4

Her expression of horror said it all. “Your…?” She couldn’t get the words out.

Afraid she would hyperventilate, he snapped, “Breathe! You’re going to make yourself sick, woman.” Concern for her made it difficult to keep his distance. He wanted to touch her, to soothe, and knew she wouldn’t receive it well. He was a stranger to her, and dangerous. He couldn’t go to her.

Anger seemed to serve her better than coddling. “You’re not marrying me!” she ground out. She stopped shrinking into the couch.

He looked to the side, searching for patience, hoping to steady his nerves. Her distress was affecting him. “We were betrothed when we were both younger, Rihlia.”

“That’s not my name! You’ve got the wrong girl.”

“I hear what you’re saying, but a simple fingerprint match will prove it. If that’s not enough for you, we can take stronger measures. As for me, I’m convinced. It was no accident you were there tonight. Things were taken out of our hands.”

She was shaking her head. “You’re crazy. Stark-raving nuts.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “You were traveling with your parents when you were four years old. Their party was attacked. You were lost in the battle and presumed dead. We never found your body, though we searched for days. Now I know you found the gateway to Earth and wandered through. Someone must have found you and…” He trailed off, unsure how the rest of the story went. “Tonight I found you again.”

“You found me, and now we’re not on Earth,” she said with derision.

He gestured behind her.

She narrowed her eyes, and then risked a peek over her shoulder. She stared. There was a moment of strangled silence. “It’s a trick.”

He went to the balcony and threw open the door, letting in the warm night air. “Go outside and look at the trees. Feel the warm wind. Look at the sea below us. Were you anywhere near a sea when you camped?”

She glanced at the three moons through the huge window, then at the open balcony door. She didn’t move.

He left the door open and moved away. “It’s no less real if you refuse to look.”

Slowly she rose and edged to the door, keeping an eye on him. She stepped out on the balcony and looked out for long minutes. When she came back in, her eyes were haunted.

“Water?” he offered her when she dropped back to the couch.

She stared at the refreshment tray, then gingerly picked up the glass and took a sip.

“It’s been a long day for you. You can stay in the spare room for tonight. It has a private bath and a lock on the door. No one will disturb you. If you would like to rest now, we can talk in the morning.” She didn’t look as if she could take much more, and he needed to think.

She looked at the water in her hands with a lost expression.

At least it was an improvement over trying to climb the walls. He sighed. He wanted to comfort her, but knew she would reject him. Not tonight then, when the shock was so strong.

Instead, he summoned a maid and sent her to prepare the spare bedroom. He kept an eye on his guest. She watched him cautiously, and he gave her what space he could.

When the maid left, he walked back to Rihlia, careful not to get too close. It hurt too much when she cringed from him. “Your room is ready and the maid drew a bath. She’s left fresh clothes on the bed. If you need anything during the night, you have only to ask.” He glanced at the table. She hadn’t eaten a bite. “Would you like to take the tray with you?”

When she stood up, but said nothing, he retrieved the tray and took it to her room, leaving it inside. She didn’t enter the room until he left, then she slammed the door and locked it.

“So much for a truce,” he muttered ruefully.

Feeling tired, he paced over to the balcony and looked out, though he didn’t exit the room. Somehow he felt he’d better keep an eye on her door, lest she disappear again. If possible he’d have stood over her just to make sure she didn’t vanish.

Had it really been twenty years since her disappearance? So much in his life had changed. She’d been so young when they’d been betrothed, but if she hadn’t been lost, they would have already been wed for six years. If he’d only known she was alive…

It didn’t matter now. There were things that had to be done, arrangements to be made. For a moment the thought crossed his mind that she would have been better off left alone, but he shook it off. After all those years of searching, of seeking answers, he couldn’t just leave her in the woods. As hard as it might be for them, he was going to make this work.

***

The next morning didn’t start much better. Rihlia emerged from her room very early, looking as if she hadn’t slept. Maybe she’d hoped to escape while he slept, for she didn’t look happy to see him.

“Good morning,” he said pleasantly, noting that she’d put her freshened clothes back on, though he’d guess she had less layers. She’d put on the lighter boots he’d ordered for her. It was a tiny start, but encouraging nonetheless.

In the morning light, he could see that her natural eye color was brown, the same as the hair she’d pulled back into a tail. It had been longer as a child, but many things had changed since then.

He saw the maid go into her room and come out with the untouched tray. “Would you like some breakfast?”

She said nothing, but slunk like a prisoner into the chair he pulled out for her, leaning away when he slid it back in.

“I didn’t know what you were used to, so I ordered a variety of things.” He said the blessing, then dished a little of everything onto her plate. Normally he would ask what she wanted, but nothing about today was normal.

She looked at the spiced rice on her plate and poked the curled vegetables next to them. “What is this?”

“Fern heads.”

“Ferns.” She didn’t sound impressed.