“Wait!” she
yelled, pushing in front of him. Raphael glared at the horsemen, his hands
clenched into fists. “He is no threat. Lay down your arms.”
They slid their
swords back in their sheaths, still giving Raphael a wary eye.
A man dropped to
the ground, their leader. He removed his helm and bowed before her. “My lady,
we’d near given up hope of finding you,” Captain Sade said. “Blessed are we.
The gods have returned you home.”
“How fares my
sister?” she asked, worry etched across her face.
“Well. She would
hear nothing but news of our progress.”
“I wish to see
her at once. We can wait no longer.”
Captain Sade
nodded. “We’ll take no rest until you are safely ensconced.”
The men broke the
circle, preparing to leave. He pulled Swan up onto his own horse. “The men
will double up for you and your compan--Oskar, where is Lady Swan’s companion?”
“He was here but
a moment ago, Sir! I swear I only just took mine eyes off him.”
Swan glanced
behind her, felt her blood freeze. Raphael was gone. She’d heard no sound of
his leaving. “Raphael?” She walked back down the road, looking for sign of
his passing and saw none. “Raphael!” He couldn’t have left her. He’d
promised to take her home. “Search the woods, now, Captain Sade.”
“Yes, my lady.”
They beat the
edges of the woods, but could make no headway in the brush, weighted in their
armor. She continued calling for him until she was hoarse. The men came back
to her, subdued with failure.
“My lady, we can
find no trace,” Captain Sade whispered, touching her arm when she would not
move from the road.
“He can’t have
gone,” she said, tears falling as she collapsed onto her knees. She pushed
Sade away, concentrating on calling him with her mind, reaching out to him.
There was no response. She had not the power of mindspeak--he couldn’t hear
her.
The words she’d
held back from uttering burned her throat, tears blinding her. “Raphael,” she
whispered brokenly into the dark, “I ... love you....”
She received no
answer, and in her imagination, she thought distantly, a wolf cried.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Swan said nothing
as Captain Sade helped her onto the horse. She remained silent until Avonleigh
castle came into view. Word had been sent ahead that she’d been found.
Bonfires lit the
streets with the brilliance of daylight. The heavy gates were thrown open,
allowing them inside.
People cheered
the triumphant return of the patrol guard. A groomsman helped her down, and an
excited roar went up from the crowd. They parted suddenly, and Nila ran
through their midst, grabbing Swan in a fierce hug.
“I thought I’d
lost you forever, sister,” she cried on Swan’s shoulder, burying her face in
her hair.
“And I you,” she
breathed, smoothing her sister’s dark hair back. This was where she belonged.
Raphael had been nothing but a dream--she must remember that.
Her throat ached
with unshed tears. She still couldn’t quite grasp that he was gone, never to
return.
Nila released her
and they walked through the courtyard inside, Swan waving to the crowd as she
passed.
“Prepare a bath
in Lady Swan’s room. And a plate,” Nila said to a servant, guiding Swan with
an arm to her solar.
Nila couldn’t
stop touching her, held her hand as they climbed the long stairs and finally
settled inside the comfortable room. They sat on cushioned chairs, pulled
close to the fire. “You must tell me what happened, Swan. I don’t think I can
bear the suspense much longer.”
Swan nodded,
looking into the flames. She slowly told of Morvere’s betrayal, of Raphael’s
rescue, of their hard journey to the Lysian pool and the sorcerer’s death.
“By the gods!”
Nila exclaimed, clutching her sister’s hand to her chest. “I had no idea.
Were it not for your intervention....” She shuddered. “He collapsed after you
disappeared, said you’d been abducted from us. He told me we must join to face
the threat on Avonleigh. I could think of nothing but searching for you. The
guards have patrolled the borders, searching for any sign, any ransom. But a
sennight past, Morvere grew well enough to leave his room, and I haven’t seen
him since. I wish I could spit upon his grave for the heartache he’s caused.”
They hugged
again. Nila could always be counted upon for her passions. She should never
have doubted her safety. She’d proven herself capable of handling anything,
and keeping the people going.
A servant came in
announcing her bath was ready, and she left. After she was bathed and fed, she
went to bed, clutching her pillow as if Raphael lay beside her, wishing for the
comfort of his embrace. She fell into a fitful sleep, her dreams filled with
Raphael’s brooding face and glowing eyes.
* * * *
Swan’s heart
wasn’t in overseeing the lands, and so Nila continued ruling. She was proud of
her sister’s accomplishments, proud of her commitment to their health and
prosperity. Her sister had grown into a woman, capable of handling anything.
It made Swan proud to see her sister so accomplished.
Still, nothing
could pull her from the dark mood that consumed her every waking hour.
A week passed,
and she recovered. She worried about Raphael going back to Barakus, wondered
how he faired against his enemies. Thought of his failure and death never
crossed her mind. Were she to dwell on such things, she’d go mad.
At night, she
examined her belly, hoping a babe had been planted. And as the weeks passed
and her monthly flow came, she cried again for chances lost. Eventually, the
well of sorrow dried, and she could cry no more.
That was when the
dreams began.
Subtle, at first
she could remember nothing but the barest details, but each night her
imagination grew. He came to her, tangled in her arms in legs, taking her
again and again.
A month passed,
agonizingly. Desire grew with each erotic dream, until her every muscle ached
for the release only he could give her. She tried touching herself, her
fingers stroking her swollen, saturated lips, her clit begging for the callused
fingers of her lover. She imagined his hands and lips upon her skin, pinching
her nipples, smoothing her belly and thighs, but it was no use.
* * * *
“Swan, I worry
over you. Has the spell some kind of lasting harm we do not know of?” Nila
asked. They ate together each night in Swan’s solar, since Swan had no desire
for the excited chatter of the masses.
“I’m saddened for
friends lost.” She couldn’t tell her sister the reason behind her morose
mood. She knew it was past time she got on with her life and stopped feeling
sorry for herself. He wasn’t coming back. He’d made his promise and kept it.
“You are right. I have been selfish. I promise things will be better from now
on.”
Nila smiled and
they chatted about the harvest and her many suitors. She was a prime age for
marrying and should choose a husband soon. Swan made no response to Nila’s
claim that she, herself, deserved to be married and happy with a husband and
children.
Swan climbed into
bed that night, determined to put Raphael completely from her mind. It was
time to heal. She didn’t know it would only intensify her dreams....
* * * *
A hand stroked
her hair, pushed the mass away from her face. Swan turned into it, sighing,
drowsy.
The bed dipped as
a heavy weight settled into it. Swan rolled toward it, encountered hard, hot
flesh. She snuggled close, breathing deeply of his scent.
A hand flattened
on her belly, smoothed up her ribcage, a finger light under one breast.
Swan arched,
sighing, not daring to open her eyes and dispel the dream. Feathery light, the
palm circled her breast, drawing closer and closer to her nipple. The
sensitive tip puckered in anticipation, begging for his attention.
Wet heat latched
onto her nipple, sucking hard. Swan gasped, pleasure arcing through her body,
settling between her legs. Her eyes flew open. She looked down to see a dark
head at her breast.
He massaged her
other breast, teasing her nipple as his teeth grazed her distended flesh,
breaking a moan from her throat. She ran her fingers through his hair, not
daring to close her eyes for fear he’d disappear again. He looked up at the
contact, his eyes flashing with gold.
“Are you real?”
she asked, breathless as he covered her with his body, eased between her parted
thighs. His hard shaft lay heavy on her hip. He braced his arms on either
side of her head, his eyes intensely boring into hers.
“I never should
have left,” he said, his voice gravelly with disuse. He descended for a kiss,
crushing his lips to hers.
The moment his
breath mingled with hers, she felt lost again. Her heart thrilled at the
contact, her spirit soaring.
Swan clung to
him, kissed him back, their tongues dueling, fueling desire urgent and
desperate. She’d missed him more than life itself, that he was here in the
flesh…Her mind could scarcely grasp that.
He moved a hand
between her legs, past the thatch of hair covering her sex, to that nub that
needed his touch so badly. He probed her, circling and swirling her moisture,
and she moaned into his mouth, sucking his tongue, silently begging for more.
Needing more than just the touch of his fingers and the suckle of his mouth.
He hooked a hand
under one knee, rocked his hips against her, letting her feel his hard length.
His cockhead slipped along her folds, teasing her clit, the opening of her
womanhood. She broke away from his mouth, whimpering at his torment, digging
her heel into his buttocks to spur him on.
“Please,” she
begged, arching, unable to hold still.
He lifted her
other leg, tilting her hips up and off the bed as he plunged deep inside her
tight hole, his shaft stretching her to the limits. She felt as tight as she’d
been when untouched, achy and needful. Swan cried out as he roughly nudged the
blissful spot inside her, her heart hammering against her chest.
It felt right to
have him inside her. She clung to him, desperate for more.
His arms tensed
with the effort to control himself, to plunder her slowly, thoroughly.
“Don’t hold back
from me,” she whispered, meeting his gaze, echoing words he’d once whispered to
her.
He held her gaze
as he thrust inside, harder, his control slipping. His eyes glowed amber as
she tightened around him, dug her nails into his back. She gasped for more,
until each deep thrust lifted her hips, faster, harder, his pubic bone grinding
her clit.
She shook her
head, her eyes squeezed tightly, determined to ride with him until the end.
Energy coursed through her veins, speeding, drawing her nerves tighter and
tighter. Her inner muscles clenched and unclenched, reaching for that ultimate
tension to draw pleasure from deep within her.
She opened her
mouth to scream as the climax claimed her, but Raphael smothered her cries with
his mouth, his body jerking with the force of his own release. He kissed her
all over her face, brushed her tears away.
His heart
thundered against her breast. She gloried in the feel of him, alive, holding
her.
As their blood
calmed, he rolled off her, cradling her in his arms. She craned her head up,
watching him in the dark. She feared to break the spell, feared not asking him
the question that seared her mind. But she had no choice, if she was to remain
sane. Her heart could take no more. “Have you come only to leave me again?”
He was silent a
long moment, stroking her hair. He breathed a deep sigh, shuddering. “I’ve
come to take you with me.”
She stiffened,
unable to believe his words. “Truly?
“I need you,
Swan. More than water or air, I need your heart, for I lost mine to you long
ago.” His voice broke and he went still, as if afraid to say more, but needing
to. “I love you.”
“Raphael,
Raphael, my love.” She hugged him tightly, kissing his chest, his face. “I
died the day you left me. I’ve been heartbroken ever since.”