“He is in no doubt that you are his mate,” she continued, watching as suddenly the bulk of customs people turned and walked away, leaving Gabriel and Tipene alone with one important-looking official. “No one can be in doubt of that. But it is your feelings he is unsure of.”

I said nothing, just rubbed my fingers, suddenly cold.

“He does not see as I have that you have given him your heart,” she said, turning back to me with yet another smile. “But he is male. We will cut him some slack for that handicap, yes?”

“Is it so obvious?” I asked, horrified that I’d been caught wearing my heart on my sleeve. Gabriel had not once mentioned the moment when I’d blurted out that I loved him. I figured he hadn’t heard me, or had chosen not to acknowledge it. “Does everyone know?”

Her smile turned wry. “I did not get to see you with Kaawa, so I do not know if she saw the truth, but it is very hard to hide anything from her. She sees beyond this realm.”

I remembered the odd look Kaawa had given me as we’d left her camp that morning. She hadn’t said anything other than to bid us farewell, and to come back for a longer stay, but there was something in her manner that had me thinking she was holding things back.

I shook off the premonition and returned my mind to the present. I might have had a lapse in judgment in falling so quickly in love with Gabriel, but I wasn’t Cyrene with her many love affairs. I wasn’t ready to tell the world of my feelings, especially if Gabriel was so unsure of me that he had doubts about our relationship.

“I do not tell you this to upset you, May,” Maata added, suddenly looking worried herself. “I wanted you to be prepared, so you would not upset Gabriel by a lack of enthusiasm for his home.”

A note in her voice pulled me out of my dark introspection. “You love him, don’t you?” I asked.

“Yes,” she answered promptly, surprising me. “Not as a lover or a mate, as you do, but as a leader. He is truly an exceptional wyvern. He would die to protect the sept, and has given himself selflessly his entire lifetime to bettering our lives, to keeping the peace within the weyr. His actions may not be viewed by all in that light, but I know the truth. He was born to be wyvern, and his strength comes not from vast wealth as it does for some dragons, but from the true depths of his character. I hope you can see that and value him for what he truly possesses.”

“I do,” I said, watching as he shook the official’s hand. It was a loaded handshake, one I hoped did not contain too many folded New Zealand dollars.