Serena hadn't made him feel that way when she had slipped into his consciousness, and that had actually been a deeper and more personal intrusion. He thought about that fleetingly, accepting it as yet another indication of how right her presence in his life had become. And then he forced himself to think only of blocking Antonia's power.

His heartbeat slowed to normal, and his senses cleared, ending the dizziness. When he opened his eyes, he saw Antonia's lips twisted in a snarl of fury that instantly reverted to the purely female, seductive smile. Her eyes were like pale blue chips of ice.

"You're very powerful," she murmured.

"So are you."

"And very stubborn, I think."

He smiled. "Wizard or not, I prefer some things to happen naturally, without any artificial… enhancement."

"And will it happen, do you think? Do you find me desirable, Merlin?"

Merlin began to understand then how his ancestors could have gazed on an angry and powerful female wizard and decided that life would be safer and simpler without the distaff side of their kind. He knew himself to be standing on very uncertain ground; Antonia might not be powerful enough to kill him, but she could most certainly injure him, and no doubt the two Master wizards she had sent for him and who probably waited outside the door even now would be happy to finish him off.

Obviously she had attempted to seduce him with as little wasted effort as possible, choosing to manipulate his emotions and senses until he saw nothing except a woman he had to have. Clearly she either felt none of the fear of the other female wizards or had overcome her feelings far enough to anticipate, with apparent eagerness, sex with a male-and a wizard at that. What he didn't know was why she was so determined that he be her conquest, and why she had made her move so soon after first setting eyes on him. As if it were something she had decided to attempt long before he had walked into the room.

Why? Had her knowledge of his relationship with Serena so piqued her curiosity that she was eager to experiment and chose him because he was a stranger and someone she knew to be already predisposed to consider a sexual relationship with a female wizard? Perhaps… but he didn't think that was Antonia's only motivation.

"I find you incredibly beautiful," he answered her gravely, honestly. "But I'm committed to Serena." Odd how easily those words come. Could I have said them even yesterday? Probably not.

"Are you always so faithful to your… companion?" she asked softly.

The voice was sensual, but Merlin kept his attention on those cold eyes. He knew he had to tread very carefully. All the old adages about a woman scorned didn't even begin to describe what could happen when that woman was a wizard.

Thoughtfully he said, "It's so difficult for men and women of power to trust each other. It took Serena and me years, years of knowing each other, before we could try to get close. That's an achievement I could never deliberately sabotage."

"She wouldn't have to know," Antonia suggested.

"Of course she would." Merlin lifted a rueful eyebrow. "She's a wizard. Antonia, I'm very flattered-and a little puzzled. Why me?"

"I could say it was because you're leaving."

"You could. Would it be true?"

"No. I had intended to ask you to stay. As for why, you seemed the best choice. You see, it's only recently that I seriously explored the possibility of joining with a male." Her eyes narrowed slightly as if in thought, and her hands lifted to rest on her hips in a stance more challenging than seductive. "Merlin, Atlantia must be united, and of all the wizards here I'm the one best able to accomplish that."

He saw the change in her manner, but still sensed her sexuality coming off her in waves, intense and hungry. He kept his guard up. Carefully neutral, he said, "That goal is usually a good one for any society. But why do you need me?"

"Because I can't rule the male wizards here, not alone, not without more power. For years I've thought and studied the problem, all the while trying to keep Sanctuary intact to provide all women a safe place for living-and breeding. I've done everything I could to restore the balance of the population of Atlantia."

Merlin had formed a conviction about one aspect of this city, and though he was taking a chance, he was too curious not to ask. "In the mountains the males kill their female children; here, I'm told, male children born with power always weaken and die. The women here seem to blame a baffling fate, but I think the cause is far more… practical. Isn't it? Isn't it all a part of your determination to balance the population, no matter what the cost?"

She stiffened. "That is none of your concern," she snapped.

He had his answer. "No, I suppose not. But if that's true, why are you telling me about your intention of ruling Atlantis? Firstly, it's none of my concern, and secondly, my involvement could hardly make a difference. Could it?"

"Yes, it could." Her eyes were still cold, but they were also sharp and eager. "I've seen the future, Merlin. No one else here has the ability of sight, but I have it. I saw you-with me. I saw our powers joined just as our bodies were joined, and together we were invincible. I saw it. We were meant to rule Atlantia together."

Merlin chose his words carefully. "You must have somehow misinterpreted what you saw, Antonia, because I have no intention of ruling anything. I am leaving for Seattle with Serena before the next full moon, as I always intended to do."

Her lovely face hardened, and her lips writhed in that snarl of fury. "You spurn me? Me?"

"No, I simply decline your generous offer to rule Atlantis. I'm sorry, Antonia, but it was never one of my ambitions to be a king-even with a lovely queen beside me."

For several moments it seemed doubtful that he'd escape this room without feeling her wrath, but Merlin stood his ground, because his instincts told him to do just that. And it seemed his instincts were right, because she finally relaxed and offered him something like a smile.

"Well, since you wouldn't be much good to me unwilling and I can't seem to break through your guard to change that, it seems I have little choice but to accept your refusal."

He bowed slightly, making sure the gesture held no mockery. "Thank you. But I still say you may have misread what you saw. After all, the male wizards are all very similar in build and coloring."

"Yes, perhaps." She was impatient now, a bit imperious as she attempted to regain her lost face. "In any case the matter no longer concerns you. Good day, Merlin."

Since he'd already pushed his luck a couple of times during the interview, he didn't hesitate now in bowing again and promptly leaving the room. As he'd expected, the two female Master wizards were waiting outside to escort him from Antonia's house, though they went only as far as the street, leaving him to find his way back to Roxanne's house alone.

He glanced up to study the sun, calculating he had no more than an hour before he had to leave the city, and quickened his steps. He thought he'd suggest to Serena that they leave the city together and climb the nearest mountain for the night; he could hide their presence from whichever male wizard the land belonged to, after all, and they could return to Sanctuary in the morning to wait for Roxanne and Tremayne.

After the encounter with Antonia, he had the urge to stay away from this place as much as possible.

He was nearly at Roxanne's house when two sudden realizations stopped him in his tracks. The first was that Antonia might have been Serena's older sister, they looked so much alike; the second was that crystal balls had always been used by wizards for prophesy. Always.

Merlin stood there for a full minute, but then continued on his way to Roxanne's house. After all, it wasn't his place to tell Antonia what she obviously hadn't realized-that the Curtain must have distorted her crystal over the years. It wasn't his place to tell her what her own people had obviously neglected to inform her about Serena's so closely resembling her (because she surely would have commented on it if she'd known). And it certainly wasn't his place to suggest that the woman she had recognized as herself in that vision of the future might well be Serena.