Quinn

The moment I opened the huge double concrete door of the magic training room, loud banging and blasting reached my ears, and a sense of magical heat enveloped me. I widened my eyes at the sight of Aldric on the other side, two magic circles, one hovering just inches above each hand, spitting fireballs continuously like a tennis ball machine firing tennis ball after tennis ball.

I quietly closed the door, and grinning excitedly, I walked toward the other side of the room, the observation section of the hall where seats were available for an audience. I perched myself on the front one as my eyes glued to the godly being that was my husband who was now beginning to shoot ice lances toward the dummies on the other side while the magic circles spun and turned like gears.

The first one hit the target right on, disintegrating the dummy to dust, and then the next and the next. After that, more dummies materialized, around a hundred of them. These ones were different. They were not stationary, meant for one to practice as a target. No, these ones moved and ran and attacked, like orcs and trolls, or flew and dove down to assault you with their pointy wings and sharp beaks like wyverns. The orcs and trolls even sported nefarious-looking weapons, too.

I watched Aldric starting his own strike, his movement, as usual, smooth and sleek like a warrior assassin, as the monster dummies charged at him. Aldric summoned his magic circles and out came fireballs, blasting at the front ones up close, which was followed by ice lances, the tips of the ice piercing at the dummies, annihilating those farther back.

He jumped high as he fired more hot balls at the monsters with one hand while releasing ice lances up in the air to bring down the wyverns with the other. When he was down on the ground again, landing cleanly and gracefully in the superhero-style pose—the iconic three-point landing—I drooled, figuratively speaking, of course.

When he lifted his head and our eyes met for a brief second, my heart raced, and my girly bits went a little crazy, especially at the dark intensity of his gaze. It was in this instant that something about Aldric changed. Something... powerful and transcendent.

I saw this strange glow around him, as if he was exuding mana, controlling dust particles, merging them into a sort of different energy. Then something, like marks of a tattoo, appeared on his arms and shoulders, and I stood, my eyes wide as it glowed a blue color.

Aldric rose and what could only be whips of lightning magic pierced out of the circles appeared, slashing at the monsters, especially the wyverns up above, slicing them to pieces. I was... entranced.

He fought, using fireballs, fire blasts, fire arrows, wind blast, wind tornado, ice lances, ice swords, ice arrows, and of course the all-mighty lightning whips, which were at least sixty feet long, and as he did, the marks about his arms and shoulders glowed a brighter hue of blue.

I didn't know how long it took for Aldric to completely destroy all the monsters that kept materializing after each one had been disintegrated, but it felt so short, and I wanted more when the hall was cleared, with only Aldric standing there, heaving, his shredded body dripping in sweat and the marks fading.

Dazed, I walked up to him as he waited for me, and stopping inches in front of him, our eyes locked. "You were marvelous," I said softly, breathlessly. "I can never get enough of seeing you working out."

He gently touched my face and said, "I'm glad you like watching me working out."

I smiled and then my gaze drifted to his arms, noting that the marks had completely disappeared now. I lifted my hand and lightly touched him, my thumb caressing his skin, feeling the warmth, the wetness that was his sweat. "Did you know that you had these strange marks on your arms and shoulders when you use your magic?"

"Marks?" he said.

With that look, I guessed not then. I said, "I saw these beautiful marks on your shoulders and arms when you used your magic to fight, especially when the lighting whips came out. Maybe it has something to do with that?"

"Maybe," he said.

"You're so... sweaty," I said, shifting my hand over to his massive chest before me. Licking my lower lip in temptation, I asked, "Should I, uh, help clean you up?" as I ran my fingertips down his front, liking the feeling of his very toned muscles and the prominent ridges of his abs against my skin.

"Mm-hmm." He nodded, his eyes on me.

I summoned my magic circle, and materializing was... a damp cloth. Of course, I wasn't going to be using any sort of magic that'd clean him instantly and magically. I wanted to savor every moment of me touching him and cleaning him with my very own hands, thank you very much.

I grabbed the cloth and began wiping him, running the wet material down and across his torso and arms, at the same time I caressed him. All the while his eyes were on me while I concentrated on the work, marveling at his utterly hard muscles and godly form.

Once he was cleaned of sweat, he put on his shirt, and moments later, we lounged on the floor, with cushions beneath us for comfort, which I had magically made, along with a bottle of red wine, for Aldric, and an array of fruits and cheeses and crackers.

"I guess this is like our first ever date?" I said. "It's quite nice."

Yes, indeed, a date with my husband inside an enormous room surrounded by thick, concrete walls that was the magic training hall, was quite wonderful.

"What is a date?" he asked and then took a sip of his wine from the goblet I had poured him.

"It is as it is," I said. "When two people are courting and spending alone time together, like this."

He nodded in understanding.

I handed him a cracker, which was topped with goat cheese, fig, and prosciutto. He took it and popped it into his mouth. He widened his eyes as he chewed, looking pleasantly surprised.

"Like it?" I asked.

"Mm-hmm."

I handed him another, this one topped with goat cheese, fig, and prosciutto as well as sprinkles of pistachios and honey. He moaned after tasting it, and I knew he loved it.

When he was done eating most of the cheese and crackers and fruit a few moments later, he said, "What do couples do on a date apart from... eating these and drinking wine?"

"Well, they just talk and get to know one another."

"Is there a particular topic one must talk about?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Whatever comes to mind, really."

He reclined lazily, resting one elbow on a cushion, his long, muscular legs stretching out. Damn, but he looked like a hot warrior prince. He said, "Then how about you tell me what your world was like, Quinn? I'm intrigued."

"My world?" I said, inching toward him.

He must have noticed me wanting to be close because he wrapped his powerful arms around my waist and nudged me until I was embraced by his form, his thighs cushioning by lower back, his belly against my side, and my arms over him as he lay there while I sat. He reached out and threaded his fingers through my hair and said, "I'd love to know more about you and your world."

"All right," I said as I raised my hand and summoned my magic. Instantly, the circle appeared and the screen of all four walls and the ceiling of the hall changed from blank to that of the universe. Against the backdrop of the vast dark space were countless colorful galaxies.

"Those are?" he asked, his eyes wide at the moving scene that surrounded us. This felt cool, as if we were in a planetarium show.

"That's the universe, Aldric," I said. "In my world, astronomers, with the power of technology, have been able to learn what is out there. Or at least little bits of its vastness. There are at least two hundred billion galaxies, and within those galaxies are clusters of stars." The scene changed, zooming in on the Milky Way.

"That is the Milky Way, where Earth resides," I said. Again, the video zoomed in to where Earth was located. "That's Earth's solar system. We're the third planet from the sun, in the Goldilocks Zone." The screen changed to a globe of Earth.

"It's... round," he said.

I chuckled. "Did you think it'd be flat?"

"It has been passed down that this world, Eseron, is flat," he said. "I assumed it'd be the same on the world you came from."

"Since it has been passed down that Eseron is flat, then has it been passed down that the edge of the world exists, too?" I asked.

He nodded. "To the north above Blackfield, there is the Blackfield Sea and then Awilon, the land of ice and snow. Above that, there's more sea and that's the edge of the world."

"Has anyone been there? To the edge of the world?"

He shook his head. "It's far too cold and there's no way of transportation," he said.

"Like a ship, I suppose," I said.

"Even a ship still wouldn't be able to take anyone up there," he said. "It's far too dangerous with sea monsters roaming in abundance and the unpredictable weather."

Around us, the scene changed to the continents of Earth, with the vast blueness of the ocean and the greens and browns that was land.

"That's the continents," I said.

As the video zoomed in closer to one of the continents, North America, Aldric said, "It looks a lot like the map we've made of Norsewood."

I nodded. "The camera on our magical drones is a copy of the one from Earth."

We were both silent as the video moved into one of the cities lined with tall skyscrapers, and Aldric said, "Those are buildings?"

"That's New York City, one of the most populated cities in the world."

He chuckled. "It seems rather... congested."

"It's not like Norsewood." I tilted my head to one side. "Although I love Norsewood. It's rugged and untamed yet lush."

Aldric said, "I'm hoping you're not thinking of turning Norsewood into something like that?"

I could hear the concern in his voice, and I burst out laughing. I leaned toward him, and playfully pinching his nose, I said, "I wouldn't think of doing anything like that. Norsewood is beautiful as it is. We only need to clean it up a bit, adding modern roads and bridges for easy traveling and things such as that."

"I'm glad to hear that," he said, reaching his hand out and pinching my nose teasingly in return.

I felt heat creeping up my cheeks. Wow! Stoic Aldric could be playful. How cute.