"If you can do it, so can I. I'm tired of feeling so useless around here. All I ever seem to do is write political letter after political letter."

"Your letters are hardly worthless, Highness. They've certainly improved the quality of the menu around here, for one."

"I suppose that's true." Shasta stabbed the needle through the fabric again. "But it seems like such a small thing. I want to do more."

She didn't add that a part of her was hoping that when Talon returned, she would be proud of her efforts. It seemed like everything she did now, she did with the thought of pleasing her guardian, as if by her actions she could somehow keep Talon from drifting completely out of reach.

Her eyes filled with tears as she again drifted into memory, this time recalling that dark night when Captain Vaughn had finally shown up on the cabinetmaker's doorstep, carrying Talon's unconscious form over his shoulder. She remembered him lowering Talon to the floor and Lyris using a small knife to cut away the wrappings that bound Talon's chest.

The fabric fell back to reveal a mass of ugly bruises that spread across the olive skin in a terrible rainbow of yellow, green, purple, and brown. Shasta could still see them in her mind's eye and recall with perfect clarity the three livid scars marring her guardian's torso: a round and still slightly pink mark over Talon's ribs on the right side, a short, straight line at the base of her throat, and a long, jagged white stripe above her left hipbone. They were Shasta's scars, though they were on Talon's body-a permanent reminder of the suffering her guardian had endured on her behalf.

It had been strange to see Talon's small but defined breasts for the first time. Though by that point she knew her guardian was a woman, she'd grown accustomed to thinking of Talon as flat-chested, and Shasta was embarrassed now to recall just how curiously she'd stared.

The healer had applied salve to the open wounds to prevent infection and pressed a dark glass bottle containing a pain-relieving tincture into Shasta's hand. She'd told her that Talon had broken ribs and a leg fracture, several deep gashes, and a dislocated shoulder.

"Frankly, I'm surprised she's alive at all," the old woman had huffed, "but that young woman in there is a fighter if I've ever seen one."

Shasta hadn't left Talon's bedside for the next half-moon. As she replaced bandages, forced broth past the swollen lips, bathed the wicked black eye and changed dressings on her guardian's many wounds, she'd whispered over and over how sorry she was. How foolish she'd been. How stupid she felt for letting her anger come between them for so long.

And she'd begged her to stay alive. "I need you, Talon. Come back to me. Please come back."

Staring down at the uniform jacket in her lap, Shasta repeated that prayer once more. Please, Talon, I love you. Don't die on me before I have the chance to tell you myself.

Erinda grabbed Shasta's arm at the sound of the outer door slamming shut. It was very late, long past the time that the rest of the temple had gone to bed. No one should have been entering or leaving at that hour.

Shasta exchanged a glance with Erinda and they rose to their feet as the beaded curtain parted and an intruder stepped into the room.

"Talon!" Shasta dropped the jacket in her hands and ran to throw her arms around her guardian's neck. She buried her face in Talon's cool linen shirt. "Oh, you're back, you're back...and you're alive."

Talon's dark eyes searched Shasta's face intently, and then she reached into the pouch at her belt and extracted a tattered leaf of parchment. It had obviously seen some wear, but Shasta recognized it immediately.

"I got your letter." Talon's deep voice was soft, almost shy.

"Oh." Shasta lowered her arms and took a step back, almost colliding with Erinda, who was hastily stuffing the mending into a basket.

"Your Highness...Lieutenant...I think I'm going to retire for the night," the chambermaid said and left the room without waiting for a reply.

Shasta met her guardian's gaze and bit her lip. "And...?" she said finally, her stomach doing nervous flips.

Talon took Shasta's face in her hands as she had the morning they'd said good-bye. But this time she kissed her lips, not her forehead, and there was nothing sisterly about this contact between them. Talon's mouth moved passionately over hers, causing a little explosion in Shasta's abdomen that took her breath away, and then her guardian gathered her into a tight embrace that lifted her feet right off the floor.

"And...I love you, Princess. I think I always have."

The words were whispered fiercely into her ear, and Shasta gave a gasp of joy that came out sounding almost like a sob. When Talon set her down again, she felt light-headed. "Really?"

Talon gave a slight chuckle. "Yes, really."

"But..." Shasta pulled away to stare self-consciously at the floor. "You seemed to want to leave so badly."

"Oh, Goddess." Talon ran a hand through her hair. "I thought...that is, you seemed to...I thought you were falling in love with General Harneth." She unbuckled her sword belt and propped it up against the wall. "I didn't want to get in the way. I want you to be happy, Highness, that's all I've ever wanted, but I just couldn't stay and watch you fall in love with someone else. So I asked you to send me away."

"Harneth?" Shasta repeated incredulously. "But, Talon, you...you didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"General Harneth is...well, he's like you. Like us, I mean." Shasta offered a shy smile. "He prefers the company of his own gender."

Talon sat down in one of the chairs, looking completely stunned.

"I thought you knew," Shasta said.

"No. I was so sure that you and Harneth..."

"It's you, Talon, it's always been you. It just took me a long time to figure it out." Shasta knelt by her guardian's side, her nightshift billowing around her legs. She rested her head against one of Talon's knees. "I tried to tell you, so many times. But I didn't know how to put it into words. I wasn't sure I could, and I made everything so much more complicated than it had to be. The whole time it was so simple. I love you."

"So why did you let me go?"

Shasta looked up and gave a sheepish laugh. "Because I thought it was what you wanted. I'd never force you to stay with me, Talon, if you didn't want to."

Talon gave a little roll of her eyes. "I guess we were both wrong."

"I just can't believe you came back." She traced a little pattern on Talon's knee with her fingertip, and Talon bent to kiss her again, gently.

"Of course I did. After a letter like that I practically ran the whole way here."

"Uh-huh. I know you too well, Talon. Admit it. You had a hard time deciding between me and your work. Somebody probably had to talk you into leaving."

Talon's eyes shone with amusement, and she put her hands around Shasta's waist and drew her to her feet. "Maybe just a little."

Shasta allowed her mouth to drop open in mock indignation. "I knew it!"

But all other reprimands dissolved from her mind as Talon lifted her chin and pressed their lips together firmly, nuzzling her bottom lip and robbing her of any other thought.

Shasta lifted her hands to her guardian's shoulders and tried to catch her breath. Talon took advantage of that situation, gently probing the depths of Shasta's mouth with her tongue. Her hands moved up Shasta's torso, palms brushing the sides of her breasts. Then they slid downward again, roving across her back.

It really didn't matter where Talon touched her; Shasta's entire body was tingling, and she felt like she might melt right into her guardian's arms. It was like her dreams, that sudden overpowering longing for oneness, for a connection that went deeper than physical contact. She pressed her body even closer, wanting to feel Talon's warmth along her entire length.

Talon's hands suddenly stilled, and she gazed into Shasta's face with intense passion burning in her fathomless black eyes. "Tell me..." Her deep tones were husky with an unmasked desire that made Shasta's knees weak. "Tell me this is what you want." The burning eyes searched her face. "If it isn't, you have to tell me now. Otherwise," a tremor coursed through her body that Shasta could feel against her own, "I don't think I'll be able to stop."

Shasta's breath caught at the vulnerability in her guardian's face. Talon was always so controlled, so powerful, and yet here in her arms, she seemed suddenly uncertain. Shasta realized that Talon felt just as helpless against the growing torrent of passion that surrounded them as Shasta herself did. She stroked her guardian's face, ran fingers down the smooth planes of Talon's cheekbones and marveled at the satiny texture of her dark skin.

"This is what I want," she said firmly, her own voice unusually rough. "You are what I want. I love you, Talon. I need you, please."

Talon bent forward and buried her face in the curve of Shasta's neck, her breath soft against her ear. "And you're sure?"

"Very sure." Shasta wound one hand into the thick dark hair. "Don't stop. I don't ever want you to stop."

And then Talon's mouth claimed hers again with renewed hunger, and Shasta opened willingly to the warm, caressing tongue that slipped past her lips and teeth to dance wildly with her own. Her guardian's hands moved once more upon her sides, her back, one sliding up to cup the soft fullness of her breast through the nightshift. Talon's touch was gentle, even reverent, and Shasta gave a small cry in the back of her throat at the pleasure of that first intimate contact. She pressed herself into Talon's hand, wanting more, and her guardian responded with a delicate massage that deepened slowly without ever becoming demanding or forceful.

Shasta ran a hand down her guardian's neck, across the shoulders to her upper arm. She felt the firm curve of Talon's bicep, the powerful muscle there contracting so easily beneath her hand. She had to pull out of the kiss to catch her breath, which was coming in soft pants, and Talon took that opportunity to plant a trail of warm kisses down her neck, flicking her tongue lightly against her skin.

Her hand left Shasta's breast and Shasta gave a whimper of disappointment, until she realized that Talon was untying the satin ribbon at the neck of her nightdress. The edges of the cotton shift opened to expose a deep vee of creamy flesh at the base of her throat. Talon leaned in and fastened her lips to the tender hollow there, drawing a gasping moan from her. Shasta tilted her head back and sank her fingers into her guardian's hair. "Talon..."

Talon gathered up the shift at Shasta's back, so slowly that Shasta didn't realize what was happening until the sudden warmth of hands against her bare skin made her shudder. Talon stroked her back with her palms, then her fingertips. Her hands followed the delicate curve of her spine upward, across the flat planes just above her shoulder blades, and curled lightly around the tops of her shoulders. Then her head came up and she took Shasta's lips with her own again. This time the kiss was more playful, a dainty nibbling and teasing at Shasta's mouth. Talon released her shoulders and again took hold of the edges of her shift. There she hesitated, and Shasta could feel her guardian's hands trembling.

"Do it, Talon, please," she begged. "It's all right."

That seemed to steel Talon's resolve. In one smooth, deft motion, she lifted the nightshift up and away from her and dropped it carelessly to the floor.

Shasta was astonished to find she didn't feel in the least bit self-conscious or embarrassed. How could she, with Talon staring down at her as if she were the most magnificent thing she had ever seen? And with a boldness that surprised even herself she pulled Talon into a kiss, taking her hand and guiding it to her breast, craving that delicate touch against her bare skin. For a moment even Talon seemed surprised, and she gave a little gasp against Shasta's lips that trailed into a faint groan. Gently, she caressed Shasta's breast, her thumb brushing across the nipple, making it tighten beneath her touch.

Abruptly Talon dropped to one knee, drew Shasta toward her, and replaced the kneading fingers with the sudden liquid heat of her mouth. Shasta cried out at the pleasure of that exquisite sensation. Her head fell back, unbidden, and she closed her eyes with ecstasy. Never had she imagined anything so erotic as the warmth of Talon's mouth at her breast. Her dreams were becoming reality in a way that was far more vivid and sensual than anything she might have been able to imagine on her own. Gentle sucking sent waves of bliss crashing through her body, and when her guardian's tongue flickered sensuously over the taut peak, Shasta thought she might lose her mind entirely.

"Talon, I..." She could barely get the words out, not wanting that sweet contact to end but swaying dangerously as her knees threatened to give way. "I can't..." She lurched forward to steady herself on Talon's shoulders.

Her guardian seemed to understand. She guided Shasta's hips forward and pressed her bent knee between Shasta's legs, tugging her down to straddle her thigh. Again Shasta was overwhelmed with glorious, escalating sensation as Talon's firm muscles pressed tightly against her most intimate spot. Talon switched her attention to the other breast, this time licking the erect nipple delicately a few times and running her tongue in a circle around the puckering flesh before covering it completely with her mouth.

She placed one hand on the Princess's back and lifted the other to fondle the breast her mouth had just left, lightly pinching the hardened bud and rolling it beneath her fingertips. Shasta's hips rocked of their own accord against Talon's thigh, and she slid her hands back into her guardian's hair to plant kisses on the top of her head, which was all she could reach from that angle. Talon chuckled at her little growl of frustration and tilted her head back to meet Shasta's lips with her own. Shasta delved into her guardian's mouth with her tongue, suddenly wanting to show Talon just how arousing her touches had been. She moved greedily over the infinite softness of Talon's lips, nipping lightly with the barest hint of teeth, and this time it was Talon who had to pull back to get some air.

She met Shasta's gaze with a mixture of wonder and longing in her black eyes that took her breath away. Rising, Talon pushed her knee upward to press tantalizingly against Shasta's pulsing center. She was rewarded with a panting sigh, and her lips curved slightly as she put Shasta's arms around her neck and lifted her from the floor.

In three strides she had crossed the room. Tenderly she laid Shasta onto the bed, then brushed the gauzy curtains aside to sit next to her. Shasta watched impatiently as she removed her heavy boots one at a time and left them on the floor by the bed.

Boldly she pressed herself against Talon's warm back and brought her lips to her guardian's ear. "Hurry up," she demanded, encircling Talon's stomach with her hands and splaying her fingers on the firm, flat muscles there. Talon exhaled abruptly, and Shasta felt the sensitive muscles of her abdomen flex in response to her touch. She lowered her head to kiss Talon's neck, beneath the earlobe. A powerful heartbeat thundered against her lips, making her own heart quicken to match that unfaltering rhythm.

Sliding her hands upward, she could discern the wrappings that bound Talon's chest beneath the loose linen shirt, and suddenly Shasta was possessed with the urge to feel her guardian's bare, satiny skin against her own. She struggled with the buttons, but it was difficult to undo them without being able to see. Talon's hands came up and covered hers, and in a few quick, precise motions she had the shirt unfastened. She stood, whipped the shirt from her shoulders, and tossed it on the foot of the bed. She reached up to remove the tight binding, but Shasta patted her hand away.

"Let me do it," she said, and Talon held her arms out obediently.

Shasta unwound the wide strips of fabric, watching with wonder as, layer by layer, her guardian's feminine curves were revealed, until at last the binding fell away completely. Shasta gazed unabashedly on Talon's seminakedness, for the first time not feeling compelled to blush or turn her eyes away.

"Perfect," she breathed, reaching out timidly to trace one soft curve with her fingertip. "You're so beautiful."

She was not sure whether it was her words or that feather-light touch that pulled the groan from her guardian's lips, but either way that sound was the most intoxicating thing Shasta had ever heard. She cupped the small breast in her palm and watched in fascination as both dark nipples tightened in front of her eyes, then lifted her other hand to the second breast and brushed the pointed tips with her thumbs.

Talon's breathing grew harsh and her hands suddenly trembled on Shasta's shoulders, and Shasta realized that she was struggling to hold still beneath her touch, to allow her the chance to explore her body freely without interruption. Sensing that her guardian might not be able to maintain that control for much longer, Shasta leaned forward and tentatively touched one of the dark nipples with the tip of her tongue. This elicited another small noise, somewhere between a moan and a growl, and Talon entwined her hands in Shasta's long, loose tresses. Shasta became bolder and drew that yielding flesh into her mouth. The textures were amazing, the silkiness of the dark skin, the intriguing puckered circle with its firm little point. She ran her tongue over them repeatedly, wanting to memorize the way they felt, the slight taste of salt on Talon's skin.

Finally her guardian could be still no longer. She inclined her head and raised Shasta from her breast to meet her lips. Gently, she lowered them both to the bed, shifting her body weight so that their torsos were pressed together. The warmth of Talon's heated skin against her own was an intimacy that Shasta had never imagined, and she ran her fingertips daintily over that strong, muscled back that she remembered so well from the night she'd seen Talon and Erinda together. Only now it was she who lay beneath Talon's attentions, as she had so often in her fevered dreams. But these sensations, these feelings building inside her went far beyond anything she could have ever fantasized.

She felt one of Talon's hands glide down the flat expanse of her stomach, and her abdomen contracted beneath that touch, almost ticklish in its delicacy. She gasped in surprise as the slender fingers did not stop at the waist of her undergarments, but slid beneath them and continued downward, and that gasp turned into a moan when one finger slipped between her wet folds for the first time. Her hips rocked against Talon's hand, and her eyes flew open to stare with amazement. Talon lifted an eyebrow, almost mischievously, and her fingertip began to trace small, firm circles in that most sensitive of places.

"Ohh," Shasta cried out, closing her eyes tightly as a fiery heat began to build in her thighs and hips, a feeling unlike anything she'd ever experienced before.

She was too overcome with sensation to distinguish each movement of Talon's hand, but it seemed that each passing moment brought a surge of pleasure stronger than the last. And then suddenly it stopped. Talon withdrew her hand and Shasta gave a mewling cry of protest, but Talon only winked at her, hooked her fingers in the waist of the white undergarment, and stripped it away.

She parted Shasta's knees, settled herself between them, and leaned forward to press her lips to Shasta's, tangling their tongues for a few breathless moments. Then she traveled downward slowly, planting sensuous kisses in a line from Shasta's throat, between her breasts and across her ribs. When she reached the belly button, her tongue dipped into its crevice and swirled, making Shasta giggle.

She could feel Talon's smile against her skin at that response. Shasta was a little confused as to her guardian's intentions, and so a gasping cry tore from her throat when she suddenly felt the hot softness of Talon's mouth cover her unexpectedly, her tongue repeating the little circular motions of her fingers only moments before. Her cries became almost rhythmic as Talon flicked delicately and repeatedly across that intimate spot, and she felt the fire building in her again until she wasn't sure her body could contain it anymore. Her hips rose off the mattress, and she called out her guardian's name in a final, torrential burst of ecstasy that crashed through her and robbed her of her senses, her energy, everything but the pulsing waves of pleasure that shook her entire small frame.

Talon moved up her body again soothingly, kissed her stomach, and nipped at her breasts lightly before hovering a handbreadth from her face. A little smile played at her lips. "Are you all right?"

Shasta just stared at her with astonishment. Her chest was heaving, and when she finally regained her voice it was full of wonder. "How did you do that?"

Her guardian's dark eyes twinkled with amusement. "You're a woman, Highness. It's what your body is designed to do, with the right encouragement."

Shasta brought a hand up to stroke Talon's cheek. "I never knew anything could feel like that."

Talon captured Shasta's hand against her face and pressed kisses into the palm. Shasta's breath caught and she bent one knee, inadvertently pressing it up between her guardian's legs, and Talon's eyes fluttered closed for a moment. Experimentally, Shasta lifted one hip to rub her thigh more firmly against the sensitive spot. Talon exhaled sharply and opened her eyes to gaze at her.

Shasta smiled shyly. "Can I...?"

Talon's lips parted in a slight smile. "Aren't you tired?"

"No. I feel very much awake. And I want to. Please?"

Talon chuckled. "You know I can't deny you anything."

She sat up on the bed, and Shasta followed her. She wasn't quite sure what to do, and she bit her lip uncertainly. Her guardian gave her an encouraging smile, kissed her softly, and stood to unbuckle the wide black belt girding her hips. Shasta let her gaze rove across Talon's body, the smooth, olive skin, the sharply defined muscles of her upper arms and the four neat little bundles of muscle that made up her abdomen, the small, perfectly formed breasts with their little dark points, the distinct scars on her ribs and above her hip, and Shasta's blue feather necklace resting against the dark throat. She couldn't believe what a beautiful woman Talon was, and staring at her now in the flickering light of the bedside lamp, Shasta could not imagine how she had ever mistaken such beauty for a man.

The heavy belt came undone and fell to the floor with a clunk. Talon unbuttoned the front of her trousers, tugged them off with her undergarments, and left them in a pile. Shasta inhaled at the sight of her, the slim hips and thighs, the glorious warmth of her dark skin, the patch of black curls at the junction of her legs. "Nervous?" Talon's voice was husky.

Shasta nodded slightly. "I...I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't." The deep tones held a tinge of amusement. "Here." Talon took Shasta's hand and guided it between her legs, giving a small moan as Shasta's fingers came into contact with her slick center.

Shasta was fascinated by the feel of those delicate tissues beneath her touch, smooth and soaked with desire. "It's so...wet," she said, and her guardian made a choking sound that was something like both a groan and a laugh. Shasta blushed, meeting Talon's eyes shyly. "Is that because of me?"

"Mmm-hmm." The affirmative response was soft, and Shasta stroked her experimentally, coating her fingers with the moisture and running them over the hot folds a little at a time, amazed when those small movements produced an additional flood of wetness against her hand.

A shiver coursed through Talon's body. She drew them both back onto the bed and pulled Shasta on top of her. Shasta continued her tentative exploration, enjoying the soft shuddering sighs and light trembling of her guardian's body beneath her. When one finger found the hidden opening and slid inside, Talon let out a guttural breath and rocked against her touch.

Instinctively Shasta began a stroking motion to match the pulsing hips. She moved her finger in and out of the warm depths of her guardian's body, felt the muscles there contracting in response. She added a second finger, wanting to feel those contractions more intensely, and let Talon's hips set the rhythm of her hand. Her thumb brushed against the hardened bundle of nerves and her guardian growled, prompting her to rub more purposefully against that spot just to hear that raw, feral sound again.

Leaning down, she fastened her lips to Talon's earlobe and sucked there as her breath expelled warmly against her guardian's neck. Suddenly she felt the muscles around her fingers clamp down hard as Talon's entire body stiffened beneath her and then relaxed in a rush of exhaled air and trembling limbs.

Shasta withdrew her fingers and gazed at them wonderingly. "Did it work?" she asked.

Talon gave a panting laugh. "Oh, it worked."

"You're a lot quieter than me," Shasta observed sheepishly, and Talon chuckled again and pulled her into a crushing kiss.

"That's all right," she mumbled against Shasta's lips. "I love to hear you call my name like that. I don't care if the whole world hears it."

Shasta pulled back with a shocked expression. "You don't think the rest of the temple-"

"Who cares?" Talon tucked a strand of long brown hair behind Shasta's ear, her black eyes shining. "I love you, Princess. So much." Her chin quivered, just slightly. "I never thought...I never dared to hope this might happen. That I'd be here with you, like this, making love to you. I've wanted this for such a long time and couldn't even dare admit it to myself. It seemed impossible."

Shasta spattered little kisses playfully across her guardian's face, then dropped her head to the strong shoulder and hugged their bodies together. "Yet here we are. You know, if you were a man you'd have to marry me after tonight."