She reached a hand out to her, but again, Patra moved away.

"You ole pregnant fool. Come back here," she called, running after Patra when the horse took off.

Chevalier was glad he was a long ways off in the barn. He was laughing.

Emily finally got just a few feet from Patra and was able to grab the bridle. Patra nipped at the brim of her hat. "Stop that," she told her, and started to walk.

She landed on her butt on the hard ground when Patra set her feet and wouldn't move. Emily stood up and pulled harder on the reins, but Patra only looked down at her. She finally walked over to the horse. "What is your problem today?"

Emily pulled hard against the reins, and Patra took one step and then stopped and whinnied.

"Come on!"

She leaned back, using her entire body to pull against the stubborn mare. That didn't work either. "Fine... be that way."

Emily left Patra outside and headed for the barn. "Stay out here all night. See if I care," she called back, but the mare was already pulling at the grass.

When Emily got into the barn, she took off her hat and slammed it into the ground, growling. The tiniest noise escaped Chevalier as he laughed from his perch above her. She spun toward the back of the barn but didn't see anyone. Giving up, she kicked her hat at the wall and stormed off to the castle.

Emily opened Kyle's door and peeked inside. She saw that he was awake, and he smiled at her from the bed.

"How are you?" she asked, stepping inside and shutting the door.

"Never better," he replied as he repositioned and grimaced.

"I thought heku didn't get hurt," she said, and sat down on a chair by the bed.

"Well, mortals can't hurt us, but we're pretty good at injuring one another." He watched her.

"That's good to know. I guess. It seems that I owe you another thank you." She leaned toward him.

"I couldn't just let you leave that mad, Em. I'm glad I was there though. So enough about me... how are you?" He watched her intently.

"I wasn't hurt at all. I'm good." Her eyes told a different story.

"I'm not talking about what happened on the mainland, and you know it. Are you talking to him yet?"

She shrugged.

"I'll take that as a no. I've been thinking about it quite a bit this morning, and I'm not sure it's as bad as I first thought."

"Are you kidding me? Kyle, I drank blood!" She wrinkled her nose, fighting back a gag.

"Is that the real problem?"

"Well no... he lied to me, and I trusted him," she said sourly.

Kyle nodded. "If he'd told you, would you have done it?"

Emily shook her head.

"Are you sure about that? You are as in love with him as he is you. I have a feeling you would have done it anyway."

She looked at the ground. "At least if I had, it would have been my choice."

"Fair enough, but didn't he spare you the agony of having to decide?"

"You're on his side now then? Is that it?" she asked, getting mad.

"I didn't say that." His voice was almost pleading, "I just said that he's good for you. I can see that, and I wish you would too. I wouldn't punish him for too long for one bad judgment."

"He lied to me!" Her voice faltered.

"He loves you. He lied to protect you. I'm not saying it wasn't wrong, but look at it from his side. Would you lie to him if it would save him the pain of making an impossible decision?"

Chevalier stood outside the door and listened. He'd planned on going in to talk to them both, but Kyle's words hit him, and now he just stood by the door, awestruck.

Emily didn't answer.

"Just give him a break, okay? I've known him for almost 950 years, and I've never seen him like this, the way you make him. I hate to use the word happy, but it's close. I've no doubt he doesn't want anyone to know you two are bonded. It would show he has a weakness, a very human emotion."

"That or he's embarrassed to be married to a mortal." Chevalier could feel some of the self-loathing creep back into her, and he cringed.

"You know that's not it. If he was embarrassed, he wouldn't have paraded you back through the island. He would have stayed in Colorado. It wouldn't have been the first time he disappeared for a few years."

Emily's voice was much softer, and Chevalier could feel her emotions changing, "I still don't know, Kyle."

Kyle laughed. "Well do me a favor, and next time you decide to take off... don't."

"We'll see."

There were a few minutes of silence before Kyle spoke again, "That ring suits you."

Emily looked down at the large glittering ring on her finger. "Yeah... well, for some reason, I can't get it off."

Chevalier winced.

Kyle laughed. "Did he not explain anything to you? You can't get it off... not until the bond is broken."

"Do what?" she gasped.

"It's an essence ring. In the bonding, it's the symbol that you are tied to the giver. It won't come off until the bond is broken."

"Nice, and how does one break the bond?" she asked, still tugging at the ring.

Kyle's voice became nervous, "I'm not going to tell you that. That's between you and Chevalier."

Chevalier was thankful for that. He stepped away, leaving them alone. He walked slowly to the solitude of his office. He shut his eyes and focused on Emily again, moments before the phone rang and broke his concentration. He cursed under his breath and answered it.

"What?" he snarled into the phone.

He straightened up when the nasally voice spoke, "I have called to inform you that the Elders will be making a formal visit to your coven in three days. Please be prepared to discuss..." He heard papers shuffling. "Past Encala attacks, and they also request the presence of one of your coven by the name of Emily Russo."

He cringed. "She's not in my coven."

"She is still required to be in attendance."

"Fine, we'll be ready." No one refused the Elders, not even a member of their Council.

Chevalier slammed the phone down and yelled for Storm. When she knocked on his office door, he stepped out.

"Yes, sir?"

"The Elders are coming in three days. We need this place ready. Set up the conference room to accommodate six."

"Yes, sir." She sounded panicked and immediately sped off, barking orders at heku as she passed them, ordering them to clean faster.

Chevalier knocked softly on Kyle's door, and the two inside became quiet.

"Who is it?" Kyle called.

He sighed, "It's me."

"No," Emily whispered.

"I can't deny the Chief Enforcer," Kyle whispered back.

"Then I'll go out the window." Chevalier heard her chair scoot a bit as she stood up.

"We're on the third floor, Emily. Just sit down," Kyle whispered, and then turned toward the door. "Come in."

When Chevalier entered, he saw Kyle sitting up in bed and Emily looking out the window. He noticed how her fingers tensed around the window frame, and he could feel unease coming from her.

"How are you feeling?" Chevalier asked, sitting on the chair beside the bed.

"Fine, sir. Thank you."

"Kyle, I owe you a great debt of gratitude... again." Chevalier couldn't tell him how much he owed, it was more than words could describe.

"It's my duty." Kyle's voice was professional, but Chevalier understood that it was more than a job to him.

"I need a favor," he said, and looked toward Emily. "A favor from both of you."

Emily turned to look at him.

"I have no right to ask. I know that, but there's no time to make things right before."

"Before what, sir?" Kyle asked.

Chevalier reached out with his senses and caught nervousness from Emily.

"The Elders are coming in three days." As Chevalier spoke, Kyle sat up farther in bed.

"The Elders are coming here?" he asked, shocked.

"Yes, to discuss their recent meeting with the other Elders."

"That sounds easy enough, but why do you need Emily? I can make a full report of what I saw here that day." Kyle was now watching Emily also.

"They have requested an audience with her." He saw her shoulders tighten.

"What? Why?" Kyle was frantic.

"I don't know, but there's one tiny problem." He glanced at her hand.

Kyle sighed, "The ring."

Chevalier nodded. "She's obviously bonded to a heku and... well... it can't be me."

Kyle nodded. "I see."

"I don't see," Emily said, turning to face them finally.

Chevalier hesitated, so Kyle spoke up, "The ring is an essence ring. It puts off certain... shall we call it... vibes... that tie you to a heku. It pretty much lets others know you are taken."

He hesitated also when he saw her wince.

"The Elders will want to know who you have bonded to, and as we've mentioned, for Chevalier to remain in his position, he can't have fallen in love. So for this meeting, I will be your mate."

Emily frowned. "That's absurd." She tugged at the ring.

"Love to a mortal is a weakness, at least as seen by most heku. The Chief Enforcer can't show any weakness. The Elders are going to want to know why you've bonded and to who. I'll be there too to make it official." He saw the need for this and couldn't understand how to make her see it.

Emily just shook her head. "Whatever, I haven't agreed to stay, and I most certainly haven't agree to see your Elders."

Both Kyle and Chevalier inhaled sharply.

"What?" she demanded.

"The Elders can't be denied, Emily. If they show up and have requested an audience with you, but you aren't here... they will find you, and you would be punished for being disloyal," Kyle explained.

"I'm not loyal to them," she reminded him.

"It doesn't matter. You 'belong' to a heku from the Equites, so in their eyes, you belong to them, too."

Chevalier finally spoke up, "It's formal too, so I'll have Margaret get on it right away. You two are going to have to work out how to be convincingly in love." He froze for a split second when he felt an odd emotion coming from Emily. She was uncomfortable acting in love with Kyle.

As Chevalier watched Kyle, his mind reached out to Emily, and he was relieved to find she was looking at him differently. The anger wasn't gone, but it was being masked by her deeper feelings for him. He finally understood that things would be alright.