Tenuous Silence

[Lucien]

I arrived to find the Hunters, and the fairy assembled and prepared to begin the search. A white wolf was pacing back and forth between the trees and the rings in agitation, and a desire to be off after the prey. As I swept a glance around the Isle, I noticed several people carrying silver weapons, and heard Brigath announce my arrival as I faded into view.

I gave Brigath a formal nod. He was a special friend of the Marchioness, and as such, warranted my respect, although he seems a carefree soul, and I find it difficult to see him as a warrior and leader of this hunt. But, tonight will show the man's mettle.

The fairy's voice carried from about 15 feet up in a tree, "there he is, hullo Lucien." I scowled seeing the fairy present and prepared to join the hunters.

"I thought we understood your place was not here." I stated to the woman. Clearly she did not listen to reason.

Brigath snapped, "She's coming. Get over it. You may not need her, but I do."

I turned slowly toward Brigath, "I did not take you for a man to put females in danger." I find it unthinkable that any Hunter would 'need' a woman present in the perils of hunting this evil.

Brigath shrugged, "well, you took me wrong then."

Several of the others gave me an odd look, and the one known as Vincent stated that they were for equal rights between men and women, including the equal right to do what it takes to get something done. Clearly he has no respect for the different roles Hunters play from the women, who are the light and strength of a Hunter. They do not respect their women, and I find that very sad for their species.

Her voice held amusement of all things as she said, "you misunderstood, obviously." Then she moved to join the group, "It's the beasties that put everyone in danger."

I misunderstood nothing. She was walking into danger and that would take concentration away from the hunters as we must protect her as well. She might be the cause of a hunter not succeeding, and that is a difficult thing for any true Hunter to accept.

Brigath then looked at Kayla and at our small group, "everyone ready to go?" As everyone confirmed that they were ready, he turned to the wolf, "lead on". And we moved into the forest in search of our quarry.

The wolf let out a howl and raced onward. For a moment I considered shifting into the form of a wolf, but an inner voice suggested that I not let on that I could communicate directly with this white wolf. Everyone followed, and the deeper we got into the forest, the more it became apparent that I would need to shift, and I chose the form of the predator of the night, and the owl became my means of locomotion.

Brigath used his power over the element of air and floated through the air. Vincent took up the rear guard as Dmitri leaped into the trees, using the skill of elven kind to move in silence amidst the branches.

The white wolf followed the scent of decaying flesh. Her ability to follow a scent trail is invaluable. She led us into the western plains, and I could feel the others spreading their gifts and senses out, seeking the creature or creatures who'd attacked the elf woman and slain the goblins. Brigath remained low, zipping back and forth avoiding the tree trunks as we progressed deeper into the wilderness of the Isle.

Kayla, the white wolf as I learned her name to be, broke from the trees, and turned North, following along the edge of the plains, when she abruptly halted, and lifted her muzzle to the night with a howl of warning. Brigath dropped to the ground beside the wolf, communing with her and learning what her warning meant for the group of Hunters.

I circled overhead, using the keen sight of the owl to search the area in great detail, noting that the fairy kept back from the group. While she was not in the lead should an attack happen, she was dangerously behind us, and easy prey for a rear assault.

As we reformed into a single group, Brigath indicated a slight rise at the edge of the plain. "We think they are there. There is a cave around the other side." Everyone surveyed the site, and Topaz's voice carried to the group, "There's something mostly North and a little West."

Brigath nodded hearing her, "Hopefully that's them." He then pulled a token Kelathe had given him from his robes and tossed it toward Topaz's voice, "Use this when you deem appropriate. Kayla and I will circle around and approach from the front, try to draw them out."

I turned my night adjusted sight toward the north and west where the fairy had sensed something, and there I found movement. The Hunt was on.

Dmitri asked if the plan was to draw them back here for an ambush, and Brigath then began directing everyone into the places he felt would be most advantageous. He sent Dmitri west, Vincent to come over the top of the hill, and me to the West. When there were no objections, we all moved into position. At that point, I shifted into humanoid form and moved silently to the west.

[Lucien]

Brigath wished us all luck, and I heard him say to Topaz, "Don't let us down." I knew a moment of irritation that he was relying on a woman. That is not the role of women in my world, and it grates on me that here such is the rule rather than the exception.

The elven one sunk into the ground, moving within the ground itself as Brigath shimmered into the form of a black wolf and started running around to the east to circle and come in from the North. The white wolf keeping easy stride with him as they slipped into the night.

As I moved off toward the west, I could make out tiny bits of rotting flesh. Our unwelcome visitors were undead. There is no mistaking such abominations, but they did not appear to be simply vampyre either.

Brigath reached the North side, near the cave entrance and shimmered back into human form. His wolven accomplice bared her teeth and moved in on the cave. Brigath was close behind her.

Vincent landed on the hill, and began slinking toward the top.

I paused as the stench assailed me briefly, but then it was gone as quickly as it had come. And then two creatures emerged from the cave toward Brigath and Kayla. The fight was on. One of the creatures extended it's rotting hand, and a bolt of energy left it, aimed at Brigath.

I summoned the clouds above me, gathering the elemental powers of the storm in preparation. Fire and lightening would work best on these abominations. Lightening began to rip between clouds as the coming storm intensified overhead.

Brigath rose from the ground and flew straight toward the creatures, which we all knew now were Lyches. Their glowing red orbs shifted in their eye sockets, and more energy bursts followed the first one, aiming for both Kayla and Brigath.

Dmitri then rushed forward, silver swords flashing in the fast disappearing moonlight. The clouds roiled overhead, and thunder began to rumble across the plain.

The wolf yelped as a bolt singed her, but then she leaped upon the closest Lych, teeth tearing at its rotting flesh. A second one advanced toward Brigath with alarming speed, which was used to advantage by Vincent, who allowed Brigath to be the distraction before Vincent then enjoined the attack. His blade flashed flame, and buried itself into the nearest Lych.

Dmitri arrived, the silver swords moving in a deadly dance of elven grace as one blade sliced the head from the shoulders of the Lych nearest to him.

Brigath's strikes seemed to do nothing to the creature he faced, and the deadly chill of the Lych was taking it's toll on the sorcerer. The wolf returned for a pass at the second Lych, leaping toward it, but it was ready for her attack, and batted her aside with ease. She yelped in pain.

The stench increased as I moved in, and the second Lych sensed my presence, turning on me and throwing lightening bolts at me before blinking into a different location. I gave a fanged grin to him and followed. The storm overhead had grown to levels I could now use.

I summoned a lightening strike from the clouds, directing it to where the Lych was standing. Blue white light sizzled into the ground, shaking everything for miles, but the Lych escaped the strike.

Brigath dropped down from the skies to drive his staff at the Lych that was attacking his wolven friend, and Dmitri was also there trying to drive the Lych away from the injured wolf. The brief respite allowed the wolf to dodge away from the Lych.

The first Lych flashed grotesque fangs in a parody of a smile at Vincent and then attacked him. Vincent stayed where he was as the creature sped toward him. At the last instant, he lifted his hand and unleashed a Disassemble spell on the Lych.

I leaped after the Lych that had attacked me, summoning spears of tendrils to rip upward from the ground seeking to impale the rotting body long enough to draw down another strike of lightening to incinerate the creature. Thunder reverberated again as I prepared for the next attack.

[Lucien]

Twin pillars of stone rose from the ground, carrying a Lych skyward and then began to crush the Lych at the direction of the elven hunter.

I heard a scream, and watched as one of the things reached for Vincent. He faded and reappeared some distance away. His teeth were chattering, but he was fairly unscathed.

In that instant, the fairy closed in and thrust a rapier forward, sliding it between the flesh dripping ribs of the Lych. It screamed, surprise and horror echoed across the Isle as it crumpled to the ground in slow motion. She left the blade buried in the corpse of the Lych, the enchantments upon it keeping the Lych from regenerating.

The tentacles I'd summoned waved in the air, seeking the second Lych as Brigath was stalking a third. As the second Lych moved toward Brigath, the chill of the grave causing the tentacles that touched the Lych to turn black and frozen, thus I abandoned attempted to entrap it using the tentacles.

Brigath continued to stalk the second Lych, his staff spinning dangerously, and suddenly the ground beneath his feet moved, and another stinking creature erupted from the ground, throwing him into the air, and violently impacting a tree. His scream of pain from the cold was cut short as his body impacted the tree at considerable velocity.

I opened the ground near the 4th creature, sending a swarm of flesh eating beetles careening toward it, and Dmitri shouted and ran at the creature, slamming large boulders at it as he covered the distance between himself and Brigath's inert form.

Kayla stopped dead in her tracks, and her howl told me what I had guessed. She stood at his side, his body bent and twisted at impossible angles.

In a blur of motion, the Lych sought to escape the flesh eating beetles, but a few reached it, chewing hungrily into the decaying flesh. They would not stop the Lych, but distraction is always useful when fighting such creatures from beyond the grave. I reached out my right hand, narrowing my focus on the Lych as a ball of blue-white lightening formed in my hand. It crackled and grew as I pulled the power of the storm into my hand.

Vincent managed to decapitate the Lych he was engaged with, and it wailed and collapsed into a pile of rotten flesh and separated bones. Vincent's eyes were full of hatred and rage, and his voice lifted above the din, "For your trespass against the Knight Magus of the White Lady, I condemn your ashes to hell the likes of which you have never seen." White flames sprang from his hands to immolate what was left of the creature.

I threw the lightening ball at the Lych I had, and instantly shifted into the owl form. Razor sharp talons raking at the thing's head and face. It was too stunned to disapparate, and grappled with me as I continued my assault. The cold was bitter and bit deeply into the hollow bones of the owl form. It worked hard to tear me apart, and suddenly pain ripped through the owl's wings

A raven rose from the Lych that had fallen first, flying straight as an arrow at the third Lych's back. It sank its beak in deep before pulling back and flying off with a dripping mass in its beak. Vincent pulled his blade from the ashes of his Lych and followed the raven. And then the fairy flew between Vincent and the raven!

I landed on the ground hard as the lych crumpled to the ground. One wing completely unusable, the bones crushed and frozen. In pain, I shifted back into humanoid form, drawing an ancient dagger from my boot. This dagger came from the Crusades, and was a relic that even the Lyches could not ignor. Holding the dagger in my good hand, I advanced on the Lych.

[Lucien]

Kayla sniffed at Brigath's body, and then reached down with powerful jaws and grabbed a silver chain that lay against his lifeless chest. It was the Key of Air, and as her jaws closed around it, she yanked it free and ran into the night racing toward the portal with a preternatural speed that suggests she is far more than she appears to be. The patrons at the rings who had not gone on the hunt saw only a white blur and a flash from the portal as she bounded through without slowing down at all.

I continued to advance on the Lych, and Vincent flew nearer and proceeded to lean against a tree to watch. The chill from the Lych burning into my flesh, the encounter having already left me with broken bones and the chill from the grave.

Vincent gave me a smirk, "need a hand Lucien?"

I turned a deadly black gaze on him. His expression spoke volumes as he was delighting in the prospect of my perhaps needing his assistance, but I did not, and refocused on the Lych before me. A shower of warmth radiated through my bones as I fought with the Lych before me.

He pointed at the Lych and a beam of white light shot from him, impaling the Lych as he muttered, "I don't know why I didn't think of this before." The Lych's body was consumed as Vincent's ray struck it, burning it to ashes where it had stood. Vincent quipped, "There's a reason we're called the Temple of Divine Light."

From out of the night, a raven reappeared, and dropped a pinkish bloody lung on Vincent. I wanted to laugh as the mage looked at the lung and then the raven, "oh no. It didn't just……" and with that, the Raven disappeared inside the first Lych's body.

Topaz landed next to Brigath's body, "someone should go find Dmitri." She looked down at Brigath's body before asking if anyone knew how to resurrect a soul into the body from whence it had come.

Thunder echoed between the clouds overhead, and I glanced up, sending them fleeting into the night sky before moving closer to the body laying at such a twisted an impossible angle. She checked for a pulse, but I could have told her there would be none. Kayla's call had told me when he'd died.. She spoke softly without raising her eyes to me, "as soul-less as some of your looks." She'd known I was right behind her and did not need to see me.

Vincent stepped forward, "I'm afraid he's a bit beyond my help."

In distraction, Topaz asked for someone to go in search of Dmitri yet again.

I snarled silently. Raising the dead was a horrible thing, but I spoke softly to the fairy, "I have raised from the dead twice."

She let her shields drop, "You can give it a try, but Brigath's no longer in the body. I doubt you will succeed." She was as pale as she sounded.

I knelt beside the inert form, and the power of my people rose through my body, creating a pale, shimmering aura. The aura slipped from my essence and into the broken corpse beside me, but I did not remain long. There was nothing I could do to bring him back. He was well and truly gone from this shell. I rose, turning slowly to face Topaz, "He is not there, I cannot bring him back.:

She nodded at me, "I had suspected that much."

I gave her a slight smile, "Your suspicions are confirmed. I will bring his body back to the beach if you wish."

She was in mid-sentence when she decided it might be best to return Brigath to the beach. And again asked where Dmitri was.

I reached down with my good arm and hoisted the body over my shoulder. This would not be taken easily by the Marchioness. I could hope she would have left, but I can still feel her presence upon the Isle, and now I will deliver back to her the body of a man she had once loved, and still held very dear.

As we prepared to return to the rings, Dmitri walked out of the trees, and relief swept Topaz's features.

Vincent disapparated and returned directly to the rings while I walked back. I was not looking forward to what was about to happen. Within minutes we stood at the edge of the clearing, and I paused to watch the Marchioness. I gave Topaz a quick look, "She is going to be very unhappy about this."

She gave me a sardonic look, "I'm not dancing for joy either." But there was no emphasis or inflection. It was as though she were completely drained of nearly everything.

There was no help for it, and I moved into the clearing, bearing the lifeless shell that had once been Brigath. Topaz was following behind me. We settled on placing his body beside the caller's couch for the moment.

I heard Topaz say, "Sorry Azjah." And I rose and turned toward her.

[Azjah von Drachen Walde]

The Isle was quiet, only Gavilean and Kyndra were near the rings. But I know Lucien had come to join the hunt for the creature that was killing goblins. I found them standing together, as though Gavilean was trying to comfort or protect Kyndra as the hunters departed.

Moments after I walked in, Cory followed. I headed for my chaise in the sand to wait for the outcome of this awful ‘hunt’.

Gavilean stood, bowing with all of the Courtly grace his position demanded, “Baroness von Drachen Walde, I am pleased to see you once again.”

I smiled, “Good evening Gavilean, or should I refer to you by title?” I had not heard anyone refer to his title as King, but since he had addressed me by one of my titles, perhaps formality was what he preferred.

Kyndra greeted me, and I bade her a good evening. I cannot be angry with her, it is Klinton who wanted her.

Gavilean smiled, “Oh, please, Gavilean is fine, or if you prefer m’lady, Gav is what my friends call me.”

I nodded at him, and looked around for a sign of the goblins, “Gav it is. I find I have taken a liking to being away from Court.” The formality and the ease with which one can insult a Peer can be tiresome.

He smiled and moved closer, “Aye, I also have enjoyed my time away from the regalia.”

“The petty rivalries of Court can be tiring. Are you ready for the ceremony?” He was shortly to be wed to Tera, and the two of them seemed very happy.

Gav nodded, the smile on his face told the tale, “the day cannot come soon enough, m’lady.”

I wished them both much happiness, and he inquired whether I would be present for the festivities. “I am planning to do so Gav. I cannot speak for Klinton of course.” And I could not help glance at Kyndra.

The tension waiting for the hunting party to return grew. Kyndra glanced at Gav, “I wonder what is happening, I do hope they find whatever it was that attacked the elf.”

Gav turned toward Kyndra with a smile, “I’m sure they will be alright. They seem quite skilled.”

She shuddered delicately, “Aye, they do, but I heard that thing ate that elf’s leg off.”

I winced, “Yes, the young woman lost a leg, it was horrible.”

Abruptly, a white blur raced across the sand toward the portal, and a flash as it passed through the portal. “What on earth?” I was still surprised by the speed with which the creature had flashed by us.

I looked at Kyndra as she too was startled by the sight, “I sure hope they aren’t scaring them back this direction…” She seemed worried that indeed the monsters may come this way and it certainly was a possibility, but that white streak didn’t look dangerous to us.

Someone I had not met previously looked at Kyndra, “Don’t worry lass, I’d kill anything that came this way. Can’t have officials of the duels getting waylaid… maybe laid, but not waylaid.” He winked mischievously at her, but he could not know the seriousness of the reason for the hunt.

Kyndra couldn’t help but laugh, “well, waylaid would definitely be bad.”

The stranger introduced himself to me, but I found my attention more riveted on the woods than on conversation, and I do owe the gentleman my apologies when next we meet. He introduced himself as Elijah Basha Uhr.

He followed my gaze toward the woods as time dragged on. Kyndra spoke up, voicing my concern as well, “It’s been awhile now…. I’m getting worried.

Out of no where, Vincent appeared. His words brought the news we least wished to hear, “It’s over, although there were casualties.”

Kyndra startled and jumped as Vincent appeared near the rings, and then Lucien stepped from the tree line. I rose slowly to my feet, Lucien was carrying a casualty, and I knew that inert form draped over his shoulder, “Brigath” I whispered. I could feel the blood rush to my feet. I watched in silence as they crossed the remaining distance. There was no need to ask. There was no breath in that body.

Kyndra turned to look as I’d whispered Brig’s name, and I blinked hard. I would not cry, not here. “That pig headed, ornery……. Idiot!” The words were choked out quietly as Lucien laid him in the sand beside the callers couch. Kyndra stood, and her hands went to her face to cover her gasp of shock.

I walked very slowly toward his body. The broken remains of a man who had been fun loving and vibrant in life was now only a lifeless husk that had been shattered. I knelt beside him, slowly settling into the sand, and Lucien stood behind me. My words were meant only for Brig, “You left me you wastrel… you left me years ago, but not like this.” Abruptly anger welled within at this travesty, and I found my hand slapping his face with every ounce of frustration and anger I felt over his death. With that, I rose, not daring to look at anyone else and walked silently toward the portal, vanishing through it.

Lucien bowed to Topaz and followed me through the portal.

[Gabriel]

I found the group Lucien had described still assembled. As I faded into view, I heard Topaz ask someone to cast a fireball or immolation to destroy the body. But the male was trying to convince her that Lychs paralyze rather than kill, but I could tell from my place there was no soul to put back into that cadaver.

A young woman was kneeling beside the body, her tears falling like rain.

Grief. It was sharp among most of those present.

Topaz noticed my presence and turned to look at me, “Did you forget something Lucien?”

I smiled inwardly. She could not tell us apart.

I then gave the corpse a dispassionate glance before gliding toward the group standing around it.

Elijah was asking, “so, then do you guys want to cremate him or bury him? I’ll help but before some kind of plague develops because this guy died by a creature of the undead, we should do it soon.”

I quirked a brow at Topaz before answering her; “I have not forgotten anything. I have come at the request of the Marchioness.”

Elijah turned to look at me, “Here for the body?”

My attention remained focused on the fairy as she inquired what the Marchioness had charged me with doing. “I have come with instructions to offer whatever is required for the proper care of the corpse. She stated that when she had been with Brigath, he had expressed a desire to be cremated.”

Topaz nodded, “That should be taken care of as quickly as possible.” She wanted to have this done quickly, and the sooner I could accomplish my instructions, the better.

Elijah began instructions to the goblins to begin construction of a funeral pyre. It would not have been necessary, but perhaps it would prove therapeutic to those who would be present. Simply summoning enough lightening to incinerate the body might be too traumatic. I waited as they set about building the pyre.

Goblins were crying, one crawled into Kyndra’s lap and began sobbing hysterically. I watched for as long as possible. All the while, clouds had begun to form above us, darkening and rumbling. Several of the patrons glanced upward, but they could not know that it would not rain upon them, but was simply the summoning of the power it would take to flash incinerate their friend.

Elijah was hunting a way to start the wood on fire, and turned to ask me if I had any ideas. I gave him a level look, “I will take care of it.” My gaze then swiveled to the pyre. The goblins were busily building both the pyre and a litter for the man’s body.

Topaz told me she’d tried an immolation spell earlier, but she could not accomplish one. She had expended more energy than was wise.

At length, I had seen enough, “That is sufficient. We do not require a great deal of tinder.”

They dragged the litter to the pyre and finally they were ready to bid farewell to their friend.

Thunder reverberated across the Isle as lightening ripped from cloud to cloud overhead. Topaz shivered as the sound rocked the ground beneath their feet.

I began the formalities of a prayer, using the ancient Romanian that was my first language. Blue white streaks rip between the billowing clouds as the air crackled with electricity. As the invocation came to a properly solemn ending, a streak of blue sizzled from the clouds overhead to strike the pyre everyone now stood gathered around. Blinding white light rips the dusk apart as thunder rocked the shoreline ominously. Flames roared to life in the tinder, engulfing everything in a column of flames.

Everyone watched in silence as the blue hearted flames consumed everything in moments with very little smoke.

I turned black eyes on the fairy as she thanked Lucien.

“Gabriel.” I gave her a formal, old world bow before backing way from the scene. It was time to leave them to their grief.

She gave me a surprised blink, “Gabriel? Not Lucien?”

I gave her a slight nod of acknowledgement before fading from the visible spectrum.

[Gabriel]

The night the Marquess told her that he had been unfaithful had passed without incident. I had maintained a vigil in the Great Room, knowing that when the Marquess returned, he would come through the main hall. It was the only way to reach the private quarters of the Palazzo. The second night I was reading a clay tablet from Sumeria when I heard the Marquess arrive.

He stopped in the Great Hall seeing me there and obviously awaiting his return. I set the tablet down and rose, "I would not proceed Marquess."

He looked at me and nodded, "duly noted, but I need to speak with my wife."

I shook my head, "She will not see you tonight. She has changed the locks Marquess." I did not add that her pain was sharp and deep, and it would take time for that to abate enough for him to expect to have a discussion on where they will go from here.

He gave me a nervous chuckle, "I would expect nothing less. I'm assuming she has not changed ALL the locks to ALL the bedrooms?"

"She has changed but one set of locks. You are not forbidden from living within these walls. She cannot divorce you." I felt it important to remind him that even if he chose to live apart from the Marchioness, he could not be divorced, and as such, he would not be able to have another woman as anything more than a concubine, and to live his life as an adulterer.

He gave me a slightly startled look, "Does she want a divorce?"

"She did not say Marquess. She said precisely not one word. But, I feel the pain she feels. You are the one who did admit cheating on her. Do you know sir what it is you desire?" I looked hard at him. There is no doubt what the Marchioness wants. I've known her too long, and I hear too much not to know. But this man I do not know well, and I have not been pushed to invade his privacy beyond assuring that he would not physically harm the Marchioness.

He gave me a slightly irritated look, "I desire having this conversation with her."

I gave him a slight bow, "You are, of course, welcome to endeavor that discussion. Do not be surprised if she does not grant you that discussion tonight."

The Marquess nodded, but did not move down the hall. Rather, he stood there, as though waiting for me to say something more. I could have sought the information without his consent, but at length, asked, "Do you desire the other woman more than the one who pledged her life and heart to you?"

"No." He did not elaborate, nor add any excuses for his actions. Simply, "no."

I picked up the clay tablet I had been studying, "be certain Marquess. While you cannot be divorced, there have been many Peers who live separate lives."

He gave me a frown, "I do not wish to toy with Azjah, Gabriel."

I held his gaze unblinkingly, "but you did."

He nodded, "Yes, I did."

"I bid you a reflective evening Marquess." And with that, I faded from sight.

[Azjah von Drachen Walde]

The inevitable knock came at the door. I ignored it. My husband had told me he'd cheated on our union and my person, and now the first man I'd ever loved was dead on a hunt that I'd tried to talk him out of going on with the others. Could there be a deeper hurt and sense of loss than losing the only two men one has ever truly loved? For I had loved them both in their time.

A small red light flashed on the lock, indicating to Klinton that his hand print would not unlock the door. He locked louder this time, "At least let me talk to you."

I went to the view screen, but draped a black silk scarf over it before activating it, all he got was my voice, "Klinton, I do not believe tonight is a good time to talk."

The problem with Klinton is that I can never deny him anything. If he pushes long enough, I will open this door. I should simply turn off the comm and retreat to the veranda. But I didn't.

He sighed, "well, I disagree." He tapped again on the door, "Azjah, is there to be no communication then?"

I closed my eyes, wanting very much to ignore that all too logical plea. At length, I unlocked the door, sliding it open just the least little bit. He would not shove the door open against my wishes, I trusted him too much for that, and so I stood peering through the crack between the door and the frame.

He sighed softly, "You asked me why."

I nodded, I did not expect him to have come up with an answer in such a short period of time, "Yes, and you said you did not know."

"Azjah, I can tell you why, but it will just be an excuse. I'd prefer to tell you why NOT."

I slowly lifted my gaze to meet his as he continued, "I'd prefer to tell you about how as I came nearly nose to nose with her, and stopped.

I frowned, "What are you not getting from me that you would want to be so close to her Klinton? Where have I disappointed you?" Those questions had run round and round in my mind until Brigath's death. What should or could I have done differently to keep him from wanting another woman?

He reached out to lightly brush his fingers across my cheekbone, "You are why I stopped. I was flirting, you know I do that, and it got stupid, and dumb, and I carried on. Again, simple excuses."

I frowned, "I have never minded your flirting. But this…." His flirting was part of his charm, and I had always been secure in knowing that he was coming home to me, but this time, he's shaken my belief, and I am no longer secure in that knowledge.

"But then, as I realized what was happening, it hit me like a brick. I could carry this out. I could take her to the Isle, alone, just the two of us, and do whatever we wanted to do. But, I could not live with myself knowing that I had done that to you. And Azjah? From here on out, you need to mind me flirting. That is, if you'll still have me."

I took a long, slow breath. He'd just said it. He could have taken her to the Isle.

"I know divorce is not an option here....but if you wish me to never be with you again, I understand. But G## I hope that is not the case." He sounded tormented, and I hated that.

My fingers tightened on the door, "Klinton, I was not the one who wanted to kiss another man. It is not I who want something else." Brigath flashed through my mind, and as much as I had loved him years ago, even now I would not exchange Klinton and Brigath, even if Brig were still alive.

He looked through the crack in the door at me, with tears in his eyes, "Okay, I don't either. And I am sorry Azjah. I am so sorry."

I sighed, "I am sorry too Klinton."

He kept going, "we talked, that is all it ended up being, but it could have been more, and for a brief moment, I almost took more."

Berrin's words haunted me at that admission.

He winced visibly, and flushed with embarrassment as he looked at the floor.

I bit my lip before admitting that I had let Berrin's words niggle their way into my faith in the man I'd married before Kaiser and country.

He gave me an incredulous look, "Azjah, he was right! As pathetic as I am, you should not feel sorry at all."

I shook my head, "You did covet that which you should not, for a moment, and while that is painful, you did not in the end take that which is not yours to take."

He reached for my hand, but let me close the gap between them, "Please forgive me. You will never doubt again. I will give you no reason to."

I spent a moment simply staring at his hand, then looking up into his eyes before I reached for his hand. "Do not take the light and life out of your interaction with others Klinton, but I love you and it would tear me to shreds if you walked out."

His fingers closed around my own, "I will not walk out Azjah. Never again will I put myself even close to that position."

I opened the door and he stepped in as I stepped into the circle of his arms. "I will sleep on the loveseat if it pleases you."

I shook my head, "No, I prefer you hold me tonight." I'd lost Brig, and in this moment, I had come very close to losing Klinton. I did not want to sleep alone.