See Part One for Disclaimers

Her days took on a comforting routine; a shower with real water began her day, a luxury she still found rather decadent but gloried in all the same.  Then she would take a book or two and something to eat and drink to the falls and study, cat by her side, drowsing in the heat and humidity engendered by the pool and the canopy of trees that held the hot sun's warmth far into the night.

Although she had always been a loner even in the largest of crowds, this total isolation was new and frightening.  Cat was no great conversationalist and the books filled her mind with questions she had no one to ask answers from.  Every day she would try the computers with no response and every day she held to the belief that Galen would return for her.  The stone still felt warm to her touch, though for a while it had seemed cooler than before.  She felt sure that so long as his gift gave off that subtle warmth, then he lived still, for hadn't he said that it was linked to him?

One week stretched into two and then three, loneliness ate away at her, anxiety fuelled her nightmares until sleep was something to be avoided.  She ate less, studied less and gave herself over to daydreaming as a second month loomed ahead of her, empty and unfulfilling.

Cat had been restless all morning, usually she would stretch out at Dureena's side, snoozing in the days heat whilst Dureena plowed through book after book or swam in the pool.  Today, it seemed the animal was anxious or distracted and eventually she padded away leaving Dureena to her studies.  Apathy had set in long before and the thief could not rouse herself to follow, instead she shed her clothes and took a dip in the cool water.  Half an hour later she was dried and dressed and thinking about returning to the house to eat and avoid sleeping.

A hush fell over the glade, the birds had stopped singing, the falls sounded unnaturally loud and Dureena's heart beat a little faster.  Coming slowly toward her Galen and the cat entered the green dappled area, the huge animal tight against the mage's side as though acting as a support, Galen's hand rested lightly on the animals great haunch as he moved with care across the green sward.  The mauve of his shirt clashed against the cat's black and red stripes, making her blink for a moment.

All her anxiety, loneliness and lack of sleep erupted within her in a fit of rage reaching volcanic proportions.  Shaking with anger she let rip at him as he moved gingerly to the rocky outcrop, propping himself up against the lower boulders, resting back against their rigid support.  He stayed silent as her tirade washed over him.  She took in his pale features, the haunted eyes and the way his clothes hung on him and her anger dissipated.

"Have you nothing to say, Galen?" She fired one last question at him.

"I missed you too," he replied gently.

"Damn it, where have you been! What happened to you, why did you take so long to get here . . ." she started the litany over again.

He moved carefully, wincing as though in pain and she moved to him laying a hand on his arm.  "Galen?"

"Some things take a bit longer to heal.  Don't worry, my dear, I'll survive, I always do."

She looked askance at him and he pulled her into his embrace.  With his chin in her curls, she could feel his heart beating close to her ear, feel the rise and fall of his chest and the warmth of his body flooding into hers.

"I was maybe a little too close to the explosion," he said, off handed.

"A little," she spluttered, "I saw you fall, Galen.  And I saw you hesitate to raise a shield.  You were in two minds whether to survive this, the truth, Galen!"

"How did you see?"

"I don't really understand it, one minute I was wrapped in your fire the next I was floating above my body watching you."

"An out of body experience?  You must tell me more . . ."

"Later, Galen, I am still waiting for your explanation."

His arms tightened around her, and she felt his sigh.

"I thought you lost at one point, I thought I had killed you.  Do you know how foolish your actions were?" his tone suddenly accusatory.  She began to struggle in his embrace wanting to face him and vindicate her actions.  He tightened his hold, "No, don't leave me yet, I know why you did it, but it was foolish all the same.  The stone seemed ineffective; you were not breathing.  There seemed nothing I could do for you.  And when the time came to destroy the Sharian, I admit I thought of ending my existence too.  I had already lost one woman that I loved, through my own actions, and it seemed I had lost another."

Dureena tipped her head up to look into his eyes, but he avoided her gaze and continued.  "Only my commitment to Matthew's cause held me back.  There would always be another time."

"No, there won't," her vehement denial seemed to amuse him and his laughter echoed through her body as his shook with suppressed mirth.

He looked down at her, his grey eyes dancing.  His lips were so close to hers, inviting and then, for the first time, she kissed him, taking him by surprise.  "Don't ever do that to me again, Galen." She reached up, putting her arms around his neck pulling him closer and kissed him a second time, enjoying the power she felt as he let her lead the way.

"Ouch!" Galen's hands fell from her as she pressed against him forcing him hard against the rocks.  "I think, Dureena, that this will have to wait until I am a little more resilient."

"What can I do to help?" She had never seen him in pain before, Mage's had the power to cut their pain receptors at will, the damage done to his systems must have been tremendous for this basic function to be affected.

"I need to return to the lab and regenerate.  I should have done so when I arrived but I wanted to be sure you were safe first.  The cat told me you were here, but I wanted to see for myself."

The huge animal had long since vanished, leaving the two humanoids to their own devices, night was falling and the cat would be out hunting.

With Galen's arm draped across her shoulder they carefully made their way back to the house, daylight slid away as they journeyed and full night had descended by the time they reached home.  Lights sprang up as they approached shedding a welcoming glow on the porch and illuminating a dark garbed figure that waited there.

"Thane, I thought you had left!"  Galen's tone was not welcoming and Dureena remembered the brief conversation she had heard between the two men.  This Mage had been more than derisory of Galen's liaison with her.

She stiffened, and put herself between the two men, her hand instinctively reaching for a weapon.  Galen's hand touched her arm and she caught the slight shake of his head.  Reluctantly she let her hand fall but stood alert and ready to defend Galen should the need arise.  She had no idea how badly he was hurt, but he did not carry his staff and the coat he normally wore must be in the house for he had not been wearing it.

"I had my instructions, Galen, to see that you were delivered safely and that your ship and belongings were not compromised.  It was only that none of the order could enter the vessel that allowed your return in the first place."

"Unless I had died, Thane.  But I am not dead, and my property remains secure as you can see.  I thank you for your concern but there is no need for you to remain."

The tension between the two men made the hairs on the back of her neck want to rise and Dureena realised that this enmity went a lot deeper than the Circles feelings about her.

Thane stiffened, dark eyes sparkled with suppressed anger, and without another word he turned and marched back into the house.  A few moments later a sleek black ship shot into the night sky, the vaguest of shadows against the starry backdrop.

Galen kept his own council on the long journey back into the depths under his home.  Each step down the spiral staircase seemed to drain more and more of his strength until he almost fell against the marble slab.  Helping him disrobe she was shocked to see how thin he had become; the area around both implants was puckered and inflamed, scars slashed across his back and chest, scoring deeply into his flesh.

"Gods, Galen how . . ."

He put a finger against her lips hushing her enquiry.  

"Later." His eyes were already closing as she supported his arm, turning him around and laying him on the slab, manoeuvring his implants into their slots.  Her breath caught as she watched the slab turn deep amber, so many systems must be damaged she thought to herself, how in hell had he managed to reach the falls without dropping in his tracks!

She sat with him all that night and well into the next day, watching, waiting and willing the slab to alter its colour.  The process seemed interminable and she wandered around the lab feeling caged by her emotions.  His coat and staff lay off to one side the heavy material draped across a stool.  On closer inspection Dureena could see the damage done to the hidden circuitry, for it no longer remained secreted within the fibres.  Wires poked through here and there, charred holes decorated the dark material almost lost against the black.  A patch of lining had been burned away totally around the area his lower implant would be, and again on the shoulder, the wounds on his back now explained.  Returning the coat to the stool, she turned her attention to the staff.  Whenever she had touched it before the metal had been warm, vibrant under her fingers, now it lay cold and inert.  Dead.  She returned to Galen's side, he looked so vulnerable.  The amber stone around her neck felt cooler than before and she lay a hand on his cool flesh willing him to improve.

Over the endless hours, amber began to change to gold and then, in tiny increments, lighter and lighter.  Exhaustion was sweeping through her, she had to sleep or drop where she stood, and now that she had seen the improvement, she allowed herself to leave him, to seek the sanctuary of his bed and give herself over to Morpheus.

***

Awakening with a start, all her systems alert, Dureena knew she was not alone.  Heavy rain pelted against the windows, thrumming against the outside of the house.  Lightening lit the room for an instant and her eyes caught his frame silhouetted against the window.  Clad in just the robe that she had acquired for her own use, he was leaning against the wall his attention fixed on the precipitation thundering down on the valley outside.

"Galen?"

He turned and smiled, "The valley was looking a little dry don't you think?  Though my touch seems a little off at the moment, I hadn't meant for a thunderstorm, the cat will be cursing me, she hates getting wet."

Getting out of bed she dragged the sheet around her and joined him, touching his face as though to assure herself he was real.

"Turn around," she ordered.  

He did as he was bid, amused at her peremptory tone.  

She pulled the robe away from his shoulders exposing the implant and the now perfectly healed flesh.  Her fingers skimmed over the warm smooth skin affirming what her eyes had seen.  She sighed and pulled the material back up.

"I am healed, Dureena, you can check anywhere you like." The husky tones stopped her returning to the bed.  She could sense the need in him, hear it in his voice.  She had heard it many times before, but this was Galen not some brute who would use and abuse her.  His senses were open and raw after regeneration, Alwyn had explained that a Mage's control was lessened for a while after the process.  It was why they hid themselves away; they were too vulnerable.  She looked at the rain lashing down outside and knew that Galen did not have full control over himself yet.  If she encouraged him now there would be no turning back; he would not have the self-control to please only her.  Old fears warred with new desires as she remembered his gently teasing touch the pleasure he had given so unselfishly and she wanted desperately to reciprocate.  Her heart may want this but would her body allow it?

Her hand reached around to untie the belt as the sheet slipped from her body.  She reached up again and smoothed her hands across the broad shoulders slipping the robe down his arms.  Shrugging himself from the material, he turned and pulled her into his embrace bending down to catch her lips with his own in a fierce demanding kiss.  Desire leapt within her, drowning out that part of her mind that told her to run, fight, to not allow this to happen.

She wanted to explore him as he had explored her, touching tasting and teasing until he was ready to explode.  Her fingers slid across his chest, tangling themselves in the crisp hairs stopping to tease his nipples then continuing on across the sharp ridge of his ribs, all the while her mouth assaulted his.  He pulled back, holding her away from him a fraction, breathing ragged and needy.

"Slow down, Dureena."

"I . . . don't think . . . I can." Hormones were rampaging through her system demanding satisfaction; her whole body ached with a desperate need.

Part Four Cntd (Rated NC-17)          or          Skip to Part Five

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