Ariana released Kougar's hand and strode to the urn which stood higher than her waist. "I think it's in here. Want to help?"

"Of course." With no visible effort whatsoever, he lifted the heavy urn, making whatever was inside rattle and clink, then tipped it upside down over one of the cushions. The crystal she sought tumbled out, the shape of a large faceted teardrop, attached to a thick silver chain.

"Found it. Thank the heavens something's going right."

As she placed the chain around her neck, Kougar set down the urn. "Maybe you've remembered more than you think," he said. "Maybe we should test you."

"Test away." Ariana fingered the crystal settling heavily between her breasts.

"Have there been any other times the Ilinas were poisoned by the Mage? Times the Ilina queen overcame it?"

Ariana tried to seek the answer but hit a tangled mass of thought and backed off. Closing her eyes, she repeated Kougar's question in her mind, concentrating on the question, not the answer. And a pair of memories tore free of the mess with a rip of pain.

She grimaced, the discomfort fading as she examined them. "Yes. Another queen suffered Mage poison twice. A poison similar to the one I'm fighting. Both times she killed it by starving it."

"Starving it how?" Kougar watched her intently, no emotion visible on his face, but he couldn't quite hide the flicker of excitement in his eyes.

"By not feeding the darkness."

His brows drew together. "Have you ever not fed it?"

"No. The darkness gets stronger when it's hungry. I've always been afraid I'd lose control. But I don't think I will. In fact, I'm sure I won't." Excitement leaped inside her, and she smiled. "This is the answer we've been seeking, Kougar. This is it! The way to defeat the poison."

"Ariana . . ." He came to her, closing the space between them. Sliding his hands into her hair, he tilted her face up to his, his pale gaze embracing hers. "If this doesn't work . . ."

"It will. I'm sure of it. And when it does, once the poison is gone, I'll be able to turn to mist without endangering my maidens. Now that I have the Crystal of Rayas, I'll be able to free your friends. And the death of the poison within me means I'll no longer be feeding it to you through the mating bond. You'll be safe. This is it, Kougar!" Her smile slowly turned to a scowl. "All this time, such a simple answer. If only I'd known."

His thumb stroked her cheek. "If it's any consolation, you might not have been strong enough to vanquish the darkness before."

She lifted an eyebrow. "You think you make me stronger?"

"I know I do." He bent his head and kissed her, his tongue sliding between her lips, stroking her mouth, her teeth, her tongue. When her breathing had turned thoroughly ragged, he pulled back, watching her with hunger and satisfaction. "How long before the darkness grows hungry again?"

"Not long, not the way things have been going. Yours and Jag's fight helped, but even that only satisfied the darkness enough for me to wrench back control. If I had to guess, we have an hour or two. Maybe a little more. In the meantime . . ."

Kougar hooked her around the waist and pulled her tight against him, pressing his hips against her, letting her feel his thick erection. " . . . I pleasure you."

But as his mouth covered hers again, hated eyes appeared in her mind. The voice of her enemy rang in her head.

You can fight me all you want, Queen of the Ilinas. But you'll lose.

Chapter Seventeen

Ariana jerked back. "Go away, you bastard."

Kougar's arms dropped from around her as if she'd burned him.

"Hookeye, not you." But those mismatched eyes had definitely killed the mood.

Kougar's mouth tightened. "You saw him."

"Only his eyes, but as if staring at me wasn't enough, now he's taken to taunting me."

Kougar's pale gaze bored into hers. "Tell me what he said." As she told him, his eyes narrowed. "He's up to something. We know that. I just wish to hell I knew what it was. With the poison flowing to me, now, too, you should be having less trouble holding on to it. Yet you're having more."

"It eased off at first. But then grew stronger, yes. He's definitely feeding more poison into the bond. But who knows what it's doing this time." She reached for him. "It's not hurting you more?"

"It's no worse, just a steady stream of acid eating away at my heart. It's easy to guess he wants me to die. But he'll try to control you this time as he failed to do before."

"It may take time, though. It was two years from the time we mated until the attack. Not for a minute do I think he waited that long. I think his poison takes time both for him to create and to grow inside me. I may not know what he's done to me for weeks or months."

Their gazes met, and locked, with a sick jolt.

"I won't be around by then to help," he said quietly, voicing the thought they shared. "That may be part of his plan."

Ariana sighed, the sound hollow. "He doesn't think we can stop him."

His hands curved over her shoulders. "We'll stop him. If starving the poison is the way to free yourself from it, then you'll starve it." One hand slid down to brush the tip of her breast lightly. "While I keep you strong," he added huskily.

"And then what? Even if I free myself from the old poison, do I dare turn to mist when I know he's still threatening us?"

His hands rose to cup her face. Though his touch was gentle, his eyes were fierce. "We'll beat him. You're still remembering things. Tighe and Hawke still have a couple of days. We'll find a way. Together, this time."

He stroked her face, then dipped his head to capture her mouth in another searing, tongue-tangling kiss. His mouth slipped to her cheek, to her jaw, as his hands went to the fastening of her pants.

"Start wearing dresses," he murmured against her neck. "Short dresses. With nothing underneath." With a quick slide of her zipper, his hand was in her pants, his fingers sliding beneath her panties and lower, stroking her. As he pushed two fingers inside her, she melted, her knees giving way.

He grabbed her close and nipped at her throat, his teeth scraping lightly, sending excitement bursting in her blood. She came with a guttural cry, rocking against his driving fingers, gasping with the intensity of the pleasure and the accompanying rush of wonderful strength.

As she tried to catch her breath, Kougar straightened, pulling his hand away and fastening her pants again.

She sighed. "That was nice."

He lifted a brow. "Nice?"

She gave him an impish grin, uncertain where the feeling of playfulness came from when their situation was so precarious. "You can practice later."

Without warning, Kougar lifted her up and tossed her down on the middle of the pillows. She stared up at him, watching as he yanked off his shirt.

"I was teasing," she said quietly, as he unfastened his belt. "But don't let me stop you."

His pale eyes speared her. "You won't." He stripped naked before her, his male body beautiful and powerful, his erection thick and hard. As he knelt on the pillows, it dawned on her she could have been proactive, stripping off her own clothes. Then she thought of nothing at all as the gorgeous male in front of her reached for her.

He had her pants and panties off her in less time than it took her to pull off her shirt. Then his hands were on her thighs, rough and warm, spreading her wide. Leaning over, he licked her, a single long, marvelous slide of tongue over her most sensitive flesh.

"Nice?" he asked, his eyes predatory, his breath warm against her.

She met that gaze and grinned. With a toss of her head, she murmured, "Practice, practice, practice."

He growled low in his throat and went back to work, driving her up with his tongue and lips and teeth until a monstrous orgasm overtook her. She screamed with her pleasure, the sound echoing in her ears as a glitter of Ilina light appeared before her, followed quickly by the flash of steel.

Melisande stood beside them, blade drawn, ready to slay her attacker.

"Go away, Mel," she gasped.

The scowl her second gave her was one for the record books, but she disappeared as quickly as she'd appeared.

"Again, Kougar. Again."

He brought her to screaming orgasm three more times before she dug her fingers in his hair and tugged, gasping too hard to tell him what she wanted. He knew.

He paused for one thick moment, bracing himself over her, staring down into her eyes as she twisted her hips, seeking the relief that pressed against her hipbone.

To her amazement, a small smile lifted one corner of Kougar's mouth. "Nice?"

She threw her head back and laughed. How long had it been since she'd laughed? "No. Not nice. Unbelievable. Splendid." She met his gaze, still grinning. "Magnificent."

He smiled and pushed inside her on one hard, perfect stroke, filling her as only Kougar ever had, their gazes locked, laughter and heat and wonder in his eyes. Exactly what she knew he must see in her own.

Laughter. Smiles. Their lovemaking had been like this once. She remembered that, too, now, and not just from seeing it in the dream. Like now, she'd felt as if her heart and lungs and chest would simply burst from the affection she felt.

No. Not affection.

Love.

He drove her hard toward yet another glorious climax. When they were once more still, their hearts pounding, their bodies slick with sweat, she heard the music drifting up from below. The celebration had begun without them.

A smile lifted her mouth. No, the celebration had begun right here--with them.

Kougar lifted his head slowly, his soft beard brushing her cheek a moment before his lips. Then he pushed off her, his gaze liquid with tenderness as he offered her a hand.

For a long moment, time stood still as they gazed into one another's eyes, remembering. Then he pulled her up, and the moment was over.

As they dressed to the sound of music and gaiety, Kougar rubbed at his chest, just over his heart, and she knew the poison was eating away at him, slowly killing him. The fullness of her heart tumbled into confusion.

She wanted so much, with a need that was almost painful. The safety of Kougar and her maidens, the defeat of Hookeye. The poison gone, her life returned.

And Kougar back in that life.

Side by side, they walked to the open window and the railing that overlooked the garden below. Her maidens looked up, waving to her as they danced in their bright silk celebration gowns, twirling around one another in time with the vibrant music. Ariana felt a bittersweet smile form on her lips.

Kougar leaned on the railing, his gaze turning to her. "I want to see you dance. Here. For me."

"Will you dance with me?"

A smile lit his eyes. "If you'll wear a gown."

A smile played at her mouth. "Wait here."

They were traveling a knife's edge over a pit of disaster, yet she felt almost happy, as she hadn't in centuries. An inappropriate emotion when the man she loved was dying, and so many other lives were at stake. And yet, why not live while they had the chance?

Why not feel joy?

He accompanied her to the queen's chamber, one she rarely visited anymore, and watched her strip off her jeans and tee and pull on the deep blue satin gown that was the queen's color alone. The gown was simply made, a wisp of silk that just covered her shoulders then fell to midcalf, lightly clinging to her curves.

As custom dictated, she brushed out her hair, letting it fall freely, and left her feet bare. She turned to find him watching her with eyes of silver, a smile at his mouth.

"Beautiful."

And she believed him. He'd always made her feel beautiful and desired.

Taking his hand, she led him back to the observatory. The moment they were through the doors, she dropped his hand and twirled away, dancing for him, all the desperate joy and love that filled her chest flowing into the music.

He watched her, his gaze a caress that she didn't think she could live without again. In the few short days since he'd stalked back into her life, she'd felt more alive than in the thousand years she'd spent without him.

Any sacrifice would be worth it. Even if she feared she would never truly have his heart.

Wulfe sat on the floor of Natalie's cage in his man form, watching her stir, both glad and not that she was starting to wake. Because it was finally time to send her home.

Her eyes fluttered lightly, her gaze catching on him. "Hi."

"It's time. We were able to get Christy's memories. I can take yours now and get you home."

Her soft movements turned quick with excitement as she sat up. But as she glanced around her cell, she frowned.

"Where's Xavier?"

"Helping out in the kitchen."

She gave a jerk of surprise. "Really?"

Wulfe dreaded this part but couldn't put it off. "He's going to stay here."

"What? No. Why?" She scrambled to her feet as if she meant to dart out the open door.

He rose, ready to stop her if she tried. "We can't clear his mind of what he's learned of us. That's only accomplished through the eyes."

Understanding dawned ugly in her own. "And his don't work."

"We're not going to hurt him, Natalie. He'll be well treated here."

"Let me see him."

Her agitation tore at him, and he pulled out his cell phone and called Kara. Less than a minute later, Kara led Xavier into the cellblock.

"Xave!" Natalie rushed past Wulfe, out of her cage.

He let her go to her brother, who enfolded her in a bear hug. "I'm going to be okay, Nat. I don't mind staying. Do you know what they're doing here?"