His eyes met hers squarely and there was no shame and no remorse in them.
"Yes, I would dare," he said. "I would dare love Tara of Helium; but I would not dare defile her or any woman with kisses that were not prompted by love of her alone." He stepped closer to her and laid his hands upon her shoulders. "Look into my eyes, daughter of The Warlord," he said, "and tell me that you do not wish the love of Turan, the panthan."
"I do not wish your love," she cried, pulling away. "I hate you!" and then turning away she bent her head into the hollow of her arm, and wept.
The man took a step toward her as though to comfort her when he was arrested by the sound of a cackling laugh behind him. Wheeling about, he discovered a strange figure of a man standing in a doorway. It was one of those rari
