The prospect of hot food and shelter was enough to tempt us onward, but pretty soon I was swaying in the saddle. It had been an eventful day, and I had been wounded as well-that arrow in my side hadn't touched anything vital, but it was enough to weaken me. Not surprisingly, Leo was holding up better than I was.

"We can send another bird ahead to locate the others if you wish," he said. "But now, you must stop and rest."

"I'll rest when we get there," I said wearily. "I have no desire to curl up in the snow without a tent."

"We have our bedrolls to sleep in and dried food in our saddlebags," Leo reminded me, "and it is warmer now. We should make camp."

"Wish we'd caught up with Max, at least," I grumbled. "I really should have taken a better look at him.

That Darley must have made some serious tracks."

Leo nodded. "He is a big, strong horse, and carries a much lighter burden than either of our horses-but we have been following their trail."

This was true, for even I, who was no tracker, was easily able to discern the marks in the snow that had been made by the travois. "Yeah," I agreed. "At least *256 *47*.

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we know they made it this far, but I hope Darley's being sensible and doesn't run himself into the ground."

"I believe you should not worry so much about the others," Leo said, sounding stern. "You were injured, and we must think of the child. Must I pull you from your horse to stop you?"

"Apparently," I said with a wan smile. "They always say healers make the worst patients, and it's probably true."

I pulled up Morgana and looked about. The sky was murky, as it often is during a thaw, but the moon was nearly full, and the forest was bathed with its luminescent light. It was so quiet and still that even the trees had ceased their whispering, and it wouldn't have surprised me to hear Rafe's voice in the distance, but we heard nothing. Royillis was perched on the back of my saddle, and Gerald had been asleep for hours in the front of my cloak. Royillis had said that the other vultures would be traveling with us, though I hadn't seen much of them along the way, but just then, they descended from the sky in droves, their iridescent feathers sparkling in the moonlight as they fluttered to the ground.

"Well, we might not have a tent to sleep in, but I feel much safer with a flock of vultures around," I declared.

"No one in their right mind would attack us now." I wasn't really sure whether or not Brandon was in his right mind, but the fact remained that neither he nor his men seemed to have followed us.

"I hope the birds do not get hungry in the night," Leo said grimly.

I did my best to reassure him, but I'm not sure he was convinced. "I think they know we're still alive, Leo,"

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None of this would have happened if it weren't for them. What Rafe would do or say when he next saw Carnita was anyone's guess, but it was a safe bet it wouldn't be pretty. Rafe was a very proud man, and the knowledge that he was not only sterile but had also been cuckolded would probably drive him to new heights of anger. In a way, I was glad we'd been separated because I would never have been able to keep my mouth shut, and probably would have made him angry enough that he would conveniently forget his agreement to give me Leo.

Apologizing to Morgana for not removing her saddle in case we needed to make a quick getaway during the night, I loosened her girth slightly and melted some snow into a puddle for her and Calla to drink. It was nice not to have to hide everything I did anymore-almost like being at home. Desdemona never held it against me that I could talk with her or keep her warm. Just wish I *258 *47*.

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could have counted on the rest of the world's population to see it that way.

Not having a pot to cook in meant that we would have to eat what little rations we had in their dry form. I tried heating up some dried fruit by laying it on top of the snow and giving it a quick stare, but the snow around it melted too fast and some of it wound up in the mud underneath, so I abandoned that method. Then I got the idea to cook our rations in single servings right in the cups that each of us carried in our saddlebags, and it wasn't too bad-at least it was hot.

Gerald sat perched in a tree, nibbling on some seeds he'd found, and I gave him a bit of Morgana's grain.

One nice thing about having a squirrel along for the ride-they don't eat much.

Leo had spread out our bedrolls while I was heating up the soup and had pitched a tent of sorts over them using a blanket and both of our swords as tent poles.

Having then gathered up some wood for a campfire, he paused to take a steaming cup from me.

"It is strange not needing fire to cook," Leo commented. "You have it ready to eat even before the fire is started!"

"A useful skill," I agreed. "I just hope it doesn't get me hunted down and killed someday."

Leo regarded me with a solemn gaze. "You will not be hunted down," he promised. "You will live long."

"Another prophesy?"

"Yes."

I considered this for a moment or two, wondering whether I should question him further-just to be sure- but decided that when someone tells you exactly what *259 *48*.

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"Thank you, Leo," I said quietly. "That is very...

comforting, especially coming from you." After igniting the campfire, we sat down next to one another on the end of the bedroll nearest the heat. There's something very cheery about sitting by a fire, being all cozy and warm-and not seeing the future waiting there for you when you stare into the flickering flames! I was perfectly willing to let Leo handle the clairvoyance department.

"Any other prophecies come to mind?" I asked. "About Rafe and Carnita, perhaps?"

Leo smiled. "I believe I said that her heart was not steadfast."

"And now we see how right you were about that."

I shuddered slightly, and it had nothing to do with the falling temperature, though I snuggled closer to Leo anyway. "I certainly wouldn't want to be in Carnita's shoes when Rafe gets home!" I declared. "If she has any sense at all, she'll make a run for it."

"Do you believe he would harm her?"

"I have no idea," I replied, realizing that I truly didn't. "Rafe might do anything-or nothing at all.

Those boys mean an awful lot to him, but I'm sure they're fond of their mother, so doing anything to hurt her would be a bad idea on his part. Rafe has to know that, and it might stay his hand from doing anything rash. Plus, he'll have had time to think before he sees her, which might cool him off a bit. We're still a ways from home yet."

"The time required for the journey may also give him time to become even more angry," Leo pointed out.

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"Yeah, that's true, too," I agreed. "Like I said, I have no idea what he'll do. You know, Carnita might have wanted to buy you to improve their family's prestige, but Carnita, herself, did a lot to increase Rafe's to begin with. It's possible that Rafe might consider her worth keeping, even knowing what she did, because from what I hear, she was very sought after. Brandon wasn't the only one who might have been jealous of him for winning her."

"Jealous men can be dangerous," Leo said seriously.

"I should be careful, for there are many who would be jealous of me."

Giving him a wry smile, I said, "I don't think so, Leo. Most of my lovers were only curious to see if they could be the one to father my child. It was more of a contest to them than anything. None of them ever truly loved me-or if they did, it wasn't for long-and none of them have been pounding on my door lately. I think you'll be safe."

"I cannot imagine that I will be," he disagreed. "You are a very beautiful and bewitching woman, Tisana. I should have had to fight for you, and I am surprised that I have not."

I found it difficult not to laugh at this. "Uh, aren't you forgetting something, Leo? We've been in a couple of fights, now, and you did fight for me-fought very hard, in fact."

"But that was to protect you," he protested, "not to win your love."

"You didn't have to fight for my love, Leo-and you wouldn't have, even if there had been scores of men vying for my attention-which, believe me, there weren't!

*261 *48*.

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He smiled at this, but then asked, "And did you dream of being loved by an enslaved alien warrior?"

I shook my head slowly. "It's hard to explain," I began uncertainly. "The things you say and do make me feel loved-but that's not all. When we're together, who I am and what I have to say matters to you, and your desire for me is always evident. I don't ever feel that your mind is somewhere else when you're talking with me. You're really there, somehow-I can't explain it any better than that.

"Perhaps it is because you've been a slave and don't have a load of possessions or responsibilities to occupy your mind all the time, but when I talk with you, or ask you to do something, I don't feel as if I'm imposing on you. You listen to me-and you respond!

You aren't just this great lump sitting at the table, waiting to be fed before you go off to slay dragons, or whatever. Being with me and loving me is something you truly seem to want to do, and I don't have to do anything special to try to impress you-or win you!"

I shook my head again, still trying to come up with a better description of the way I felt, but I couldn't. It was as futile as trying to describe why something is beautiful, for there is no why to beauty. It simply is.

"I honestly don't know exactly what it is about you that makes you so special, Leo," I said, finally giving up, "but I like it. I like it very much."

"You are very easy to love, also," Leo murmured into my hair. "And you saw me as a man, not as a slave."

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"You were never a slave, Leo," I chided him. "A king, perhaps, but never a slave."

He smiled warmly. "I was never a king, Tisana. I was a common soldier-nothing more."

"Well, you may have been a soldier," I said, shaking my head in disagreement, "but there's no way you were ever 'common!' Not in any way, shape, or form!" As I gazed at him, sitting there, his exotic face illuminated by the flames, I knew I would never look upon anyone I loved more. "I love you, Leo."

"And I, you," he said, and leaned in for a kiss-a soft, sweet, bone-melting kiss.

Just then, I heard Gerald give a loud squeak as he leaped from his branch, which was now occupied by two of the vultures. "Can I get back into your cloak, Tisana?" he begged. "Those birds are looking at me like I'm dinner!"

"They don't kill, Gerald," I reminded him, still kissing Leo. "Besides, you aren't nearly big enough to feed them all."

"My, how comforting!" Gerald said dryly. "Wouldn't stop a pack of warnocks from killing me, but they'd have to catch me first. Slow bastards, those warnocks."

"Persistent, though," I reminded him. "I've heard of them tracking their quarry for days until, finally, their prey just gives up and lets itself be killed."

"Good thing they hibernate in winter, or we'd be in danger from them, too."

"Small comfort if you freeze to death instead," I pointed out. I was hoping to wrap up this discussion so I could focus on kissing Leo properly. After all, I'd just commented on how much I liked the way he *263 *48*.

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"You know, on the whole, I think I'd rather freeze to death than be eaten," Gerald said reflectively.

"But then the vultures would still get to eat you!" I said, my laughter finally breaking off the kiss.

"You find my kiss amusing?" Leo asked curiously, though he didn't seem the slightest bit miffed that I'd laugh at such a time.

"Gerald is debating the pros and cons of freezing to death or being eaten alive," I replied. "Which would you prefer?"

"Neither," Leo said firmly. "I believe I would wish to die in your arms as an old man."

"Oh, I hope not!" I said, shaking my head vigorously. "I'd much rather die in your arms as an old woman!"

"And why is that?" he inquired.

"Because I have no desire to watch you die, Leo,"

I said, caressing his face. "I hope the gods spare me that much."

"And I would not wish to watch you die, Tisana."

"I think you probably will."

"And why would that be?"

"Well, for one thing," I replied, "you're obviously very hard to kill, so you're bound to outlive me, anyway, and for another, that orgasmic cock of yours will probably kill me someday."

"Would that be bad?" he asked slyly.

"I can't think of a better way to go," I said honestly.

"So if I'm ever near death, give me a little taste and send me off to the gods in style."

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"You are very odd, sometimes," Leo observed, setting down his empty cup to put both arms around me.