They sank onto the bed, Innogen on her back, Valentina on top of her, their bodies entwining into a tangle of limbs and kisses. Valentina slid her hand lower, stroking the blonde triangle between Innogen's legs and playing tenderly with the soft hair.

  Innogen gasped softly, a stifled sound that made Valentina laugh, a quiet, joyful laugh that drowned in a kiss. Her fingers slid deeper, circling the sensitive bud, feeling the wetness that gathered invitingly below there.

  Innogen arched her back as Valentina slowly and carefully pushed first one finger into her, then a second. Innogen's eyes fixed on her, mouth open, incredulous, as if she couldn't believe this was really happening.

  Desperately, Innogen reached for Valentina, found her folds, stroked them, and her eyes grew even wider when she felt the warmth and moisture. Tears welled up in Innogen's eyes and slowly rolled down her cheeks. She seemed completely overwhelmed.

  When Innogen began to tremble, Valentina leaned forward, kissed the salty drops away, while her fingers continued to caress her rhythmically and Innogen literally melted into her.

  Innogen's touches were inexperienced and tentative, but so incredibly gentle, so full of love. And Valentina enjoyed her shyness and devotion.

  Vyxara was enjoying it too, Valentina could feel it, but the demon was silent, leaving this moment untouched, just for her and Innogen.

  They got to know each other, kissing each other's necks, behind their ears, until they got goose bumps, and again and again their mouths found each other, and their tongues played gently.

  Valentina wanted to give Innogen everything she wanted, was there for her with every fiber of her being, attentive, caring, and at that moment it became crystal clear to her: she loved Innogen. It was deep, genuine love that filled her heart.

  But at the same time, it was different from the consuming flame of the previous night with the Tower, different from the raw fire that Cosimo could ignite in her at times. This was beautiful, intimate, and meaningful, a tender glow that did not set her ablaze, but still filled her with warmth. It was enough. More than enough.

  Her caresses became more urgent as the excitement grew, and her fingers moved faster, circling more firmly. Valentina's breath caught, she was close, feeling the pressure building-

  but Innogen was closer. Suddenly she froze, her body tensed, and the climax hit her like a silent thunderclap. No sound escaped her open mouth, only a stifled gasp as she looked up at Valentina and shattered. The ecstasy tore her apart, trembling, as her walls cramped around Valentina's fingers.

  Valentina couldn't take her eyes off her, and the image of her flushed cheeks and half-closed eyelids burned itself into Valentina's memory.

  The joy of having made Innogen so happy catapulted Valentina herself to the peak. She came with a stifled moan and Innogen kissed her greedily and kept moving her fingers, unable to get enough of giving Valentina this pleasure.

  "Innogen, stop, Innogen," Valentina laughed breathlessly when it became too much, gently pulling Innogen's hand away. They curled up together, entwined, skin sticky with sweat, and continued kissing, holding each other as if there were nothing else in the world.

  Innogen's face buried itself in the hollow of Valentina's neck. "I love you so much," she whispered, her voice a trembling whisper as they nestled close together.

  Valentina stroked Innogen's golden hair, felt the steady heartbeat of her friend against her chest, listened to her breathing, which grew calmer and calmer as she drifted off to sleep. The room was silent. Nothing penetrated the Luvt pattern to them, and hopefully not outside either.

  Innogen's head rested on Valentina's shoulder, her breathing steady and peaceful, her golden eyelashes casting small shadows on her flushed cheeks. She looked so vulnerable at that moment that Valentina's heart ached.

  She felt peaceful and fulfilled. Innogen had waited so long, and Valentina regretted none of it. And yet she couldn't stop comparing.

  She thought of his indifferent eyes that had looked at her like an object and his hands that had held her like his possession. She remembered the feeling of being completely at his mercy, controlled, taken. It was a fire that had burned inside her, consuming and thoughtless and pure. By all the flames of the Martyr, she was getting wet again just thinking about it.

  It had been so different with Innogen. The tenderness, the gentleness, the meaningful glances, her whispered declarations of love, the way she had looked at Valentina as if she were something precious, almost sacred, and she could still taste the salt of Innogen's tears on her tongue.

  "You understand yourself a little better now, don't you?" Vyxara's voice was gentle in her head.

  Valentina closed her eyes. "Yes," she thought back. "I think so."

  "Talk to me about it."

  "I love her." It wasn't a question, there was no more uncertainty left. It was simply true, as true as the fact that the sun rose in the east in the morning and set in the west in the evening. "I love her deeply. I would do anything for her. I want to protect her, see her happy, have her in my life."

  "I sense an unspoken 'but'."

  "But. The desire for it..." Valentina searched for the right words. "It's so different. It's just not the same. With her, I feel warmth and affection and joy in giving her pleasure. But this burning, this heat that overwhelms me when..." She broke off.

  "With men like the Tower ," Vyxara finished the sentence for her. "With power and danger and roughness, with the feeling of being taken."

  "Yes." The admission felt like laying down a heavy burden. "Innogen is none of those things. She is security. Tenderness. She is home."

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  "And you love her for it."

  "More than I can say."

  "But you don't burn for her. Not in the same way."

  Valentina opened her eyes and looked down at Innogen's sleeping face. So peaceful. So trusting.

  "No," she thought silently. "Not in the same way. Why is that? Why can't I desire Innogen in exactly the same way?"

  "Who knows, little Weaver. Does it matter? It doesn't make your love any less real ," said Vyxara, and it sounded almost comforting. "Just differently shaped."

  Innogen stirred.

  Her eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly lifted her head. For a moment, the dreamy expression of sleep still lingered on her features, then her blue eyes focused on Valentina's face.

  And something changed.

  The bliss in her gaze faded a little, replaced by something else. Caution, perhaps. Or fear.

  "What's wrong?" she asked quietly. There was already tension in her voice, as if she were bracing herself for a blow.

  Valentina opened her mouth, then closed it again. How could she put this into words? How could she be honest without hurting Innogen?

  But Innogen deserved the truth. After everything she had been through, after all those years of hiding and hoping, she at least deserved Valentina to be honest with her about her feelings and her desires.

  "Innogen," Valentina began slowly, sitting up a little so they could see each other's faces. "What we just shared... it was beautiful. I really enjoyed being close to you, touching you, and seeing you so happy."

  "But?" Innogen's voice was little more than a whisper.

  "But I have to be honest with you." Valentina felt her way forward as if on thin ice. "My desire... it seems to work differently than yours. I love you, Innogen. That's not a lie, please believe me. I love you deeply and truly. But the way I... desire..."

  She broke off, unable to continue.

  Innogen said nothing for a long time. Then, to Valentina's surprise, she nodded slowly.

  "I know," she said quietly. "At least, I suspected it."

  "I-"

  "It's the way you look at some men, Val." A painful smile twitched Innogen's lips. "The Duke, for example. Or that huge Marcher Knight at the tournament. There's a hunger in your eyes that I've never seen directed at me, not once. Not at any woman." She swallowed hard. "I hoped I was wrong when you told me about your experience with... with Lady Celestine. But deep in my heart, I knew."

  Tears welled up in her eyes, but they didn't fall. Innogen held them back with a willpower that shamed Valentina.

  "I'm sorry," Valentina whispered. "I'm so sorry, Innogen. I wish I could-"

  "No." Innogen's voice was firm, despite the tremor. "Don't apologize for who you are. That would be... that would be wrong." She took a deep breath. "I've known my whole life that I wouldn't get what I want. That my nature condemns me to unhappiness, to fragments of happiness at best. I always knew what to expect. A marriage without love and desire without fulfillment. I resigned myself to settling for less. Or for nothing at all."

  She reached out and placed her hand on Valentina's cheek.

  "What you've given me is more than I ever expected. That's not nothing, Val. It's so much more than nothing. I'm very grateful to you."

  Valentina swallowed the lump in her throat. "What do you mean? What does that mean for us? Do you want... do you want us to pretend this never happened?"

  Innogen's hands trembled, but her voice remained calm. "Is that what you want?"

  "No." The answer came without hesitation. "No, I don't. I enjoyed it. I, I mean, I wasn't faking it. It may not be fire, but it's warm. And your happiness, seeing you like this, gave me real joy."

  "Good ," Vyxara murmured in her head. "Honesty is the only way that works here."

  Innogen closed her eyes briefly. And when she opened them again, there was more calmness in them.

  "Then let me tell you what I need," she said. "I can't expect you to feel the same desire for me that I feel for you. I realize that now. But I have to ask myself what are the things I can't live without. What do I need to be able to do this?" She paused, as if sorting through her own thoughts. "I need your love and your commitment to me, even if it's not exclusive. Do you want me in your life, Val? Do you love me?"

  "Yes." Valentina had to fight to get the words out through the tears and the storm of emotions. "Yes to both. I want you in my life, and I love you as much as I've ever loved anyone."

  "And that's the truth? You're not just saying that so I don't feel bad, or because you're afraid of losing me?"

  "It's the truth, Innogen. I'd rather lose you than lie to you about it."

  "That was carefully phrased."

  Innogen looked at her long and searchingly, but then something relaxed in her features.

  "Then that's enough for me," she said simply. "I'd rather have you as you are and with what you can give than lose you to impossible standards. I don't need you to desire me as I desire you. I need you to be there, to care, to choose me." A faint smile. "The fact that there are men in your life with whom I have to share you is the arrangement we're in anyway. Lorenzo, the duke, whoever else comes along. I'll take my share and guard it like a treasure."

  Valentina could no longer hold back the tears. They ran warmly down her cheeks as she pulled Innogen toward her.

  Innogen hugged her tightly and their lips found each other again, and when they kissed, it was gentle and beautiful and sad, but somehow also as if they had climbed a mountain with effort and pain and now stood together on the summit.

  Then they both laughed, quietly and a little choked up.

  "Isn't it absurd," Innogen murmured against Valentina's lips. "That our kisses always taste salty?"

  "Completely absurd," Valentina agreed. "Let's change that.