Macha's Journey

Luna looked at Macha and an eyebrow twitched. Her eyes grew bigger, and she whispered, "Freyr asked you on a date?" Luna did not expect her cousin to do that so quickly. She had wanted to get the details about Macha"s date with Tyr but found out it was actually Freyr. Luna"s brows furrowed, and she remembered Freyr giving Macha a flower in the garden back at the family estate.

"Yeah. It was a few weeks ago. I know we talked about me dating, but..." Macha trailed off and decided she rather eat another slice of "cake" than talk about Freyr. She picked her plate back up and began scooping a pile of crumbs onto her fork.

Luna grabbed the plate from Macha. She was positive Macha could not actually like the dessert. "B-b-but I heard you went to the concert!" she whined. At this point, Luna thought her informant saw Freyr and not Tyr. They were both tall and had the same color hair. From a distance, she could imagine someone getting them confused at night.

Luna wanted Tyr to have a nice stable relationship with Macha. She felt he deserved it after Fenrir had terrorized him. Now she worried her cousin would mess it all up. She loved Freyr, but right now she wanted to toss him in the waterway.

Macha stared at her empty hands. She was amazed that Luna would take her plate away. "I did go to the concert." Macha huffed. She did not understand why Luna took her saying no to Freyr so much worse than Tyr had.

Luna crossed her arms in front of her chest. "What about Tyr?" Luna said accusingly. She became angry at Macha. Luna did not think Macha would be like Fenrir, but now it seemed like she was wrong.

Macha raised her eyebrows in confusion. "What about him? He enjoyed it!" Macha did not like being yelled at, so her temper flared. She did not understand why Luna acted like this.

"What do you mean he enjoyed it? How could he enjoy you going on a date with Freyr?" Luna cried out in frustration. She felt like Macha betrayed her trust. To Luna, this situation was worse than the one Fenrir inflicted on her brother. Freyr, being their cousin and the king, made it so they would have to see Macha often if the two married.

Macha realized they were talking past each other. She took a deep breath and scooted over to Luna. Macha tugged on Luna"s coat sleeve. Luna shrugged her arm away. Macha explained, "But I didn"t go on a date with Freyr. I haven"t gone on any dates. I just went to the concert with Tyr to cheer him up because he had a bad day." Macha did not understand why Tyr would care who she dated, but she wanted to smooth out the misunderstanding with Luna.

Luna turned her head to look at Macha. Her eyelashes were slightly damp. "You went to the concert with Tyr?" Luna desperately wanted to confirm that Macha had gone with Tyr and not Freyr. She held her breath and waited for Macha"s answer.

Macha nodded her head, "Mmmhmm. It wasn"t a date though. Sorry, to let you down. I"ll try harder to go on a romantic date next time." Macha noticed that Luna"s face relaxed. She a.s.sumed Luna was upset because she had failed to go on a date like they talked about over dinner that one time.

Luna laughed and hugged Macha. "I"m sorry. I should be happy for you no matter who you choose to date. I just thought you abandoned my brother for Freyr. I should have known better. Please forgive me. I"ll give you an extra slice." She handed Macha back her plate with the "cake" on it.

Macha reached up and patted Luna"s head. She gave a little smirk and said, "If you want forgiveness I suggest you don"t offer me your cake."

"Ouch! I"m getting better!" Luna touched her chest like she had been wounded.

Luna got out two gla.s.ses and poured the Pan Tao wine for them to drink. She knew Macha"s favorite alcohols were the ones that used the Pan Tao Peaches because they were sweet. Handing Macha a gla.s.s she asked, "But seriously. How did the concert go?"

Macha took a sip and gave a small smile. She remembered how sweet Tyr acted that night. "It went well," she twirled the gla.s.s in her hand and watched the wine swish around. Macha did not want to tell Luna about the little things Tyr did to make her heart flutter that night. She feared that if she mentioned those things, Luna might get the wrong idea and say something to Tyr.

Luna saw Macha smile and knew something must have happened. She wiggled her eyebrows and teased, "Oh? I wish I could go out with a good looking man and have the evening go well." Luna felt a little jealous that she had not been on a date for years. She had just been too busy with work and her last one with Liam ended horribly.

Macha picked up a piece of cheese and nibbled it. "I thought you go out with Krystof once a week." She remembered Tyr mentioned how the two enjoyed dancing weekly. Macha once asked Tyr if he wanted to go, but he looked at her like she was crazy. After asking, she realized that dancing was definitely not the sort of activity he would enjoy.

Luna smiled, "Krystof is different. He joins me because he doesn"t want me to get into trouble."

****

When Macha returned home, she was tipsy. Luna insisted they finish the bottle before leaving because it was too heavy to take back. Macha opened the door and waved goodnight to Luna. It was late, so she tried to enter quietly.

Tyr sat on the sofa reading a stack of doc.u.ments that needed to be signed. He was tired but wanted to make sure Macha returned safely. He heard someone fumbling with the handle before it finally opened. Macha entered and Tyr noticed she stumbled a bit. She gave him a smile and flopped down on the cushion next to him. "Where"d you two go tonight?" He knew Macha had been with his sister, so he did not worry too much.

Macha lifted a finger to her lips, "Secret, I swore never to tell you." Her eyes were drowsy, and she wanted to sleep, but Tyr looked lonely when she entered the apartment. "How was your meeting?"

Tyr stared at Macha"s lips. She forgot that her finger still rested on them. He smiled and brought her hand down, but did not let go. "It went well." He could smell the sweet wine she drank, "You shouldn"t drink so much," he said tenderly. He knew she only drank that much when it was something she liked.

Macha licked her lips. She had a dreamy look in her eyes. She gave him a sly smile, "It went well... Hmm... Hopefully not too well..." Macha remembered her conversation about evenings going well that she had with Luna.

Tyr realized Macha"s words were laced with a s.e.xual undertone. She spoke them in such a sultry voice that he did not know what to do. "Uh... not that well," he coughed to clear his throat. "Why don"t you go to bed? I think you need to sleep it off."

Macha looked down and realized Tyr held her hand. She opened his hand up and stroked his palm. Tonight was the first time she realized how large his hands were compared to hers. "All right. You just looked lonely, and I thought you wanted me to keep you company."

Tyr"s heart raced. Every stroke she made on his palm sent shocks of pleasure through him. He understood she meant everything innocently, but it strained his self-control. The expression in her eyes seemed like she expected him to kiss her, but he recognized it as his imagination playing tricks on him. "I just wanted to make sure you got back safely."

Macha bobbed her head in understanding and got up. She noticed his hair seemed ruffled, so she ran her fingers through it, "Goodnight."

When Macha closed her door, Tyr leaned over and grabbed his chest. His eyes opened wider, and he tried to calm his nerves. He lay back onto the sofa and stared at the ceiling. Seeing Macha like that had been too much for him. He felt like he aged by a thousand years.

Tyr raised the hand she stroked and stared at it. He savored the memory of her soft touch against his hands. Tyr knew Macha was tipsy, but it did not matter. Macha still had touched him and paid attention to him like she did to that railing back at Montfort Hall.