((Takes place just after Daine's arrival at Haven in chapter 7 of Lady
Knight. It you don't have the book at hand, here's the excerpt:
//They were halfway up the steep incline when an eagle screamed high overhead. Kel would have ignored it, but the eagle's next scream sounded much closer.
Numair dragged off his tunic, clumsily wrapping it around his left arm. He was grinning. Kel looked up and gasped. A golden eagle spiraled down from the sky. Numair extended his wrapped arm, and the eagle landed on it with authority.
"So you found me, dear one," Numair said, and kissed the creature on the beak. "I've missed you."
Kel guessed who the eagle must be as the bird preened Numair's hair with its murderous beak. This had to be Numair's lover and Kel's friend, Daine the Wildmage. Kel had seen her as a golden eagle more than once.
"Welcome to Haven, Daine," Kel said politely. "Have you any news?"
The bird shook its head and returned to preening Numair.
"Will you excuse us?" he asked. "She likes to be private when she changes back to human." Without waiting for a reply, he strode on up the incline.//))
Daine started shifting even as she left her perch on his wrapped tunic, and by the time she was fully herself, she was in his arms, not seeming to mind a whit that he was nearly crushing her in his hold. She returned the hug without hesitation, wrapping arms still shaky from being wings so long about his shoulders. The separation that had made those arms ache with emptiness for weeks past evaporated in an instant. After a moment, however, she pulled back, and the gray eyes that met his had a look he'd never seen in them before. He frowned slightly, opening his mouth to speak.
She raised a hand, and he shut it again. Then, trembling, she lifted the silver claw that hung, as always, from its chain around her neck. "Daine, what..."
He broke off. There, strung beside the badger god's token, was a tiny charm, rose quartz in a delicate silver setting. The stone was gleaming brightly, a sure sign that it was magicked. He raised a hand, probing the gem with the black fire of his Gift...
And sat back onto the hard ground, gaping at her. She nodded, her lip caught in her teeth as she looked down. He let the charm fall from his fingers - he'd seen the like of it before, and had known as soon as he'd touched it what it was for...and what that color meant.
~
Emotions surged through Daine, nervousness bordering on true fear, with an undercurrent of joy that she refused to give way to. It had peaked, for a moment, when she'd come back to her human self in his arms...and ebbed again at the dawning comprehension in his eyes. She'd dropped her gaze from his, studying the leaves that formed the groundcover intently...which left her with no warning when she found herself swept into his embrace once more, and he was kissing her, saying her name with the voice of a man who couldn't decide whether to laugh, or cry, or shout aloud.
The fear was gone in an instant, and when they broke the kiss for air, she knew the grin on her face matched his, the grim reality of the troubled world they lived in pushed aside, just for a moment, so that two people could rejoice the way that so many had for all of time, and would as long as the human race lived on. She stayed in his arms that way for a long time; how long, neither could have said for certain, happy in the simple nearness of the man she loved...
And his child within her.
((A/n: I'm fairly sure the timing is accurate. I've checked the timelines, and according to them, the new book Trickster's Choice, which announces Daine's pregnancy, starts not even a year after Lady Knight. If you haven't read the excerpt, you might want to go to Tamora Pierce's site and check it out. If you need the URL, just let me know.))
//They were halfway up the steep incline when an eagle screamed high overhead. Kel would have ignored it, but the eagle's next scream sounded much closer.
Numair dragged off his tunic, clumsily wrapping it around his left arm. He was grinning. Kel looked up and gasped. A golden eagle spiraled down from the sky. Numair extended his wrapped arm, and the eagle landed on it with authority.
"So you found me, dear one," Numair said, and kissed the creature on the beak. "I've missed you."
Kel guessed who the eagle must be as the bird preened Numair's hair with its murderous beak. This had to be Numair's lover and Kel's friend, Daine the Wildmage. Kel had seen her as a golden eagle more than once.
"Welcome to Haven, Daine," Kel said politely. "Have you any news?"
The bird shook its head and returned to preening Numair.
"Will you excuse us?" he asked. "She likes to be private when she changes back to human." Without waiting for a reply, he strode on up the incline.//))
Daine started shifting even as she left her perch on his wrapped tunic, and by the time she was fully herself, she was in his arms, not seeming to mind a whit that he was nearly crushing her in his hold. She returned the hug without hesitation, wrapping arms still shaky from being wings so long about his shoulders. The separation that had made those arms ache with emptiness for weeks past evaporated in an instant. After a moment, however, she pulled back, and the gray eyes that met his had a look he'd never seen in them before. He frowned slightly, opening his mouth to speak.
She raised a hand, and he shut it again. Then, trembling, she lifted the silver claw that hung, as always, from its chain around her neck. "Daine, what..."
He broke off. There, strung beside the badger god's token, was a tiny charm, rose quartz in a delicate silver setting. The stone was gleaming brightly, a sure sign that it was magicked. He raised a hand, probing the gem with the black fire of his Gift...
And sat back onto the hard ground, gaping at her. She nodded, her lip caught in her teeth as she looked down. He let the charm fall from his fingers - he'd seen the like of it before, and had known as soon as he'd touched it what it was for...and what that color meant.
~
Emotions surged through Daine, nervousness bordering on true fear, with an undercurrent of joy that she refused to give way to. It had peaked, for a moment, when she'd come back to her human self in his arms...and ebbed again at the dawning comprehension in his eyes. She'd dropped her gaze from his, studying the leaves that formed the groundcover intently...which left her with no warning when she found herself swept into his embrace once more, and he was kissing her, saying her name with the voice of a man who couldn't decide whether to laugh, or cry, or shout aloud.
The fear was gone in an instant, and when they broke the kiss for air, she knew the grin on her face matched his, the grim reality of the troubled world they lived in pushed aside, just for a moment, so that two people could rejoice the way that so many had for all of time, and would as long as the human race lived on. She stayed in his arms that way for a long time; how long, neither could have said for certain, happy in the simple nearness of the man she loved...
And his child within her.
((A/n: I'm fairly sure the timing is accurate. I've checked the timelines, and according to them, the new book Trickster's Choice, which announces Daine's pregnancy, starts not even a year after Lady Knight. If you haven't read the excerpt, you might want to go to Tamora Pierce's site and check it out. If you need the URL, just let me know.))