ever seen. She was puzzled by the lack of windows, but decided there was probably a reason why one side of the building had no opening other than a massive door made of wood so dark it was almost black.
She was breathless when she reached the top of the rise. Pausing to catch her breath, she stared at the life-size figure of a wolf carved in the heavy wooden door before she turned the heavy brass handle and crossed the threshold of the temple.
She came to an abrupt halt as she closed the door behind her. She had expected to find herself in a church with stained-glass windows, candles, an altar, some holy artifacts. Now she saw that the Temple of Fire was not a building at all, but four high roofless walls that enclosed an emerald green meadow. Tall, slender trees clothed in shimmering leaves of gold and silver grew in scattered clumps.
For a moment, she stared at the murals painted on the walls. One portrayed a pack of wolves running across a grassy plain; another depicted a lone wolf howling at a bright yellow moon. A third showed the figure of a tall, bare-chested man with the head of a wolf.
But it was the mural on the fourth wall that caught and held Kylene’s attention. It showed a woman being consumed in an orange flame while a pack of wolves stood in a circle around her.
Drawing her gaze from the painting, she saw that there was a long, low altar in the center of the meadow. The altar was covered by an iridescent cloth of green and gold.
Those who had been invited to the wedding, and they were few, were gathered behind the altar.
Hardane, looking resplendent in snug buff-colored breeches, high kidskin boots, and a white linen shirt, stood in front of the altar, on the right.
Selene stood to the left, with perhaps six feet of blackened ground between them.
Lord Kray and Sharilyn took their places behind Hardane. His brothers stood to one side.
A priest in long gray robes stood in front of the altar between Hardane and Selene.
“Are all those who were invited to attend present?” the priest asked.
Kylene saw Hardane frown as his gaze moved over the faces of the guests. And then he looked toward the doorway, smiling when he saw her.
“Yes,” he said, his voice carrying clearly.
“Shall we proceed?”
You must challenge Selene’s claim. Hardane’s voice rang out in Kylene’s mind. Looking over at him, she saw him nod.
“My Lord Kray,” the priest said, “shall we proceed?”
Lord Kray nodded. “Yes.”
“No.” With as much dignity and courage as she could muster, Kylene made her way to the center of the meadow and stood beside Selene. “I challenge this woman’s right to marry into the House of Argone.”
“A challenge?” the priest exclaimed. “You wish to challenge?”
Selene glared at Kylene. “Are you mad?” she hissed.
Lord Kray took a step forward, his face dark with condemnation. “Kylene . . .”
“Let her speak, Father,” Hardane said.
“By what right do you challenge this marriage?” the priest asked.
“By right of being the firstborn twin.”
“Have you proof of this?” the priest asked.
“I . . .” Kylene looked at Hardane. The fire will prove it. “The fire will . . .” She glanced at the mural depicting the woman in flames, and then stared at the blackened ground at her feet.
Don’t let your fears keep us apart. She sent an anxious glance at Hardane.
Hardane nodded at her, his dark gray eyes filled with love and reassurance.
“The fire will prove it,” Kylene said.
An audible gasp broke the silence of the crowd.
Lord Kray frowned.
Sharilyn closed her eyes, a look of intense concentration on her face.
Selene continued to glare at Kylene, her eyes filled with malice.
“So let it be done,” the priest said.
Holding his arms out to his sides, the Wolffan cleric began to chant softly. The words, low and musical, were foreign to Kylene’s ears.
Though Kylene wanted to watch Hardane, her gaze was drawn to the priest. The air around him seemed to shimmer like heat rising from the desert floor. A low rumble, like the beating of distant drums, seemed to echo off the walls, and yet it wasn’t so much a sound as a feeling of immense power rising up all around them.
Slowly the priest raised his hands, and Kylene saw that his palms were glowing, and when, moments later, he raised his arms over his head, twin walls of white fire sprang up on either side of him.
And now the priest stood in