Crystal Moon (36 page)

and held him. The man shrieked and fell back, struggling to

keep his feet and prevent the hound from reaching his throat.

Sianna’s fingers closed around Kyne’s sword and thrust it

into his hands. Inside, he felt her life force slipping away.

“Sav...save yourself,” she whispered. “End...his evil. Not

for vengeance, but for sal...salvation.”

Warm from her touch, the hilt settled into his grip. How

could he leave her? Without him, she would surely die. And

without her, his life held no meaning. But if he didn’t stop DiSanti,

he would kill them all.

“Hold on, my love.” Vengeance played no part in his actions

as he tore himself from her side. His thoughts focused on

Sianna’s fight for life, he sprang to his feet, whirled around and

struck.

The red crystal blade found its mark deep in DiSanti’s chest.

Kyne released his grip and stepped back.

DiSanti’s sword fell from his fingers. Hands clenched around

the hilt of Kyne’s blade, he went to his knees and looked up.

Disbelief etched his face. Then his gaze went blank and he fell

forward, dead.

Warda sniffed at the corpse, then went and lay down near

Sianna.

Kyne felt no elation at the death of his long-time enemy, his

thoughts centered on Sianna’s fading life force. He knelt and

gathered her limp body into his arms. Blood covered her back.

Breath wheezed through her parted lips.

He barely noticed as Timon scrambled to his feet and came

to their side. “I’ll fetch help.” He ran from the room, shouting

for assistance.

Kyne tried to stanch the flow of blood. “Sianna. You must

live. For me. For our daughter. Without you, life holds no

meaning.” Fate could not be so cruel as to steal her from him.

With every beat of her heart he felt a stab of pain. “You are a

healer. Heal yourself.” Anger heated his demand.

Her hand touched his cheek. Cold already seeped through

her flesh. “I...cannot.” She smiled at him, but it was as if she

looked beyond him to a world out of his view. Her serene gaze

held no fear of death. “But you...can. You ha...have the gift. I

felt...it when I healed...Graham. I...could not...have done

it...without you.”

“Help me. What do I do?”

“Do?” She looked puzzled as life and awareness drained

away with her blood.

“How do I use this gift?”

“Just be...lieve.” The glaze of death crept over her eyes

before they fluttered closed, and she went still in his arms.

He clutched her close and searched for their connection,

but where her ka had touched his he found himself alone and

empty. Though her breath still stirred the hair at the nape of his

neck, he no longer felt her presence or her pain. For this journey

she had separated from him. If he didn’t act soon, she would

move to where he could not reach her. A faint flicker of light

pierced the darkness.

Believe.

The word sounded in his mind. Did he believe in this gift

Sianna had and claimed he had as well?

How could he not believe? Without it, she was dead.

He’d seen the miracles she wrought. Zoa. Graham. Laila.

By the two moons, to save her, he would believe.

He pressed his lips to hers and whispered, “I believe.” With

every ounce of his being he willed his energy into Sianna’s

limp, cooling body. He spread his hand over her back. Warmth

infused him, flowing through him and into Sianna as he absorbed

her injury. Icy agony pierced him. He bit his lip to keep from

crying out. Wave after wave of pain washed over him. Then

like the twilight on the Azul Mountains, a blue light flashed around

their entwined bodies. With each crest, the pain lessened and

finally faded.

Chest heaving, she gave a ragged cough, and her eyes

opened. Love shone in her now clear gaze. She smiled and

touched his lips with her own. Inside, he felt the renewed vitality

of her body and spirit. With hasty fingers, he searched her back

for the wound DiSanti inflicted, but found only smooth, unbroken

skin. Miracle or witchcraft, he didn’t care as long as she returned

to him.

“Are you well?”

She placed his hand over her belly. “We are both fine.”

He felt his daughter’s presence, her reality. The soft flutter

beneath his fingers echoed the awareness in his mind. A laugh

of pure joy bubbled inside him. With this promise of the future,

the past fell away. “I would name her Atrianna, Atra for my

mother, and for you.”

Sianna smiled up at him. “I believe our daughter approves.”

Her smile faded. “My father?”

Kyne stiffened at her continued claiming of DiSanti as her

father. “He is dead.”

Tears trickled down her cheeks.

“He does not deserve your grief.” Kyne could find no

forgiveness in his heart.

The sadness in her eyes reflected her understanding. “I

don’t grieve for the man he was, but for the man he might have

been. No matter the circumstances or his actions that followed,

he gave me life. Don’t ask me to disavow him. In doing so, I

would lose a part of myself. I cannot change the circumstances

of my birth. Nor can I deny the blood that flows in my veins, as

it does in Atrianna’s.”

Kyne couldn’t deny her words when her very being had

healed his wounded ka. “Without DiSanti you would not exist.

For that alone, I find I can put the rest behind me. For you I

forswore vengeance. For your love, I will put aside hatred.”

“The future is now ours to create.”

Kyne grinned and stroked her belly. “I do believe we already

have.”

Don’t Miss Elysa Hendricks’

Gemini Moon

ISBN: 1-893896-57-9

A warrior by nature, a prince by birth, Ash del Gar resigns

himself to a loveless, political marriage with the princess of a

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is Raaka—one without a soul. For peace to reign, the marriage

must produce children, so when a holy man tells Ash of a way

to retrieve the princess's soul, he agrees to try. In the midst of

a storm, through the power of a crystal medallion, Ash is struck

by lightning and transported to Earth.

Lame since childhood, Cathy Lawrence expresses her

longings for love only in the imaginary world and the imaginary

lover she's created in her art. When the naked embodiment of

her dream lover appears in her studio, Cathy fears her fantasy

world is becoming more real than reality.

Using the power of the storm, Ash abducts Cathy to his

world. Cathy struggles to find her way back to Earth and sanity,

while Ash fights his growing love for the woman whom he

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Available Now from ImaJinn Books

About the Author

Elysa Hendricks resides in Northern Illinois, but her

imagination allows her to visit 1870's Texas, alternate universe

and other planets. A voracious reader, she began writing in the

early 90's. She helped found both the Windy City and the

Futuristic, Fantasy and Paranormal chapters of RWA.

Owned by two cats, one dog, two sons, a mortgage and

two car payments, she dreams of escaping to a tropical island

with her hero husband. For the time being, she keeps warm by

writing hot, sensual love scenes.

Elysa loves to hear from her readers. You may contact

Elysa through her web site, www.geminimoon.org, or write to

her in care of ImaJinn Books.