A Magic King (48 page)

"—My wife?" he finished after she finally released his lips.

"Huh? Oh," she felt herself blush red hot. "Are you finished now?"

He nodded solemnly.

"Then, yes. I'd love to. And I love you."

She tilted her head back, and he framed her face with his hands as he stared into her eyes. "I love you, Jane."

Then they kissed long and deep before he raised his head, clearly intending to leave her. But she stopped him, shifting to what she hoped was a mischievously alluring pose.

"Now about those children..." she began, pulling him back down onto the bed with her.

Epilogue

Jane felt lazy and content as she watched from the porch while Daken finished checking the harnesses. They had loitered with his parents for a full month, helping his family and people readjust to a life out of captivity. It was perhaps still early to leave. The Chigan lands were in for a bad winter since most of the crops had been destroyed. Everyone worked hard to replant, hoping for some crops before the first frost.

Finally, they decided to go. Daken was anxious to begin training an army to eradicate the last of the Tarveen. Jane wanted to return to the Oracle's work, especially now that she knew exactly what happened to damage the mainframe. When Dr. Beavesly completely drained the power from the computer during his escape from the witch's spell, he overloaded many of the circuits and probably fried a dozen or more boards. It would take her a good long time to get it up and running, and she was anxious to get to work.

She still had a lot of stuffed shirts in Bosuny to impress.

But even with all that wonderful work ahead of her, Jane was reluctant to leave the peaceful land of Chigan. She and Daken had been married here. She felt loved and accepted by a family again, as though she'd finally found a real home of her own. It would be hard to leave such ready warmth to create a new home in Bosuny.

She started walking aimlessly, wandering through what once was a huge orchard of peach trees. Her thoughts spun back to her time and all her world lost. She had a new world now, a new home, but still there was an ache in her soul knowing her own people failed to build a lasting peace. They destroyed everything good they'd ever done.

She curled an arm around a tree trunk as melancholy settled around her, depressing her spirits. Then she stopped. Right in front of her stood the pantar, her sleek body still and silent, like a life-sized photograph.

"Hello, Old One," Jane said softly, slowly stepping forward until she stood directly in front of the cat. "Is there something you need?"

The cat stepped forward, her movements graceful and proud. Then she dipped her head, touching her forehead to the cross that was now a permanent part of Jane's belt buckle.

"You know what that means, don't you? You remember."

The cat lifted her head, gazing at Jane with dark, soulful eyes. Suddenly she stretched up on her hind feet and placed her front paws solidly on Jane's shoulder.

Jane staggered under the sudden weight, but then steadied, determined to remain standing.

The cat leaned forward and licked both Jane's eyelids, kissing first the left, then the right, just as her mother had always done when she put Jane to bed.

Knowledge blossomed within her like the sun bursting through the clouds, and with it, so many pieces finally slipped into place.

"You're my mother, aren't you? Oh God, my mother. You're still alive, and you've watched over me all this time."

The cat leaned forward again, rubbing the tip of her nose against her daughter's. Then with a flick of her tail, she disappeared, leaping joyfully through the trees.

Jane let her tears slide unheeded down her face, an unspeakable joy flooding her heart and mind. Her world hadn't died. It had changed. There were souls still alive who remembered, who carried on the good that was, teaching it to the ones who followed.

Suddenly, Jane was running. She felt free for the first time since coming to this new Earth. The loss of her world had been a heavy weight on her heart, but now it lifted. Her world wasn't dead. She carried it within her—the good and the bad. And she would teach it to her children.

Bursting from the trees, she ran headlong and joyfully into the future, a prayer of thanksgiving on her lips.

The End

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SEDUCED BY CRIMSON

The Jade Lee Romantic Fantasies

Book Four

Excerpt from

Seduced by Crimson

The Jade Lee Romantic Fantasies

Book Four

by

Jade Lee

USA Today Bestselling Author

Instead, he stretched out his fingers to touch more and more of the phoenix's body, the tail feathers blossoming and curling around her breast. Objectively speaking, the art was incredible. The monks had taken a great deal of joy in their work. Apparently, Patrick did too. He stroked the red feathers and brought her nipple to a tight, hungry peak.

She hated that she responded to him, but how could she not? His touch was gentle. Reverent even. But...

"I'm not your thing!" she snapped, contorting away from his hand. "I'm not a tool or a sacred vessel or any damn religious artifact. I'm just a girl, Patrick."

His hand froze a scant millimeter above her breast. Her traitorous body ached for its return. She had to force herself to breathe normally and not inhale deeply just so her breast would graze him again.

"Have I touched a nerve?" he asked.

She glared at him. "You were touching a whole fat lot of them. Damn it, Patrick, I'm done with this game. If you have to boink some girl, then go get some druid chick. I'm not playing." He straightened, his hand dropping into his lap. Once again, her body betrayed her. She felt disappointment at his withdrawal.

"It has to be you, Xiao Fei." Then he huffed out a breath. "Come on, this can't be a surprise to you. You must have participated in the Cambodian gate closing we read about. How else did you get that tattoo?"

She swallowed, the low burning in her gut spreading heat into her body. "It didn't work," she ground out. "They all died."

"Not all of them. You survived."