Page 25 (1/2)

Then she ran

Through the ballroo couples and the orchestra, whirring from one pastel-yellow room into another decorated all in deep chartreuse She ran past gasping ladies and grunting gentles, until the lights grew dioers thinned out, and at last she found the asping in her corset to draw the fresh air of freedos She strode onto an enormous balcony made of brilliant white marble that wrapped around the entire second story of the palace

The night was bright with stars; all Luce wanted to do was to be in Daniel's ar up toward those stars If only he were by her side to take her far fro out here?

She spun around He'd come for her He stood across the balcony in siically, hopelessly in love

Daniel She dashed toward hi up; he threw open his ar When they finally connected and Luce rapped up in his arht explode from happiness

But she didn't

She just stayed there, her head buried against his wonderful, broad chest She was ho on her waist, and he pulled her as close to him as possible She felt him breathe, and smelled the husky scent of straw on his neck Luce kissed just below his left ear, then underneath his jaw Soft, gentle kisses until she reached his lips, which parted against her own Then the kisses becaer, filled with a love that seemed to pour out from the very depths of her soul

After a moment, Luce broke away and stared into Daniel's eyes I've missed you so much

Daniel chuckled I've missed you, too, these pastthree hours Are--are you all right?

Luce ran her fingers through Daniel's silky blond hair I just needed to get sohtly

Daniel narrowed his eyes I don't think we should be out here, Lys Theyrooo back in there And I would neverI will never marry anyone but you

Shhh Daniel winced, stroking her cheek Soht hear you They've cut off heads for less than that

Someone already did hear you, a voice called from the open doorway The Duc de Bourbon stood with his arht of Lys in the ar should hear of this And then he was gone, disappearing inside the palace

Luce's heart raced, driven by Lys's fear and her own: Had she altered history? Was Lys's life supposed to proceed differently?

But Luce couldn't know, could she? That hat Roland had told her: Whatever changes she made in time, they would immediately be part of what had happened Yet Luce was still here, so if she'd changed history by ditching the king--well, it didn't seem to matter to Lucinda Price in the twenty-first century

When she spoke to Daniel, her voice was steady I don't care if that vile duke kills ive you up

A wave of heat swept over her, causing her to shere she stood Oh, she said, clasping a hand to her head She recognized it distantly, like so she'd seen a thousand times before but had never paid attention to

Lys, he whispered Do you knohat's co?

Yes, she whispered

And you know that I'll be with you until the end? Daniel's eyes bored into her, full of tenderness and worry He wasn't lying to her He'd never lied to her He never would She knew that now, could see it He revealed just enough to keep her alive a few inning to learn on her own

Yes She closed her eyes But there's so much I still don't understand I don't kno to stop this fro I don't kno to break this curse

Daniel s in his eyes

Luce wasn't afraid She felt free Freer than she'd ever felt before

A strange, deep understanding was unfurling in herof her head One kiss fro her froe of this body This body wasn't who she really was It was just a shell, part of a punishedy at all--it was simply the end of a chapter A beautiful, necessary release

Footsteps sounded on the stairs behind theripped her shoulders

Lys, listen to ed, as if he needed to hear nothing else He lifted her off the ground and crushed her against his chest Tingling heat coursed through her body as she kissed hio completely She arched her back and tilted her head toward the sky and kissed him until she was dizzy with bliss Until dark traces of shadoirled and blackened the stars overhead An obsidian syht For the first tih

It was absolutely glorious

It was tiood, Bill had warned her While she was still alive

But she couldn't leave yet Not while everything was so war her, ith passion She opened her eyes and the colors of his hair and his face and the night itself burned brighter and more beautiful, lit up by an intense radiance

That radiance was co from deep inside Luce herself

With every kiss, her whole body edged closer to the light This was the only true way back to Daniel Out of one mundane life and into another Luce would happily die a thousand tiain on the other side Stay with me, Daniel pleaded even as she felt herself incandesce

She moaned Tears streamed down her face The softest smile parted her lips