Mists of Velvet

indiscernible from the shadows. His hand came up from his side, as if he were going to wave. In a slow arc he moved it. Instantly, the soft glow of the lamp on the nightstand flickered to life, displacing the shadows in the bedroom.
    “What did you tell him?”
    “Nothing—yet. I’ll leave it up to you.”
    She sighed. “It doesn’t matter. He speaks with Cailleach. He’ll know what I’ve done.”
    Still, she clung to the hope that something might change. It was the only thing that gave her comfort.
    “How is the mortal named Rowan?” she asked, thinking to change the topic that simmered between them.
    “Dying.”
    Bronwnn swallowed hard. She felt the wraith’s pain; she tasted his sorrow. “I’m sorry.”
    “You are sisters.”
    Brushing her hair from her face, Bronwnn slowly nodded. “I knew immediately when I saw her.”
    “I knew she wasn’t fully human.”
    Gazing up at him, she swallowed hard. He was a dark and difficult man; nothing like Rhys.
    “What do you know about her?” he demanded.
    “Nothing more. We are sisters. How she appeared in the mortal realm, I don’t know. I was told my mother died in childbirth with me. I do not know my father.”
    His gaze narrowed, clearly sensing her deceit. She knew her father was the Dark Mage. “It would be a betrayal to Rowan to discover that we are to be wed,” Keir stated bluntly. “I will not allow anything to hurt her.”
    “I understand. I promise not to speak to her of what will happen between us.”
    “After . . . she dies,” he said with a catch in his voice, “I will fulfill my part of your adbertos .”
    “Forgive me. When I offered my sacrifice, I was thinking only of Rhys and of protecting him. I didn’t stop to consider your wishes.”
    “My wishes are the same as yours. The safety of Rhys. But . . . you must understand my love for Rowan. I will not betray her in life.”
    Clearly he didn’t want to be with her, and Bronwnn shrank back, not knowing what to say or do. He sighed and put his big hands into his pockets.
    “It is not that I don’t want to be with you, but I think you know that in my heart, Rowan is my mate, just as Rhys is yours.”
    She gasped. “You read my mind.”
    He shrugged. “Our duty is to unite our races, and our powers. Together our divination magick will benefit our world, and perhaps the mortal realm. It is for the greater good, and the less selfish path. I can read thoughts, but once we are shrouded, I will give you as much privacy as I can. I’m usually successful at tuning people out. I’ll try my best with you.”
    Bronwnn felt her heart skip a beat, then plummet to the pit of her empty stomach. This was not what she wanted. She wanted Rhys. Somehow she had mistakenly believed she could bring herself to accept a union with Keir. Now she knew deep in her heart she couldn’t.
    Keir was mysterious and sexy. He was tall, handsome, with a sexual intensity that any female would desire in a man. But Keir wasn’t the one she wanted.
    “I’ll be kind to you. I’ll treat you with respect, and I’ll . . .” He swallowed, then nearly choked out his next words. “I’ll show you pleasure.”
    Bronwnn was speechless as she looked up at him. He was so virile and gorgeous, standing before her with his damp black hair and mesmerizing eyes. Yet, while she found him devastating to look at, she couldn’t help but think it wasn’t Keir she wanted pleasuring her.
    “We have no choice. Our personal preferences have no bearing on this. Cailleach designed this, and your offer of a sacrifice has ensured our union. If it pleases you, and Rhys, we could all pleasure one another. You needn’t give him up.”
    He had just voiced her secret hope, but the firm coldness in his voice made Bronwnn look up. Keir stood towering above her, his eyes frigid and devoid of any feeling. He studied her as if he were some sort of machine, programmed to perform a highly specialized function. It would never work. She knew that now.
    “This is a mistake,” she began. “I can see it. Hear it. There’s no inflection in your voice, no emotion. It’s empty; there’s no fire. No desire. Just duty, and duty is not what I want.” She wanted only the pleasure Rhys gave her. She wanted his warmth. His fire.
    Keir frowned at her words. “You’re very pretty.”
    “Keir—”
    “You have a beautiful figure. It’s . . . voluptuous. I like it.”
    She thought of Rowan’s figure, and she knew Keir was silently envisioning