She was smiling as she leaned toward Reed, who stooped down to put his lips against her ear. He would tell her that he wanted to travel to Merendon, or Marring Cross or Cranfield, someplace far away and exotic. He was the sort of man whose wish altered every year.

He said in a voice that only she could hear: "I wish you were not my sister."

She pulled back and stared up at him. He smiled, his face just faintly touched with sadness, and tossed his true-love into the fire.

Auteur: Sharon Shinn