When she looked back, Mekos was gone. Silently, with grace and ease, he had disappeared into the early morning light.
When Hale reached her,Aradellawas silent, her mind on what had happened. When they got back to the little apartment, Hale took a nap, butAradelladidn’t sleep for two days. She was afraid she’d awaken to find that the kiss was her imagination and not real.
When she finished her story, Mekos was looking at her in a way that she thought might melt her.
He stretched out on the grass. “Now I understand. Since that night I’ve wanted no other woman. The cousins you worry so much about? They bore me. I’ve dreamed of that kiss. At the dance, my only memory—besides the food—is that my father was with a very pretty girl. I knew he liked her since he wassoaring with her.” He looked at her. “You and I need to make plans about our future.”
“Wehave no future.”
He smiled. “Do you intend to have a life withoutme?”
“I must,” she whispered. “I am a princess and I am bound by centuries of duty.”
“And I’m part fox. We all have burdens in life. I’ve known for a long time what I want to do, but I wasn’t sure about you.” He paused. “Can you possibly overlook your great and noble destiny of being a princess?”
She smiled at his sarcasm. “I wish I could.”
“There is a way,” he said.
“Do you have another one of your plans?”
He smiled at her tone of disbelief. “Yes, but this one includes you.” He looked up at the waterfall. “But first, I think you and I should try everything we’ve seen my parents do. We’ll need some wine.”
Her eyes widened. “But...” She didn’t know what to say.
“What was it Kaley said? ‘Gathered the first fruits of love.’” He held out his hand to her. “I lied about having many women. I’ve waited for the woman I kissed on that moonless night. She risked her life to save me.” He smiled. “Shall we remove our clothing and see what happens?”
The only thing Aradella could manage to say was “Yes.”
6
“I never want to leave here,” Kaley said as she followed Tanek down the path through the pretty tropical forest. “It’s been so peaceful.” It was evening twilight and early tomorrow the carriage was coming to take them away. “This place is perfect. There are no evil queens or cannibalistic witches. No fairy-tale puzzles that need to be solved. We can tell people that there’s nothing bad about the Lair. I only wish we could have met the beautiful Valona.”
“This place is too peaceful to be believed. Sometimes I get the feeling it’s all one of your Earth stories. I’d like to know how the kids found that lizard you liked.”
“I don’t know and I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth.”
Tanek looked at her with an eyebrow raised. It was his silent question about her sayings.
Kaley didn’t explain. “How do you think Sojee is doing in arranging for the men to arrive? Do you think they’ll behave themselves?”
“If they want to live, they must,” Tanek said over his shoulder. “I’m sure I’ll be put on guard duty.”
“I don’t like that.”
“It’ll be all right,” he said. “There’ll be enough of us to keep the peace. Your magic man will probably help. Think he knows which end of a sword to hold?”
“Be careful! Garen might turn you into a frog.”
He snorted. “You and kissing frogs! It hasn’t worked so far. I’m still not a prince.”
“From the ones I’ve met, that’s good,” she mumbled, then looked up. “We’re going to the waterfall, aren’t we?” She sighed. “That was the first place we made love. It will always be in my heart and now we can re-create it.”
“Actually, I’m going to the top to see if I can find my son. His mother is here so maybe he’s with her.”
“Toki?” Kaley smiled. Her love of animals extended to the Lelys. “I’d like to see her again.”
“Not me!” Tanek said emphatically. Their love of their son was all they shared. “I’m sure she knows where Mekos is.”
