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heart, a flash of pain rip
    through his side, his arm, and his hand. A soul-wrenching despair shot through him hard enough to leave
    him shaking.
    "You will know when the time comes. You will remember my words. You will hear them even though
    your powers will be at the lowest ebb in your life."
    "I am no sorcerer—"
    "Oh, but you are, sweet Prince of the Wind." She laughed. "One of the very best. And well you know
    it."
    "You’re wrong."
    Her laughter chimed and then, with a suddenness that blinded him as though all light went out, her glow
    vanished and a piercing cold went through him. He reached out, wanting her back, needing her back,
    aching for her, but his hand encountered snow.
    Gone without a trace.
    He stood for a long time, his flesh turning blue with the cold, his brow furrowed in confusion. He finally
    became aware of the damp, chilling wind and turned his face toward the heavens, feeling a great sorrow
    welling up in him, a sorrow he could not understand.
    His eyes went to the window of his room, the window that faced the garden. He saw Liza framed in the
    casement. The moon had cleared the sweeping clouds and a bright beam of light lit her as she stared
    down at him.
    "Liza," he whispered, wondering how much she had seen.
    A shiver went through him as he turned and raced back to their chamber.
    Liza did not turn to him as he entered. She still stood by the window, her hand on the thick drape she
    had pulled to one side. She was staring intently into the garden as though she could see what he could
    not.
    "I woke to find you gone," he told her, feeling as though he had done something very, very wrong, and
    knowing deep in his heart that he had. "I went to look for you."
    "She let you see her." It was not a question; it was an accusation.
    "Who was she?" he asked, afraid of his wife’s answer.
    She turned to face him. In the glow from the fireplace, he saw her hand sweep before her in a sign of
    denial. "Never, never follow me when I am about the Multitude’s business. If you wake to find me gone,
    Conar, know this: I will always return. Even through the Maelstrom itself, I will return to you. Never
    believe me gone from your side for long. My running days are over, as you once told me." Her voice was
    hard and brittle. "I may leave you for a while, but I will return!"
    Her words confused him. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the feeling that he was losing her.
    "Who was that woman, Liza? What is she to you?"
    She stared at him. "I don’t think you truly want to know, Milord."
    He took a step toward her, but when she stiffened, he stopped. "Is she a sorceress? One of your
    goddesses? I must know."
    Liza shook her head. "It is not something you need to know. I can not imagine why she would show
    herself to you."
    "At least tell me her name. Let me know who my enemy is."
    Liza frowned. "She is not your enemy, Conar. Mine, perhaps, but never yours."
    "I don’t want anything to ever come between us, Liza," he protested, not really hearing her. "I need to
    know who she is. She…she…"
    "She aroused you," Liza finished for him. "She tried to seduce you." A sad smile touched her lips. "She
    has that effect on every man who sees her."
    "For one moment I…" He looked away.
    "You wanted her so badly that you ached." When his stricken eyes leapt to hers, she nodded. "But you
    resisted, or else you would not be here now."
    "I am in love with my wife, Liza. No woman could make me turn away from you." He held out his hand.
    "I will never leave you!"
    She looked away, a sob catching in her throat. Her gaze went to the corner of the room where a small
    spider was tenaciously spinning a web. She flinched and tore her eyes away from the webspinner.
    "Her name is Raphaella, Milord. She is a powerful, dangerous woman, but she is not your enemy. That
    you resisted her has put you in good stead with her and she will be your champion forever. That, I
    swear."
    He went to her and would have taken her in his arms, but