Dreams Made Flesh

other." And that love, he remembered bitterly, had been skewed enough that she'd given him away and he'd grown up believing he was a half-breed bastard, fighting, always fighting, for a place within Eyrien society.
    "I will deal with this, Lucivar."
    A father's command. Besides, Lucivar knew with chilling certainty how he'd respond if Luthvian used her particular kind of Craft to harm Marian in any way, and knowing she had already tried to poison with words what he was trying to build… It was better if he stayed away from his mother for a while.
    When they walked out the side door of the eyrie into the garden, Jaenelle gave them a slashing look.
    *I shielded her,* Jaenelle told them. *Having your tempers wash over her would have spoiled her pleasure, so if it's not already settled, pick another time and place for it.*
    *It's settled,* Saetan replied.
    Lucivar nodded.
    Turning back to Marian, Jaenelle smiled. "Papa and I have to go now. I'll send over those cuttings in a day or two. You've got enough to plant right now."
    "Oh," Marian said. "I'm sorry. I didn't even think. Would you like something to eat before you go?"
    "No, thank you," Saetan replied, giving Marian a warm smile.
    Not sure how annoyed Jaenelle was with him for letting his temper slip, Lucivar breathed a sigh of relief when she kissed him before accepting Saetan's arm and walking back to the landing place where the Coach waited for them.
    Which left him alone with Marian, who gave him a shy smile. He would have taken a kiss from her, too, but suggesting it, even teasingly, would upset her, so he settled for the smile.
    "Thank you," she said. "It's wonderful. Better than I imagined it could be."
    "You're pleased with it, then?"
    "Oh, yes."
    He nodded. "It'll look even better when you've got everything in place."
    He'd meant it as a compliment, so he didn't know what to think when her eyes widened and she began to look distressed.
    "Oh," she said. "The furniture."
    "It's fine."
    "I know the work in the eyrie comes first, so I won't…"
    She stopped when he raised his hand.
    They were going to learn to compromise. She might as well start learning now.
    "There's a lot of plants here," he said, nodding toward the dozens of clay pots that clogged several of the paths around the beds. "Since they're living things, you have to deal with them first. So we're going to compromise."
    She studied him warily. "Compromise."
    "Yeah." His mood lightened. He was going to piss her off, and she was just going to have to deal with it. "If you want to stay in the garden from sunrise to sundown until everything is planted, that's fine with me…as long as you promise not to lift one piece of furniture, using Craft or otherwise."
    "But the furniture needs to be arranged and…"
    "And I'll do the moving, the lifting, whatever it takes to put the pieces where you want them.You try to go around me and do it yourself, you're going to spend a day in bed resting, no matter what else you think you have to do."
    He watched her hands curl into fists.
    "You call that a compromise?" Her voice almost rose to a shout.
    He pretended to consider, then sighed. "All right. You can move the lamps."
    "The lamps."
    It took effort, but he managed not to grin. If he'd done this to Jaenelle, she'd be hissing and spitting at him right about now. Obviously, it would take a little more effort to get Marian to the hissing and spitting stage.
    "Your sister wouldn't have to compromise."
    Now he did grin. "Yes, she would."
    That threw her off enough to lose the glint of temper. "But… she's the Queen."
    "She's also a smart woman who recognizes a losing battle when she sees one."
    He watched her think it through. If Jaenelle couldn't butt heads with him over something like this and win, she didn't have a chance of winning, either.
    "Why don't I heat up something to eat?" he said.
    "I can…"
    "Compromise."
    She frowned at him.
    "I'll heat up something to eat, and you can check the tools in the shed to make sure you have everything you need."
    Her eyes lit up as she spun around to look at the shed the men had built between two of the border beds. She hesitated a moment, then looked back at him. "We'll compromise."
    The happiness that flowed from her as she hurried down the path to the shed made his heart stumble. He wanted this. He wanted her. He wasn't going to think about anything else for the next day or two, giving himself the pleasure of working with her to build a home for both of them, even if