"You don't have to go through with this," he told her. "No one would blame you for walking out."
Ryaa shook her head.
"It will be all right," she insisted. Standing on tiptoe, she caught his face between her hands and pressed her lips to his.
"That's how much I think of your old curse," she murmured and fled into the other room.
When she returned she had changed into a sheer blue gown that just matched her eyes, and did nothing to hide her perfectly formed body. Ool stared. He knew that she had grown up but he hadn't realized how beautiful she had become.
He took a step toward her. But there, standing beside her, were the ghostly figures of Loris and Tanya. He stopped abruptly and his arms fell to his sides.
"I must say you don't act much like an ardent bridegroom," Ryaa complained. "After all, we're supposed to behave normally." She caught his arms and drew them around her. Slipping her arms around his neck she raised her face to his.
Ool's arms tightened around her and his lips met hers.
Behind Ryaa a chair disintegrated with a whispered sigh, unheard by the lovers. But they did hear the crash of splintering glass as two struggling figures hurtled into the room. Ryaa clung to Ool as the fighters threshed around them, unrecognizable at first. Then a slim, golden-haired figure seemed to be forcing his opponent down.
"Ryyn," Ryaa exclaimed. "But who—"