I've been waiting for you to find me. Some spy you are." Raegar feigned being wounded, and Tsarra gave him a wink. "Welcome to my home. Come up, after you've cleaned up first." Raegar dived into the pool, happy to rinse off the grime from the High Moor. He resurfaced and stripped off his shirt. "I'm glad to see you finally apart from Khelben," he said. "I was wondering if I'd ever get you away from the Blackstaff." He didn't hear her whisper, "No, you won't." Raegar clambered out, leaving his sodden shirt and boots alongside the pool.

Then he climbed the stairs two at a time. "Aren't you tired, after all the chaos of the past three days?" He couldn't read the look on her face, but he suddenly felt very unsure how to approach her. She solved that problem by rushing forward and kissing him fiercely. "Life's too short. Tomorrow, we'll see your chambers and explore the city. I'll fill you in on other things. Tonight, I just want to feel alive,"

Tsarra said, leading him inside by the hand. "Indeed," he said with a grin. about the author Born in 1967, Steven E. Schend fell into the fantastic worlds of L. Frank Baum's Oz and Edgar Rice Burroughs's Barsoom. All that fantasy helped, as Steven worked for over fifteen years with TSR, Inc., Wizards of the Coast, and other game companies. He has been an editor, a designer, a developer, an assistant manager, and world builder. He's also worked as a teacher, landscaper, street sweeper, and concrete curb builder. After all's said and done, his favorite job has always been as the mouthpiece and chronicler for the denizens of the Realms. There is, however, no truth to the rumors that Steven has actually assumed Khelben's identity, or he his. It just seems that way more and more since Steven grew a beard.