Beneath a Midnight Moon - By Amanda Ashley Page 0,53
that washed through her. She hadn’t wanted to attend the ceremony, knowing it would be agony of the worst kind to stand watching while Hardane married another. She had, in fact, spent the last several nights trying to think of a plausible excuse to avoid the celebration altogether, but being told not to attend, and by her own flesh and blood, hurt just the same.
“As you wish,” Kylene agreed.
Selene nodded and turned to leave.
“Wait.”
Selene glanced over her shoulder, a look of annoyance on her face. “What is it?”
“Where is my mother? My sisters?”
“Our three oldest sisters married knights from other empires long ago. The others died of a fever.”
“And our mother?”
“She’s dead. She died of the same fever that took our sisters.”
Kylene stared at Selene, repulsed by the coldness in her sister’s tone. Did the woman feel nothing over the loss of her parents, her siblings? Was there no love in her heart?
“Is that all?” Selene asked impatiently.
Kylene nodded. Her parents and three of her siblings were dead, but she wasn’t alone in the world. She had three other sisters. The thought comforted her as she watched Selene leave the room. Surely they weren’t all as cold and uncaring as her twin.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she let her mind wander, imagining what it would be like to meet her sisters and their husbands. Their children, if they had any. She thought how nice it would be to spend the high holidays with family, to learn about her parents, her own childhood, of which she had no recollection.
A sound in the hallway drew her attention to the present. Rising, she went to the door of her chamber.
“Is someone there?” She listened a moment and then, quite clearly, she saw Hardane’s image in her mind.
Her heart seemed to turn over in her breast as she put out her hand and opened the door.
“Kylene . . .”
“I knew it was you,” she said even as she let her eyes look their fill. He wore a loose-fitting shirt that matched the gray of his eyes, black breeches, and knee-high boots. And he was handsome, so breathtakingly handsome.
“You’ve been missing me,” she said, startling them both. “You’ve come to ask me to go for a walk.”
He looked down at her, his eyes bright with amusement. “Are you reading my mind, lady?”
“So it would seem.”
“Will you walk with me?”
“You’ve always been able to read my mind,” Kylene replied. “Surely you must know the answer.”
He smiled down at her as he held out his hand.
Kylene smiled back as she placed her hand in his, and then she frowned, thinking that Selene wouldn’t like his being there.
“Where’s your betrothed?” she asked, unable to keep a note of bitterness from her voice.
His gaze moved over her face as his hand squeezed hers. “By my side, lady.”
Kylene blinked back her tears, unable to speak for the joy those few words kindled in her heart.
Hand in hand, they left the keep and walked into the night. She knew without asking where they were going.
In the moonlight, the maze was even more magical, more beautiful. The topiary unicorn seemed to shimmer in the starlight, the leaves of the trees whispered secrets to the soft south wind, the tall grass swayed to the music of the night.
And when Hardane held out his arms, Kylene went to him without hesitation.
For a long while, he only held her close, his face buried in the wealth of her hair. She fit in his embrace as if a beneficent God had designed her with him in mind. A deep breath filled his nostrils with her scent, stirring his desire as no other woman ever had. He let his essence surround her, felt their spirits blend into a single entity as her thoughts met his.
No words were said. None were necessary.
Tomorrow was the seventh day of the seventh month.
Tomorrow, he would know if Kylene was truly destined to be his life-mate.
Tomorrow, she would discover the truth of who she really was.
But tonight . . .
He stroked her hair, his fingertips lightly caressing her cheek as he murmured her name, only her name, over and over again. When he kissed her, it was more than a mere touching of his lips to hers, but the promise of a lifetime.
There was no need to read his thoughts now. She knew that, right or wrong, he had pledged himself to her, and only her.
In the silence of her mind, she made the same vow.