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“It's nice to see an actual night sky for once,” Illario remarked as he and Rook reached the top of the cliff. “Do not get me wrong, I like our home in the Lighthouse, but there are times even now that the ever-daylight is unnerving.”
“Lucanis said the same thing,” Rook remarked as she spread the blanket she'd brought out over the rock and sparse growth. “It took some time to get used to.”
“Only some time, querida?” he asked with an arched brow. He set the basket he carried on the blanket and took a seat, holding a hand up to her. With a smile, Rook let him pull her down onto the blanket.
Before becoming a Warden, before loving Rook, Illario would have never considered a picnic under the stars as a ‘good’ date. When he'd been a Dellamorte, he'd known physical luxury to almost an extreme. There were still certain luxuries he preferred, like hot baths and soft sheets, but his work as a Warden had taken him many places that made him appreciate the simpler pleasures of a warm bed and good food.
He also felt less of an urge to seek attention from others as he might have before. He knew who his true friends were, and he had Rook at his side. He had no need to make a great spectacle anymore.
Rook once told him that while they could see the stars from Minrathous or Treviso, the further you got away from the cities, the brighter they were. After slogging across much of the Free Marches helping people recover from the Sixth Blight, he had to agree.
They had high quality but simplistic food with them tonight, meats, cheeses, fine bread and fruits, kept cool by an enchanted stone Rook had gotten from Neve. They were far enough away from the Lords of Fortune's headquarters and most others that they wouldn't be interrupted out here.
They pulled their food from the basket and set it carefully on pieces of cloth atop the blanket, and a flagon of some fruit drink Taash had recommended to Rook. Holding one of Rook's hands on the blanket, Illario sat beside his love and fellow Warden and stared up at the sky.
Stars twinkled in the midnight blue of the velvet sky. They gleamed brighter than the diamonds Illario had seen worn by the daughters of merchant princes. There was a beauty to the night sky that surpassed the elegance of a fine Antivan ball.
The only sounds around them was that of the waves crashing on the beach below and the hum of the night insects. The Fade was always quiet, the fade-sky never changing and no insects or breeze to make noise. It made him wonder.
“If we were to live somewhere other than the Fade, where would you want it to be?” he asked. “Obviously many Wardens remain in Lavendale, but places like Minrathous or Antiva are more open to us now. I do not think I'd want to live in the Necropolis, and I'd leave the elves in peace in Arlathan.”
Rook tilted her head, considering the question, then gestured around them. “Sometimes like this, I think. With all that's happened, Minrathous doesn't really feel like home anymore. As for Antiva, I don't know that I want to live anywhere near your grandmother, even if she does ignore us.”
Rook would never forgive Caterina for the way she'd handled disowning Illario, even if it had been expected and warranted given his past actions against House Dellamorte.
“But Rivain? There's nothing tethering us here, but there's also nothing to drive us away,” She continued. Then, carefully she said, “And if you and your cousin continue to repair your relationship, Rivain is a place where they don't look down on Lucanis regarding Spite.”
Illario sighed, turning his gaze to the sky. “Yes, Spite makes it rather hard to forget him. Lucanis might have begun talking to me again, but I don't know if Spite will ever be fond of me.”
“Giving the two of them a place to visit where they are safe might help,” Rook suggested.
He nodded. “Something to think about.”
Rook watched him, sensing a shift in the mood. His eyes were still fixed on the stars, his hand arm in her own. She shifted then, swinging a leg over him and settling in his lap, a grin flickering over her lips as she did.
“Like what you see?” she asked.
Illario laughed. “The night sky is lovely, but not lovely as you, querida.”
Rook put a hand on his chest, pressing him backwards until his back hit the blanket. She saw the stars reflected in his blue eyes. “No one for miles, you know,” she said idly.
Illario pulled her down with him, his hand trailing along her spine as he did. He caught her lips with his own and felt her body press against the line of his own. They lay there for a while, kissing as their hands roamed each other's bodies.
She pulled back after a time, her breathing was ragged as his. He saw a faint shade of red to her cheeks and smirked, knowing he was the one who put it there.
“You know, for all the lovers I've taken, I do not believe I've ever made love to anyone beneath the stars,” he told her, running his fingers through her hair.
“A first for both of us then,” she murmured, staring down at him with dark eyes.
Illario pulled her fully against them, kissing her once more and rolling them over so that she was beneath him. “I've also never been with someone I really loved before you,” he murmured to her. “You gave me a second chance and your name, Querida. You gave me a home.”
She shivered beneath him, her hands dragging along his back. “And you gave me one,” she whispered against his lips. “Whatever comes next, I look forward to spending the rest of my days with you, Illario Mercar.”
“The feeling, Valentina Mercar, is quite mutual,” he assured her.
Neither of them spoke much for some time after, lost in their love for each other, beneath the stars.