"I am well and so very pleased to see you once again," Sydney answered with a generous smile. "It has been too long."

Tempest sipped her wine. "Much too long. That is why I responded so willingly to your request; I was a.s.sured that you would not disturb me unless it was important."

d.a.m.n, but her name suited her to perfection. If she once loved and lost, he could very well understand why. And spending only a few minutes with her made him realize how lucky he was to have found Sarina and how fortunate he was not being involved with her. Actually he felt sorry for any man who would even attempt a relationship with such a tempest.

Sydney looked with worried eyes to Dagon, and he sought to ease the tension and appease the temperamental witch. "Have you known love, Tempest?"

Her green eyes blazed with contained fury. "A foolish question, but perhaps you require a lesson. In understanding love, you understand the universal answer."

Dagon surprisingly retained his patience. " Understanding it and knowing it are two different experiences. I wish to know if you yourself have known love."

For a brief startling second Dagon sensed a long buried pain, a hurt so deep no mere mortal or skilled witch could bear to experience it. And he empathized with her loss and understood her need to ignore it.

"Love simply is. It is a daily part of my existence, it is who I am and what I give, it is all of me and more. It is the never-ending cycle of life. There can be no growth, no evolving, no wisdom without love."

"And you give this love to all," he said.

"It is who I am, I can do nothing else."

Dagon tried again. "Then let me rephrase my question. Has a love as strong as you been returned to you?"

Sydney stifled a gasp, and Tempest with an icy calm directed her near empty winegla.s.s to the tray and was about to turn her full attention and wrath on Dagon when her glance shifted and with wide stunned eyes settled on the doorway.

Dagon's eyes followed Tempest's startled ones, and it was with shock he stared at the woman he loved. She looked absolutely magnificent. She wore the sacred color of a wise witch, black, dark, and powerful like the endless night sky. The soft wool hugged her body, the cowl neck falling in gentle folds and the long sleeves coming to rest in points on her hands. And he smiled seeing the hem sweep teasingly across her bare feet.

Her hair was twisted and pinned high on her head and her bangs fell in wisps along her forehead and temples. Her dark eyes shined with the power of her wisdom, and her skin glowed with ageless beauty. It was at that very moment that he fell in love with her for the second time and knew he would forever fall in love with her over and over and over again through the ages.

He stepped forward and offered his hand to her. She took it, and together they approached the Ancient One.

The storm outside suddenly hushed its fury. The silence hung heavy in the room, the fire blazed more brightly in the hearth, and the pine tree appeared alert and waiting.

Sydney cast a silent prayer and stepped back out of the way.

It was time.

Dagon spoke, his hand tightly woven with Sarina's. "I am grateful for your patience with me this evening, and I express my grat.i.tude for your presence in my home. I ask that you bless a forthcoming union, for a union blessed by the Ancient One is known to last for eternity, and I wish for that with Sarina."

Sarina blinked back tears as she stared speechless at him. She had waited to hear those words, had thought to first hear them in privacy, and yet here he stood proclaiming his love for her in front of the Ancient One. He truly did rescue her. He was her hero.

Dagon continued. "I had thought I had known all about love, but when I met Sarina I realized I never knew love, truly knew love, until she entered my life. We have shared magical moments, and I possess a love so rare for her that I even wonder at times if such a love is possible, but then I touch her"-he paused and ran a single finger gently down her cheek and continued-"and I know, I know with all my heart and soul, that our love is real."

Sarina took his hand and placed it over her heart. "I give you my heart, for it overflows with love for you."

Dagon brought his lips to hers and before kissing her, said, "I will forever cherish you, my b.u.mbling witch."

The castle began to quake around them, and Dagon grabbed Sarina tightly to him. The walls trembled, the flames in the hearth shot outward, thunder roared, the large tree swayed, and a rush of wind swept in and swirled in fury around Tempest.

She floated up in the swirl of wind, her hair flying out around her head resembling shooting flames, and her eyes shined like polished emeralds. She pointed a finger at Sarina, her voice potent and powerful. "So, my dear sister, the rest is now up to you. You have a full moon's time before my return and before the spell must be completed."

With her warning issued, the swirling rush of wind swallowed her up and swept her away.

The room returned to normal, the storm outside quieted, and Sydney discreetly vanished.

Sarina attempted to step away from Dagon, but he would only allow her an arm's length, his hand catching hold of her wrist.

"Your eyes," he said.

"Eyes?" she repeated not understanding his strange remark.

"Your eyes are like your sister's. That is why they were so familiar to me when I looked at them, but it was the difference in color, yours light blue, hers dark green, that prevented me from realizing the similarity."

"Yes," she acknowledged with a nod. "Anyone who knows the both of us always comments on the likeness of our eyes. Strange"-she paused, her nod turning to a brief shake-"I did not expect you to respond so calmly to my sister's antics."

He laughed with a softness that tingled her skin and drew her near. "Give me time, I'm still in shock. No one ever mentioned that the Ancient One had a sister."

"Few know, and I need to explain-"

He silenced her with his lips and then urged. "First, tell me you love me again."

"With pleasure," she said and rubbed her cheek softly against his. "I love you, Dagon. And I will love you for always."

His question was whisper soft. "Why?"

Her smile came slow and hinted at a tease. "Because you rescue me-"

He attempted to interrupt her, but a quick hard kiss stopped him.

She placed a finger to his lips to keep him silent. "You rescue me from me. You have shown me love in

its rarest form and in so doing taught me the true magic of love."

His arms went around her waist, and he nipped at her finger to chase it from his lips. "I knew you loved

me."

"Did you now?"

He laughed as he nibbled playfully at her bottom lip. "And you d.a.m.n well knew I loved you."

She giggled. "It was obvious."

He pinched her bottom which produced a small squeal. "I demonstrated my love in more than just

physical ways."

Her expression grew serious. "Yes, you certainly did, and that was why I had confidence in your ability to face my sister."

Dagon sighed. "A subject we better discuss." He took her hand and together they sat on the couch.

She waited for the inevitable question.

"Why didn't you tell me that the Ancient One"-he paused, shook his head and continued-"Tempest, was your sister?"

"Tempest and I keep our relationship quiet for many reasons, which I am sure you can understand. And when I discovered that you requested an introduction to the Ancient One in regards as a possible lifemate, I thought it best not to mention I was her sister."

Dagon brought her hand to his lips, kissing her palm, and was pleased when he watched a shudder run through her. "You do realize you will be my lifemate. I want no other."

She didn't respond as quickly as he would have liked and her continued silence began to worry him.

"You don't wish to mate with me for life?"

"Of course I do," she said on a frustrated sigh. "But there is much you need to know before we can commit to such a potent union." His voice betrayed his annoyance. "I need to know nothing. I love you, you love me, and that is all that is necessary. We will mate for life and that is final."

"I would be honored to mate for life with you, but we have a problem."

"Your powers," he said with a shrug. "I a.s.sume your sister robbed you of them, but it matters not to me. I love you whether you are a powerful witch or not."

She slipped her hand out of his and sat with a stiffness to her posture that worried him. "It is a little more involved than that."

"I'm listening."

Where did she start? She supposed the beginning was the best place. "Tempest is far older than I, and she always felt responsible for me. She taught me much of what I know, though I could never hope to achieve her degree of knowledge and powers, but-" She paused almost reluctant to continue. "I possess one power that surpa.s.ses her."

"The power of sight."

Sarina confirmed with a brief nod. "I can see many things, the past, the present, and the future. I can do nothing to change these events I see, but I can caution those who come to me seeking advice and help direct them wisely. One important rule that I have always lived by is to never read a person without their request. It would be an intrusion, an invasion of privacy, so therefore it was a rule I strictly adhered to-" She paused again.

Dagon grew impatient by her lengthy silence. "And?" he asked anxiously.

"And one I broke."

"Your sister?"

She nodded, her eyes betraying her sorrow. "I saw an event that would befall her and wanted to warn her, to help ready her, to protect her."

"She did not realize you warned with love?"

"I don't know what she thought. She immediately grew furious with me. I am sure you have noticed she possesses a temper."

He laughed then, strong and hard. "Someone certainly aptly named her."

"She is really sweet and kind and wonderfully wise, but she is highly emotional."

"Can you tell me of this event in her life that you saw and caused you worry enough to warn her?"

"I suppose it does not matter now. You should know all of it, and then perhaps you will better understand why she cast the spell on me."

"The spell that robbed you of your powers?"

"Yes, it all started when I saw his return."

"His?"

Sarina spoke low, almost fearfully. "I will not speak his name, no one will. He was a warlock of immense powers. He lived many, many years ago. And strange as it may seem, they fell in love. She thought to help him, to teach him wisdom, but in the end she was forced to use her skill and banish him."

"The lost love that everyone speaks of," Dagon said.

"Yes and her only love. He was more handsome than you, if that is possible."

Dagon smiled at the compliment.

"He was feared and respected and he could charm the purest of souls."

"He charmed your sister?"

"No, Tempest saw a spark of light within him and hoped to-"

"Change him?"

Sarina shook her head. "No, she is too wise to think one person can change another. She hoped that by knowing her, loving her, he would discover his true self and that light would grow and he would evolve out of the darkness into the light."

"I a.s.sume this did not happen."

"No, it didn't. No one is certain what exactly happened. All I know for sure is that she banished him from Mother Earth until a time he could return and have a chance to right his wrongs."

"She allowed him another chance," he said with admiration for her wisdom and courage, but most of all for her unselfishness. "Tempest believes that where there is light there is hope, and with hope grows love and the wisdom it brings. So she gave him another chance."

"Am I to understand she didn't know when he would return?"

"Nothing of it, not where or when, not even if he would resemble his old self. His memories would be buried along with his powers until such a time that he himself would recall them. It is hoped that by the time he recalls his past, he would have stepped out of the darkness and into the light."