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As the glorious sudom Word came from Riven and Lorn on the western border that Melac&039;s raids had begun again

"Why do they bother!" roared the king, slaht the news to flinch and wonder if she was supposed to know

"It&039;s fairly obvious, isn&039;t it, Father?" Davan, the heir to the throne, steepled his fingers in an unconscious imitation of his father&039;s habit

"Melac&039;s are, the E so fast, that there&039;s no one left to grow food and they must raid us for supplies "

"That&039;s exactly what they want us to think, " said Mikhail shortly, turning away from a detailed map of the west to face his cousin

Davan snorted "Are you still on about that?"

The king, who had been asking a purely rhetorical question brought on by frustration, raised bushy eyebrows at the discussion between his son and his nephew

"They raid to gather inforrain and cattle

Those ands Our land, our people, our way of fighting, is being studied "

"Studied?" Davan scoffed "What for? Melac&039;s armiesus He tried that once, remember, back in the Lady&039;s tied "We are being studied, " he insisted, wondering why he seemed to be the only one in the country who could see it "Melac is waiting for so "

"For what?"

"I wish I knew Sire, " Mikhail turned to the king, "every year we drive the raiders back, but every year we lose young men and women to Lord Death before their time The western border is like an open wound that bleeds with the lives of our people "

"Eloquent, " ainup arms "Melac&039;s Empire stretches far to the southwest, but it is directed still from the towers of the old capital, not three days&039; march from our western border Let me raise the country, Sire I&039;ll destroy the head of the Eain "

And, as every year, the king denied the petition

"If Melac ever turns all of its arainst us, we stand no chance; Ardhan as a country would be wiped from the memory of man These raids are a small price to pay for the survival of our nation Someday, Melac will have to be dealt with, but there will be no war in this land while I a, there&039;II be no ht bitterly He knew Davan held the same beliefs as his uncle; there would be no hen Davan was king either It looked as if the wound on the border would bleed for generationssaid kindly, and he thought he did for his brother and brother&039;s wife, Mikhail&039;s parents, had died in a border raid "I will not risk war, but I do have plans to strengthen our defense "

Mikhail choked back a final plea, bowed to his liege and left the rooue further In years of trying he&039;d convinced neither king nor heir of what appeared so obvious to hi Melac that he&039;d never been able to breach He could only cause as e to the eneiven him and hope, ar finally ca his feet to find their oay to the training yards, the Commander of the Elite wrapped himself in battle plans and troop deploy with the Duke of Belkar&039;s wife in a sunny corner of one of the sht of battle, of war, of Melac, vanished It had been days, he realized, since he&039;d seen her and only the Mother-creator kne long it would be until he saw her again He stopped and stared, iold in her hair, her lips slightly curving, the soft swell of her breasts beneath ivory silk This would be a vision to carry hihts ahead

Tayer, oblivious, continued dangling a blossom over the chubby face of Belkar&039;s infant heir Lady Belkar, perhaps feeling the weight of Mikhail&039;s gaze, looked up, started, sreeted hiht you on the border by now "

"Soon, milady " He bowed over her hand "To you about the court " She peered sideways at her companion, her tone carefully neutral "Won&039;t we, Tayer?"

Slowly, Tayer raised her head and Mikhail&039;s heart gave a sudden lurch He gritted his teeth and forced a friendly s

"Oh, yes, " she said, "it&039;ll be different around here without Mikhail "

Different He could only hope she&039;d even notice he was gone Then a sudden flush of jealousy caused his hands to curl into fists-she&039;d notice all right, for without his watching, ould stop her fro she&039;d met in the Grove The creature that had bewitched her The thought had occurred to Tayer as well; he&039;d grown up with her, he knew the speculative expression she noore

Lady Belkar looked fro the, pain, and anger mixed in about equal proportions on his face Tayer sat staring off into the distance, longing and things harder to pin down hts, Lady Belkar ju save what Mikhail longed for, and that had been an open secret about the court for almost a year The tension thickened and she wondered if she should speak, then the baby on her lap suddenly howled and thesoothing sounds into the baby&039;s hair, she stood, and placing her free hand on the rigid muscles of Mikhail&039;s ararden, milord?"

With an effort, Mikhail drew his eyes froarden, they paused and looked back

"You should speak to her, Mikhail, " Lady Belkar said softly "You sio on like this Neither of you can "

"Speak to her of what?" He was amazed how steady his voice sounded Surely the turmoil that seethed beneath the surface should show hed "Speak to her of how you feel Tell her you love her " At his sudden startled expression, she added "Everyone knows "

"Everyone?" he asked

She smiled at his tone of stunned disbelief and reached up to pat hihtly on the cheek "Everyone except Tayer " Then, under the proain at the distant figure of his cousin, his love, his brows drawn together as he considered how he felt Perhaps it was time for hi he left for the western border

Over the last feeeks of summer, and the early weeks of fall, Tayer almost daily answered the call froht, and left unanswered too long it grew until it filled her every o crazy with need When she was missed, all assumed she ith Hanna Hanna, for reasons of her own, kept silent

The day Mikhail returned, with a limp and a new resolution in his heart, Tayer was not in the palace Although the need to ride after her beat at his thoughts-and he had no doubt of where she could be found-his duties kept him tied to his men and his reports

But he was in the stableyard when she rode in

He opened his hts alone in his tent when she was the only thing on his mind, in his dreams Then he saw her face and the words shattered He had seen that expression too many times in his mirror to mistake it now Tayer was a wo

He should leave, he knew, hide soht he could be in so much pain and still live But he stayed Whether to hurt her in return or hurt hiuards, " he growled as she swung frouards rode with you "

"Well then, servants, " he snapped "You know you&039;re not to ride out alone "

"I can take care of et out of my way " She pushed past hiroolowering prince, and retreated with the ain and slowly turned

Mikhail noticed that in the two one, Tayer&039;s face had lost all ; the curve of her cheek was a song, but sorrow lay close to the surface and the sparkle in her eyes had been replaced by the reflected glow of an other world With one hand he held her shoulder in an iron grasp and with the other he lifted a red-gold leaf from her hair

"So, it&039;s not all happiness in the Sacred Grove, " he snarled, and crushed the leaf to powder

Tayer aze and he flinched before the radiance

"No, " she said "It is not "

The pain in her voice hit Mikhail like a bucket of cold water, washing his anger away and leaving hi He released her shoulder and took an unsteady step back He wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her, but he feared her reaction He didn&039;t think he could stand it if she pushed him away

"I&039;ently as she passed

"So am I "

He watched her walk away and could think of no reason to follow

The next ed Mikhail up from an uneasy sleep Briefly he wondered why he felt so rotten, then he remembered: he&039;d lost Tayer, lost any hope of her ever returning his love, and had tried to forget in every tavern in the city The memories of the taverns were dim, but thehis throbbing head, he stumbled to theto see what all the noise was about Fro mass of men, women and horses appeared to be a Royal Envoy from Halda, a small country that shared borders with both Ardhan and Melac As Mikhail watched, the Lord Chamberlain appeared, ushered the men and women ceremoniously inside, and had the horses reed it while you were away "

Mikhail turned Hanna had coe of his bed

"Arranged what?" he de froers

"Tayer&039;s joining "

"What!" Mikhail threw the goblet to the floor, dove across the roo, " Hanna repeated with reorously "The king has arranged for her to marry the Crown Prince of Halda "

"But why?"

"For ainst Melac obviously The crown prince has no sisters and Tayer is the only daughter the king has "

"Why so quickly? These arrangely up at her brother "The king has seen the way you look at Tayer This is a very i and he wants it done before she has a chance to fall in love with you And she has been acting rather strangely of late "

Mikhail suddenly rethen Ardhan&039;s defense This, then, hat he had meant

"What does Tayer say about it?"

"I doubt she was asked Princesses are expected to go along with this sort of thing as part of their duty to the kingdom Besides, what could she say; I can&039;t join with Halda because I&039;m in love with a hallucination?"

"No " Mikhail set his jaw and dropped Hanna back onto the bed "I won&039;t allow it " He dug his breeches out of a pile of discarded clothes and yanked them on "I won&039;t allow it " He couldn&039;t believe he&039;d alht It wasn&039;t over yet, of that he was suddenly certain

"There&039;s not one I just came fro to the stable boy, but he had no idea of which way she&039;d gone

"Beggin&039; your pardon, sir, " he apologized to Mikhail, "but I ain&039;t the one to be stoppin&039; the princess if n she wants to go, and I ain&039;t the one to be keepin&039; watch of where she went "

Mikhail knew exactly where Tayer was and he knew if he didn&039;t catch her before she entered the forest he&039;d probably never be able to find her To the Grove, pounded the hoofs of his galloping horse To the Grove, pounded his heart To the Grove

When he reached the Lady&039;s Wood, Dancer stood grazing in the long grass of thehis horse with the mare, Mikhail drew his sword and stepped beneath the trees He was no longer truly in control of what he did A force he couldn&039;t explain drove hian to run, crashing through the underbrush, using his sword to clear a path All logic, all woodcraft, left hi, he stumbled into the Sacred Grove

The birches wore their autu free, carried and caressed by the breeze In the midst of this erotic dance, stood a couple in a close embrace The woman was Tayer The man

Aware of the intruder, they turned in each other&039;s arms to face him

Mikhail didn&039;t see the hand extended toward hi up into the leaf-green eyes of the creature who held her Throwing aside his sword, he charged

The two hting from the depths of his pain The suddenness of his attack allowed hiet his hands around Varkell&039;s throat and the ed as he tried to snap the other&039;s neck This thing had taken Tayer fro Tayer to safety, Varkell swept Mikhail&039;s feet out froround

The fall and his oeight broke Mikhail&039;s hold, but he quickly gained another From a distance, a saner part of his , but he couldn&039;t, wouldn&039;t stop Varkellhi elbow hit Mikhail in the ht between tooth and bone, split As he jerked his head free, six drops of blood arced ahere they landed, the grass died They thrashed about the clearing, tearing great gouges out of the velvet sod, first gold head on top, then silver

Finally Varkell gained the top and kept it Mikhail looked up and fell into the other world that burned in Varkell&039;s eyes Seeing what Tayer loved, and loving it himself, in spite of himself, he turned his head and closed his eyes in defeat Tears seeped out through his lashes and left glistening trails down his cheeks There was nothing left but the pain There would never be anything but the pain

"I yield, " he said softly "You have won "

Varkell stood, but Mikhail didn&039;t move He wasn&039;t sure he could He knew he didn&039;t want to The peace of the Grove, too deep to be shattered by the battle just ended, began to lap at the edges of his soul

"Mikhail " The voice was a summons impossible to deny "Look atbefore hireen eyes The other-worldliness was gone

"No, never gone " Sorrow clouded the words "Just pushed aside for a ti slowly to his feet "What are you?"

Varkell pointed to the young birch in the circle of ancient trees

"In that spot, aone, were buried the bodies of a hamadryad and the mortal man she loved Out of their love came the Royal House of Ardhan Out of their bodies and the roots of the holy tree grew the tree you see here I caer "

Varkell turned and smiled sadly at Tayer His eyes blazed as she cae has been delivered "

The look he then turned on Mikhail was far rereater part of it held the full weight of pain Tayer had only reflected

"She carries my child, Mikhail This is the last time I shall see her "

"It burns, cousin, " Tayer said softly, "this brightness within and brightness without I can no longer bear thee and stupid "What can I do?" he asked, knowing he would do whatever they wanted but not knohat he could possibly do that would help

"The joining planned for Tayer must not happen You must join with her yourself "

"She doesn&039;t love me "

"No, she doesn&039;t " Varkell could not lie "But when I aone, she will "

Mikhail looked at Tayer and then within hi still burned, perhaps now lory; he could love that as well He nodded and held out his ar like one in a dreaainst his chest with a sigh Holding her gently, as if afraid she would break, Mikhail bent and laid his face upon her hair When he looked up, they were alone in the Grove

On the ride back to the palace, Mikhail pondered howIn the end, he decided not to mention the Grove He&039;d not have believed it himself without proof As everyone seemed to know of his love for Tayer, Mikhail felt his best chance lay in convincing the king that Tayer cared for hihter and his desire to see her happy would cause hilanced at Tayer riding serenely beside him It could only help that she was so obviously a woman in love

Hannafor you both, " she told the in the sether they went into the palace, Hanna trailing along behind Heads turned as they passed and the halls filled with ru of another world, didn&039;t hear Mikhail set his jaw and pretended not to "Sire, I have to speak with you " The king looked at his nephew and then at his daughter

"Yes, " he said dryly "I should say you do " His Majesty had not been impressed when Tayer&039;s absence had been discovered and he was less impressed when she showed up five hours later with Mikhail What hter and I wish to be joined " Keeping his face carefully nonco like this would happen since the first ti sat down and peered over stceplcd fingers at Tayer "Is that what you wish, child?"

"Yes, Father " "This talk of your joining is a little sudden, is it not?"

"If I&039;d known you were arranging a joining, Sire, I would&039;ve spoken sooner, but I ay on the border "

"Defending the country You grew up inprevented Tayer froh he&039;d carefully kept Mikhail fro out, he&039;d er to Halda

Mikhail held his breath and sent a short prayer to the Mother that Tayer reh in the world to lie

"I was unsure of s, Father, " she hesitated then looked almost shyly up at Mikhail "It wasn&039;t until I saw hiently squeezed her hand It seeave his attention again to the king

"If Tayer joins with Halda, " the older ains a valuable ally What does the country gain if she joins with you?"

"The country would gain less, it&039;s true, but you would have cohter was happy Sire "

The king raised a bushy eyebrow

"And you don&039;t believe she will be happy in Halda "

"No, Sire " Mikhail aze steadily "If she joins with the Crown Prince of Halda, it will be a joining without love "

"Do you love her?"

"Oh, yes, Sire! With all my heart!"

Only a fool would doubt the sincerity of Mikhail&039;s response The king was no fool

"Tayer?"

For the first time since she had entered the room, for the first time in many months, Tayer looked at her father directly He drew in his breath sharply under the full impact of her eyes He couldn&039;t question the love they held-he couldn&039;t know the love was not for Mikhail

"If love is the way of it, " and he wondered how he could&039;ve been so blind to think that Tayer had no &039;s affection for her cousin, "you haveI will do what I can about Halda "

"I will join with hi spun around, Mikhail stared at his sister in astonishh to look surprised

Hanna got up fro and stepped forward

"Hanna, child, I didn&039;t know you were there "

Hanna sely "Yes, Sire, I know "

"What&039;s this you&039;ve said?"

"I a to join with the Crown Prince of Halda If he approves, you&039;ll still have an ally and Tayer will be happy " The Mother forbid, said her eyes, that Tayer should be unhappy