The Magic Thieves by Serena Yates

satisfaction.
    At least they were in this together.
    "That was different.” Kaythan grinned as he lifted his head and placed a short kiss on Elryk's lips.
    "Nice.” Elryk wasn't quite ready to return to reality.
    "Yeah, except the slight mess we made.” Kaythan pointed at their groins.
    "Let me see what I can do about that.” Elryk grinned. “After all, this water magic has to be good for something."
    He focused on the stickiness inside their underwear and wove a spell that he hoped would wash it all away. His crotch was nice and clean immediately.
    "Wow.” Kaythan touched himself, as if to check that everything was as it should be. “That's pretty amazing."
    "You liked that?” He grinned. They could probably enhance their love life with all kinds of different magic.
    That was as much time as they were given.
    From the corner of his eye, he saw a tidal wave appear on the horizon and he suspected their time in the second chamber was up. He barely had time to grab Kaythan's clothes before there was a roar similar to that made by a giant waterfall and the quickly disintegrating raft vanished completely. Just before they were swallowed by the shark filled waters, the giant wave enveloped them, lifting them up into the sky. With a final blue flash and a last gurgle, it was gone.
    Elryk sighed. They were now precariously perched on the top of a high rock arch so thin that he was amazed it was able to support their weight. To make matters worse, a wind strong enough to blow them off their exposed position was coming from the south.
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Chapter Six
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    Kaythan sensed Elryk's unease with the height they'd been deposited at. His mate's eyes were wide and his breath came in short gasps. Come to think of it, Elryk hadn't been really comfortable at Arith's place up above the ravine, either. Kaythan tightened his embrace and bent his head for a kiss to distract his man.
    Scorching heat met Kaythan's lips and Elryk clung to him as they caressed each other's tongues with slow strokes. He let his hands roam up and down Elryk's spine, loving the feeling of muscles bunching in response to his movements. Elryk had placed his hands flat against Kaythan's shoulder blades and held on. The skin-to-skin contact on his back reminded him that he was still half naked and he pulled back reluctantly.
    "I should probably get dressed before the next guardian shows up.” He grinned into Elryk's lust-filled eyes.
    "Or before this damned wind blows us off into the depths.” Elryk nodded and looked around. “Air magic was never my strong suit. And being as high up as we are now makes me fundamentally uncomfortable. I don't like that the wind seems to be getting stronger. It feels like it's trying to make sure we fall to our deaths."
    "I know what you mean. I'm like that with water.” Kaythan buckled his belt, trying not to blush with the embarrassment.
    "I thought I sensed some reluctance in you when we started talking about who should dive for the piece of the Magic Key.” Elryk frowned. “But you never even hesitated to be the one to dive into the ocean."
    "I knew it was the only sensible solution.” He shrugged as he slipped on his boots. “Besides, I'm not going to let an old fear run my life."
    "You're more courageous than I am.” Elryk pointed at the thin, rock arch beneath them. “That? Just scares the hell out of me. It doesn't even look substantial enough to hold up on its own, never mind with our added weight."
    Just then there was the sound of rock crumbling and when Kaythan peeked down, a few tiny fissures had appeared in the surface they sat on. As if in response, the wind got stronger, starting to howl with the force of the air currents around the arch structure.
    "Great. Another test with a time limit.” Elryk trembled.
    "All right, let's consider our options.” Kaythan tried to sound calm. “Not that there are many. I think the only thing we can do is climb down as quickly as we can. It looks