ELIA

As Summer passed into Autumn, and Anima's greens and yellows turned orange and red, Elia found herself not only with a purpose, but with increasing anticipation of the Festival, and her life. It was as if she could feel the strings of everything she'd ever wanted pulling together and all she had to do was make sure they pulled against each other in the right order, the right direction, to make everything tie up in a pretty bow.

Elia was elated. And overwhelmed. It seemed too good to be true.

Reth's devotion never waned. She'd thought that their appetite for each other would ease over time, that lovemaking would become less exciting. But in fact, the opposite was true. She was embarrassingly forward with him now—and he seemed to revel in it until there had been more than one missed meal, and even one mortifying moment when Reth forgot he'd told the security council to come to the cave and they were almost interrupted. Again.

But even beyond those hours at home together, Elia couldn't believe how much he ruled her every thought.

He could still make her heart race with just a look, or a very particular huff.

She could still make him swear by kissing his neck in just the right spot.

And even as they worked through it, their list was getting longer. And more specific.

It had become a game between them to suggest new or curious options. Once, she'd leaned into his ear during dinner in the market and told him she was inspired—that they still hadn't tried the dining table at the Cave yet, and did he think it was sturdy enough?

He'd chuckled and said he didn't care if the damn thing collapsed.

She'd given him an innocent look.

"But, then all the honey would get everywhere, and I don't want to clean that up.

"

He'd blinked.

"Honey?

"

"Honey,

" she'd said with a somber nod.

"It sticks to the skin, so it takes some time to make sure you get it all—Reth! What are you doing?!

"

He'd taken her hand and pulled her from the chair and insisted to the others that he had a stomach complaint and they needed to leave.

She didn't think anyone had been fooled—least of all Gahrye who, she noticed with a sinking heart, didn't laugh and wink like the others, but became suddenly very interested in his dinner plate, waving her off without meeting her eyes when she called back an apology.

She knew he wasn't jealous about her, specifically. But her so obvious love continued to create a stark reflection for him. And she ached to see him in pain. He was such a good man—yet he was utterly convinced that no good female would have him.

"What about the Outsiders? Are any of them… attractive to you?

" she'd asked on one of their walks when the subject came up again. The Outsiders were what the group had nicknamed themselves, and they were carefully beginning to accept Elia among them. Secretly.

Gahrye shook his head.

"They're mostly male. And the ones that aren't are either already taken or… not my type.

"

"What is your type?

"

He'd shrugged.

"I don't like flashy females. I want someone who's more interested in being alone with me than with a lot of other people. Someone who sees things between us as sacred. And she has to be intelligent. Other than that…

" he shrugged again.

Not for the first time, Elia wished she could take Gahrye back to her world. As strong and sweet and sensitive as he was, she knew without doubt no matter where he turned up, he'd be beating women off with a stick. But she hadn't mentioned it to him again since that first time, not wanting to make him yearn. Because the truth was, she doubted he'd ever leave Anima—and she'd miss him terribly if he did.

Besides, she couldn't see any circumstances under which she'd send anyone back to her world. The longer she was in Anima, the more she understood why they had done everything they could to hide themselves from the human world.

Things were different here. More natural, more old-fashioned by human standards, certainly. But also not corrupted by technology and industry. And healthier in general—and not just in the food. The sheer life in this place—it was as if she breathed joy along with the oxygen. And not just because of Reth.

Gahrye had been helping her train for weeks now, and some of the others had begun to join them, slowly. It was useful having multiple sparring partners of various weights and sizes—and different skill sets. And through their hard work, Elia was getting stronger—not just stronger, but also faster, and more capable.

She was still laughably weak compared to Reth—who made… well, almost every adult in Anima look weak. But she was catching up some. And she knew herself and her body. She was stronger than she'd ever been. Something about this world had helped her develop that strength and speed in a much shorter time than should have been possible before.

It was as if this place healed people. Or perhaps, made them better at healing themselves? She didn't know, and it really didn't matter in the end. What mattered was that she loved her husband, and he adored her. The people were beginning to settle down and accept her, slowly. The wolves hadn't made any more attempts to hurt her since Reth's apparent challenge at the Security Council, and the Festival was coming in a few days, and it was going to be—even if Elia was the one to say so—absolutely epic.

She woke every morning with excitement trilling in her stomach, and went to sleep every night exhausted, satisfied, and hopeful.

Deep down, though, she went to bed terrified she would wake up the next morning and it would all be gone—the happiness, the growth, Reth.

Most of all Reth.

And so she clung to her joy. Never letting herself become accustomed to it. Never ceasing to be grateful. Especially for him.

*****

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