"Well, such things have happened before to people who were not mad." "Oh!" she went on, "it was more than love; I was possessed, and that night I knew not what I did.

A Power drove me on; a Destiny compelled me, and to the end I am his, and his alone.

Yes, I am his, and I swear that he shall be mine;" and with this wild declaration dangerous enough under the conditions, she turned and fled the room.
She was gone, and after the struggle, for such it was, I sank back exhausted.

How came it that this sudden passion had mastered her?
Who and what was this Khania, I wondered again, and--this was more to the point, who and what would Leo believe her to be?
If only I could be with him before he said words or did deeds impossible to recall.
Three days went by, during which time I saw no more of the Khania, who, or so I was informed by Simbri, the Shaman, had returned to her city to make ready for us, her guests.

I begged him to allow me to rejoin Leo, but he answered politely, though with much firmness, that my foster-son did better without me.