Read Online Water and Power by Viola Grace - Free Book Online

steadily.”
    “Ah. My partner is a sleep master. We start off dreaming and end up on top of each other. The foreplay is a little hard to remember but nothing happens until we are both awake.” Hahvi smiled.
    “Oh. I see.”
    “You don’t and you don’t have to. That is the point. Out here, we find the path that takes us to our own destiny, not one that someone forced on us. That includes our mate.”
    Mora had met dozens of men at the Citadel but none of them made her comfortable like Tranoth did. Hahvi had a point. “Thank you. I will keep that in mind.”
    “Do. Now, let’s have a seat. You look exhausted.”
    Mora sat on one of the boxes, and she and Hahvi were looking out at the coastline, the city that stretched back up the coast and into the delta that housed it.
    Mora yawned. “It is a stupid place to put a city.”
    “I have seen stupider. The middle of a lava field springs to mind.” She chuckled and told Mora the tale of the floating city.
    They sat and talked quietly, shoulder to shoulder, until Tranoth and a stranger with eyes only for Hahvi, appeared on the hill.
    Tranoth smiled. “We are cleared to return to Balen. Hahvi and Rackon are here for clean up as it regards the volcanic upheaval.”
    Mora hugged Hahvi one more time. “Thank you for making it out of the dome.”
    Hahvi returned the hug. “Thank you for surviving.”
    Mora and Plink returned to the ship, and she yawned again. Plink rubbed at her head, but the empathy wasn’t making a dent. She was so very tired.
    She fell asleep as she was buckling in.
     
    * * * *
     
    Tranoth pulled her onto his lap and held her close with Plink nestled against her ribs. They lifted off, and he kept her safe while the ship rocked and twisted upward.
    Feeling her joy when she saw another one of her own kind, he had also felt a tremendous shift in how she viewed herself. She had proof that she was not the only one to make it out of confinement and that woke a strength in her that he had not imagined she possessed.
    Seeing Hahvi made her whole. Something that neither he nor Plink had been able to achieve.
    He kissed her temple as she slept and felt the caress of her hand against his chest. Her mind knew he was there, and it was part and parcel of why she was able to rest.
    Feeling her trust and affection through their link humbled him and made him feel a thousand feet tall. Courting her was not going to be easy, but he knew that he would eventually win, so he would do it carefully.
     
    * * * *
     
    Mora woke in her own bed on Balen. Plink was next to her, eating a packet of seeds. A wave of scent surrounded her, and Mora sat up, a slow smile spreading while a lump formed in her throat.
    Dozens of vases of flowers were all over her room. She laughed and sat up, seeing the flashing of a message on her com. “Mora, Botanist Tenyo will be up at noon to give you a private lesson on how to engage in flower arranging. You might want to get dressed because your clothing disappeared the moment your head hit the pillow.”
    She blushed and looked down as her Masuo remained in sleep mode until she showered.
    She checked the chrono and bolted for the shower. She was dressed and her hair brushed when the botanist arrived.
    He grinned and looked at the flowers that she had taken out of her bedroom and into the main quarters. “Shall we begin?”
    Plink dragged her bag of seeds in and sat on a chair to watch the procedure. Mora was no longer surprised at how agile the chubby little creature was. Plink went where she wanted to.
    Mora focussed on her lesson for an hour, pleased with the result. Botanist Tenyo smiled. “Come to my next public class and I am sure you will learn a few more tricks that you will find useful. Oh, I hear your studio is ready.”
    Mora blinked. “Is it? Wonderful. I think I will seek out a meal and then go in search of it. Stanik has been hiding the material requests from me.”
    “It has been an experiment in requisition.” He cleaned up