The Son of Thunder

Chapter Twenty-Three

Rhysya stood just beyond the gates of Thundonia and waited for Lightening. She lost track of the sands of the desert that surrounded the tan mountain. When the sun struck Thundonia just before dawn, it shimmered golden, but now just after midday, the mountain was the same shade as Shawna's tawny skin. She sat the picnic basket on the ground. The bird that had been turned in the fire for them weighed too heavily on her arms.

Lightening was prompt as always. She started walking toward Yellow Field before he reached her.

"Rhysya, we should go to Crystal Lake."

"The grass should be nice and high at Yellow Field. It will be hypnotic to be lost in the long, tall blades. Camilia compared them to velvet. Have you heard of the fabric?"

He had. "Yellow Field is neutral territory."

"So? We have as much right to be there as the Acidonians do."

"But that neutral territory is closer to their territory than Crystal Lake."

Rhysya shook her white-gold hair off her shoulders. "You sound like a ruler when you talk like that."

"I am a ruler. So are you."

"For this lunch I am a wife. And I ordain you a husband."

He tried a different tack to redirect her. Lightening put his hand on her back to help her stride. "It's a long walk. Can you manage the distance?"

Rhysya stopped her pace completely and faced Lightening. "Are you suggesting that because I am with child, I am no longer capable of walking?"

"No, not at all. Of course not. I only meant to say that you might do harm to the child if you overexerted yourself by walking farther than usual."

Rhysya grinned. It was both sweet and annoying. She walked on as before, a few steps ahead of her husband. Once in the field, she spread out a blanket, pushing the tall reeds flat. Rhysya opened the basket and pulled out the roasted bird.

Lightening lifted the bird by the leg and stared at it. "Was Milk suspicious?"

"I didn't notice." Rhysya took the bird from Lightening's hands and laid it on the platter again. She tore a leg off and put it to Lightening's mouth, or where she imagined it ought to be under the headdress.

Lightening took the leg from her slender fingers. "No, darling. If I'm going to eat bird, you are going to eat bird."

Both of her hands flew up to guard her lips. "No, I can't. I took an oath. I have to set an example."

Lightening had one hand against Rhysya's back and the other pushed the leg against the pink petals of her mouth. "Several of your people have broken the vow to honor the flesh. You have no example to maintain." Rhysya turned her face away from him, her hands a barrier against the meat. "You eat eggs. Is that not a dishonor of the flesh? It is only committed before the bird is born."

"I am Priestess." Her words became garbled as her hands were pushed onto her tongue. "I have to represent the morals and values of our people."

"Our marriage is a representation of the values of your people?"

The leg was now being pressed against Rhysya's teeth, her hands against Lightening's chest. Her face was scrunched against the rape of her taste buds, but she cackled. Lightening was cautious of choking her during their game, forcing her to consume the drumstick.

A few yards away, an Acidonian stirred from his sleep. He made out the vague sound of laughter and screams. He sat up and narrowed his eyes until his view focused on the pair of picnickers. He picked out the image of the Son of Thunder, but he had to strain his eyes to determine that the figure he had mounted was the Priestess.