Once inside two guards grabbed him by the arms and laid him onto the branding table. They tied him down securely, on his back with arms stretched abov... his head. The guards put their weight over his chest and legs, holding him steady as the brander approached with the iron fresh from the fire. Balthos was staring down at him, triumphant. Hatred so thick it choked him filled his chest. He would kill him for this. Even if it took him a decade, he would see Balthos’ blood empty into the. It was a perfect fit, and looked absolutely gorgeous."I wanted to get a bigger diamond, but Leli talked me out of it," he whispered."It's perfect. Bigger would have been very impractical, not to mention gaudy. I should have guessed Leli was involved." I grinned, and Alistair returned my giddy smile. "I love you. I can't believe you pulled this off without me knowing!" It was meant to be a surprise." He kissed me gently. "I love you, my future wife. Wow, that sounds sort of ... Wife. Wiiife.. He hoped that this would be good enough a ruse to hold off discovery until the winter had further weathered out the trail.That night, there was a great celebration of the first real victory of the war against the Whites. Everybody knew that this was just the start of a long, hard fight, but it was wonderful to begin with such a complete defeat of the enemy. Nine months later, there was ample proof of the celebration in the village that night. Every woman who was interested was able to find a. What could have been the worst day in my life may just be the best day ever.”In the small office there was hardly any room for more than one person to stand. Sandy and Jake found enough room to make out like sex-starved teenagers. They finally had to take a break to catch their breath.“I guess I should go home so things look normal. I’ll take tomorrow off and get all my ducks in a row. Were you serious about her meeting my new girlfriend as a way to give her the news?“Absolutely! How about if I.