Medieval 02 - Forbidden

and Cassandra never should have guided you here.”
    “They didn’t.”
    “They must have. There is no other way.”
    Duncan opened his hand. Amber’s pendant lay on his palm.
    “You guided me,” he said simply.
    “That cannot be. We aren’t joined in that deep and final way!”
    “But we are. I am here. If you will not come away with me, I will stay with you in this amber silence.”
    Amber closed her eyes and fought against the grief and hope that were destroying her equally.
    “I’m sorry, dark warrior. I meant for you to be free.”
    “Without you there is no freedom except death.”
    She sensed his movement and would have retreated again, but the ancient stone was against her back. With the last of her strength, she gathered herself not to cry out at the touch that would come.
    What Amber felt was a pendant being gently placed against her fingers. The instant she felt the weight, her eyes flew open. It was not only her own pendant that had been given to her.
    It was Duncan’s as well.
    “Take them back!” she cried. “You will die here!”
    “Breath of my breath,” Duncan whispered. “Heart of my heart. Soul of my soul. Touch me .”
    Slowly Amber lifted her hand. When her fingers brushed against Duncan’s palm, she cried out.
    Pleasure not pain.
    A pleasure more exquisite than any she had ever known before.
    Crying, laughing, she threw her arms around her dark warrior and held him, simply held him, drowning in the radiant truth revealed by his touch.
    Around them the air shimmered and changed, sound pouring in as though a bubble had burst, life returning in a rush, geese calling, wind stirring long grasses until the fen overflowed with whispers and sighs, the same words endlessly repeated, weaving a spell that knew no boundaries of time or place…
    I love you .
     
    I N a distant, sacred circle, a rowan bloomed for the first time in a thousand years.

Epilogue
    S TONE Ring Keep thrived with the blessings of the sacred rowan. Crops stood thick in the fields, fish and fowl swirled through water and sky, and children’s laughter wove through green meadows as they played tag with the golden sun.
    Duncan and Amber went often to Stone Ring and the sacred rowan. They stayed at the rowan’s foot, sharing the enduring wonder of a tree that bloomed through all seasons, through all times, against all understanding, keeping a promise so old that only the rowan remembered to whom it had been given, and why.
    The legend of the lord and lady of Stone Ring Keep spread through the Disputed Lands, a tale of an amber witch who loved too well and a dark warrior who would not be forsworn no matter how great the temptation.
    It was a story of loss and daring, of an unLearned warrior braving the Druid way between time and place, life and death. It told of a knight vanishing into the mist on a dangerous quest and riding out once more with his lady in his arms. It was a story of love that bloomed as the sacred rowan bloomed, unexpectedly, bringing life to everything it touched.
     
    T HE rowan still grows inside the ring of sacred stones, for the promise was made for as long as rivers run down to the sea.
    In time, other honorable men will come in shades of darkness to other brave women who will risk heart and body and soul…
    And they, too, will find the place where there are no shades of darkness, only fire, and the rowan blooms forever.

About the Author
    ELIZABETH LOWELL is a recipient of the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. There are more than 13 million copies of her novels in print. In November 1997, she launched a brand new series about the Donovan family with Amber Beach . She is currently working on her next novel, Jade Island , for Avon Books.
    Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.

By Elizabeth Lowell
    D EATH I S F OREVER • A LWAYS T IME TO D IE
    T HE C OLOR OF D EATH • D IE IN P LAIN S IGHT
    R UNNING S CARED • M OVING T ARGET
    M IDNIGHT IN R UBY B AYOU • P EARL C OVE
    J ADE I SLAND • A MBER B EACH
     
    W INTER F IRE • A UTUMN L OVER
    E NCHANTED • F ORBIDDEN • U NTAMED
    O NLY L OVE • O NLY Y OU
    O NLY M INE • O NLY H IS

    E DEN B URNING • T HIS T IME L OVE
    B EAUTIFUL D REAMER • R EMEMBER S UMMER
    D ESERT R AIN • W HERE THE H EART I S
    T O THE E NDS OF THE E ARTH • L OVER IN THE R OUGH
    A W OMAN W ITHOUT L IES • F ORGET M E N OT

Copyright
    This book is a work of fiction. The characters,