Midnight Pleasures

Part One CHAPTER 13

  The trip home was uneventful. Channa Leigh hid her disappointment well, but Darkfest could not shake off the sense of failure. It weighed like a millstone round his neck. Why had he failed?

  The question plagued him long after they returned home. Even Channa Leigh's sweet voice could not ease his troubled mind.

  Late one night as he wandered through the castle, he found himself standing in front of the painting of his parents. His gaze settled on his father's face. The Dragon Lord of Darkfest Castle.

  Darkfest swore a short, pithy oath, then turned and went to his chamber. He worked all through the night, and as dawn rose in the sky, he held up a small vial of ruby-colored liquid. It held three drops of his own blood and the ashes of four of the wolf's hairs mixed with the juice of wild berries to make it palatable. He stared at the vial a long moment, wondering if he had at last discovered the secret to restore Channa Leigh's sight

  Unable to wait a moment longer, he ran up the stairs to her bedchamber and rushed inside.

  Kneeling beside her bed, he shook her shoulder lightly. "Channa Leigh! Wake up, lass. "

  She woke with a start. "Is something wrong, my lord?"

  "Drink this. " He thrust the vial into her hand. "Quickly now. "

  "What is it?"

  "Drink!"

  Compelled by the tone of his voice, she downed the contents in a single swallow, gasping as the fiery liquid burned its way down her throat.

  He watched her carefully, his heart pounding with excitement and trepidation.

  And then, slowly, she turned to face him. "My lord," she breathed, and there was a wealth of wonder in her voice. "Truly thou art the most handsome of men. "

  "Channa Leigh!"

  "I can see you. " A smile as bright as summer sun curved her lips and lit her eyes. "I can see you!"

  With a glad cry, he drew her into his arms, their tears mingling as he held her close.

  "But how?" she asked. "How did you do it?"

  "The dragon's blood," he replied with a rueful grin.

  "What dragon? Not Blackencrill?"

  "No. This dragon," he said, thumping himself on the chest

  "You, my lord?"

  "Aye. My father was known as the Dragon Lord of Darkfest Castle. I dinna know why I did not recall that sooner. For some reason I canna understand, there is magic in the wolf's hair, so I combined that with my blood. The dragon's blood. " He frowned, wondering if his human hair would have worked as well.

  "And will it last?" she asked.

  "Only time will tell. "

  She looked up at him, her eyes shining. And then she jumped to her feet. "Come," she said, holding out her hand. "We must go and tell my mama and papa. "

  Grinning, Darkfest gained his feet "Mayhap you should dress first. "

  She looked down at her nightgown and then back at him, her cheeks pink. "I think you may be right my lord. "

  The sun was still climbing in the sky when they made their way to Channa Leigh's home.

  She burst inside, calling, "Mama, Mama!"

  Her mother rushed into the room, wiping her hands on a towel, her brow lined with worry. "Channa Leigh! Child, what is wrong?'

  "Mama. Oh, Mama. " She flung herself into her mother's arms and hugged her tightly.

  Mara looked into her daughter's face, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Can it be?" She glanced at Darkfest and took a step backward, drawing Channa Leigh with her. "What dark magic is this?"

  " 'Tis magic indeed, Mama!" Channa Leigh cried. "Is Papa here?"

  "What's all the ruckus?" Her father's voice preceded him into the room.

  "Papa!" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. " 'Tis a miracle, Papa. "

  He hugged her back. "A miracle?"

  She drew away a little and looked into his eyes. "I can see, Papa!"

  Taking her mother and father by the hand, she pulled them into the kitchen and sat down at the table. They took their places, glancing over their shoulders as Darkfest followed them into the room.

  He stood in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest, while Channa Leigh told all that had happened since she had gone to live in the wizard's castle.

  There were tears in Mara's eyes when the tale was told.

  Dugald rose to his feet and faced Darkfest. "And so you mean to marry my daughter, do you?"

  "Aye. "

  "And if I say nay, what then?"

  "If Channa Leigh refuses me of her own free will, I will never see her again. But if she wishes to be my wife, as she said, then I will have her, with or without your blessing. "

  Dugald turned his gaze to his daughter. "Do you truly wish to marry this man?"

  "Aye, Papa, with all my heart. "

  Dugald looked to his wife. "And what say you?"

  "She loves him, old man. You can see it in her eyes. "

  And so it was that the fair maiden in the valley married the dark wizard upon the hill.

  Darkfest stood beneath a canopy of tree boughs, waiting for his bride, felt his breath catch in his throat when he saw her walking toward him on her father's arm.

  Never, in all his long life, had Darkfest seen anything to equal the beauty of Channa Leigh as she moved gracefully toward him. He gazed deep into her eyes, eyes filled with a love so deep and pure and true that it filled his heart with a sweet agony. The light in her eyes forever burned away the darkness that had ever been a part of him, banishing it from the depths of his heart and soul as if it had never existed.

  It took but a few words spoken by the priest to make her his wife, to bind her to him for so long as she lived. And, thanks to his blood, she would have a long life indeed.

  "I love ye, my lady of light," he murmured as he drew her into his arms.

  "And I love you, my lord," she replied, and standing on her tiptoes, she claimed her first kiss as his wife.

  The first, dear reader, but not the last.