Then she ran.
Through the ballroom, past the splendid dancing couples and the orchestra, whirring from one pastel-yellow room into another decorated all in deep chartreuse. She ran past gasping ladies and grunting gentlemen, over hardwood floors and thick, opulent Persian rugs, until the lights grew dimmer and the partygoers thinned out, and at last she found the mullioned doors that led outside. She thrust them open, gasping in her corset to draw the fresh air of freedom into her lungs. She strode onto an enormous balcony made of brilliant white marble that wrapped around the entire second story of the palace.
The night was bright with stars; all Luce wanted to do was to be in Daniel's arms and flying up toward those stars. If only he were by her side to take her far from all of this--
What are you doing out here?
She spun around. He'd come for her. He stood across the balcony in simple servant's clothes, looking confused and alarmed and tragically, hopelessly in love.
Daniel. She dashed toward him. He moved toward her, too, his violet eyes lighting up; he threw open his arms, beaming. When they finally connected and Luce was wrapped up in his arms, she thought she might explode from happiness.
But she didn't.
She just stayed there, her head buried against his wonderful, broad chest. She was home. His arms were wrapped around her back, resting on her waist, and he pulled her as close to him as possible. She felt him breathe, and smelled the husky scent of straw on his neck. Luce kissed just below his left ear, then underneath his jaw. Soft, gentle kisses until she reached his lips, which parted against her own. Then the kisses became longer, filled with a love that seemed to pour out from the very depths of her soul.
After a moment, Luce broke away and stared into Daniel's eyes. I've missed you so much.
Daniel chuckled. I've missed you, too, these past ... three hours. Are--are you all right?
Luce ran her fingers through Daniel's silky blond hair. I just needed to get some air, to find you. She squeezed him tightly.
Daniel narrowed his eyes. I don't think we should be out here, Lys. They must be expecting you back in the receiving room.
I don't care. I won't go back in there. And I would never marry that pig. I will never marry anyone but you.
Shhh. Daniel winced, stroking her cheek. Someone might hear you. They've cut off heads for less than that.
Someone already did hear you, a voice called from the open doorway. The Duc de Bourbon stood with his arms crossed over his chest, smirking at the sight of Lys in the arms of a common servant. I believe the king should hear of this. And then he was gone, disappearing inside the palace.
Luce's heart raced, driven by Lys's fear and her own: Had she altered history? Was Lys's life supposed to proceed differently?
But Luce couldn't know, could she? That was what Roland had told her: Whatever changes she made in time, they would immediately be part of what had happened. Yet Luce was still here, so if she'd changed history by ditching the king--well, it didn't seem to matter to Lucinda Price in the twenty-first century.
When she spoke to Daniel, her voice was steady. I don't care if that vile duke kills me. I'd sooner die than give you up.
A wave of heat swept over her, causing her to sway where she stood. Oh, she said, clasping a hand to her head. She recognized it distantly, like something she'd seen a thousand times before but had never paid attention to.
Lys, he whispered. Do you know what's coming?
Yes, she whispered.
And you know that I'll be with you until the end? Daniel's eyes bored into her, full of tenderness and worry. He wasn't lying to her. He'd never lied to her. He never would. She knew that now, could see it. He revealed just enough to keep her alive a few moments longer, to suggest everything Luce was already beginning to learn on her own.
Yes. She closed her eyes. But there's so much I still don't understand. I don't know how to stop this from happening. I don't know how to break this curse.
Daniel smiled, but there were tears brimming in his eyes.
Luce wasn't afraid. She felt free. Freer than she'd ever felt before.
A strange, deep understanding was unfurling in her memory. Something becoming visible in the fog of her head. One kiss from Daniel would open a door, releasing her from a loveless marriage to a bratty child, from the cage of this body. This body wasn't who she really was. It was just a shell, part of a punishment. And so this body's death wasn't a tragedy at all--it was simply the end of a chapter. A beautiful, necessary release.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs behind them. The duke returning with his men. Daniel gripped her shoulders.
Lys, listen to me--
Kiss me, she begged. Daniel's face changed, as if he needed to hear nothing else. He lifted her off the ground and crushed her against his chest. Tingling heat coursed through her body as she kissed him harder and deeper, letting herself go completely. She arched her back and tilted her head toward the sky and kissed him until she was dizzy with bliss. Until dark traces of shadows swirled and blackened the stars overhead. An obsidian symphony. But behind it: There was light. For the first time, Luce could feel the light shining through.
It was absolutely glorious.
It was time for her to go.
Get out while the gettings good, Bill had warned her. While she was still alive.
But she couldn't leave yet. Not while everything was so warm and lovely. Not with Daniel still kissing her, wild with passion. She opened her eyes and the colors of his hair and his face and the night itself burned brighter and more beautiful, lit up by an intense radiance.
That radiance was coming from deep inside Luce herself.
With every kiss, her whole body edged closer to the light. This was the only true way back to Daniel. Out of one mundane life and into another. Luce would happily die a thousand times just as long as she could be with him again on the other side. Stay with me, Daniel pleaded even as she felt herself incandesce.