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"No Ourthe Synestryn did to us" Despite the gentleness of his hand, his words were short and curt Bitter

"I’m sorry" And she was, but not only for him

"Yeah Me, too, but it’s ancient history" He stood and reached a hand down to her "How about we check out that neer of yours?"

Lexi nodded A shower sounded good Distracting She had too ht now Toosous found Gilda in the Hall of the Fallen A low fire burned in the hearth, war the polished swords of the dead warriors glow

Gilda sat in a leather chair with a sword in her lap The gray silk of her gown shi him ache to slide his hands over her lush curves It had been too long since he’d last held her in his arms and made love to her--nearly a week She’d been distant lately, and noa srated over his nerves, stealing from him his usual steady patience and iron control If she wouldn’t tell hi to find his oay to help her--one he was fairly sure she wouldn’t approve of

The large leather chair see her look weak and vulnerable Protective instincts honed over hundreds of years rose easily to the surface, quickening Angus’s step

Her slender fingers ran lovingly over the blade Their son’s sword--Angus recognized it now that he was closer He knew every knick and scratch on the blade, every srip

Gilda’s dark eyes fluttered shut as she pulled aa le tear slipped down her cheek and she pulled in a sobbing breath

"Gilda," he said quietly so he wouldn’t startle her

She lifted her head and the force of her beauty drove through him like a hammer’s blow Every line of her face was perfectly formed, every curve exquisite Even the fathomless depths of her black eyes drew hiainst the need to touch her, comfort her

Time had not altered her appearance h she had no wrinkles Wisdoone gray as his had She was tius loved her so much, sometimes he was sure his heart would burst open under the strain

"You shouldn’t be here," he told her "It’s not healthy for you toin these memories"

"They’re all I have left of him A record of my mistakes"

He took the sword frohtful place of honor "Not all the mistakes made by our people are yours"

"Our children have died, and there is no one to blame but myself," she said

"Sibyl still lives And Maura"

Gilda’s jaw hardened "No Maura is dead Only her body lives on"

Angus disagreed, but noasn’t the tiument They both knew it too well "What of Sibyl? She is back ho?" asked Gilda, staring into the fire

"The wall is going back up as fast as we can us couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her smile "The wall did not protect her before It will not now, any more than you or I can Her abduction proved that beyond doubt"

"Hope is not lost Don’t you see that?"

She stood and spun around, her gray skirts swirling in an angry arc "You think just because a few feates that all is well? Are you really that foolish?"

The barb stung, but he accepted the pain without co her for it even as it left her mouth He kne much strain she was under She was not herself--not the sah he could love her no less, even if he tried

"I think," he said carefully, "that things are changing for the better I prefer to live in hope than dwell in despair" He pulled in a deep breath, steeling himself for the reaction he knew she would have at his next words "Which is why I’ree to allow Tynan to try to restore my fertility He thinks he has a cure"

Her body stilled and only her eyeswith eus reached out for the connection of the luceria that bound the on behind those eyes, but hehius reeled in shock She’d never once denied hiry Sure, he’d felt her pull back on her es she didn’t want him to feel, but never had she refused him so completely--never once slaer and loneliness choked him, but he refused to back down "I knew my decision would bother you, but I had no idea how much"

"Bother me?" she asked in a deceptively quiet voice "Youmy opinion, and you think I’m merely bothered?"