Free Kissed by Starlight by Cynthia Bailey Pratt Page B

is the Law.”
    She tightened her belt and felt, if not dressed, at least less naked. Now if he would only arise himself. It confused her to see him lying on her bed, though she told herself it was because he still had his boots on.
    He sat up, swinging his feet over the edge nearest to her, exactly as if he’d read her mind. When he stood up, his shadow grew long, as though he were reaching out to her.
    Wary of him, Felicia again took up a position near the fireplace, the poker within ready reach. “It must be difficult to be what you are. No iron, no meat, and this Law.”
    “It has rewards. The Living Lands are—” He seemed to be looking deep within himself, as at memories too precious to be shared. “Take your best day and extend it forever. Surround yourself with those you love and who love you in a landscape of endless wonders and beauty.”
    “What did you do to be shut out of such a heaven?”
    His smile was a bitter twist of his fine mouth. “I loved.”
    “Whom did you love?”
    “My king’s daughter. She wouldn’t have me; she loved a mortal man. Like a fool, I helped him to reach her when the king had forbidden it. They were happy; I was turned to stone.”
    He seemed to have forgotten that he was speaking to her, a mere mortal. Felicia felt as though he’d revealed a part of his soul. She released her hold on the poker and it fell with a rattle that seemed to recall Blaic to the present.
    She said, “I love someone too. If I could have one thing in all this universe, it would be for her.”
    “You mean, for your sister?”
    “Several years ago, she was as normal as any young girl on the threshold of womanhood. Then, she went riding. She didn’t come back. We searched for her, high and low. My father found her, alive, well, quite happy, but ‘wandered,’ as the country people say. She has never recovered, and I’m afraid if I leave her ...”
    “Yes?”
    Felicia tried to speak fairly, to put her own dislike of Lady Stavely to one side and to tell him no more than the facts. “Her mother is very possessive. Even when Clarice was in her senses, Lady Stavely tried everything she could to keep her from growing up. I think—I think she needs to have Clarice stay a child, dependent on her. But what kind of life is it? Never to love, never to have children of her own, never to have her freedom...”
    “Is it Clarice you speak of? Or yourself?”
    “I don’t know what you mean.” But she knew she lied. How could he know so much about her?
    Blaic had crossed his arms while listening. Now he tapped his lip meditatively with a forefinger. “Where was she riding?”
    “Up on the moor. She loved to ride there; I won’t go near the place.” She dropped her gaze so that he wouldn’t see just how frightened she was of that vast emptiness. “I’m not a native of this county as she is.”
    “Your wish is for me to cure her?”
    “No one else can. Lady Stavely has had medical men of every stripe here. She even took Clarice to London, but it didn’t agree with her. Or rather, Lady Stavely said it didn’t agree with her.”
    “Very well.”
    Felicia stared at him with hope in her eyes. “Are you going to help her? Can you help her?”
    He shrugged his broad shoulders. “She is cured already. It’s the least I can do for you.”
    Felicia started forward, joy rising in her heart with a flutter like angels’ wings. She reached out, wanting to touch him, to be sure he was real and that therefore what he promised was real.
    This time it was his turn to back away. “Don’t touch me,” he said. “Please.”
    “Oh, I forgot.” She looked at him, knowing that her thoughts were plain to see. “Thank you. Thank you.”
    “It was nothing. I’ll go now.”
    “And the enchanted sleep you put on this house?”
    He opened his eyes as though the matter had slipped his mind. “That’s gone too. If you wanted to scream now, you would have a legion to rescue you in an instant.”
    “I don’t want