"Myrddin I owe you an apology. I should have foreseen this." Libuse sounded strained.

Myrddin frowned but remained silent. Libuse escorted him away from the gathering and into an apparently empty room with high ornate ceilings and a white marble tiled floor. With a wave of her hand, she created an open fireplace and positioned a plump two-seater sofa in front of it. The print was hideous.

"Good grief where did that come from? I must be more upset that I thought. Let me try that again." She waved her right hand again and the sofa was now covered in a dark green suede."

"You really like green, don't you?" Myrddin mused.

"I'm an elf, what do you expect!" she snapped before taking a deep breath. "I'm so sorry, Myrddin. I am not angry with you. I am angry with myself."

"How is it your fault that Rosemonde doesn't believe me?"

"What are you talking about of course she believes you! That is why she agreed to come. Besides, I would never have subjected her to facing you if I believed you willingly took part in Azazael's rituals."

"Then why am I still to be appraised?"

"You are controlling yourself rather well and are to be congratulated for that. You've come a long way."

"What are you on about?" he asked through gritted teeth. In truth, he knew exactly what she meant.

"I felt your anger towards Drew. You wanted to hurt him. The Myrddin of old would have, and the Myrddin of old has no place among us. Do you understand?"

He nodded.

"So, what stopped you?" she asked.

"Because it would hurt her too if she has feelings for him," he said simply. "And try as I may, I can't dislike the guy. Drew hasn't done anything wrong. I could see the torment in his eyes, yet he backed off. He's not like me...like I was. If I wanted a woman, I'd take her. He has a sense of decency, that I've never had. I can only respect him for it."

"The Myrddin of old wouldn't care less. His pride would have demanded vengeance. If you are to be a Luminous Warrior, that pride, that hatred and that type of anger must never return. That is what needs to be appraised — your willingness to forgive slights. Every person in that room would be prepared to die for you, to defend you from what they believe is a common enemy, but if you still flirt with darkness, if you still lust for power over others in order to exact revenge, then they will have died in vain. I can't allow that to happen. My Councillors won't allow that to happen. Do you understand?"

"I do, yes. I'm trying Domina. With all my heart, I am trying, but I would be lying to you if I said that I'm going to find it easy. We're talking about changing a lifetime of habits. I'll have the occasional slip, but I'm willing to learn. I want to change."

"And that is the right response." Libuse smiled and kissed him on both cheeks. She was surprised to find moisture there. "You are alone no longer Myrddin. You will heal your past if you want to. Et amor in lumine — in love and light, we will help you."

"If Rosemonde believes me, then why did she say she was afraid of me? Why did she run?"

"Really Myrddin? THINK! You haven't been intimate with her."

"NO! It didn't seem appropriate while we were looking for Summer. I didn't want to take advantage of her vulnerability."

"But now it's different. And now that she is back with her boyfriend, perhaps he expects her to be intimate with him."

"Why is that a problem?"

"This is Rosemonde we're talking about." When Myrddin continued to look at her blankly, Libuse spelt it out. "She's a virgin, you dunce! You recall what Zoiia said to her in that footage?"

Myrddin closed his eyes painfully and groaned, "I'm such an idiot!"

"I blame myself. I should have realised that she'd be terrified. I thought a banquet would be a nice welcome back but stupidly, I forgot that everyone would expect her to run into your arms. It was too overwhelming for her."

"And yet she could run into Drew's arms," he said bitterly.

"Drew may be a rock god but he doesn't have the sex god reputation that you do. Neither was he the man Zoiia was discussing so candidly."

"Wow! Does everyone know what was on that disc?"

"Agatha, Vladimir and Christian are not everyone; but... Agatha is a Councillor and as part of your appraisal, she was obligated to tell the other Councillors. So, um...a few people know, but no I wouldn't say, everyone."

Myrddin rolled his eyes. "That's already fourteen people! What am I going to do, Domina? It's never been something I've had to worry about before. I didn't care that I had a bad boy reputation, I encouraged it. It gave me an excuse to remain detached, to just walk away when I wanted to."

"What has changed for you?" Libuse asked.

"For the first time I have people in my life that care, and I have Rosemonde. I don't want to let her or you down. How do I fix this?"

"Talk to her," Libuse said simply. "To be honest, I think it might be a good thing that you're needing to consider a lady's feelings for once. All part of your journey towards the light. Shall I, ah, go get her?"

He nodded. As she was leaving the room, he called her back. "Libuse?"

"Yes, Myrddin?"

"No one has ever taken the time to explain things to me like that before. I appreciate it, thanks."

"The help is always there Myrddin. If you ask with a loving heart, it will always be given in abundance." She closed the door as she left the room. Theodora was outside. "It will be all right Theodora," Libuse said to her.

"Will, what I saw, happen?" she asked.

"Our glimpses into the future are merely one possibility. We still have free will. It is our choices that determine our fate. Do you want it to happen, Theodora?"

"I think I do. Forgive me," she said.

"There is nothing to forgive, but be careful. I don't want any of you hurt."

"I will do my utmost to not let that happen Libuse, but neither will I lie."

"I know, and that's as it should be." Libuse smiled. "I need to find Rosemonde. You shouldn't be here, Theodora."

"I understand." Theodora smiled sadly and made her way back to the banquet hall.