Seer's Hope (Book 1 of The Seer Trilogy)

Seer's Hope (Chapter 11)

She snuggled closer... and then jerked as the realization slapped her.

The hand stoking her back stilled. "What are you thinking?"

"I do not have anything red to give you in return and— Wait. I do have something." She twisted the ring from her thumb and held it out to him. "This is what we call a 'signet ring'. The red stone is a ruby. It belonged to my father. My mother gave it to him when they were Joined, as you would say." She paused, beating back the memories. "It— It became mine after they died."

"I'm afraid it won't fit my thumb."

"It is meant to be worn on your ring finger." She took his left hand and tapped the appropriate finger. "This one." She waited while he slipped it on, bouncing with impatience. "Does it fit?"

"Yes."

"Do you like it?"

"I've admired it often." He took her hand, fingering her other rings. "These other rings you wear—do they have special meaning, too?"

"They were my mother's. This one—" she indicated the diamond solitaire "—was given to her by my father as a token—like for a Promising. And this plain band was given for what you would call their Joining as life-partners. My parents loved each other very much."

"I'm proud to wear your father's ring. I believe he'd be happy you've given it to someone who loves his daughter as much as he loved your mother."

That comment struck a chord. She chewed her lip. Would her dad have been pleased? Or would he have been concerned she was jumping in feet first? "Blayne, you do not know much about me. And I do not know much about you."

"I know many things about you. For instance, you're unique."

"What do you mean?"

"You're the only person I know who's from another world. And a man of my importance couldn't Promise to just any woman, could he?"

She smacked him with the palm of her hand for teasing her, and then soothed the small hurt with her lips. "What else do you know?"

"I know your parents are dead." He turned her hand palm up to plant a kiss. "As are mine. My mother died giving birth to me. And my father died in a hunting accident when I was a boy."

"That must have been hard for you, losing your parents so young."

"What happened to your parents?"

"My family died in a... a...." There was no Dayamaru word for "car" or "vehicle". "They died in a bad accident, along with my two brothers. I was the only survivor. I lost my family and my sight that night."

He said nothing, merely hugged her tight and held her while the pain bit deep, as it always did. She was grateful. Explaining further would be too much to bear.

Eventually he said, "I know I wasn't the first man you've been with."

Uh oh. This could get interesting. She hoped he wasn't big on double standards or they'd be having their first argument. "No you were not."

"How many other lovers have you had?"

"Many. More than thirty."

"Really?" She felt him jerk in surprise. "But you're so young."

"I am twenty—not so young. And not really thirty men."

"Good."

She rolled her eyes. "One lover is all. We parted after I lost my sight. There have been none since the accident. I could not be close to anyone like that afterward."