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Arilyn sighed. Danilo could handle a blade well enough, but he was no swordmaster. At the moment she had no patience for prolonged battle. So she drew the moonblade, held it high, and let out a ringing battle cry in the Elvish tongue.

The brigands looked up, startled by the fearsome sound. The addition of an elven warrior to their foe was too much for their faltering resolve. The band scattered and made for the hills to the east-where, Arilyn noted with a touch of dark humor, a certain alchenust awaited them, all too eager for opportunities to try out his latest lethal devices.

The nobleman put away his sword and came swiftly toward her. Arilyn noted that Danilo's face had been deeply bronzed by the summer sun, and he seemed leaner, hardened by life on the road. He looked considerably older, too, as if time had touched him in a way that a few months' absence could not explain. Arilyn had no love for magic, but she recognized the mark that powerful spells left upon those who cast them. Apparently Danilo had not been idle during their time apart. It seemed that when tales were told, they would be spoken both ways!

There was something else about him that was different as well. Arilyn, who had recently come into a knowledge of herself and her path, recognized the peace of a similar understanding that lingered about him. Nor was there a hint of pretense on his face. For once the mask he held to the world was utterly gone and his heart was entirely in his eyes.

Danilo took her hands in his; this time Arilyn did not pull away,

"We meet as we parted," he said quietly.

"Pretty much," she agreed in a wry tone. "Why is it that I so often find you surrounded by people who'd dearly love to see you dead?"

A fleeting smile touched his face. The curse of charm, wealth, and fame, I suppose," he said dryly. "But enough jests. I have sorely missed you."

With these words, he released her hands and reached out to touch the enspelled moonstone that was set into the hilt of her sword. It was a gesture he had often made during the past two years. Suddenly Arilyn recognized it for what it was. It was the only caress she had permitted him, his only tangible proof of the bond that lay between them. She wondered, briefly, how much Danilo understood of her magical gift of rapport, or how he would feel when he learned it was no longer there. But she must tell him, and at once. No one could touch a moonblade but its wielder, upon pain of death.

So she caught his wrist firmly before he could touch the moonblade. "You cannot," she said firmly. The power that enabled you to share my blade is no more."

The bleak, empty look that filled his eyes smote Arilyn's heart. "It is no more, because it is not needed," she said quickly. "For what I can do myself, I do not need the moonblade's magic.1' Other explanations could come later; this much she owed him now.

"Is it possible?" he murmured with wonderment. "Arilyn, I have waited two years and more for you to know your heart. Mine you already know-it is yours, along with my life and my soul."

"Your heart I will take into my keeping, and gladly. But your soul," she added with deep satisfaction, "is once again entirely your own."

For further adventures of Arilyn Moonblade and her Harper partner Danilo Thann, be sure to read Elfshadow and Elf song, both by Elaine Cunningham.

Harpers are being murdered, and all signs point to the half-elf adventurer Arilyn Moonblade. Tormented by dreams and stalked by shadows, Arilyn must look to the past to discover the truth about herself and the magical elven sword she carries. Is she truly a murderer, or is she about to become a victim? The Elfshadow holds the key to the truth, but also bears the potential for disaster.

(ISBN 1-56076-117-2)

When a mysterious spell falls over the bards of Waterdeep, rewriting both their music and their memories, archmage Khelben Blackstaff Aruneun fears the spell may be part of a larger plot. He calls on Danilo Thann, a Harper mage and would-be bard, to confront the green dragon that holds the key to the mystery. Danilo joins forces with las old enemy, the rogue elf Elaith Craulnober, an elven minstrel with strange abilities, and a dwarf maid with a deadly wit to solve the riddle of the Elfsong.