Temple of the Winds

The room was empty of everyone except Richard. Kahlan. Cara, Legate Rishi, and the six sisters, cowering under a table. The lamps around the room dimmed, as if their wicks had been turned down. It cast them all in an eerie, wavering light.

The legate, his face gone blank, looked to have gone into a trance. He rose from the chair, blood still dripping from his chin. His arm lifted, pointing at Richard. Only he spoke, this time.

"The winds summon you. Wizard Richard Rahl. Magic has been stolen from the winds, and used in this world to cause harm. You must wed in order to enter the Temple of the Winds.

"Your wife is to be one named Nadine Brighton."

Unable to speak, Richard brought Kahlan's hand to his heart, holding it there in both of his hands.

Cara's arm lifted, pointing at Kahlan. Only she spoke, this time, in a frigid, heartless voice.

"The winds summon you. Mother Confessor Kahlan Amnell. Magic has been stolen from the winds, and used in this world to cause harm. You must wed in order to help Wizard Richard Rahl enter the Temple of the Winds. "You husband is to be one named Drefan Rahl." Richard dropped to his knees. Kahlan sank down beside him. She thought she should feel something. She felt only numbness. It seemed a dream.

She had thought it would never come. Now that it was happening, it seemed too fast. as if she were tumbling over a cliff, grasping for a handhold, but finding nothing to stop her fall as she plunged into icy blackness.

It was over. Everything was over. Her life, her dreams, her future, her joy, was over. It only remained to act it out until the end. Richard's ashen face looked up from Cara's feet.

"Cara, please. I'm begging you, don't do this to us." His voice broke. "Dear spirits, please don't do this to us, Cara." Cara's cold blue eyes stared back.

"I do not do this to you. I only bear the message from the winds. You must both agree to this, if you wish to enter the Temple of the Winds." "Why must Kahlan marry?" "The winds require a virgin bride." Richard's eyes darted to Kahlan. He looked back to Cara. "She isn't a virgin." "Yes, she is," Cara said. "No! She's not!"

Kahlan put her forehead against the side of Richard's face as she gripped his muscular neck, hugging herself to him.

"Yes. Richard. I am," she whispered. "In this world, I am. Shota told me that that was all that mattered to the spirits. In this world, in our world, the world of life, I am a virgin. We were together in another world. It doesn't apply here." "That's crazy," he whispered in a hoarse voice. "That's just crazy." "It fulfills the requirements of the winds," Cara said.

"This is the only chance you will be offered," the legate said. "If you do not take it, then the obligation of the winds to remedy the damage will be ended."

"Please, Cara," Richard whispered. "Please. . don't do this. There has to be another way."

"This is the only way." Cara, in her red leather, lowered above them. "It is up to you whether you will repair the damage. You must agree. If you fail to answer the call, it will not come again, and the magic released will run free."

"The winds wish to know your answer," the legate said. "You must both agree to this of your free will. It must be a true marriage in all aspects. It must be for life. You must both be of honest intent in your marriages, and faithful to the ones you wed."

"He speaks the truth of the winds. What is your answer?" Cara asked in a voice like ice.

Kahlan looked through the watery blur into Richard's eyes. She could see him dying behind those eyes.

"It is our duty. Only we can save those people, but I will say no if you wish it, Richard."

"How many more Rainas must die in my arms? I couldn't ask you to have me at the cost of another life."

Kahlan swallowed the wail. "Is there anything. . do you know of anything we could do to stop the plague?"

Richard shook his head. "I'm sorry. I have failed you. I haven't found a way around this."

"You haven't failed me, Richard. I couldn't bear to think we were the cause of more death, like Raina's, today." She threw her arms around his neck. "I love you so much, Richard."

Richard's big hand held her head to him. "We are agreed, then. We must do this."

Richard brought her to her feet with him. There was so much she wanted to say to him. No words came. When she looked into Richard's eyes, she knew words weren't needed.

They turned to Cara and the legate. "I agree. I will marry Nadine." "I agree. I will marry Drefan." Kahlan fell into Richard's arms as she lost control of her tears. She sobbed in agony. Richard embraced her, nearly squeezing the life out of her. Cara and the legate were suddenly there, pulling them apart. "You are each promised to another," Cara said. "You may not do this now.

You must each be loyal to your mates." Kahlan looked past the legate into Richard's eyes, each of them knowing that they had embraced for the last time. In that moment, her world ended.

CHAPTER 56