Only after she had blurted her question did she sense the fear
he’d hidden below his anger.
One hand flew to her mouth, the other settled protectively
over her still flat belly. Did he realize what she admitted with
her rash words?
Rage faded from his eyes. “I would not let harm come to
you. Could you not have trusted me?”
Tension eased out of her body. All along she had seen past
his angry words. “I never truly doubted you.”
A curt nod acknowledged her belated trust. He said nothing
of his babe, but his gaze drifted to where her hand rested, and
his expression softened.
“You know?” She ducked her head, shielding her face from
his eyes with her tangled hair.
He placed a finger beneath her chin and tipped her head
up. “I know.”
With his smile and soft words, the knot of fear inside her
unraveled. Together they could face any challenge.
He stood and pulled her up next to him. When her legs
trembled, he swung her into his arms.
“I can walk.”
“Perhaps,” he agreed as he plunked her atop Hakan’s broad
back. “But not today. I’ve wasted enough time chasing after
you.”
Though his tone was even, she could sense the crack in his
inner control. Like grapes crushed in a mesh bag, the wine of
his emotions oozed forth, a sweet, heady liquid that infused her
battered ka with hope.
When he swung up behind her and wrapped her inside his
cloak, she snuggled into his warmth. With one hand he held
Hakan’s reins. The other slipped under the heavy cloak and
came to rest on her belly.
“It’s time to go home.”
Despite the warmth of Kyne’s bulk pressed against her
back and thighs, Sianna shivered uncontrollably. Home. Like a
lamp in the darkness the word beckoned her. She peered up at
his face, but could detect no forgiveness there. If not for the
reassurance of his gentler emotions flowing through her, his
scowl would indicate his anger with her.
“Is Castle Vareck my home?”
A muscle at the corner of his mouth tightened and pain
flashed in his eyes, then his lips softened and he looked full into
her face. “Your home and life are now with me, my little
Daughter of Light. From this moment your former life ceases
to exist, and you are reborn.”
The meaning of his words and emotions crashed over
Sianna. She stiffened in his embrace. “You would have me
deny my father? I cannot. Whatever his crimes, his blood flows
in my veins. He gave me life. For this alone I must honor him.”
Kyne’s eyes took on a wintery hue. “Why? There is naught
to honor in such a butcher. When he is dead, he’ll soon be
forgotten.” His grip tightened painfully. “You will forget him.”
“You are wrong. We must never forget him. Only in
remembering can we avoid a reoccurrence of his sins. And
only in forgiving can we find peace.”
“DiSanti’s blood on my sword will give me the peace I
seek. Then the cries of those he’s murdered will no longer
haunt my dreams.”
A feeling of terror jolted Sianna as Kyne’s hatred stirred
his unborn babe to wakefulness in her womb. “Sh-h-h,” she
crooned beneath her breath.
Cold and exhausted, she pulled away from Kyne’s harsh
emotions. Later she would deal with his quest for vengeance.
For now she settled deeper into his embrace. She soothed their
fretful babe back into slumber and sought the same escape for
herself.
Kyne guided Hakan down the slippery mountain trail, his
thoughts and emotions in turmoil. Sianna’s slight form resting
against his chest had little to do with the heavy weight around
his heart. How could he care for her? He refused to consider
the word love. Daughter of his enemy, the man who had killed
nearly all those he loved? The man who in his lust for power
had brought an entire country to the brink of ruin?
Yet how could he not care for her? Her actions proved her
not be faulted. Could it be forgiven?
Kyne splayed his fingers over her belly. Awareness fluttered
through him. She carried his babe. The fragile connection to his
unborn child eased the doubt from his heart if not his mind.
Sianna was his. DiSanti would have no part of her.
***
“Hmmm.” Sianna sighed in pleasure as a firm warmth
massaged her icy feet. Where was she? Her eyelids flickered
open. Shadows obscured the ceiling above her while firelight
danced across the walls of Kyne’s chamber. She stretched and
sighed again. On the bed, his body silhouetted by the fire behind
him, Kyne knelt over her bare legs.
Memory threatened to destroy this moment of accord
between them. There was much they needed to settle between
them. She started to sit up.
Dark skin against pale, his strong fingers stroked up her
calves, drawing a groan of satisfaction from her lips as she
went limp against the bed. Rational thought was driven away
by his touch.
He glanced up and smiled. “Do you like? Or shall I stop?”
His enjoyment in his action enhanced her own delight.
“Please continue.”
She watched as his hands glided around her knees, nudged
them apart and kneaded her inner thighs, his thumbs teasing
the sensitive flesh where her legs joined. Her breasts swelled,
nipples puckering. Nothing covered her body. Suddenly shy,
she tried to clamp her legs together, but he gently held them
open with his own. Cool air swirled over her heated liquid core.
Heat flooded her neck and cheeks at her obvious response
to Kyne’s seduction. She closed her eyes against his self-
satisfied, knowing grin. They flew open again at his intimate
kiss, his tongue lapping the dew of her desire. Back arching,
her fingers tangled in the dark, silky hair spread out over her
thighs as he drove her on.
Without warning, her climax exploded inside her, a burst of
sensation so intense she cried out Kyne’s name. Lost in wonder,
her body convulsed. Tears streamed down her face. “Oh, Kyne.”
She stretched out her arms to him.
His gaze locked on hers, he slid up and into her. Their bodies
fit together without hesitation, a mighty sword in its silken sheath.
“You are mine,” he growled in her ear.
Despite his possession of her body, he still doubted what he
sensed was in her heart.
“I am yours,” she reassured him. As you are mine.
“Always and forever,” he answered her unspoken words.
His mind might deny the bond between them, but his heart
knew.
Then as he began to move within her, all conscious thought
fled.
Later, she curled against his side and listened to the steady
thud of his heart beneath her ear. Above the heavy bed robe
the air was crisp as the fire in the hearth had burnt to embers.
The scent of wood smoke and sex perfumed the air. Sleep
evaded her. Kyne’s disquiet seeped into her and banished the
contentment she should feel after hours of his thorough loving.
The weight of his worries were hers as well.
“I will go with you to see Prince Timon.”
“No.” His response was as quick and firm as his hold.
She felt his panic at the thought of her condemned to die on
the spike. An answering shudder went through her. “As long as
I don’t attempt to marry the prince, I am safe from that fate.
But, perhaps between us we can find a way to rescue the
queen and princess from my father without the need of
marriage.”
“You are not going anywhere near the palace, the prince or
your father. You will stay safely here.”
“But....”
“I’ll not let you risk the life of my babe with your foolish
attempts to save your father from my wrath.”
His babe? Hurt, she pulled away from Kyne. Anger heated
her next words. “I have no intention of putting my babe in peril,
but I must go with you to speak with my father, to convince him
to give up his mad scheme. Perhaps I can appeal to some
remnant of his love for me.”
He climbed out of bed and began to dress. “You are beyond
foolish if you believe DiSanti has a care for you. He loves no
one and nothing beyond his quest for power.”
She felt his absence in her arms and, with his words, he
ripped himself away from her heart. Clutching the bed robe to
her chest, she knelt and faced him. “And what do you care for
beyond your pursuit of vengeance? Is there room in your heart
for love? For me? For our babe?”
He kept his back to her as he strapped on his sword and
headed toward the door. “DiSanti killed my heart years ago. Is
his daughter the Eternal One to resurrect it?”
Sianna sensed the lie, but knew Kyne truly believed himself
incapable of love. He thought he could possess her and their
babe, keep them safe, but prevent his own pain by never giving
them his heart. For to love meant the threat of loss, and he
couldn’t bear to lose anyone ever again. He thought DiSanti’s
death would free him of his burden of guilt and pain, but she
knew it would destroy his ka.
Before she could respond, the door closed behind him. The
click of a key in the lock roused her from her stupor. She bolted
from the bed and ran to the door. The knob rattled beneath her
hand, but the door refused to budge. With a cry of despair, she
sank to her knees and leaned her head against the wood.
***
Aside from Betha’s twice daily, silent visits, Sianna saw no
one for the next three days. On the fourth day when the chamber
door opened, she rushed forward.
“Please, Betha, talk to me,” she pleaded. “Where is Kyne?
Katya? Zoa? Graham? How fares Lisha? I must know what is
happening.”
Though pity sparked in Betha’s eyes, she shook her head,
placed a tray of food on the table and turned to leave.
“Please, I’m going mad with worry.”
Since her bonding with Kyne, their connection remained
constant, but she received only vague impressions rather than
clear feelings. Flickers of anger fought with hurt, betrayal with
forgiveness, love with hate. He replaced the solid wall between
them with a locked door and retreated from her presence.
Betha paused at the door and, without turning, whispered,
“Lisha recovers rapidly. Rul Cathor, Katya, Graham and most
of the fighting men are gone from the castle. I’m not privy to
their plans.”
In his effort to keep her safe, Kyne denied the bond between
them and went to confront her father. A shadow of future anguish
shivered through her. They would destroy each other.
“Now that people know your true identity,” Betha continued,
“the Rul locks you in here for your own protection. There are
those who harbor hatred in their hearts for any child of DiSanti
and would do you harm.”
Her own emotions in turmoil, in part because of her father’s
and Kyne’s actions, but mostly due to the influence of the new
life she carried, she found it difficult to focus on Betha’s. Unclear
and unfocused, her babe’s feelings swirled through her and left
her dizzy. Was the strength of her babe’s emotional connection
with her normal? With no one to ask, she made a conscious
effort to contain the babe’s disruptive influence.
“Do you hate me?”
Back still turned to Sianna, Betha’s shoulders sagged. “You
risked your life for my child, and for that I owe you. But you
share the blood of the man who stole my husband and other
sons from me.” She left the room without answering Sianna’s
question.
At least Laila was safe. No one yet knew her identity. But
what of Kyne?
In six days, if she did not wed Prince Timon, her father
would kill the queen and princess. Guilt ate at her. How could
she have run away? Her fingers fluttered over her belly. Were
hers and her child’s lives any more precious than those of Prince
Timon’s mother and sister?
Could she do something to prevent this tragedy? Persuade
her father to abandon his mad quest for power? Reach some
uncorrupted part of him? Perhaps Kyne was right and her father
was truly evil, but she had to try. But how?
She sagged into a chair by the fire and eyed the chamber’s
heavy door. Through the window, the waning light of the day
reflected blue off the Azul Mountains, casting the chamber in a
shadowy gloom. By now last meal would be finished, the great
hall quieting as people went about their final evening chores
before they retired. Soon fires would be banked and silence
would descend for the night.
In a dark corner of the room lay her herb bag. An idea
formed.
When Betha returned with her evening tray, Sianna was
ready to act.
“Are you feeling ill?” A flicker of concern edged Betha’s
question. She placed the tray on the table and stepped over to
the bed where Sianna lay.
As she leaned over, Sianna sat up, opened her hand and
blew the powdered herb she held there into the startled woman’s
face. Before fear could enter Betha’s eyes, they closed. Fast
asleep, she slumped across the bed.
Sianna scrambled up. With a bit of work she managed to
remove Betha’s shawl and outer tunic and tuck her beneath
the bed robe. Anyone glancing inside the chamber would mistake
Betha’s form for her own. By the time Betha awakened, Sianna
would be long gone.
After donning Betha’s tunic over her own, Sianna wrapped
the shawl over her head and shoulders. Similar in height to the
plumper woman, if she kept her head down she might slip by
undetected in the dim light.
She eased the door open and peered out. Warda rose as
she attempted to leave the chamber.
“Don’t try to stop me,” s
he warned the hound. “I cannot
wait here while Kyne needs my help.”
At the mention of Kyne’s name, Warda whined and shoved
his muzzle beneath her hand. Though far from a simple-minded
beast, his emotions as complex as any person’s, Warda’s
concern for his master was clear and sharp.
She knelt, took Warda’s head between her palms, and looked
into his eyes. “You’re worried about him too, aren’t you? Shall
we go find him?”
Warda didn’t object as she stood and moved down the hall.
He followed at her heels. Together they slipped down the stairs.
At one end of the hall, a fire burned low in the hearth, leaving
most of the large chamber in shadows. The main entryway
loomed ahead. She paused. By herself she could never lift the
heavy beam that secured the latch, nor budge the massive
aronwood door.
“Sianna.” Damaged by her father’s sword stroke, Laila’s
voice rasped from behind her.
Hand to her chest, Sianna spun around. Warda pressed
closer, but otherwise didn’t react. “Laila! Where do you think
you’re going? You shouldn’t yet be out of bed. You’ll tear loose
your stitches.”
Laila gripped Sianna’s arm and pulled her to the edge of
the hall, out of sight of any casual observer. “The same place
as you, I would imagine. To confront our father.” She spat the
words.
Even in the dark, Sianna could see the lines of pain on
Laila’s face, her pallor. “You’re in no condition to confront
anyone. Let me help you back to bed. No one here yet knows
your true identity, so you’re safe. Rest. If not for your own
sake, then for the sake of the babe you carry.”
Laila’s hand covered her belly in a protective gesture, then
her fingers curled into a tight fist. “Aubin’s babe cries to me for
vengeance. Until DiSanti lies dead by my hand, I’ll not rest.”
Sianna couldn’t control her gasp. “You would kill your own
father?”
“Father?” Laila croaked. “I have no father. Planting a seed
in a woman’s belly does not make a man a father.” Her fingers
traced the wound running across her throat and down her chest.
“I owe him for this. And murdering my unborn babe’s father.”
“No,” Sianna whispered. For too long she’d harbored a
hope that Kyne and the others were wrong about her father.