Free Heart of Darkness by Jaide Fox Page A

legend says it heals as it ensorcels. I
wonder...” he murmured, ignoring the rest of her words.
     
    Despite herself, she had to ask, “What do you
wonder?”
     
    “If the ring that has channeled your
magic...”
     
    She sucked in a breath. “It isn't magic,”
Isabeau repeated.
     
    He ignored her. “...for such a long period of
time, would turn against you? Magic is never loyal.” Wolfe paused.
“If you do not believe in magic and have been yielding it for five
years, then you are deluded, my dear.”
     
    “It isn't magic,” she said, shaking her
head.
     
    “No? Then what is it?”
     
    “I-I don't know. A gift! A talent I
possess.”
     
    “You need not fear that I will send you to
the ducking pond, Isabeau. You can admit your powers here and will
be perfectly safe.”
     
    “Safe?” she scorned, with a return of her
usual spirit. “After you have just threatened to turn the ring
against me!”
     
    “Why are you scared about something you
purport not to understand?”
     
    He stepped towards her and the stalking
menace in that action had nerves shuttling through her system until
a horde of butterflies began to flicker and quake inside her.
     
    She had never believed that the ring could
turn against her, as it was hers and her mother had said that it
would always protect her...Perhaps her mama had been incorrect. Or
perhaps it would always protect her, but only when it was upon her
fingers.
     
    The predatory nature of his movement had her
steadily taking steps away from him. His swift advance made her
move all the faster and suddenly, she felt the press of what could
only be the bed at the back of her knees. It was too late to brake;
her momentum pushed her backwards until she fell on the lushly
covered bed.
     
    * * * *
     
     
    Quickly, shoving herself upwards, she watched
and shuddered as she noticed he was even closer and all the time,
he was moving, his fingers rubbed the onyx stone.
     
    She was certain that unless he had the same
power as she possessed, he would not be able to hurt her with the
onyx ring, but there was a distinct possibility that she was wrong.
That he could.
     
    She already believed there was something in
his nature that ensured he could only move around at night time and
she had to believe that it was some power he had...When that belief
was combined with those windows of animals that also felt at peace
during the hours of darkness, her opinion solidified even
further.
     
    She was unsure of what his next action would
be, but there was a slumberous look in his eyes that warned her it
involved some kind of intimacy. If she remembered rightly, although
the door had slammed shut, Isabeau could not remember hearing the
click of the lock. If she could play him at his own charade, if she
could manipulate him into believing that she was lost in his
caresses, then perhaps there would be a chance of escape. Either
that, or the opportunity to snatch the ring back.
     
    At this moment in time, she would have
preferred to have the ring rather than her freedom. For all the
years she had been running away, that ring had been there, perched
upon her finger and guiding and guarding her. Protecting her from the perils of the life she
had been dropped into and without an ounce of knowledge of how to
survive.
     
    From the cosseted, only daughter of a wealthy
Earl to a renegade woman without a penny to her name.
     
    That ring had kept her from death countless
times. If she were to ever escape this place, she would be as
helpless as before without that ring.
     
    She was uncertain if her plan had any merit,
or if it was even worthy of enacting, but if there was a
possibility of retrieving her ring, then Isabeau had to do it. She
was completely inexperienced in all kinds of intimacy. Whilst she
had once befriended a prostitute during her journey around the
country, who had taken great pleasure in shocking her with some of
the clients' requests, and while she knew the details of what
occurred in