were splashed against a dawn sky - brilliant shades of orange and ocher and scarlet. The lake, its surface as smooth as a mirror, reflected the colors back to the sky. Flowers blossomed near the edge of the water. Red and yellow, pink and lavender, and pure clean white. A blue bird perched on the limb of a willow tree, its dark eyes so bright they seemed alive.
He stared at the painting, the agony of his seared flesh forgotten. She had given him a sunrise, one he could enjoy without fear.
Rhianna... He lifted his hand to his cheek, surprised when his fingertips encountered wetness. He stared at the single red tear on his finger. Rhianna...
"My lord?"
Had he conjured her presence with his tears? He covered the left side of his face with his right hand, hid his left hand in the deep folds of his cloak. "Did I not tell you to go?"
"I cannot leave you, my lord," she replied quietly. "I promised to stay with you a year, and you..." She moved toward him. "You have promised to marry me."
He whirled around, his hand still covering his face. "Are you mad? Why did you not leave?"
"What has happened to your face?"
"Nothing." He turned his back to her. "Go away, Rhianna."
"I will not leave you."
"Go. Now." His left hand clenched beneath the folds of his cloak. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The pain of his wounds increased his hunger. He needed blood to heal, and the blood of sheep would not suffice. Rhianna. "Go!"
He flinched at the touch of her hand on his back. He could feel the darkness gathering around him.
Soon, he would succumb to the dreamless sleep of the undead.
"You're in pain!" she exclaimed. She pressed her hand against his back. "I can feel it." She took hold of his shoulder, trying to turn him toward her. It was like trying to move a mountain. "What has happened to you?"
"Nothing. Go away, Rhianna. The dawn... I must rest."
Determined to find out what was wrong, she moved around to stand in front of him. His eyes burned into hers, but he didn't resist as she drew his hand away from his face.
"Rayven!" One side of his face had been horribly burned. The skin was red and raw and oozing. "What happened?"
He loosed a long sigh that seemed to carry all the sorrow of the world. "I was careless."
"Careless?" She curled her fingers into her palm to keep from touching him.
"I was late getting home. The sun..." His words trailed off and he shrugged.
"The sun did this to you?"
He nodded once, wearily.
"What can I do?"
"Leave it alone, Rhianna. It will heal by itself."
"It will?" She looked at him dubiously.
He nodded again. Reaching up, he unfastened his cloak and tossed it on the mattress. "Go away, Rhianna." He lurched toward the bed, his strength ebbing as the sun rose higher in the sky. He fell back on the mattress and closed his eyes. "Tell Bevins I need him."
"If you tell me what you need, I'll get it for you."
He groaned as if he was in pain, then shook his head. "Get Bevins."
"You need blood, don't you, to help you heal?" She didn't know what made her ask that, but she knew it was true.
"Rhianna... please. Get Tom."
It was the first time she had heard him use the other man's first name. Somehow, it made his need seem all the more urgent. He needed blood, and suddenly she needed to give it to him, to be the one who eased his suffering.
Going to the bed, she sat down on the edge of the mattress. Gently, she smoothed a lock of hair away from his brow, then stroked his uninjured cheek.
Rayven's eyelids fluttered open. For a moment, she thought he would send her away and then, with a sigh, he turned on his side and reached for her hand. His movements were sluggish, his eyes heavy-lidded, as he kissed her palm. His lips were cool and dry, sending shivers up her spine as his tongue teased the tender skin of her wrist. He looked up at her, his dark eyes alight with an inner fire, and then he drew her into his arms, arms that held her immobile, arms that were as hard and inescapable as steel bars.
She felt a sudden apprehension as his lips skimmed the length of her neck, shivered uncontrollably as his mouth closed over the tender flesh. There was a sudden, sharp pain, but before