Page 71 of Crown of Flame
I finish off with a triangular roof, and a chimney, which connects to a fireplace in the main room on the ground floor.
“If you tell me what kind of… furniture you need.” I roll the word ‘furniture’ around in my mouth, the word still foreign to me. “Maybe I can try and craft it for you.”
Serena pauses, cocking her head to the side again, her lips pursed.
“I suppose we could do it if we have enough wood.” She says, her kaleidoscope eyes bright.
I let out a loud guffaw at the joke. I turn and gesture towards the huge forest that we’re right on the edge of.
“I don’t think we’ll have a problem there,” I tell her, and Serena snickers wickedly.
Soon, my magic burns in me, warm and smooth, as I drag piles of wood from the forest, strip them of their bark, and carve them up.
The sun has set when Serena starts a fire again. She places some of the leftover raw dripir meat on the flames.
She is cooking the meat in a new firepit, inside the tall wooden gate that surrounds the house.
Some of the ground inside the gate has been sectioned off for a garden that Serena insists that we need, and the other side of the ground serves as the firepit.
“This is the most luxurious house in all of Prazh,” Serena says, her voice cheerful and filled with laughter. “Not even the dark elves could boast that they live in such a house.”
The air also feels warmer tonight, though I am never really aware of the temperature. But I can tell by Serena’s happiness that Prazh isn’t as cold as it usually is.
Songbirds in the forest burst into song as the sun sets further.
It is close to midnight when we’re completely finished with the inside of the house.
Inside the house, on the ground floor, there is a small kitchen and an area to eat. There is what Serena calls a “living room,” right off the kitchen. Several chairs – for which Serena will make cushions – stand facing the fireplace.
There is a bathroom on the ground floor, underneath the staircase, and upstairs there is another bathroom and three rooms.
Two of the rooms aren’t furnished yet, but the room we will be using faces the East.
“This way, we will be woken every morning as soon as the sun rises,” Serena says happily as she slips an arm around my waist.
She leans her head against my arm as we stare out of the window into the darkness.
“Can you believe this? Just last night we had nothing. Now we have…all of this.” She exclaims. “We have everything we could ever want.”
I cannot help but look down at her indulgently.
“Yes,” my voice is a soft growl. “Yes, we do.”
“I want to fill the second room with books. Books on Prazh are rare, but I’m sure that if we scavenge hard enough at the human settlements, we’ll be able to find some. We’ll find copies at any rate.”
I resolve, at that moment, to travel all over Protheka if I need to, to find whatever books Serena wants.
“I’m sure that the entire room will be filled with books before the month is over.” I tell her without revealing my new plan to her.
“I doubt that,” she says, laughingly, completely unaware of my intentions. “But we’ll need to build a few shelves before we even start collecting.”
“Anything you need.” I lean down and kiss her full on the lips. “Anything for you, Serena.”
26
SERENA
Breathing a sigh of relief, I take a few steps back, linking with the love of my life as we gaze upon our newly refurbished home. I wipe a forearm across my damp forehead, smiling delightfully that our vision has come true.