Reintegration Of A Goddess

“Timaern?” Teryna whispered as she woke in her husband’s bed for the first time in many centuries. She reached out to him, hand settling onto a body more scarred than she remembered it.

“You’re home; you’re safe,” Matanbuchus murmured, still appearing as her husband. He’d sent a message to Timaern of her return when she’d first gone to sleep, though it would be another few weeks on the material plane before he could return – no matter how desperately he wished to. Korralis had been excited too, writing her own letter to him asking him to take Teryna through her grove. She already intended to share her realm with a woman she’d never met, proving herself to be the kindest of Timaern’s wives once more, though no one had ever contested it. The dryad shuffled closer into the grip she’d fantasized about in the void to try to keep herself sane. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, the closeness enough to bring her comfort from the terrible dreams that had haunted her all night.

“Teryna, I need to confess something to you,” the true devil hesitated, half-hoping that she’d gone back to sleep. Instead, she tilted her head back, looking up at him with doe eyes.

“I am not your husband, and he won’t be back for several weeks on the material plane – perhaps even more than that. Very few people are aware he’s gone, including many of his advisors,” Matanbuchus carefully explained, form slowly molding back into their own. She looked upon them, settling down with the recognition of who they were. Teryna took their hand and set it back around her, knowing Matanbuchus wouldn’t stray past what they were permitted. They were familiar to her, and that alone was a comfort.

“Is he alright? Where is he?” she questioned, more worried for Timaern than she was about the devil in her bed. What they’d done had already been done, nothing about that would change with shock.

“He’s fine, he’s safe. He’s establishing colonies on New Cersica for Highcross,” they explained, a wing raising in offer of wrapping around her. She snuggled into him, wanting the comfort of the closeness even though they weren’t hers. She’d learn later whose they were, a concern for another day.

“What happens if I’m pregnant?” the dryad asked after a spell, head laying against his chest.

“Then I’ll claim the child, and you and them will both be safe and cared for,” Matanbuchus reassured her. She nodded against his chest and snuggled in closer to go back to sleep, the explanation having been good enough for her.