"I saw our powers joined just as our bodies were joined, and together we were invincible!"

Had Antonia actually seen Merlin and Serena in that prophesy of a physical coupling and the merging of powerful positive and negative energies?

He pushed the question away, forcing himself to re-examine his decision not to return to Antonia and tell her what he'd realized. The decision felt right. Besides, he'd seen enough to be sure she wouldn't believe him no matter what he told her. In her determination to rule Atlantis, she had blinded herself to everything but her goal, even to the loathsome extent of slyly causing the male children born in Sanctuary to weaken slowly and die, which made her no better than the ambitious males up in the mountains and possibly worse. At least their infanticide was reputedly quick and efficient.

Serena had been right-as an example of sisterhood, this place came up lacking.

Antonia sat before her crystal, staring fixedly into the shimmering depths. And, again, as she had for weeks now, she saw the same scene. The background was only darkness, so she wasn't sure where it took place, but two people lay together, their naked bodies entwined, obviously making love. They were lying on a bed covered with fur, and firelight flickered over their bodies, so there was apparently a hearth nearby. The man was dark, muscled, powerful; the woman slender and yet seductive, her rich red hair spread out like waves of fire, and the aura surrounding them was literally pulsing with their combined power.…

Antonia sensed that she was looking at something truly incredible, and it fascinated her. All that power, she thought, and simply due to a sexual alliance! If she had known years ago that her power could combine with a male's, she would have chosen a consort then and saved herself years of a frustrating standoff in which she governed the women while the male wizards bickered and bred like rats.

Striking the table with a clenched fist, Antonia swore softly, intensely. Why had he refused her? Why? She wanted to believe his rejection was momentary, that she would find a way to persuade or seduce him, but she wasn't fool enough to indulge in stupid fantasies.

His power was obvious, and when he had slammed the door to shut her out, she had found no possibility of forcing her way back in again.

No, Merlin was stubbornly attached to his Serena. How sweet. The only bright spot Antonia could find was his assertion that they would soon leave Atlantia; given his power and skill, the last thing she wanted was for him to linger long enough that he might be tempted to interfere in her plans-however much he denied an ambition to rule.

But with Merlin gone, what hope had she of finding a powerful male wizard willing to join his body and power to here-and, of course, to later be commanded by her?

The situation seemed hopeless, but Antonia didn't give up so easily. Instead she covered her crystal with a black cloth and went to her desk, taking from one of the drawers several sheets of parchment. There were written the names of every adult male wizard in Atlantia, with the ones said to be weakest and easiest led at the top. She had devoted much time and effort during the last weeks to the compilation of the list, since she had known only that her lover would be a dark male wizard.

She went to the perfect mirror hanging on the wall of her bedroom and recited a soft spell, then glanced down at her list. Looking back at the mirror, she said, "Show me Selby," and watched as an image swiftly formed. She knew at once he was wrong; this wizard was thin and too pale, not at all like the man she had seen in her crystal.

She cleared the mirror and consulted her list again, knowing it could take her days to work her way through all the names. She couldn't devote all her time to the search, of course, no matter how anxious she was; the city had to be run and its citizens looked after, and that was her responsibility.

But she intended to snatch every moment she could in which to continue her search. She had to find the lover fate was offering to her. Only then could she rule all of Atlantia.

"Show me Wyatt…"

By late afternoon of the second day of their hike, Roxanne and Tremayne had covered very little ground-and she knew it was her fault. The closer they came to the village, the more reluctant she was to continue, partly because she was having doubts about what she meant to do, but mostly because she was-against all odds-enjoying this time with Tremayne.

He seemed perfectly happy to slow their pace to a stroll, and there seemed to be a great deal to talk about. He spoke of his home in Europa, answering her questions with vivid descriptions of a world different from the one to which she was accustomed. And Roxanne found herself listening with a wistfulness she couldn't conceal.

"Is it ugly there, as it is here?" she asked him. "With twisted trees and so much rock-and earthquakes?"

"No, Europa is paradise compared to Atlantia. The trees are tall and straight, the grass grows thick and green, and all the water is pure. As for earthquakes, I've never known one to strike Europa."

"And no Curtain," she murmured.

"No Curtain. It's a beautiful land, Roxanne."

"Male and female wizards don't fight there?"

"No. They do tend to avoid each other," he admitted honestly, "but there's no open hostility. What worries me is the notion that the society of Europa could be heading down the same path Atlantia followed. If something isn't done to create a sense of understanding and unity between men and women of power, the entire society of wizards could be doomed."

"Is that why you-"

"No, it isn't." Tremayne's voice was calm. "My feelings for you are entirely personal, Roxanne."

"You don't know me. How could you feel anything for me?"

"I don't know."

That reply startled her so much that she stopped walking and turned to stare at him. "You don't know?"

He was smiling a bit ruefully, but his eyes held that unnerving hunger she had seen before. "It isn't something I can explain or control, you see. It just happened. I looked at you, and something inside me said, 'There she is!' I didn't question it any more than I question that my heart is beating."

After a moment Roxanne turned and kept walking. "You're a very strange man" was all she could manage to say.

Tremayne's only response was to suggest that they find a place to camp for the night. "The village should be no more than an hour or so away, so we can go in first thing in the morning."

Roxanne agreed they should make camp, and by the time darkness and the Curtain fell, they had settled down in the shelter of the trees just east of a ridge. The moon, a bare sliver of light, was briefly visible before the Curtain intensified.

As she made herself comfortable sitting on her side of the campfire, Roxanne noticed that the ground felt warm to the touch, and it made her uneasy. This time of year, the ground never warmed very much even in the sunlight, and here, underneath the trees, it should have remained decidedly chilled. It was another sign of turmoil in the very ground of Atlantia, she realized, like the strong tremor that rocked the valley not long after dark.

Though it didn't seem to damage the area where their camp lay, both Roxanne and Tremayne were disturbed by the quake; it was always unsettling to feel the ground beneath roll and twitch as if it had no more substance than mist. Even after the ground steadied again and the night sounds of the valley had resumed, neither of them felt much like sleeping.

They ate food neither really tasted and talked rather aimlessly for a while, passing the hours. It was near midnight when Tremayne said suddenly, "You can tell me the truth, you know. Or shall I tell you what I think? Your mother would never ask you to risk yourself by crossing the valley at night, would she, Roxanne?"