Page 18 of Sanctuary and Spices (Tales of the Ardent Veil #1)

RONHAR

M y fingers lingered on Jani’s cheek. The touch sent pulses of light racing through my markings, painting patterns across her skin. Time slowed to nothing as she leaned into my palm.

“I should be focusing on the spices,” she whispered, but her hands slid up my chest.

“The spices can wait.” I drew her closer, markings flaring bright at her warmth against me. “This can’t.”

Her lips met mine with none of yesterday’s hesitation. I backed her against the garden wall, deepening the kiss as her fingers found my markings again. The sensation shot through me like lightning.

“These glow brighter when I touch them,” she murmured against my mouth.

“Only for you.” I traced kisses down her neck, drinking in her soft sounds. “They’ve never...”

“Never what?” Her hands slid under my shirt, following the paths of light across my skin.

I shuddered at her touch. “Never responded like this. To anyone.”

The plants around us blazed with reflected energy, reaching toward our combined warmth. Crystal formations shifted and chimed as Jani’s fingers mapped my markings.

“Is that normal?” She glanced at the glowing herbs.

“Nothing about this is normal.” I caught her hands, pressed them flat against my chest where the markings burned brightest. “You make everything different.”

She pulled me down for another kiss, fierce and demanding. My hands slid into her hair as she pressed closer, fitting perfectly against me. Her fingers traced fire along my markings, each touch sending sparks of pleasure through my entire body.

“,” she gasped as I found that sensitive spot beneath her ear. Her hands tightened on my shoulders, nails digging in slightly.

I groaned against her neck, markings blazing brighter. “The things you do to me...”

She arched into me as I nipped gently at her pulse point. One of my hands found the bare skin at her waist, drawing patterns there that made her shiver. Her leg hooked around mine, pulling me closer still.

“Your markings,” she breathed, “they’re everywhere now...”

She was right - the light had spread beyond their usual paths, painting both of us in swirling patterns. I captured her mouth again, drinking in her soft sounds as my hands explored...

“Ahem.”

Soryn’s deliberate cough shattered the moment. I stepped back quickly, markings still pulsing with embarrassing brightness. Jani smoothed her clothes, cheeks flushed.

“The festival preparations,” Soryn said mildly, “might benefit from your attention.”

I tried to focus on the work at hand, but my markings refused to dim. She pulled out her notebook with slightly shaky hands, then moved to the testing station.

“The purple starbloom should pair well with night-sage,” I suggested, gathering ingredients to mask my own unsteadiness. “Especially for the valthorn preserves you’re planning.”

She nodded, measuring dried starbloom with careful precision. The familiar motions seemed to center her, though I noticed her glancing my way when she thought I wasn’t looking. She added a pinch of crystallized honey and stirred, releasing a complex bloom of scent that made my mouth water. Or maybe that was just watching her work, the way she moved with such unconscious grace.

“Here, taste this.” She held out a testing spoon. Our fingers brushed during the exchange, my markings flickering in response. The flavor burst across my tongue - sweet and sharp and somehow familiar.

“It tastes like...”

“Starlight,” she finished with me. Our eyes met, held.

“Though it seems you’ve already achieved some interesting resonance effects,” Soryn commented, examining a suspiciously bright patch of Jhyra.

I reached for a testing chamber, trying to ignore how the plants around us still glowed with unusual brightness, reaching toward our combined energy.

“These readings are odd.” Jani frowned at the crystal formations. “They’ve shifted position.”

“That’s not possible.” I moved closer to look. “The anchoring matrix...”

“We’re seeing some unusual patterns in the crystal matrices.” Lyrian’s arrival made us all turn. “And we’ve had a few reports of navigation irregularities from incoming ships. Minor course corrections needed, some odd instrument readings.”

“The festival opens in three days,” Soryn noted.

“Which is why I wanted to mention it now, while it’s still just a curiosity.” Lyrian’s perfect posture somehow became even more rigid. “Three ships have reported their instruments showing unexpected energy signatures. Nothing dangerous, but worth monitoring.”

A tremor rippled through the station walls. Jani stumbled, catching herself against the garden’s crystal matrix. The vibration smoothed instantly at her touch.

My markings flared in response, synchronizing with whatever energy she’d unconsciously tapped. The plants leaned toward us like flowers tracking sunlight.

“Fascinating.” Lyrian watched us with unsettling intensity. “The old stories mention something similar. About humans with natural resonance abilities. Though most dismissed them as legends.”

“I don’t have any special abilities,” Jani protested. “I just cook.”

“And yet.” He gestured at the still-glowing plants, the stabilized crystals, my markings painting light across her skin where we touched. “The evidence suggests otherwise.”

The morning became a delicate dance of focus and impossible-to-ignore awareness.

“The fourth test chamber is ready,” Jani announced, measuring ingredients with studied concentration. When she reached past me for more dried herbs, her scent wrapped around me like a physical touch. My markings flared before I could control them, drawing a soft gasp from her.

“The resonance frequency should match the base harmonics of...” My words trailed off as her hand brushed mine. Light bloomed between us.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t be.” I kissed the tips of her fingers. “I’m not.”

The station hummed around us, crystal formations singing in harmony with whatever this was between us. I had so many questions. But watching Jani work, seeing how naturally she moved through the garden’s energy fields... Maybe some answers couldn’t be found in old stories and technical readings. Maybe they had to be discovered one touch at a time.

Another tremor whispered through the walls, fainter than before. Jani’s hand found mine instinctively. The vibration smoothed away at our combined touch, and the look we exchanged held volumes of unspoken promises.

“Well.” Lyrian’s knowing smile held too many secrets. “This should be an interesting festival.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Not when everything I thought I understood about the station’s energy was shifting, realigning around the woman beside me.

The woman whose touch made my markings blaze like starlight.

The woman who somehow felt like home.