«I understand,» said Blade. «The secret will go no farther.»

«Do you swear it by whatever you hold most sacred?»

«I do so swear it. I swear by my honor as a Prince of England that the secret will never pass my lips and will die with me.»

«May the Three Mothers bless you and give you a long life,» said Haleen. She leaned forward and impulsively threw her arms around him, kissing him on both cheeks, on the eyelids, and finally on the lips-along, warm, and lingering kiss. Blade found himself feeling warmer than the kiss alone could make him, and in places where Haleen was not kissing him or even touching him. The girl's happiness was turning itself into desire, and that desire was passing on to him and into hum and finding a response in him.

He ran his own hands up and down her back, his fingers dancing along her spine and his palms cupping her firm buttocks, covered only by the robe. She kissed him again on the lips, even more warmly than before, and pressed against him so hard that he could feel her small, firm breasts through both robe and blanket.

Blade wriggled out from under his blanket, gently pushing Haleen away as she dove for his groin. He was excited enough for the moment. He sat up and Haleen sat up also, facing him. She raised her arms over her head as he reached out and unknotted the golden cord around her waist. The robe fell open and patterns of light and shadow played across the fine skin and the delicately molded breasts within. Blade took the sleeves of the robe and drew it off over Haleen's head, very slowly, tantalizing both of them.

He threw the robe aside, and in the next moment she was lunging forward to crush herself warmly against him and then on top of him as he went over backward onto the furs.