Across the open window a shadow passed blacker than the darkness. She arose and looked out; naught could she see—all was silent. Then a faint voice like a whisper came from the parapet:
'Saronia, it is Chios!'
And in a moment he was beside her, and, throwing aside his mantle, stood before her in all his strength.
She was appalled, but knew it would be death to both to utter the faintest cry, and with horrible calmness the priestess murmured:
'What, by all the gods, brings thee here?'
'Love! Life without seeing, speaking to thee, is worthless—worse than valueless! I scaled the Parabolus walls, I did the same by yonder parapet; and, by Jove! were they high as Mount Coressus, I would have come. I passed the guards, saw the Temple's frowning brow; the lightning lit my path, and the thundering echoes on the midnight winds were music to my soul. I gazed towards this resting-place, and, when the heavens were lit with flame, saw thee standing alone at the window. 'Twas enough for me. My spirit bounded here long before my body came. Didst thou not feel my influence?'
'Yes, I thought of thee; but thy presence here is too awful to contemplate.'
'No, no, dearest love! this is our fate. Thou art my complement; we cannot long remain asunder. Thine essence is a part of myself; thou art my affinity, my counterpart, that which makes my whole, my sun. Remove it, and the whole system is shaken, and wanders into chaos and oblivion. Had I a thousand lives, not one should be reserved; all should be thrown into the balance for thee.'
He caught her in his arms, and his lips met hers.
'Darling, art thou safe whilst I am here?'