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do my brothers who share this curse. We have vowed to ensure no one passes through the doorway at Invergale into the
Sidhe
world, from which their souls may never return. The doorway in your chamber, in fact. Which is why I must not allow you to stay there.”
    â€œThe passageway you showed me?” Her breath came fast as a whole host of new fears battled within her. Were her servants safe from whatever threat Iain suggested? Was she safe with a man who might be…mad?
    â€œMy family angered the
Sidhe,
and this is how they wreak their vengeance. I must ask you to leave Invergale for your own safety.”
    â€œAnd you think tales of immortal enemies will make me leave?” She thought more of Iain. Had even hoped to request the most delicate of favors from him this eve. But how could she when he played this sort of game?
    â€œYou do not believe me.”
    â€œWhat you suggest is beyond belief.”
    He leaned closer, his shoulders blocking out the moon as his face neared hers. Even knowing that he was trying to trick her did not prevent the rush of awareness through her body. “Try to keep your eyes on me, Lily.”
    Before she could ask what he meant, he stepped away from her. Smiled.
    And vanished.
    A scream tore along her throat, but it died when he reappeared a few feet away.
    â€œI can move faster than even you can see, and you see me better than most.” He stalked closer to her again and she blinked.
    He waved her toward the bower they’d spotted earlier.
    â€œAre we at risk from this enemy now?” She peered around her. “There is a magic in the air even in this place.” A shiver danced over her skin.
    â€œWe are safe from dark magic here. I’ve known these woods since I was a lad.” As they neared the bower, the vines hung thicker, a curtain of green draping the bench with a high, arched back of bent branches. “I am more interested in what favor you would ask of me?”
    Words eluded her. She should not tell him. And yet, with his hand on her arm, leading her to sit within the verdant undergrowth, she found herself speaking.
    â€œI understand you don’t want me to remain here, so you may not be inclined to help me.” She settled into the deep bench seat of dried grasses. “But Invergale represents a retreat from my family who have not always treated me well.”
    Briefly, she recounted her father’s cruelty. Her husband’s investment in her for financial reasons. Her impending return to the marriage market. Iain listened carefully and cursed most of the men in her story, which made her smile in spite of herself.
    â€œAnd so,” she continued, “it would help me to maintain the small freedoms that widowhood allows if…I were no longer a maid.” She knew she should feel horrified with that admission, but as she sat beside him in this place full of magic, she could not stir a sense of regret. “I fear is it not enough to tell people the marriage was consummated. You guessed the truth very quickly.” Her cheeks burned. “If my father suspects as much—”
    She did not wish to contemplate the kind of marriage he would make for her next. Or the scandal it would cause to have him announcing her virginity to every potential suitor.
    â€œI am sorry for how your father has treated you, fair Lily.” Iain brushed a kiss along her forehead with a tenderness that turned her inside out. “But I cannot take this gift you wish to give me, not when I cannot claim you as mine.”
    â€œBut from the way you kissed me, I thought that you would not be opposed to…that gift. Besides, what if my father arranges a match with another ancient old toad and I am deprived the pleasure of knowing what it feels like to be touched in that way?” She clapped a hand over her mouth. “I cannot believe I said that.”
    â€œThis is a place where truths must be told.” Iain’s expression was