Prologue

She was aware of him, he knew. The staccato thrum of her heart had a delicious effect on the vein in the slender, pale column of her throat. A delicate purple pulsing wildly beneath the white. She stood still, as still as a tree in the calm before the storm, aquiver with anticipation, but mindful of her situation.

He could smell her fear.

It was a delicate scent, faint under the natural fragrance that enveloped her like a cloud. It was a part of her, just like the golden aura that made her glow. There was no doubt that she was powerful and could possibly prove to be a formidable match for him. But not... at this moment.

Because at this moment she stood, glowing under the starlight, surrounded by the immobile forms of her court and personal guard, with her own powers bound within the circle formed by their bodies. They were not dead, no. But neither would they wake unless he willed it. And he, was having too much fun, just watching her breathe... softly, rapidly, like the beating of a hummingbird's heart... each shallow draw of precious air bringing a fresh flush of the palest pink to the exquisite features of her alluring face.

Endless moments passed, and the night sky began to grow lighter, suffused with a rosy hue that barely resembled the painted cheeks he was so enjoying the sight of. And as the light brightened, he all but felt her curiosity grow, a palpable physical thing, that she was apprehensive of, and yet, oddly, eagerly looked forward to.

Soon he would be revealed. He wasn't too worried about that. It was why he was here after all. Instead he wondered – vaguely, disinterestedly – what she would say. Not that it would make too much of a difference.

A smile twisted his lips briefly, flitting away with the thought. For all of life's nuisances in these past years, not to mention all of his life before then, this was where he felt at home. In a place he wasn't meant to be, in a time that wasn't his own, but with the power to make a difference.

It was enough. But the dawn was coming up now, lighting up the highest reaches of the forest, filtering down to the gloom under the eaves. For one brief moment he lifted his head to the light. When he looked down again, his green gaze caught her blue.

The clash of wills was inevitable. Short, powerful, as he expected. Still he waited. Patience would be rewarded, after all.