The opulent bedchamber is the grandest I've seen yet, with murals made of dusty gems on the ceiling and along one gilded wall. Windows look out at the darkened sky. Two huge hearths are burning and the room is large enough to have its own sitting area, dining area, and huge bed, in addition to four squatting wardrobes.

The Shadow Knight is on the side of the chamber opposite the bed, standing before a hearth and gazing into it.

"Atreyu!" I exclaim, relieved to see him. I enter. The door closes behind me and I wait for him to speak or move.

He doesn't.

My god - that body. My eyes go over his muscular, thick frame slowly, from the dark hair to his broad shoulders, slender hips, and the thighs that make my panties melt. Already my blood is heating. The only part of him I don't find attractive: the boar head.

"I'm here to help," I say awkwardly.

"No one can help."

"Isn't this what we're meant to do?"

The boar head swivels towards me, revealing the light gray eyes of the warrior side of him that's never fully under his control. He's ready to kill me or make love to me.

I stop where I am, heat blooming in my lower belly, along with fear.

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"'Tis too late," he growls.

"You have to try, right? You can't let the world go without fighting until the last minute."

He says nothing, watching me.

I really don't like that look. "Can we talk without the head?"

He doesn't move.

"It's me, your battle-witch, not your enemy," I remind him. "Just for a minute. No boar head. You can put it back on before you . . . whatever."

He raises his hands and pulls it off. His face is stony, almost unrecognizable with its coldness. I had hoped to see a glimmer of something in his eyes indicating he had a plan.

A little less freaked out, I nervously inch closer. "You have to try, Atreyu."

"Two kingdoms stand defiant and I have surrendered my hold."

A flair of heat ignites inside me. "So you're giving up?" I ask, baffled. "Just like that?"

"I tried to enter the chamber where the fog originates. 'Tis not accessible by any means. I cannot defeat Brown Sun Lake when my armies are too far. I cannot win," he responds. "I am the final Shadow Knight, the last of my line to have failed."

"No! I refuse to accept that answer! You spent twenty-five years away from home to prevent this. Your forefathers spent a thousand years doing the same! You can't give up when you're so close!" Nearing him, I stare up into his face, seeking some part of him that's willing to reconsider. "Atreyu, you must fight!"




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