Description: Tensions are starting to build between the two mages as they travel to Vikison Lake to clear out the hurroks.

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

Author's Note: I hope the scene by the lake looked as magical to you as it did in my head. It's almost a shame Daine doesn't possess a single romantic bone in her body.

Chapter 31

It was a five-day trek to Vikison Lake as the mages headed out following the path of the River Bonnett. For mid-April the weather was pleasant with white, fluffy clouds overhead and a mild breeze, however this time Daine had packed two tents not wishing to have that argument again. Numair, while upset to leave the books behind, hadn't objected to being back in the saddle or camping again half as much as she'd expected. They were even managing to find a rhythm when setting up and breaking down camp. For a city boy, he'd taken to the outdoor lifestyle quite well and almost seemed comfortable with it as the weather continued to improve.

Daine was enjoying being on the road again surrounded by nature and the buzz from all the animals as they woke from hibernation, while others concentrated on finding a mate or preparing for this year's young. Nests needed building and dens had to be freshened up and cleaned out. It was hard not to get swept up in all the chatter and excitement of the Spring preparations.

On their second night away from Corus, the badger god entered Daine's dreams.

"So, you figured out the wider applications of your lesson."

"You could've just told me," she grumbled.

Badger merely grunted. "I bring dire news. Since the Spring Equinox, Uusoae has begun to assault the barrier between her realm in Chaos and the Divine Realms, and is holding her own for the first time in a thousand years."

"What do you expect me to do about it?" Daine complained.

The animal god flattened her with one swipe of his paw. "Insolent kit! I expect you to pay attention and listen to your dreams. You will be called upon."

That wasn't exactly helpful. Daine's dreams, the ones she remembered, were either strange or involved kissing her teacher. How exactly were those supposed help in a battle between gods?

She woke late the next morning, not feeling as though she'd slept a wink. If Daine dreamed anything more after Badger's visit she didn't remember. She washed in the freezing cold river before returning to wrap herself in a blanket, accepting the cup of tea Numair offered.

"Rough night?" he asked.

"Badger visited me," she explained before filling him in on what the animal god had said.

"So, it's started." Numair sipped his tea thoughtfully. "Have you been experiencing any prophetic dreams of late?"

Daine shook her head. "Not unless flying over the north woods as an otter means anything to you?" It was the dream she'd had the previous night, chasing fish-birds that were hiding in the trees.

Numair chuckled. "I was never any good at deciphering omens or portents. It requires exact translation, but every symbol and image can carry with it a personal meaning that cannot be interpreted by simply reading a book. The experts in this field are masters who are able to dream lucidly, meaning they are aware of being asleep. Some even have the power to control their dreams."

"What happened a thousand years ago?" Daine asked curiously.

"I'm trying to remember." The mage frowned in consternation.

"It wasn't when the Immortals were expelled, was it?" Seeing as the barrier had just fallen and Uusoae was attacking it seemed a reasonable assumption.

"No, they were exiled close to five hundred years ago." Numair rubbed his nose thoughtfully. "Perhaps you should start keeping a dream journal. Maybe if you write down the contents of your dreams, we might be able to discover if there is a pattern or a reoccurring image."

"No thanks." She scowled. When Numair looked like he was about to try and reason with her, she added quickly. "Would you want someone reading what you dreamt of?"

Ducking his head, the mage blushed. "You make a good point."

"I'll let you know if I have any dreams when I know I'm dreaming," she promised.

Nodding in acceptance, Numair dished out eggs and bacon onto three plates handing one to her, placing a second in front of Kitten and keeping the last for himself. They ate in companionable silence with Zek nibbling on a satsuma while the food took away some of Daine's fatigue.

Maybe it was all the Spring talk or her friend's behaviour outside the king's study that had her pluck up the courage to make a request. "Numair, would you do something for me?"

"Of course, anything."

Daine smiled at how quickly he'd agreed when he had no idea what she would ask. "Would you kiss me? Like you did in Carthak."

He choked on his tea. "I beg your pardon?"

"You did say anything," she pointed out reasonably.

Numair blushed, avoiding her gaze. "I walked into that one, didn't I?" he mumbled, finishing his tea, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"Would you?" Daine pressed, refusing to be put off now she'd started this.

Numair cleared his throat. "Daine, I am certain there are a vast number of boys your age who would jump at a chance to kiss you."

"Their kisses never feel as good," she complained. He looked at her then, an odd expression on his swarthy face. Daine couldn't tell if he looked pleased or dismayed. "Please?" If he said 'no' then she'd accept that, but he hadn't refused – yet.

Licking his lips, Numair swallowed hard, his warm brown eyes searching her face. Daine stayed very still returning his gaze, trying not to show how desperately she wanted this. Inching closer he cupped her cheek making goosebumps appear all over her skin. Daine was almost dizzy with anticipation when he leaned in to brush a chaste kiss against her lips before moving away quickly.

"That's not how you kissed me afore!" she argued crossly.

"The circumstances of that kiss were vastly different." Numair turned his back to her, focussing on tidying up. "If it's a good night's sleep you desire, I can make you a tonic."

Daine scowled at him. "Do I need threaten to your life so you'll kiss me proper? You had no problem when you thought you were about to die!"

He paused, going very still. "Why in Mithros' name would you want to be kissed by someone like me?"

"Please?" Daine felt utterly pathetic to be pleading with him over this but either she remembered that kiss wrong, or no one could kiss like he could.

For a moment, she thought he might refuse but then Numair turned abruptly and captured her lips in a heated kiss, one large hand cradling the back of her neck while his warm breath mingled with hers. It was as good as the first kiss, if not better. Desire swamped her, igniting a fire in her body she'd never felt with anyone else. It was over far too quickly leaving her breathless and desperate for more. Numair moved away, busying himself with stacking plates and pointedly not meeting her eyes.

"Do all Carthakis kiss like that?" Daine asked when she could think again. If they did then maybe she'd have to revisit Carthak once things calmed down. Tortallan boys certainly didn't kiss like that!

"I wouldn't know," Numair mumbled while he threw dirt over the fire to extinguish the flames. "Technically speaking, I'm Tyran despite having spent the majority of my life in Carthak."

Mayhap I need to visit Tyra as well, Daine thought.

"May I enquire as to the sudden interest in how Carthakis kiss?" Numair asked in a deceptively mild tone.

Daine huffed out a sigh. She owed him some sort of explanation after he'd been good enough to kiss her. "It's just – none of the boys who've kissed me so far felt even half as good as that. I thought maybe it was 'cause Tortallan boys don't know how to kiss."

Numair let out a strained laugh. "I think that is an unfair assessment of Tortallan boys as a whole. They are young and still practicing their skills. I kissed my fair share of girls when I was your age."

"Were any of them disappointing?"

"Not to my memory." He smiled wistfully before clearing his throat again. "What I was trying to explain – badly – is that you are trying to compare the kiss of a man with experience against boys your own age who are only just learning about intimacy."

"Does having experience really make that much of a difference?" She was done with boys for life if that was the case.

"It certainly can," Numair was crimson under his tan now. "Having feelings for the person you're kissing also helps. If you love the person you're kissing, that can negate any lack of experience they may have."

Daine thought that over while she collected the cutlery, plates and pan. She definitely felt more for her tall, lanky friend than she did for any of the boys who wanted to mash lips with her. Their only interest was to see if she'd canoodle with them, considered an easy target because she had no family and was a bastard herself. Maybe she should have been looking to the men for kisses. The trouble was none of them had any interest in her that way and the only men she spent any time around were knights or Riders. Well, them Stefan, the king, or George, none of which considered her good enough for kissing and two of them were married.

Numair caught her chin and turned her to face him, startling the young woman from her thoughts. "I promise you this: when you find someone you love, their kisses won't compare to anyone else in the realm."

Daine swallowed, losing herself in his soulful brown eyes. She really would prefer it if he'd just decide he liked kissing her as much as she did him. It would make things a lot simpler!

Vikison Lake was idyllic, surrounded by thick forest and rolling hills when they arrived three days later. The water was a deep blue, fed by the river and home to a variety of fish, frogs, newts and bird species. Far off in the distance the mages could see the noble manor which stood at the top of a hill overlooking the estate. There was no sign of the hurroks that had supposedly been causing trouble, but Daine could feel them nearby, that uncomfortable sense of wrongness that set her teeth on edge.

The forest was unnaturally quiet as the mages dismounted, leaving the horses near the trees. Kitten squawked, demanding to be let out of her travel bag which both humans ignored. Zek, on the other hand, hid inside his bag currently being worn by Numair. The marmoset had been enjoying the view from the tall mage's shoulder especially with all the visitors Daine had been getting lately.

Nothing breathed or moved as Numair readied his Gift and Daine stood poised, arrow already notched to her longbow. Numair continued to take his cue from her, trusting in the Wildmage's magical senses and deferring to her commands in this type of situation. Daine stalked towards the note of wrongness, not making a sound when, with a screaming-bray, seven hurroks burst out of the trees, diving at the mages. Daine fired her arrow hitting one of the creatures in the neck. A second exploded in a burst of flames before she threw herself to the floor as the hurroks tried to slash at her with their claws.

"Numair!" she cried out as the Immortals charged him.

Crying out a phrase, the mage summoned a tornado which caught the hurroks, spinning them in circles and spiralling them up into the air. Rolling to her feet, Daine reloaded her bow and sighted at the spinning Immortals. The spell ended and she fired, catching a hurrok on its wing. The creature screamed, plummeting towards the ground before she shot again, killing it.

Two of the hurroks broke away to dive at the horses as Numair wove a protection shield around their mounts, only for the Immortals fly straight through it like it wasn't there! Spots reared, kicking out with his front hooves and receiving a nasty slash on his belly as the hurrok attacked with fangs and claws. Cloud, who was used to fighting with Immortals, waited until the right moment before biting her assailant's wing and dragging it to the floor.

Numair incinerated the hurrok who was attacking his gelding, leaving himself wide open to the two Immortals that were bearing down on him fast. Daine drew two arrows from her quiver, sticking one between her teeth and notching the other to her bow. Closing the distance between herself and her friend at a run, she shot and killed one of the hurroks before crashing into Numair, knocking him to the floor. Daine landed on him, firing the second arrow before the Immortal could slash at either of them.

Cloud was still wrestling with her hurrok having stomped and broken one of its wings when Daine sat up and shot it with an arrow moments before Numair turned it to ash. He helped her to stand as she dropped her bow and rushed to Spots' side. The gelding was lying down, barely moving covered in bloody gashes, his life force ebbing away. Placing her hands onto his belly, the Wildmage delved deep into her magic to knit veins, muscle and flesh back together. Spots had lost a good deal of blood as Daine poured her strength into him until his copper fire began to glow brightly once more. Opening her eyes, she was pleased to see the gelding sit up and nose her gently.

Thank you, he lipped at her hair and face.

Numair kissed her forehead before offering a carrot to his mount, stroking him and muttering soothingly. A miserable chirp sounded from inside a log as Kitten crawled out from her hiding place to sit on the mage's lap and check on Spots herself. Daine smiled in relief until she saw the state of herself, hands and breeches covered in the horse's blood. Cloud had sustained a few nasty scratches which the Wildmage healed before going to wash her hands by the lake before hunting out clean clothes from her pack.

"D'you think we have to inform his lordship that his lands are safe?" Daine asked, once she was dressed.

"I imagine it would be good manners to do so, yes. You'll want to soak those clothes in cold water to get the blood out," Numair advised.

Daine didn't want to contaminate the lake, so she grabbed a pan, filling it with water and stuffing both her shirt and breeches in to soak. Numair was still sat with Spots petting him gently when she joined them to give Kitten a cuddle. The dragonet hadn't enjoyed her experience of being thrown from her travel bag and almost crushed by the falling horse. Zek squeaked before creeping out of his bag to offer Kitten a slice of tangerine which he'd been storing. She accepted it gratefully, giving the marmoset an affectionate nuzzle.

"Why didn't your shield work?" Daine asked.

"I don't know." Numair scowled. "Very little usually gets through one of my wards and certainly not to act as if it were nothing but air!"

"Is it 'cause they're Immortal? I mean, if ordinary mage shields worked on them then we wouldn't have needed a fancy magical barrier to keep them out all these years," she ventured.

Numair smiled, pride shining in his eyes. "That's a valid theory, although it's the first time I've heard anything I created referred to as 'ordinary.'"

Daine rolled her eyes as another thought occurred to her. "I remember at Pirate's Swoop, the spells the Carthaki mages threw at Kit's ma just blew off her like smoke."

"Some Immortals are resistant to magic." He nodded in agreement. "The only one's we know of are dragons and Coldfangs. You saw for yourself that my magic works on wyverns even though they are cousins to dragons. I am still more than capable of defending us so long as I use offensive spells. You haven't rendered me completely useless yet, but I will refrain from wasting any power on defensive shields in the future."

"I wasn't worried." Daine shrugged before giving him a mischievous grin. "Besides, you make a good target for enemies to focus on."

Numair tweaked her nose for that jibe before looking around sadly at the dead bodies littering the floor. "I really do hate killing these poor creatures."

"Poor creatures? They're evil!" she exclaimed.

"No, they aren't! Name me a mortal creature that is inherently evil?" he challenged, his expression a mixture of anger and disappointment.

Daine chewed on her lip, knowing she didn't believe any animal was truly evil despite some of them doing things she hated. She didn't like nests raided for their eggs, but her squirrel, crow and snake friends did that. Watching a killer whale beat a seal pup to death or dolphins kill a rival's newborn and throw the carcass around like a toy brought tears to her eyes. Hearing the dying cries of a goat while it was eaten alive by wild dogs made her vomit but that was predators and their natures.

"You cannot accuse an Immortal of being evil just because its nature is opposed to yours," Numair argued. "They are creatures just like any other who deserve to live. We found a way to relocate the wyverns, why can't we do the same for others?"

He fell into a brooding silence, picking at blades of grass while Daine considered his words. She'd always believed Stormwings to be evil, but Rikash hadn't seemed a bad sort and was a friend to both Maura and Numair. Finding out why the Stormwings had been created almost made them necessary in the mortal realm. Was that true of all the Immortals?

"We could speak to the king about it and see what he says," she offered gently.

The mage nodded but didn't look convinced. "It might be possible to create a magical net to contain the more dangerous Immortals and relocate them away from civilized areas. I'd have to give it some thought."

Daine left Numair and Spots by the lake while she, Cloud, Kitten and Zek rode to the mansion to inform Lord Vikison that the hurroks were gone. Numair wanted to stay and cremate the bodies but mainly he wanted to let his gelding rest and recover from the healing.

The mansion was a large stone building with a separate stables and servants quarters bordered by well-maintained formal gardens. A jittery manservant met Daine outside, offering to have a stableboy brought to watch Cloud, but she declined knowing the mare would wait just fine by herself. The Wildmage was led to a drawing room where a middle-aged nobleman dressed in a silk shirt and tunic with fine quality hose received her. Lord Vikison was impressed that they had dealt with the problem so quickly but, just like a typical noble, he didn't offer to assist with removing the bodies from his land or offer them any food or rooms for the night. The nobleman looked less than impressed that the mages would be spending the night on his land and Daine left his study thinking they should have just left the hurroks where they were. 'Harassed' was sounding more like 'nearby' and the Immortals might just have been living in the forest and hadn't even come as far as the house.

She returned to the lake where they decided to make camp, away from where they'd killed the hurroks. It was Daine's turn to cook while the horses grazed happily nearby and Numair dug the latrine. After dinner, he washed up while she hung out her clothes to dry and pitched the tents. After he'd set the protection wards, Daine was surprised to discover Numair lying on the grass, instead of curled up in his bedroll with his head pillowed on an arm and one leg bent. He looked so relaxed in a very submissive pose: his long nose pointed at the sky leaving his throat completely bared.

If she'd been with her pack mates, Daine would have pounced him by now, marking him with her scent. It was almost too tempting to climb on top of the male and sink her teeth into his exposed neck and exert her dominance over him.

"Did I forget something?" Numair asked, noticing her attention.

The Wildmage's cheeks flamed, and she prayed it was too dark for him to see. "What are you looking at?"

"The stars." He smiled, returning his attention to the sky. "They're easier to see out in the wilderness away from the lights of Carthak."

Pursing her lips, Daine approached slowly. "Would you tell me about them? The stars?"

Grinning up at her, Numair patted the grass as she returned the smile, lying down beside him so that their arms brushed making her shiver.

"Are you cold?" he asked, frowning in concern.

"A bit," she lied.

"Do you want to fetch a blanket first?"

Daine chewed on her tongue before making a bold decision. "I've a better idea."

Manoeuvring Numair's arm, she tucked herself against his side so her head was pillowed on his shoulder. He swallowed audibly but didn't say anything as Kitten chirped and trilled, making her own request, before walking around to the mage's other side to curl up beside him. Looking between the dragonet and young woman in bafflement, Numair began to tell them about the stars, pointing out various constellations.

After an hour, Daine thought she could almost drift off like this: surrounded by his warmth and scent when something wonderous flickered in her magic. Clamping a hand around Nuamir's mouth, she sat up staring wide-eyed at the lake when a small blue female emerged from the centre. Opening her mouth, the creature began to sing the most enchanting melody as all around them the lake came alive with insects: fireflies drifted up from the reeds, moths fluttered overhead, and crickets chirped in the grass.

Beside her, Numair slowly propped himself up on an elbow, reaching up to grasp her hand and take it away from his mouth. Both mages and dragonet sat in stunned silence listening, even Zek and the horses were watching. Another tingling in her magic had Daine turning her head to gasp as she grabbed at Numair to point at the trees. A green glowing female emerged from behind a poplar tree and began to drift through the undergrowth.

"What are they?" she whispered.

"The one in the lake is called an undine. The tree spirit is called a dryad," he replied, voice barely audible.

"They're beautiful," Daine sighed in wonder.

They continued to watch until a vixen screamed in the distance making everyone jump out of their skin and the creatures vanished instantly. Numair sat up when the vixen's mate barked a response. For over an hour the mages sat side by side in silence hoping to spy another glimpse of the elementals before deciding to call it a night.

"I wish we could stay," Numair admitted while he removed his boots.

"I think his lordship wants us off his land at first light," Daine apologised.

The hedgehogs were waiting for her when she crawled into her bedroll, not convinced her teacher would sleep a wink. Would he sneak out of his tent once she was asleep hoping for another glimpse of the undine and dryad? Daine hoped he would wake her if they reappeared.