Temple of the Winds

"How will I find the Temple of the Winds?" Richard asked. "You do not find the Temple of the Winds," Cara said. "The Temple of the Winds will find you, if the requirements are met."

Nadine lifted her bag before Richard. "Can I leave this here, then? It's heavy to carry if we're coming back here anyway." "Of course," Richard said, his voice a dead monotone.

Kahlan was made to walk behind Richard and beside Drefan as they returned to the horses. Nadine touched Richard's back as she walked beside him. She was doing a fair job of restraining her joy over her triumph, yet it was a touch meant to send a message: he belonged to her, now.

At the bottom of the Keep road, as they turned away from the city, Kahlan could hear the men with the dead-carts, calling out for people to bring out their dead. Soon, that would be ended, as the suffering and death of the plague was ended. Only in that did she find any solace. The children, their parents, would live.

If only it had come in time for Raina. Berdine hadn't said that, but Kahlan knew that that thought was screaming in her head.

Richard had ordered all their guards to remain. When Ulic and Egan had seen the look on his face, they hadn't argued. Only Richard and Nadine, Kahlan and Drefan, Cara, the legate, and his six wives rode out for Mount Kymerrmosst.

Kahlan didn't know how any of it was going to work, getting into the Temple of the Winds, nor did Richard. She didn't have the slightest curiosity about it. The only thing she could think about was Richard marrying Nadine. Kahlan was sure that Richard could think of nothing but her marrying Drefan.

As they rode, Drefan told stories, trying to keep everyone entertained, trying to lift their spirits. Kahlan didn't hear much of it. She watched Richard's back; her only need was to be looking when he glanced back at her, as he did from time to time.

She couldn't bear not to look at him, yet meeting his eyes was like a hot knife searing into her heart.

She took no joy in the mountainous country they rode into, the greening grass, unfurling ferns, budding trees. The day was warm, compared to what the weather had been for spring, so far, but the sky brooded with dark clouds. Before the day was out, she expected they would encounter a storm. The Andolians cringed every time their eyes turned up.

Kahlan pulled her cloak tighter around herself. She thought about her blue wedding dress back in her room that she had planned to wear when she married Richard.

She felt herself getting angry at him. He had seduced her into thinking she could have love, could have happiness. Seduced her into forgetting she had only duty. Seduced her into loving him.

When she realized she was angry at him, the tears came again, running down her face in a silent torrent. This wasn't happening just to her, it was happening to him, too. They shared this torment.

She thought about the first time she saw him. It seemed so long ago that she had been running from Darken Rahl's assassins, and Richard had helped her. She thought about all the things they had done together, all the times she stood watch while he slept, and she gazed at him, imagining being just a normal woman who could fall in love, instead of a Confessor who had to keep her feelings secret and live a loveless life of duty.

Richard had found a way, though, found a way that she, a Confessor, could have love. And now it was in ashes.

Why would the spirits do this to them? The answer came when she remembered her talk with Shota, and with the spirit. There were not only good spirits, but evil spirits, too. Those evil spirits had a hand in this. They were the ones who wanted this, who demanded it as the price of the path.

The spirits who demanded that price were worse than evil. Late in the morning, they stopped to rest the horses and eat. Nadine and Drefan talked with their mouths full. The legate sat back as his wives fed him. He had a hard time, what with his cut lip. They rubbed their legs against his. giggling as he took food from their fingers. They ate between offering him bites. Cara ate in silence. Kahlan didn't notice what any of them had to eat.

She and Richard didn't eat. They both sat on the sunny rocks like deadwood, silent, sullen, staring at nothing.

When the others had finished with their meal, Richard watched as they all mounted up again. Even though none of the others noticed it, Kahlan could see the smoldering rage in his eyes. The spirits had chosen Drefan to wound him. They could have done nothing worse.

"How's the arm?" Nadine asked Drefan as they all started out again. Drefan held it up and flexed his fingers in demonstration. "Nearly good as new."

Kahlan ignored their conversation. All morning, they had chattered. In her silent world, it was barely noticed.