She stopped breathlessly in front of him, caught off guard, her face as confused as any ordinary woman’s would have been.
‘What! Did you not foresee this visit, prophetess?’
She did not answer. He could see her breast moving up and down as her breath came short. He could see fear in her eyes. Fear of him!
She was a beautiful woman, and in that moment he desired her. But she was already beginning to pull herself together.
‘Stand aside, Dark Lord,’ she said haughtily. ‘This is the throne room of the High Priestess of the Blue Star. You have no right to be here.’
‘I have what rights I have the strength to take.’ He saw fear flicker in her eyes momentarily, but she controlled it.
‘You misunderstand the nature of things, my lord. To take by force is to lose. To be given is to keep.’
‘You
