Page 34 of Spears and Shadows (Defenders of the Light)
Knowing it was probably rude to ask but also unable to curb her natural curiosity, Nora asked, “What happened to her?”
Adam scuffed a toe against the polished floor as he responded. “She lost her husband in the Defeat. She was pregnant at the time and lost the baby soon after. The loss of the connection to the Light made it impossible for any children to be born into the Eteria.”
Nora found herself also looking at the floor. A soft “oh” was all she could manage in response as she contemplated Seraphina’s tragedy. She might not have had many maternal instincts herself, but her heart still clenched in sympathy.
“Would you like a cup of tea?”
Adam’s non-sequitur caught Nora off guard.
“I don’t suppose you have any coffee?”
Adam mimed himself retching enthusiastically. “I would never keep something so vile in my own room. But I have any type of tea you could want.”
“Then I’ll take English breakfast.”
Adam motioned her towards the leather armchair she had noticed earlier. As she sat down, he busied himself with the tea. Nora took the opportunity when his back was turned to breathe in her fill of the intoxicating scent of chai tea and books that clung to the chair. Adam picked up an electric kettle from its place on a cart near the fireplace and carried it into an adjoining bathroom to fill it up.
“I’m surprised to see you have electricity and indoor plumbing here. Wasn’t this place built before that sort of thing?” Nora commented, her tone teasing but her question legitimate.
He gave her his signature boyish grin as he returned. “It was, but I convinced everybody to put it in a while back. I consider it my personal responsibility to keep these old fogey’s up with the times.”
Once their tea was made, Adam took a seat at the foot of the massive bed, and Nora settled back into the armchair, the teacup nestled between her hands, the warm steam caressing her face.
They sat in amicable silence for a while before Nora asked, “You must know all of the Greek myths really well if you were around when they were first being told.”
When Adam nodded in confirmation, Nora asked, “Could you tell me some of them? The way they were told when you were young?”
Adam gave her a soft smile before he obliged and launched into the tale of Hades and Persephone. Adam’s voice drew her in, soft and melodious. Nora experienced the familiar myths in a way she never had before. She blinked back tears when Adam told the tale of Eros and Psyche and found herself holding her breath during the tense moments in the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts. Adam was a master storyteller, pausing at all the right places, letting his voice rise and fall gently like the tides, sending tingles up Nora’s spine.
Later, Nora was roused by Adam’s knuckles brushing her face. For a moment, Adam continued stroking her cheek, and Nora allowed herself to imagine that he was enjoying touching her before her consciousness returned fully. She pulled herself upright and thanked her lucky stars that she had not started drooling when she dozed off.
“It’s late,” he murmured. “I can take you back to the city if you want, or you can sleep in the room you were in when you came here the first time. It’s just across the hall.”
Feeling particularly cozy at the moment, Nora was not enthused by the idea of a cold bus ride across the city.
“I’ll stay the night, if that’s ok.”
Nora pushed herself up from the chair and padded her way over to the door. Before she entered the hallway. though, she looked over her shoulder.
“Thank you for the tea, and goodnight.”
“Goodnight to you. too, Nora. Dream good dreams.”
