The Girl with the Fire Heart
Chapter 15

“Should we bring a gift to the ceremony? I will admit that while I have been to a great deal of blessing ceremonies, I know next to nothing about something as grand as this and I would hate to start off on the wrong foot. So, gift or no gift?” Valentina asks, slightly rambling.

She hurries the question out, not wanting to give either men a moment to change their minds about her willingness to attend. They stare at her, stunned and unsure if they've heard her right. At least that's her interpretation of their expressions. Finally, Damon speaks.

“We can bring a gift, but the festivities usually run a few days so gifts won’t be exchanged until after the ceremony. We’ll have time to retrieve one before the end of the celebrations,” he says.

She nods her head, some of the uneasiness in her stomach settling and her nerves calming. Damon opens his mouth to dissuade her from accompanying him, but something in him knows her mind has already been made and nothing he says will change it.

He's saved from giving any more of a rebuttal as his mother comes in to the small hallway and leads them into the informal dining room for dinner. The rest of the evening goes without another mention of what happened in the private garden or of the now dreaded invitation.

Eventually, the time comes for Valentina to return home. Damon is hesitant to let her go, constantly enjoying his time with her and always wishing there is more time in the day for him to be with her.

Valentina lingers around the nobleman and his family, hoping to drag out her time with them, enjoying talking to Joaquin and Carmen and being especially fond of her time spent with their son. Slowly, she makes her way to the door, extending the conversation, asking unnecessary questions and listening intently to every answer.

At some point, she glances at Damon who smiles knowingly at her tactics of stalling and lingering. She blushes but keeps asking questions, as many as she can think of about anything that comes to mind. When she runs out of things to say or questions to ask, she bids her farewells, Damon in tow.

Together they walk back to the shepherd’s home in silence. Neither has much to say, but neither one of them seems to mind. As they walk, they give each other as much space on the empty road as possible. Slowly, they move closer and closer to one another until their shoulders are brushing against each other. Valentina is hyper aware of every touch Damon makes. The closer they get to Valentina's home, the slower they walk, prolonging a walk that should have taken them much shorter than this.

Valentina wants to feel his warm hand wrapped around hers again. When they had been sitting in the garden and he reached for her, she felt his coolness wrap around her like a blanket, the way it usually did whenever she was with him. His heart of water seemed to constantly send waves of cool air and small breezes just when she needed it, which was always since she spent almost all of her spare time with him and consistently felt like she might overheat from her own element. Especially when she was practicing.

As though he could read her mind, he gently reaches for her hand, interlocking their fingers, tugging her the rest of the way to him so that their sides are pressed against one another from their shoulders down to their hips. She smiles softly, ducking her head and casting her eyes to the ground as they walk. When she peeks up at him ever so slightly, she sees that he is staring straight ahead with a tender look on his face.

Something in her chest gives way, like the fire inside of her is whooshing from the torrent of feelings flooding through her veins. Much too quickly, they reach the shepherd’s home and they stop outside the front door. Damon turns to face her, gripping her fingers a little tighter like he doesn't want to let her go.

“I should get back. There’s much to be done before we head out to the tanzanite village next week,” he says. Valentina nods her head, but takes a step closer to him.

She sees Damon struggling to leave her here at the door. He wants to do the gentlemanly thing, to do right by her but he knows he won't be able to if she takes another step towards him. He might finish what he started earlier and kiss her senseless. Valentina is a force to be reckoned with and he knows that better than most.

Damon takes a firm step backwards, still clutching her hand. She laughs softly to herself, Valentina realizing his strained control is the only thing that has him moving away from her. She wants to know what his lips feel like pressed against hers but she won't risk it, not even for what she is sure will be an amazing kiss.

She settles for his embrace and the warmth of his hands. She settles for the breeze she never escapes whenever she is with him. She mirrors his actions and takes a step backward, forcing her arm to outstretch in order to continue holding his hand.

When Damon gently releases her hand, she takes an intentional step towards the front door of her home, silently letting him know he is safe from any more advances she may make towards him. She puts her hand on the doorknob, wanting so desperately to stay outside with him for a moment longer but knowing it is safer to put distance between the two of them for now.

Damon looks up into the dark night sky, releasing the breath captive in his lungs. He doesn't want her to go inside. He doesn't want to let her hand go. And he definitely doesn't want her to keep taking steps away from him despite knowing it's the smartest move.

He brings his head back down to look at Valentina and only one thought rings loudly in his head: this blessing ceremony just might be the best or worst thing for the both of them.