A good lifetime. He could love her, he did love her, in a way he had not thought possible before coming to the village of the Turis. His love for Bela had bloomed unexpectedly, and it had grown stronger on this very mountain. He’d come close to losing her at the hands of an assassin and had been forced to imagine a world without her; that was one reason. They had consummated their marriage; that had not hurt matters at all.But he did not entirely trust what he felt. They remained atop a mountain filled with a living crystal that had the ability to reach into his mind. Even though he could no longer hear words, even though the crystal seemed not to be invading him at the moment, how could he be sure he was not being unduly influenced? How could he know he was not being used simply to produce the child Kitty demanded?Had the crystals sent him the sexual dreams which were surely meant to arouse? Even now, he could see Bela’s naked body awash in a rainbow, he could hear her cries of pleasure.When they were back in the village, away from Kitty and the rest, and his feelings for Bela remained unchanged, then perhaps he could consider remaining married to her.
