Belladonna

being mad at him seemed the safest thing to do until she could get him off her island. Not the fairest thing, true, but the safest.
    Besides, she needed to see the results of this test.
    He slapped his hands against his legs. "Another test? Don't you people do anything for fun?"
    "Yes," she snapped. "We give strangers tests and then laugh at them while they make fools of themselves."
    The frustration vanished as quickly as it had come, He grinned at her as if he'd figured out the answer to a puzzle. "You're just snappy because you got caught out wearing your old clothes."
    A mortifying assessment of her temper. Especially because it was partially true.
    "Since this is my island, what I wear is no one's business but my own. And I am not snappy!"
    He rocked back on his heels. "Oh, but you are. Which is a fine thing because the temper brightens your eyes and puts color in your cheeks. Makes you even more beautiful."
    He was taller than her and heavier than her, but at that moment, riding on temper and embarrassment, she was pretty sure she could pick him up, haul him down to the shore, and toss him into the river. "Take the test or go back to the river. With or without the boat."
    He gave her his most woeful wounded-male look.
    She just stared at him.
    "Got a brother, don't you?" he asked after a long moment of silence.
    "I do." And Lee had perfected that woeful look by practicing on her until she had perfected the Stare.
    "Thought so." He sighed. "All right, then. Let's get this test done before you have time to think up another."
    He followed her to the spot she called the playground. Then he scratched his head and pursed his lips as he looked at a calf-high wooden box that was about the size of a marriage bed and was filled with sand. Another box, about half that length, was attached to it and held a wooden bench and gravel.
    "It's a sandbox," he finally said. "Darling, if you're wanting me to build you sand castles, I'm going to need some water along with the sand."
    "You won't need anything that's not already with you," Glorianna said. "Leave the pack on the ground out here. You'll want no distractions."
    He shrugged off the pack and set it on the ground, then looked at her, clearly waiting for more explanation.
    She pointed to the gravel. "You can sit on the bench or stand on the gravel. But don't step into the part with the sand, or you might never find your way back."
    She saw a flash of alarm in his eyes and watched his face pale. And wondered what kind of landscapes he'd already seen.
    "Heart's hope lies within Belladonna," he said. No charm now. Not even any confidence. Just a vulnerable truth that she could feel resonating inside her like a pure note when he added, "My heart's hope lies with Belladonna."
    "Maybe," she replied, her voice rough from trying to control her own tangle of emotions as she silently acknowledged the difference in those two phrases. "It depends on the test."
    He hesitated a moment longer, then stepped into the wooden box holding the gravel.
    "Don't leave this space until I return for you," she said. Ephemera, hear me. Show me the landscapes of this hart.
    She walked away, ignoring his "Now just a minute here!" protest. She kept moving away until he turned his attention to the sand. Then she doubled back to quietly come up behind him.
    "Fine," he grumbled, lightly kicking at the gravel. "Play tricks on a stranger just because he doesn't know much about ...
    Lady's mercy!"
    Fist-sized stones — many with jagged edges — filled the box that had held sand. A moment later, half the stones sank beneath a foul-smelling bog.
    "Just a trick," he whispered. "Can't be real. I can't be doing this. Land doesn't change this fast. Not this fast."
    Yes, it can, Glorianna thought. Under the right — or wrong — circumstances, it can.
    The far corner of the sandbox disappeared under a heavy fog.
    Dark landscapes, she thought, feeling a chill go through her. Was there nothing inside him but dark landscapes?
    "Lady of Light, have mercy on me," he said, sinking to his knees. Then he cocked his head, as if hearing something. His eyes widened in shock, swiftly replaced by wonder. "The wild child."
    The words resonated through the currents of power, leaving Glorianna breathless. It wasn't the way she would have described Ephemera, but it felt exactly right.
    "Come on, now. Come on," he said, his voice cajoling. "You know me. You listen to me when I play tunes in the pubs, when I've given people a reason