“Arisha, will you visit their grave with me?” Rhys asked.
“If you want me to.”
“Yes,” he said slowly, “I would like that very much.” He gave a big sigh, as if setting down a heavy load.
Then his hand moved down to cover my belly possessively. “After all I want to tell them of their grandson.”
“Or granddaughter,” I pointed out. Rhys had been unbearably smug lately.
“We’ll see.” His voice quivered and I realised he was teasing me.
Ah well, he had to be feeling more like his usual self again. Anyway, I wasn’t the least worried about the reception of our child if it was a girl. Between Lady Luned and her doting father she would get spoilt rotten.
Rhys cradled my face and slid a hand round the nape of my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. “My beautiful elephant thief…”
No woman minds being called beautiful by the man she loves, but I gave a sniff at that. “And this from the man who tried to take Hami from me.”
“Tried to, but never had a chance,” Rhys replied. “Instead you turned my life upside down as easily as you beat me at that first game of Shah.”
“Not easily!” I exclaimed. “Why, compared to making you change your mind, even stealing an elephant is child’s play.”
“But you did.” My stubborn, pig-headed, obstinate, but very much beloved husband flashed me one of those white grins that made my legs go weak. He bent closer. “What a surprising creature I captured that spring night, knowing nothing of the way she would ensnare my heart.”
“And you hers,” I whispered back, slipping my arms more firmly round him. Sometimes I still couldn’t quite believe what twists of fate had led me to this place, this man.
Suddenly we heard the rush of beating wings. “Arisha, look!” Rhys breathed, glancing up.
I followed his gaze to see two huge birds launch themselves into the air from a crag just above us. Riding the updrafts generated by the sun warming the rocky slopes of the mountains, the eagles banked steeply, wings almost touching, their feathers ruffled by the wind. A sharp shriek reached us.
Standing in the circle of each other’s arms, we watched them rise higher, two golden dots circling slowly until the blue immensity of the sky swallowed them up.
Other books by Lia Patterson
Bride to the Sun
Once, she could pluck fire out of the very air. Now she is the most insignificant member of an imperial court seething with intrigue.
Shay, firedancer and bride to the sun, faces punishment for the crimes of her dead father: she has her magic bound and at the emperor's whim finds herself handed over as concubine to a barbarian lord. However, Lord Medyr of the Hawk doesn’t particularly fancy such a dubious gift – proving a surprise both to Shay and to the man who wants to use them as pawns in his ruthless bid for power.
The reserved, self-controlled firedancer is bewildered by the task of having to deal with that strange creature, a male. Yet with enemies threatening on all sides, Shay and the hot-headed warrior from the north must build a fragile bridge of trust. But will they realise in time that the growing attraction between them is also their deadliest danger?
A tale of elemental magic, perilous intrigues, a tortoise and pond slime.
You can find links to all major retailers on my website www.liapatterson.com.
Thank you
First of all a big thank you to all my readers! I hope that you spent a few pleasant hours escaping from the everyday world by coming along on this adventure with me. If you’d take a moment to leave me a review to let me know what you liked about this book, that would be much appreciated. Being an indie author, it’s really my readers’ feedback that keeps me motivated to write.
There are many people to whom I am deeply indebted for their help and support while writing this story. A big thank you goes to the ladies at The Garden for their unstinting help and encouragement throughout the long process of writing this tale. Their comments were invaluable and I couldn’t have done it without them.
A special thanks also goes to my beta reader of many years, Sid, who pointed out stylistic issues, and to Kay, who hunted down typos and slew them mercilessly.
And finally of course, none of this would have been possible without the support and enthusiasm of my family. My sister has read all my stories and given valuable feedback, while my daughters are firmly convinced that anything I write has to be wonderful. Thank you!
About the author
Though this is only my second original novel, my writing career actually started over a decade ago, when I stumbled onto the wonderful world of fanfiction. I first read The Lord of the Rings as a teenager and it has remained one of my favourite books. After the films by Peter Jackson came out, I discovered that there was a whole world out there where people had spun on the threads of Tolkien’s stories. Since then I’ve written several stories about the Rohirrim and their king, Éomer, and in the process made lots of friends all over the world.
Besides having a fascination for imaginary worlds, I’ve always loved travelling to far-away places. The first thing I did once I had earned a little money of my own was to travel through China for several months. Since then I’ve visited several other Asian countries – the East seems to have a firm hold on my heart.
My other interests lie with language and history. English is actually not my first language, and writing my stories takes me considerable time as I search for exactly the right word or concept. Also I tend to get sidetracked researching obscure and completely useless bits of knowledge, but I don’t really mind that.
If you want to know what I’m up to and if I’m writing any new stories, feel free to visit my website www.liapatterson.com and join my newsletter. You will also find maps and other information on my worlds there.
Connect with me
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