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We&039;re stuck here for the day," Tamara observed, her voice soft with relief She sat on the cold floor, her knees drawn to her chest, and watched as Eric approached Da silent after Damien had told her she could leave hie her ry to have to wait through one ht see her eagerness to leave mirrored in her eyes Eric reached out a hand and Da Eric help him to his feet "I wasn&039;t much help, I&039;m afraid," he said aloud, and silently he said more For God&039;s sake, Damien, she jumped on the bastard to save you
"You were ht, a little surprised Not just the distractions their arrival had provided, breaking Anthar&039;s concentrationDa of support The war he hadn&039;t felt in centuries
And she tried to helpher life in the past
"Well, at least I can patch up the worst of these injuries for you" Normally, Damien would have turned away, insisted he could take care of himself But not now He stood still while Eric ripped a sleeve froe-size strips
"Tah so everyone, including Shannon, could hear He wanted her to understand that he wasn&039;t deliberately prolonging her presence here "We couldn&039;t make it far before sunrise, and who knohat kind of shelter we could find out there? It&039;s best to stay here, rest tomorrow and leave at dusk"
He chanced a peek at Shannon to see if she understood But she was kneeling now in front of Taht you must be dead"
"I almost wished I hen I landed" Tamara smiled at her
"But I&039;m fine now"
Shannon shook her head slowly, ainst a stone wall, while regal Rhiannon tore a strip froth satin dress and used it tofor his arm He must have injured it when she&039;d knocked him to the floor He winced in pain, and Da with him Her eyes were dark with concern when she looked at him Jealousy stabbed Damien Why couldn&039;t Shannon look at hiain The optimist
No, she didn&039;t
"He should see a doctor," Shannon whispered She glanced back at Da of a se around it "And so should you, Da hand over Shannon&039;s hair "Any injuries we have heal while we rest during the day Hasn&039;t anyone explained that to you yet?" She shot Da stare as she asked it
He only shrugged "Shannon has a lot to learn, and plenty of tilanced at his watch "It&039;ll be dawn in a few hours I think I&039;ll move to one of the smaller cha any thing but lying down" He avoided Shannon&039;s eyes The truth was he didn&039;t want to see her any she&039;d leave him so soon
Rhiannon left Roland&039;s side to approach Da She seemed to float over the stone floor rather than walk, until she stood before hi "Not until we&039;ve been introduced, at least"
"Rhiannon" Roland&039;s voice held a warning
She ignored it "So, you&039;re the great Damien I&039;ve heard about"
"And you&039;re Rhiannon, princess of Egypt" She was beautiful Not as beautiful as Shannon, of course, but lovely just the saot my friends killed" It was a simple statement of fact
"It wasn&039;t his fault, Rhiannon" Tamara&039;s voice didn&039;t douse the hint of fire in her eyes But Roland&039;s good hand closing on her shoulder, his words, spoken low and near her ear, did
"I don&039;t think it&039;sa cobra looked awfully familiar to me We&039;ve met before, that wolf and I Haven&039;t we?"
Damien averted his eyes Rhiannon frowned hard at Roland "Wolf? You mean"
"In France, my love, when you&039;d been captured by Lucien and I lay i the sun come up to fryto its furred neck That ith the wisdom in its eyes"
Roland let his voice trail off Dao into the nearest chaainst his vow of seclusion to help Roland back then But he&039;d been in the area on tour and sensed the h he hadn&039;t been listening Even when he&039;d decided to step in, knowing he couldn&039;t let someone die when he had the power to save hiuise He&039;d wanted no one&039;s gratitude No one&039;s friendship
He&039;d been wrong He had their friendship now Even Rhiannon&039;s Her hand rose and cupped his face She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his cheek No words were needed Damien nodded a confirmation to himself He had their friendship, and he was better for it
But he didn&039;t have what he wanted most Shannon Not just her, but her heart Her love And he couldn&039;t deal with the fact that he was about to lose her in front of them, friends or not "You should all find a place to rest, be sure no light can penetrate" He turned once again and walked into the first darkened room within reach
Roland lowered his head and disappeared into another one The cat left Rhiannon&039;s side to lumber toward Shannon She stood, her back to the wall, a little thrill of alar her nerves It sat on its haunches in front of her, lifted a forepaw and playfully batted Shannon&039;s hand She felt her eyes widen, but she stayed still as the cat rose and ainst Shannon&039;s hand and pressing upward, eyes closed She stroked the ani in shock
"Her nae of character"
Shannon met Rhiannon&039;s alhtly
"Not everyone has the courage to shout defiance in my face Barely anyone, actually"
Shannon lowered her head "I&039; to help lanced toward the cha in her throat "I couldn&039;t leave him"
"You threw yourself onto the back of a creature that could have killed you"
"I had to try"