A Warrior s Desire - By Pamela Palmer Page 0,37

crystal far behind her head.

I did it.

Tarrys lay beneath Charlie's crushing weight, her heart pounding, her mind in shock.

Sweet Esria, I broke the Esri's control.

That strange heat continued to pound inside her body, beating back the Esri's power, filling her with a startling sense of energy and well-being.

A faint blue glow erupted, shining softly, and she turned her head to look for the crystal she must have accidentally touched.

She glanced about in confusion, when she caught sight of her hand.

Thunder pounded in her head as she stared at the glowing blue of her own flesh.

Her jaw dropped, her eyes darting in disbelief.

She was the one glowing, not the crystal.

What kind of magic had she tapped? The moisture in her eyes turned to tears of relief as a soft watery laugh escaped her throat.

For the first time in her life, she'd freed herself from another's control.

But had she succeeded in time? Frantic, she reached for Charlie's neck, suddenly fearful that she'd cut him without realizing, terrified that even as she'd struggled for freedom, she'd sent Charlie into the waiting arms of death.

Charlie woke with a start, his senses roaring to life at the feel of a soft body beneath his, a softer hand sliding down his throat.

Tarrys's sweet scent filled his senses.

Jesus, he must be crushing her.

He levered himself up and onto his elbows, lifting his head to peer down into her face.

Her glowing face.

His eyes went wide.

Holy crap.

Chills snaking up his back, he levered himself off her in a single lunge to crouch warily at her side.

He knew she wasn't human, but Jesus.

From that glowing blue face she grinned at him, her eyes soft with relief.

"You're okay."

"You're glowing."

Her face, her neck, her hands.

Her smile dimmed as she sat up, her dark hair swinging around her shoulders and into her face.

Her hair.

Chills raced over his skin.

"How many days have I been out?" Tarrys's eyes must have grown as wide as his own as she reached up and touched the thick, wavy locks that fell nearly to her shoulders.

"Minutes.

You were only out minutes."

"No way."

His mind scrabbled for purchase, struggling to stop this free fall into the twilight zone.

"What happened? The last thing I remember, I was falling on top of you.

I felt a knife at my throat."

"I tried to kill you."

She flinched.

"Not willingly."

Both of her hands went to her head, her fingers touching her hair, sliding down the silken locks as if feeling them for the very first time.

And she was.

Her gaze swung to his, wonder and triumph in her violet eyes.

"I fought him, Charlie.

I won."

He stared at her as understanding ripped through the shock that clouded his brain.

"You broke his control?" The grin on her face returned, wider than before.

"I can still feel him commanding me to kill you."

She dropped her hands, her head shaking slowly back and forth.

"But I feel no need to respond."

"That's great," he murmured, sitting back hard, struggling to take it all in.

Tarrys was a...revelation.

The hair swinging around her pretty face was lovely, but it was the joy lighting her eyes, the power radiating through the confident smile lifting her lips that made her extraordinary, beautiful in a way he'd never seen her before.

But even as he stared at her, her smile died, her brows drawing together.

"What's the matter?" His gaze followed hers to a small, smooth crevice in the crystal wall.

"I know this place."

Dismay colored her voice.

And he was all too afraid he understood.

"We went the wrong way, didn't we?" The blue glow of her skin faded to nothing, casting them into the dark.

A fingertip of green light lit the wall behind her.

"Yes."

The word was little more than a hard exhalation.

The full extent of the error slowly crashed over him.

They weren't nearing an exit, but heading deeper into the mountain.

With no water.

No antidote to the poison.

"Let me try to call the water again," she said softly.

"We haven't gone far from where you tried it the last time."

"No.

But I feel stronger."

But as she reached for his cloak, she stilled suddenly, her eyes widening.

"What is it, Tarrys?" Charlie asked softly.

Her gaze darted left and right.

"My master."

"Do you hear him?" "No."

The gaze she snapped to his was filled with wonder.

"I know where he is.

Where they both are."

"How?" "I don't know.

I've never been able to sense my masters like this before.

But I sense him clearly, and he's not alone."

"Where are they, then?" "More than a mile behind us.

And not moving."

"They're probably resting."

He lifted an eyebrow.

"You're sure about this?" His brain wanted to scoff, but he'd seen too much magic to