Chapter 22 | The Queen Who Ruled by Herself

Blessings

The Lover to Temmin's left and the Beloved to his right were nearly naked, their clothes ripped by the questing hands of the crowd before the Twins had finished. Most of the twelve guarding the inner circle around the Gods were in various states of undress but for Temmin, and to no one's surprise, Senik was clad only in his habitual smile. The bulk of the crowd was drifting away back toward the stage in anticipation of Temmin's Presentation, and to pursue other amusements in the dark.

Nerr-in-Issak finally rolled off His Sister and sat up. "This body is wonderful, very strong and responsive. It suits Me," He said, stretching Issak's strong legs and arms. "I'm almost tempted to keep it." Issak's cock was still completely hard, despite the hard use the God had given it.

"Twice a year in a body is fun. A lifespan in a body is not. Being mortal more than every now and then is a bore, Brother, no matter how pretty these two are. Better to borrow than to buy," said Neya-in-Allis, pulling Herself to Her feet, with Nerr following. The dirt and grass that would otherwise have sullied Them fell in a rain around Their feet, leaving Them perfectly clean.

"Ah, Bessa!" said Nerr, putting His arms around the Supplicant and swinging her up in the air. He put her back on her feet and kissed her soundly. "Have you forgotten Me yet?"

Bessa blushed. "My Lord, I would think You'd forget me before I'd ever forget You."

"I never forget a maidenhead, sweetheart," He said. He turned to Anda and slipped an arm around her waist. "Do I, Anda?"

"No, my Lord," she gasped as He took one of her nipples in His mouth for a moment and released it with a loud pop.

"And this time, for the first time in so long, it's My turn," said Neya, strolling up to Temmin, who was the only man in the circle still in an intact shirt. She slid a finger under his collar. "Your mother is far too fussy, child."

"I'm sorry, my--my Lady," he stammered. "My mother?"

"Never mind," She said airily. "No need to bring a man's mother up on a night like this. Now!" She clapped Her hands together. "We have much to do, and while We have all the time in the world, you do not, my little mortals. Lead Us home."

The lantern-bearers kept a buffer around the informal procession as they walked back over the grounds through the gradually thickening crowds near the stage. Petals rained down on them as people threw flowers into the path of the Gods. Temmin fell back with Senik, who had one arm around a rugged blond Lover and the other around a dark-eyed Beloved. He tugged Senik unceremoniously away. "I thought you said They'd let Allis and Issak go by now!" he hissed.

"Am I accountable for the actions of Gods?" shrugged Senik. "They'll let go when They feel like it. Don't worry, the twins will be fine." Temmin drew back slightly; he hadn't really been thinking about the twins' safety, but more his own discomfiture at being confronted with a Goddess and not Allis. He grimaced in guilt.

"I promise, they're fine. You can baby them all you want when they're back," said Senik, deliberately misreading his expression. "This is a very hard spoke for them, and exhausting for the rest of us. And when Nerr's Day is over, we will all collapse in a big heap and do nothing but whine and pet one another for a whole spoke." He looked reflective for a moment. "I actually really enjoy that spoke." Senik shook his head. "At any rate, I don't think She'll hurt you, if you're worried about that. Nerr fucked someone to death once, but that was well over 500 years ago and it was an accident. On the other hand, maybe he's due--"

"You're not helping!" Temmin stalked off toward Anda and Bessa.

Senik grinned and replaced his arms around his companions. "That was rather cruel," said the rugged blond Lover.

Senik shrugged. "He needs to learn it's not all about him. He's all right, he's just young. Besides," he growled, biting at the other man's earlobe, "you like it when I'm cruel."

"True," sighed the rugged blond Lover.

The closer the procession got to the stage, the more apprehensive Temmin became. "I don't know if I can do this," he muttered. Bessa slipped an arm around him.

"You'll be all right," soothed Anda, taking his hand on the other side. "Remember, we've each of us survived this."

"Be truthful with me," said Temmin earnestly. "Do They scare you?'

"Oh, no," said Bessa. "Senik didn't tell you about that incident with Nerr, did he?"

"If he wasn't so pretty, I'd kill that Senik," scowled Anda.

"So it's true?"

"It was 500 years ago, Temmin," said Bessa.

"Senik said the same thing to both of us beforehand, the little bastard," said Anda. "And we had a lot more reason to be scared than you!"

"And besides," added Bessa, "you'll be with Neya. Mostly. And I don't think She's fucked anyone to death, ever."

"There's always a first time," he murmured.

"You're very sweet, Temmin, but you're not likely to inspire quite that level of passion," said Anda plainly. "Not your first night out, anyway, even if you are a quick study. Here's the stage, let's get you to the Most Highs."

On one side of the stage sat the Most Highs in pillowed comfort. High Beloved Malla patted the cushions between her and the High Lover. "And how is your first Spectacle, pretty child? Goodness, you've managed to stay unmolested somehow," she said, fingering his pristine collar and patting his cheek. "Usually there are no clothes to remove by now. Well, don't feel badly, sweetheart. You're a late bloomer all the way around it would appear."

Temmin's mood plummeted further. On the other hand, he reflected, there was some good news: The royal box was empty. Where were his parents? Who cares, he thought, they're not here to watch this, and that's all that counts.

The crowd fell to its knees as the Gods approached the stage, stopping along the way to give a kiss or caress a bowed head, actions that often led the recipient either to fainting dead away or to smothering under a pile of others anxious to share the blessing. Temmin watched in astonishment as Neya waded thigh-deep into the faithful and pulled a familiar, nattily dressed man to his feet.

Jenks was here. What was Jenks doing here?! Temmin glanced down at his Temple garb. This was worse than having his parents in the royal box by far. He watched as Neya cupped Jenks's blushing face--Jenks blushed! thought Temmin--whispered something in his ear and kissed him deeply as tears slipped down the valet's face.

Temmin looked away, too embarrassed to watch any longer. His eye fell on Nerr kissing that very pretty young woman he'd seen at the ball, the one with the huge blue eyes and the sweating husband. How odd, he thought, that he'd noticed the same woman twice in 24 hours when he'd never seen her before yesterday.

Temmin hazarded a glance back at Jenks, but he was gone.

The Gods ascended the stage and the crowd's murmured prayers grew silent. High Lover Gan took Temmin's hand and squeezed it reassuringly; Malla patted his thigh a little too high up for his general comfort. He looked up at Neya and Nerr, hoping to see even a shred of Allis and Issak, but there was none. The calm professionalism he usually saw in the twins' faces on formal occasions was gone. In its place was a radiance that gave off both light and heat, and he feared that if his eyes met either of Theirs that he might burn to ash and blow away. When Their heads turned toward him, he dropped his eyes to the ground.

"Who have you brought Us?" They called out together.

"Temmin, Heir of Tremont," responded the Most Highs.

"Temmin, Heir of Tremont, approach Us."

No turning back, thought Temmin. He rose on shaking legs, still keeping his eyes downcast, and joined the Twins.

"Do you have a gift for Us?" asked Nerr.

Temmin's mouth went dry. "I could still say no," he thought. "I could just say no and run away and bring shame on my family and disaster on the kingdom and oh Amma help me, what am I doing here?"

"Temmin," came Neya-in-Allis's voice, and this time he heard Allis in its tone, gentle and reassuring. Neya-in-Allis's fingers raised his chin. "Do you have a gift for Us?"

He looked into Her eyes. Allis had always had beautiful eyes, but now they went far beyond that. He vaguely remembered a dream of floating in green, tangled in black. In the green depths of Neya's borrowed eyes, he saw figures moving, coupling and uncoupling and recoupling with others, an endless dance of love and pleasure that expanded to encompass the world, enveloping him in green. "Yes," he said, not much louder than a whisper. "Yes," he repeated, stronger. "Myself."

Neya smiled. "We accept." She kissed him then. Her kiss filled him with a euphoric langour, an erotic pulse flowing from Her lips that flowed down his body and back in a never-ending circuit. He felt completely alive, completely at home in his body, and afraid of nothing, and whatever doubts he might have had dissolved. In that moment he would have done anything She asked of him. Was this the blessing? His elation stayed with him even when Nerr tore his shirt in two and kissed him so hard he wondered hazily if his lips were pulped. He felt fingers at his waist untying the linen trousers; they caught on his erection, but he shifted and they fell to the floor, leaving him naked before his people. He didn't care.

"Brother, let Us collect our gift," said Neya, and the Twins led Temmin off the stage into the Gods' Chambers and shut the doors behind them.