“Nay, my lord, though he was my only hope.”
“Another will wed ye.”
She smiled up at him. “Know ye who this stranger might be?”
“Ye will belong to me, lass,” he said, the husky note of possession in his voice leaving no doubt that it would be so. “And to no one else.”
“Are ye asking me to marry ye, my lord Darkfest?”
“Aye,” he growled. “I’m asking.” Pausing, he took a deep breath. When he spoke again, his voice had gentled. “Will ye let me love ye all the days of yer life? Will ye share yer happiness with me, and yer sorrows? Will ye help me to turn away the darkness? What be yer answer, lass?”
There was nothing to think about. There could only be one answer. No one else stirred her the way he did. No one else ever would. Her memory of Ronin burned away to ash in the fire that was Darkfest.
“I should be honored to be yer wife, my lord,” she murmured. “Ye will not harm Ronin?”
“There be no need now.”
“Ye will not turn him into a newt should we meet in the square?”
“Nay, lass,” he said, grinning.
“Nor a gopher?”
He laughed softly, charmed by her gentle humor and her genuine concern for the hunter.
“Think no more of him,” he said, and drawing her into his arms once again, he kissed her, long and strong, driving everything else from her mind but the wonder of his kiss.
This was right, she thought, this was where she longed to be, where she was meant to be.
That night, when it was time for bed, she slept in his arms.
~ * ~
Darkfest groaned softly as the light of the morning sun played over his face. Opening his eyes, he squinted against the brightness. More and more these last days, he had been bothered by the sun’s glare. It made his skin feel strange, as if it was shrinking.
He had rarely spent so much time out of doors. At home, his days were spent within the thick gray walls of his castle. Whenhe felt the need to go out, it was usually long after sunset. He stayed up long past midnight; preferring to sleep the day away.
Beside him, Channa Leigh slept peacefully, her cheek resting on one hand, her mouth curved in a mysterious smile. Was she dreaming of him? Did he dare walk in her dream? If she was dreaming of another, did he want to know?
He shook off his jealousy. She had said she loved him and he believed her. Deceit was unknown to Channa Leigh.
The curve of her cheek drew his hand. Lightly, so lightly, he brushed his fingertips against her skin. So soft. So warm. His gaze moved over her face, slid down the slender column of her throat to rest on the pulse beating there. Almost, he could hear the beat of her heart, hear the blood thrumming through her veins.
With a shake of his head, he rolled to his feet, troubled by the dark thoughts rising up within him.
As if bereft of his company, Channa Leigh awoke. “My lord?”
“I am here.”
She sat up, one hand reaching out for him.
Hunkering down on his heels, he took her hand in his. “Something troubles ye?”
“I…I dinna know. I was dreaming. It was a lovely dream, at first. And then…” She frowned. “I dinna know what happened, but suddenly the world was dark and I was afraid.”
“Dark?” He frowned. She was always in darkness.
“I dinna know how to explain it. It was not a lack of vision, but a lack of light. Do ye understand?”
