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.”He gave her an enigmatic smile.“Think not of them.Rather think about how alike we are.Our spirits speak to each other.Have you not realized this?”Her eyes widened and she shook her head.“We are nothing alike.Besides my father, you are the most important man in the tribe.I am merely a white captive.”“You are much more than that.Come,” he said encouragingly, “we will walk this way.” Wind Warrior fell silent as he guided her down the path that led toward the forest.Wind Warrior turned to her, lightly touching her arm, and withdrawing his hand when he saw her drop her gaze.“Why do you fear me?” he asked.Rain Song had seen the dangerous side of Wind Warrior when he had fought his brother.But she had also seen gentleness in him.“I do not fear you.” She could not tell him she was afraid of her own feelings for him, of the deep yearning that filled her at his touch.“What do you want to say to me? I must soon return to my mother.She needs my help.”Wind Warrior looked at her with frustration before he spoke.“If you are willing to listen to what I have to say, it may take some time.”If she had not known better, Rain Song would have thought he was nervous.But that could not be true; Wind Warrior was never unsure of himself.Still, he couldn’t seem to find a comfortable place for his hands.At last he folded them across his chest and regarded her with a serious expression.“No matter how you may deny it, we are much alike,” he insisted.“Surely you have sensed that.”She looked deeply into his warm brown eyes: Before, they had been piercing and seeking, but now they held a light of uncertainty in their dark depths.Rain Song knew her answer was important to him, although she did not know why.“You are Blackfoot; I am from the white race.I see nothing similar about us.”“Rain Song, I have touched your spirit many times.I have felt your confusion, your restlessness, and even your fear.I have not had this connection with any other maiden.”She was more perplexed than ever.“Wind Warrior,” she said hurriedly, fearing she would lose her nerve.“You must not say these things to me.”He smiled.“At last you say my name.” He leaned against the rough bark of a pine tree, watching her carefully.“I felt an affinity with you almost from the first.”Swallowing deep, Rain Song fought against the raw emotions that swamped her.“We were both young when we first met, hardly more than children.For a long time we did not speak the same language, so it was impossible for us to communicate.”His smile seemed patient.“But we are not children now.” He was quiet for a moment as if he were weighing his words.“I have been waiting for you to come of age.”Chinook pressed against Rain Song’s leg and she touched the wolf’s head, needing comfort.Her stomach tightened in knots and her heart thundered inside her.She thought she saw where he was leading, or was she mistaken? “Wind Warrior, you never seem to notice me, and you have hardly spoken to me in two years.”He smiled as if her words amused him.“When you are near, I never take my eyes off you.I am just clever at hiding my interest.”Rain Song looked at him with dawning comprehension.Could he be telling her that she was the maiden he had chosen to take for his woman? Now she understood why he had spoken to her father.Although Rain Song had wanted to be with Wind Warrior more than anything, now that the moment was near, she was afraid.“We should not speak of such things.”Wind Warrior took Rain Song’s arm, leading her to a wide stone, where he seated her.“I have your father’s permission to speak to you, remember.” He gazed at a hummingbird that buzzed about his head, and paused as if he were listening to something Rain Song could not hear.“I need to tell you that Dull Knife will make an offer for you very soon.He has brought many horses to present to your father.We both knew he would come for you someday.That day has come.”Rain Song clamped her hands over her ears as if that would protect her from his words.The blood ran cold in her veins.“No!”“It is so.”Jumping to her feet, Rain Song felt gut-wrenching terror grip her—she clamped her hand over her mouth, feeling that she was going to be ill.“I will never accept him as my husband.You do not know what he did to my friend Susan after we were captured.”“I know my brother has done bad things, and I know you fear him.”“He is a monster and I will never allow him to come near me.” Her breasts were rising and falling rapidly as she fought to breathe past the fear that threatened to choke her.“I will never be a wife to him.”He spoke in a soft voice to calm her.“Dull Knife knows how you feel about him.But he is determined to have you anyway.”Anger freed Rain Song to speak her mind.“You are his brother—are you so different from him?” The moment she said the words, she wanted to call them back.Wind Warrior and Dull Knife were nothing alike
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