Crystal Moon (30 page)

unfocused. Her eyelids fell shut, then rose again in a languid

motion. Moisture spiked her lashes and glistened on her pale

cheeks. “Do you see?”

Puzzled, he followed the sweep of her arm over the mist-

shrouded valley below. For a brief moment he thought he saw

a city of white and gold gleaming in a warm summer sun. Simply

garbed people strolled along flower-lined paths which wound

around unpretentious yet elegant buildings. The sound of music

drifted on sweetly scented air. Then he blinked, and the image

blurred to a swirl of snow. “See what? There’s nothing but

rocks and snow.”

“Andacor.”

“The cold has muddled your mind.” Slowly he reached out

his hand. “Come to me, Sianna. Andacor is naught but a myth.”

His fingers brushed her shoulder, but she slid away from him,

closer to the edge. The icy feel of her flesh pierced through his

gloves and chilled his heart. If he didn’t warm her soon, she

would be beyond his help.

“You’re wrong. Andacor is real. It is here.” A confused

look settled over her serene features. “I can see it. Hear it.

Smell it. Almost feel it, but I can’t find a passageway.” She

leaned forward and stretched out her hand.

His heart jolted as her body bent over the drop, but didn’t

plummet into the abyss. Something held her back, an invisible

barrier he couldn’t see, the same barrier she fought to find a

way through. He inched forward to try to grab her arm. With

an ominous creak, the ground shifted under his feet. He

stumbled backwards and fell to his knees.

A few yards away Warda paced back and forth, whining.

Hakan pawed the ground and shook his head. Both beasts

sensed the unstable ledge he and Sianna stood on. Any moment

it could give way and plunge them to their deaths. He had to

act quickly. On his hands and knees he crawled toward her.

Through the barrier, Sianna could see Andacor spread out

in front of her, a dream of perfection. Here she and her child

would never know fear or pain, anger or discontent. Harmony

flowed in the air. Peace and serenity beckoned her to enter this

otherworldly place. One more step and she would be home.

She lifted her foot.

“For moon’s sake, Sianna! Step back. If I come any closer,

the ledge will crumble under my weight. I cannot reach you.

Step back.”

Kyne’s heartfelt entreaty stayed her efforts. She paused

and glanced back at him. He crouched just out of reach. Fear

tightened his lips to a thin line.

“There’s nothing to dread. This is Andacor. Laila told me

my mother was from the mountains. These are her people. I

feel it in my ka. I belong here.”

“There’s nothing in front of you but oblivion. Andacor is a

myth, an illusion of light.” He rose. The ground groaned. “You

belong to me. I’ll not relinquish you to a mirage. Either come

back to me, or I’ll come to you and we’ll both die.”

Poised at the gates of paradise, she hesitated at his words.

“You would risk death rather than release me?”

“What is mine I hold. Come to me, Sianna.”

Though hardly a declaration of love, possessiveness rang

in his voice. She was his. And he knew it. But he was not hers.

In her mind, wordless voices drowned out Kyne’s harsh

command. She cocked her head to listen. Later she would

consider Kyne’s feelings for her.

They are of us. An elderly woman spoke first. She is Mala’s

daughter.

A younger man said, The man’s bloodline is thinner than

the woman’s. His connection to us is weaker, third

generation. Perhaps even fourth. He does not believe.

Few outsiders trust in what they cannot see, hear or

touch. To them we are naught but a tale with which to put

young ones to sleep. We are the world that was. They are

the world that is. She spoke with resignation, then addressed

her words to Sianna. Child, all who accept our reality are

welcome in Andacor.

Sianna smiled at Kyne. “The people of Andacor welcome

us.”

No, child. You may enter, but the other may not. He

walks the path of vengeance. It destroys him. Hatred blinds

him to this world. Andacor does not exist for those without

faith, hope or love. Forgiveness is his only path to salvation.

Understanding blossomed inside her. She and Kyne were

of two worlds, but they could live only in one. Kyne denied

Andacor’s existence. If she chose Andacor, when he tried to

stop her, he would fall into the void below. Even if he did not

die, his current path would ravage his ka until there was naught

left but an empty shell.

There was no choice. Farewell.

She turned and stepped into his embrace. The ground shifted

beneath them. Kyne threw himself away from the edge, and

they fell backwards into a snowdrift. With a sharp crack and a

low rumble, the ledge sheared away at their feet. A cloud of

snow and dust rose in the air. Kyne’s rasping breath in her ear

muffled the sound of falling rock and dirt.

Like an icy rain, reality drenched her. How close he’d come

to death. Shuddering, she buried her face in his shoulder.

She lay on top of him, their limbs aligned from shoulder to

knee. Heat from his body seeped through her chilled flesh, his

warm breath slid over her frozen skin, sending shivers down

her spine. The rapid thud of his heart matched the uneven

thumping of her own.

He stood, taking her with him. His fingers dug into her

cold-numbed arms, and he gave her a shake. “Foolish woman.

Why did you run off? You could have died of exposure. Fallen

off a cliff. Been ravaged by a sardak. What were you thinking?”

At his touch, his anger swept through her, sparking her own.

She shoved away from him and crossed her arms over her

heaving chest. “I did not give up paradise to be scolded like a

naughty child.”

“Then cease to behave like one.”

Cold rattled her teeth as she challenged his accusations.

“Are the deaths you speak of any worse than death on a spike?”

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

innocent of DiSanti’s evil. Her loyalty, though misplaced, could

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.