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EPILOGUE

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She stood in the shelter of his arms, his chin resting on her head, the stars shining above them as they stood on the terrace. She listened to his erratic heartbeat beneath her ear, and she knew this was as hard for him as it was for her. That knowledge only added anger to her despair.

"Tell me again why I can't go," she said in a shaky voice.

"The answer isn't going to change, Princess." His soft, caressing words were belied by the tightening of his arms, pulling her even closer to him. "You're safe on Moya. I can't protect you from both your pursuers and mine."

Trying to convince him she didn't need protection was useless, so she threw out the same argument for the hundredth time. "So stay."

"I have contracts to honor." The answer never changed.

"Frell your contracts!"

She felt his fingers lace into her hair, pulling her head gently back until she was forced to meet his gaze. Looking into his eyes, she knew he wasn't going to change his mind, or his plans. He had decided he was bad for her, and he was leaving.

She felt an invisible hand reach into her chest, grab her heart and squeeze. Gentle tears slowly threaded their way down her cheeks. She didn't know what to tell him; how to convey he was hurting her worse by leaving her behind.

Softly, he kissed one trail of tears and then the other before meeting her lips. At first, it was a gentle benediction, a fleeting good-bye. Something exploded between them, and the soft caress was suddenly urgent, desperate, unmeasured. She realized he had no more control than she did and hope flared. Where words failed, maybe unspoken communication would convince him.

The kiss deepened as she poured out every emotion, every feeling of love she possessed. Silently she chanted, "I love you, don't go, I love you," hoping he could hear her silent pleading in her touch.

Every graze of his lips, every flick of his tongue, every caress of his hands screamed, "I want you, you're mine." He wouldn't go; he couldn't, not after this.

He ripped his mouth from hers, pulling her arms from around his neck. Without a word, he stormed from the terrace and away from his princess.

The hand clutching her heart squeezed tighter, the passageway from her throat to her lungs cut. She found herself gasping for air as she fell to her knees, her body convulsing with silent sobs. The tears puddled on the floor beneath her. He'd left her.

Two gentle hands lifted her into familiar comforting arms. How many times had she found solace in this embrace? She buried her face into his black t-shirt as he caressed her hair. "Shhh," he soothed as he rocked her. "It'll be all right."

"It... hurts," she choked out before another sob broke.

"I know, honey. Believe me, I know." Her father kissed her hair. "He'll be back," he claimed with so much certainty, she found herself daring to believe him.

She held onto his words, her crushed hope faintly lifting. She clutched her father's strong shoulders as the oppressive, searing pain continued to snake through her chest and stomach. Never before had she been so grateful for her father. As he knelt on the terrace holding her, comforting her, she swore amidst her sobs that she would never under-appreciate him again.