to let me get dressed first."

Daine nodded absently but didn't move. The mage blushed knowing he was under the covers in nothing but his loincloth.

Taking her hand, Numair squeezed it gently. "Can you wait outside for a few minutes? I'll call you when I'm decent."

She looked at him offering a small smile before hopping off the bed and exiting his rooms. The mage rubbed sleep from his eyes and grabbed the previous day's shirt and breeches to wear. He'd known Daine would come to him eventually about what had been bothering her, but he hadn't expected it to be first thing in the morning. Numair had also expected her to bottle it up for far longer before the explosive release of emotion. He neatened the blankets and bedsheets before he opened the door for her.

The mage cupped her cheek tenderly. "Are you alright?"

Daine nodded her eyes on the bed. "I need to tell something."

They climbed onto the bed as the young woman tucked herself into his side. Numair wrapped an arm around her resting his lips in her hair waiting for her to speak.

It was several long moments before she said anything. "I didn't tell the king everything about what happened to me after I killed Ozorne. I did stand before the Great Gods, and they did decide to let the Immortals stay – but they were going to imprison the Stormwings in the Divine Realms forever. I spoke for them – and convinced the gods to let them stay."

It wasn't quite what he'd expected, but he smiled against her hair. "They didn't deserve banishment for following their natures."

Daine looked up at him and smiled. "I knew you'd understand."

Numair returned the smile and caressed her cheek wondering why that had taken her so long to tell him.

"There's something else –" the young woman looked away biting her lip. "The gods made me choose – between becoming a lesser goddess or staying here." The blood in Numair's veins turned to ice as he lay there unmoving. "According to them, godborn can't go between the realms because we cause too much trouble," she looked up as his frozen face. "I thought I'd have to stay with Ma in the Divine Realms because I'd promised her, but she said it was alright. That I could come back."

"You gave up being a goddess?" The mage's half-awake brain could not comprehend what she was telling him.

Tears filled her eyes. "I didn't want to spend my days watching you all from the Divine Realms. I couldn't bear it. I didn't want to give you up."

Numair's brain finally kicked in as Daine looked imploringly at him, her blue-grey eyes full of fear. "You gave up being a goddess – for me?"

She sniffed. "Please don't be disappointed –"

The mage swept her up into a desperate kiss. He didn't release her until they were both trembling. "Disappointed? I'm – overwhelmed!"

"I thought you might be annoyed that I didn't stay with Ma and Da and learn to do magic like them," she said in a shaky voice.

"Sweetling, no." Numair felt like all the air had been squeezed from his lungs. "If that's what you had wanted, then I would have understood. I'm not sure what I would have done without you – but I would have accepted your decision." It would have killed him had she stayed in the Divine Realms.

Their lips met again in a frantic kiss. He held her so tight, almost afraid she might suddenly disappear on him. It was several long minutes before they had calmed down enough to separate. Daine clung to him, her face buried in his chest, as the mage stroked her back knowing he had to tell her now. There was no way to break it to her gently, however much he'd wanted to soften the blow.

"I died – in the fight against Inar Hadensra." Daine pulled away to look at him, her eyes wide with horror as Numair struggled to find his voice. "I was brought before the Great Gods – who judged me worthy of a second chance. The badger returned me to my body where you found me."

"Inar Hadensra killed you?"

"No," he admitted softly. "The backlash from my last spell killed me."

"What did you do?" she demanded her eyes filled with fury.

The mage rested his forehead against hers. "I had nothing left. Hadensra had drained me of my Gift. The only magic available to me was in the shield I'd created to contain our fight. If I didn't kill him, he was going to kill me. I couldn't defend myself against his last attack. I – I removed him from this plane of existence."

"Is that like when you sent the bloodrain elsewhere?" the young woman frowned.

The mage smiled despite himself. "Something like that, yes."

Her frown deepened as she looked into his eyes. "You mean – I would've come back for you and you'd of been dead? That wouldn't have been fair!"

Numair winced but ploughed on. "Your mother mentioned something about ruining your choice, but I didn't understand it at the time."

"You saw Ma?"

The mage nodded his head imperceptibly. "You mother and father spoke on my behalf. As did the badger and Broad Foot." He swallowed and forced himself to say the words. "Lord Gainel and the Graveyard Hag also supported my return."

Daine nodded as if it was an indisputable fact. "I'd have been fair vexed with you if you hadn't of been here."

Numair brushed a hand through her curls. "It wasn't my intention to leave you, sweetling."

Her hands went into his hair as she dragged him into another passionate kiss. "Don't ever do something like that again!" She kissed him again to reinforce the sentiment.

When she released him, his mind drifted to Mynoss' words that she wouldn't be able to return if she died again. "Only if you make the same promise."

She nodded and tucked herself into his side once more resting her head on his arm. They lay together for several hours just content being held by the other. Numair's hand idly stoked her back while his mind slowly absorbed the idea that Daine had given up being a goddess for him. Did she truly love him that much or had she lost out on a chance to live with her parents because she believed herself in love? Surely Sarra would have convinced her daughter to stay if that were the case.

"Daine, could we go riding together – sometime?" he asked timidly.

She lifted her head to frown at him. "You don't like riding."

He smiled brushing a stray curl from her face. "No – but I miss being out with you in nature. I miss the times when it was you, me, Kitten and the horses."

Daine's eyes sparkled as she glanced out the bedroom window to where the sun had risen in the sky. "It's a beautiful day. We could go flying."

The mage kissed her forehead tenderly. "I'd like that."

The Wildmage grinned climbing off the bed as he sat up tiredly.

"I should get dressed if we're to go out," he said to her.

"We're flying, Numair. You won't be in your clothes," the young woman pointed out in an exasperated voice.

"Unlike you, my love, I do take mine with me, and I would prefer to be in something clean."

When Numair exited the bathroom sometime later, clean, dressed and with his hair tied neatly back into its horsetail, Daine had ordered a tray be brought to his room. She insisted he ate something before they went flying, telling him he'd only forget to eat the rest of the day otherwise. The mage couldn't argue with that even if he found it rather adorable that she liked to take care of him.

After a very late breakfast, Numair opened a window as the pair began to shapeshift: the mage into his usual black hawk while Daine chose the shape of a sparrowhawk. Letting her take the lead, he launched himself out of the window as the pair flew over the capital city. Numair had forgotten the thrill of flying during the last year and screeched in delight receiving an answering cry from Daine. The pair glided over the stables and the meadow spotting the ponies in the fields with Onua hard at work. Cloud and Spots reared as they flew over and Numair dipped a wing in greeting. Unlike Daine, he couldn't say hello to the horses. It was a shame he couldn't speak to her like this, but he was merely a man in the shape of a hawk and not a true member of the People.

Climbing steadily, they soared over the Royal Forest passing over a herd of deer and startling several small birds. Daine must have spoken to them as a flock of dunnocks burst from the trees to fly around the two mages. Their greeting finished the birds retreated to hide in the canopy again as the hawks continued their flight following the path of the river. Finding a thermal, the pair began to spiral around each other as they climbed high into the sky. The view was magnificent from this height and Numair could see as far as the Emerald Ocean.

They had almost reached two thousand feet when Daine dove at the mage forcing him to swerve. Clearly the Wildmage was in a playful mood as he watched her circle back up to meet him before he lunged at her in retaliation. She nimbly tucked her wings and arrowed towards the ground, racing away from him. From this height, the drop was in equal parts terrifying as it was exhilarating as Numair tucked in his wings and followed her down into the trees.

When he had first suggested flying through a forest instead of over one two years ago, it had been designed as a lesson on spatial awareness, but Daine had quickly turned it into a game. Over the last few years, they had played like this on many occasions, and she was certainly better at evading trees and weaving around obstacles than Numair had ever been. The mage was improving slowly but, in this form, he had to acknowledge she was the master. He admired her grace and agility as she deftly wove through the canopy showing off her impressive flying skills.

The two mages chased each other through the forest and into the clouds until they found a small lake to stop for a rest. Numair landed on the ground, not concerned about being attacked while the Wildmage was around. The only thing they needed to be concerned with were Immortals, and they had not seen any during their flight. They both had a long drink before Numair joined Daine on a tree branch. The mage closed his eyes enjoying the feel of the sun and the breeze through his feathers. Beside him the Wildmage shifted closer until their wings touched as he opened his eyes to look at her. Very gently she took one of his pennaceous feathers in her beak and stroked it from base to tip. Numair tilted his head thinking how intimate it was and returned the gesture, taking one of her features and running it through his beak. They took it in turns to preen each other with their murderous beaks, making the mage think of pair-bonding rituals that were enacted by some species of bird.

Eventually Daine moved away ruffling her feathers and flew down to the lake to take another drink. Even as a sparrowhawk she was beautiful. Their return flight to Corus was a lazy glide as they soared on thermals touching wingtips occasionally, almost like brushing fingertips. As the sun began to set, they returned to the palace and flew through the open window into Numair's rooms. The mage shifted back into a man and collected her clothes from the floor. Grinning he held out an arm as Daine shifted into a crow with talons that were less likely to slice his shirt and arm to ribbons. He carried her into the bathroom placing a gentle kiss on her beak before setting the Wildmage and her clothes on the floor. The mage closed the door and sat on the bed to wait for her.

Daine smiled warmly as she exited the bathroom, fully clothed, and wrapped her arms around his neck as the two shared a lingering kiss.

"I want to stay with you tonight," she whispered against his lips as he pulled away to stare at her. "We can be fully clothed, or I'll even sleep on the floor if you like – but I want to stay here."

The mage ran his fingers through her curls. "Why don't we discuss it after dinner." If only to give him time to decide if they could do this. He'd wanted to fall asleep with the young woman in his arms for so long now, but he didn't want this to be another attempt at seduction.

Daine untangled herself from his arms. "We should find Kit. She'll probably be fair hungry by now and missing us."

Kitten was, in fact, sulking in Numair's study and didn't turn back to her normal shade of blue until both mages had taken her to dinner and fussed over her for an adequate amount of time. When the three of them returned to his rooms, the mage read the dragonet a bedtime story while she curled up in his lap and Daine snuggled into his side. Numair couldn't help thinking how perfect this day had been as he held his family. He watched as Daine settled a sleeping Kitten onto the chair as he made a mental note to get her a basket if this became a regular thing.

Coming to a decision, Numair held out his hand and led the young woman into his bedchamber. They left the door slightly ajar for Kitten, not that she couldn't let herself in if she wanted, removing their boots before climbing into bed together. The mage was about to ask how she wanted to do this when Daine pressed herself up against him, resting a hand on his chest. Smiling contentedly, Numair wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her tenderly.

"Thank you for today," he whispered.

She smiled up at him her eyes already half closed. "G'night."

"Goodnight, my love."

Numair woke several hours after dawn feeling wonderfully warm and more relaxed than he'd ever felt. For a moment he feared he was too late to place an orchid on Daine's door before he registered the woman in his arms. Opening his eyes, he smiled as he found himself wrapped around Daine who had her face buried against his chest. She looked so peaceful as he tenderly brushed wild curls away from her face. Shifting slightly, intending to kiss her awake, the mage felt something solid at his back. Twisting he discovered one of the palace wolfhounds had made itself comfortable behind him. Stifling a laugh, the mage very carefully lifted his head and took stock of his surroundings. Sprawled on his bed were two large wolfhounds, five palace cats and a huddle of mice at the bottom of the bed. Hanging from the canopy frame was a colony of bats and perched on top appeared to be a barn owl. A ball of mottled fur curled up on the other side of Daine's pillow appeared to be Zek, the marmoset, who Numair had not seen since spring. Zek had stayed at the palace with Lindhall Reed while the mages had gone north to fight in the war.

Taking great care not to jostle anyone, Numair placed a gentle finger under Daine's chin and tilted it until he could press his lips against hers. She moaned softly and responded uncurling herself as her hands gripped his shirt.

"Careful, love," he whispered. "You don't want to upset our bedmates."

The Wildmage jerked away from him looking startled as she noticed the array of animals surrounding them. She blushed looking horrified. "I can get rid of 'em."

"Why?" he asked in confusion.

She looked at him like he'd grown an extra head. "You don't mind?"

"Of course not," he pulled her back against him. "Why would I mind?"

Daine's stunned face softened into one of pure adoration and love as she kissed him again. Numair gentled the kiss, caressing her lips as his bones melted in bliss. This was what he had missed sharing with her.

He sighed happily staring into her blue-grey eyes. "What I would like to know is how they got in here. I know the bats and the owl must have entered through the open window, but my rooms are warded."

The Wildmage grinned. "Kit probably opened the door."

The mage shook his head reproachfully. "I hope she remembered to close it again." Daine giggled as he moved a hand to stroke her cheek. "How did you sleep?"

She closed her eyes moving into his touch. "Wonderful," she sighed. "You?"

"I don't remember the last time I slept quite so well," he admitted. "Sometimes it can take a while to adjust to having someone share a bed with you –"

"No, it felt right." She looked at him with a dreamy expression on her face.

Numair placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, eyelids and nose before he captured her lips again. The mage had dreamed of this for so long he didn't want the moment to end.

"Are you sure don't mind – this?" the Wildmage waved a hand indicating the animals. "You've never had them in your bed before."

He chuckled huskily. "Darling, it's all a part of loving you. I missed it," he blushed. "So long as they leave their messes outside, they're very welcome to share our bed."

"Our bed?" she asked a little stunned.

Numair nodded, his eyes dancing as he kissed her again.

After that day something undefinable changed between them. The friendship Numair had longed to retain became more evidenced as the Wildmage would come to his rooms more often to drag him outside for a walk or a ride. In the evenings they sat in his study reading or updating records while Kitten played on the floor. Sometimes the dragonet and young woman relaxed in his rooms while he continued with his latest experiment in his workroom. It was a true sharing of their lives together with the added intimacy of kissing and touching as Daine started spending several nights a week sharing his bed instead of returning to hers.

The mage procured a basket for Kitten and made a little area for her with her 'toybox' and a small bookshelf of her very own. The dragonet was delighted to discover she had her own space in his rooms. Along with Daine and Kitten sharing his rooms more often, Zek chose to move in with the mage as well. Numair, with Lindhall's help, set up a ceiling runway so that Zek could run between his rooms and the older mage's as Lindhall had a family of marmosets in his menagerie that Zek enjoyed spending time with. The older mage didn't question the marmoset coming to live in his rooms, but Numair had the distinct feeling his former teacher knew something was going on.

The Celebration Ball was fast approaching as the weeks slipped by. Most of the talk was centred around what dresses would be worn and if the queen would be setting a new fashion trend. Numair's thoughts turned to what he would wear for the ball. Normally it would be an easy matter of dressing up in his court finery, but it was now more important to him that Daine approved of his appearance. He wore a lot less jewellery these days, although she had allowed him to keep the silk shirts. The mage had a sneaking suspicion she liked the feel of them as she kept rubbing her cheek against the material when they slept together.

The foremost thought on his mind was what his Wildmage would be wearing to the ball, and if he would be allowed to have a dance with her. Numair couldn't escort her if they wanted to escape suspicion about their relationship, however much he wanted to. How many dances could he steal with her before it was deemed inappropriate? The mage did not revel in the idea of having to dance with other partners that night, but he could suffer it so long as he had at least one – two – three? – dances with Daine.

It was a week before the ball when the young woman stormed into his rooms one afternoon, nearly taking the door off its hinges.

"Did you know about this?" she fumed.

"Know about what, sweetling?" The mage placed his quill on the desk looking good-naturedly at the enraged young woman.

"About the ball!" Daine glared at him as she began to pace angrily.

"Darling, we have both known, for almost a month, that a Celebration Ball was to be held at the end of August, and that we would be required to attend." It was difficult to hide his amusement while he wondered what had gotten her so riled up.

"No!" the young woman shot him an irritated look. "Did you know why the king and queen wanted me there?"

"I assumed it was for the same reason that I am to attend. They wish to demonstrate the power the kingdom wields to our allies," he explained patiently.

"I'm to be presented at court!" she threw her arms up in the air and whirled around to face him.

Numair considered her words carefully. "You need to be officially introduced to Their Majesties, so that the nobility and dignitaries come to understand your formal position within the court. Until now that has been contested by the conservatives, among others."

"It's my debutante ball," Daine practically spat the word. "The queen says now that I'm of marriageable age I have to be presented to the suitable young men of the court and find myself a husband."

The mage froze in his seat and went deathly pale. "I should have expected this…"

"Why? I'm no noble woman!" the young woman argued. "When I refused, the queen insisted on it. They want to secure my future in the kingdom by arranging a marriage for me. I didn't ask for any of this!"

He didn't meet her eyes as he asked his next question. "Who have they asked to present you?"

"Alanna," she answered sourly. "I asked if it could be you but apparently that's not appropriate as you're unwed and not a family member."

Numair closed his eyes running and hand over his face. He was very glad he wasn't being given the sickening duty of introducing Daine to the eligible young men of the court. The mage knew with absolute certainty he wouldn't be allowed to dance with her at the ball now. Their Majesties would likely be observing with close interest the young men who asked to dance with the Wildmage. Would they even give Daine a say in who they matched her with?

"Please tell me there's a way I can get out of this," she asked at his side. Numair hadn't even noticed her approach.

"Not without suffering the wrath of Their Majesties," he looked up at her feeling utterly despondent. "They can be quite stubborn when they have a mind to be."

"Well, no noble is going to want to marry me," she huffed leaning against the desk. "I've no money or family that anyone but the king's circle knows about."

"I imagine Their Majesties will arrange a purse for you if the subject arises," he said quietly feeling a sense of dread fill him. "You have very powerful connections to the King's Champion, to me, and to Their Majesties. That is enough to recommend you to the lesser nobles of the court."

"Why aren't you angry about this?" she frowned at him. Her eyes softened in understanding when the mage looked up in abject misery. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him forwards, so his face lay very dangerously between her breasts. "I'm not marrying anyone," Daine said stubbornly, stroking her fingers though his hair.

Numair closed his eyes and breathed in her scent as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Nothing is ever decided in one night," he agreed. Perhaps he could convince Their Majesties not to pursue this course of action.