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2024-10-29 19:42:56“Fine!” she snapped, galvanized by anger, partially directed at Mathin. Why would he stick her on a dangerous beast and then leave her to deal with it? She grabbed the beast by its small ear. “Listen up, buttercup! I’m in no mood to be messed with, so you either knock it off or I’ll rip this thing off and kick it around on the ground. You got that?” She felt guilty for saying it, no matter how deep their mutual dislike went, but the stag settled right down.
Mathin nodded at her. “Good! As his rider you’re the only one who can win his respect.”
She scowled at him. “You could have warned me.”
“Forgive me.” He gave her a
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“I don’t care. I don’t want to learn to ride it. I’d rather walk!”There was only one cure for her defeatist attitude. “I never thought you were weak.”She gasped and rounded on him. “How dare you! It wasn’t my idea to come to your stupid planet in the first place.” She swatted a bug unwise enough to land on her cheek. “Look at this place! It’s barely civilized. I should have run back while I had the chance.”In a low, ominous tone, he told her, “We all have regrets.” He turned and walked away.She watched him go. Had he meant what s
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Their loving was angry and needy, tender yet fierce. Time and again she had bury her face in his shoulder to muffle her screams of pleasure. If possible, it was even better than the first time.He deliberately made it last for a long, long while.When they were finished she was naked, sweaty, unable to move. Limp and exhausted, she lay draped over his chest where he’d put her. Though she couldn’t forget her lingering resentment at him, he’d certainly proved she still wanted him. Still, the original problem remained unresolved.Mathin stroked her silken back, temporarily sated, but unhappy. She still hadn’t forgiven him. Inexperienced as he was with long term relationships
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“Is there a lot of protocol and stuff I ought to know? I mean, I’m not exactly princess material.”He laughed and nuzzled her throat. “You’ll do fine, my love. Don’t worry so.”Andrea shrugged her shoulder, dislodging him. “I’m serious! What’s expected of a...what am I now, anyway?”“Lady wife. And as for what’s expected...you can have charge of running the household affairs of the citadel, if you like.”“You want me to be a housewife?” she inquired dryly. It didn’t sound like much of a challenge. She felt him smile again
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Aghast, Andrea stared at the items as if they were instruments of torture. “Don’t you remember? I nearly flunked sewing.” Visions of ugly granny squares danced in her head.Matilda sniffed. “Every self-respecting woman should know how to crochet and sew. Besides, where do you think you’re going to find baby clothes in this wasteland? There are no stores.”A flush of heat warmed Andrea from her shoulders to the tips of her ears. “Grandma!”“Don’t be a ninny, girl. I know what you’ve been up to. Now be quiet and listen.”Someone coughed, and there was m
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“What did you do?” Startled by her own voice, she looked down, confirming the damage. Hands trembling, she lifted them. The age spots and fragile look of raised veins had completely disappeared. One hand flew to her mouth, the back pressed against her lips.Scared at Matilda’s drastic reaction, Andrea quickly fetched a mirror, hoping to reassure her. “It’s okay, Grandma. The symbiont just made you young again.”Matilda took the glass and stared at it, stone still. Then she threw it, shattering it against the side of the wagon, narrowly missing Raziel’s thigh. “How could you?” Tears of fury welling in her eyes, she rushed past Andrea and into the woods.
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A root tripped her up, and Matilda immediately placed a supporting hand under her elbow. Grateful for the help, Andrea looked up and saw Mathin coming toward her, concern on his face.She stumbled in her haste to avoid him. “No.”Confused, he stopped. “I just want to help.”“No! I’m fine. I don’t need help.” Before he could stop her, she stumbled to the wagon and clambered up the ladder.Concerned, Mathin tried to follow.Matilda grabbed his arm. “Don’t. You’ll just make it worse. Gi
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“Your father’s brothers and your cousins have argued for some time over who should succeed you should you die without issue.” Tomlin looked at Andrea as he picked and raised his brows.“Not yet.” Mathin said quietly. He wouldn’t have Andrea pressured into an attempt to conceive.A grunt expressed Tomlin’s thoughts on that. “Pity. One of your more hotheaded cousins has stepped forward to assume the roll. Although no one’s officially endorsed his claim, none have refuted it. He’s made much noise about assuming your duties in your absence. We expect him to make a show here before the storms hit.”“Do you?” Mathin asked, v
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Puzzled, she halted and looked him. “I’ve got to get something to clean this up.”He slowly shook his head. “I don’t think you grasp the scope of your new duties. You’ve got far too much to do to finish by yourself, and Mathin never meant for you to be down on your knees scrubbing. We’ll go to the village, hire girls with mops, buy supplies and return here so you can take a tour and see what else needs to be done.”Since he seemed to know more of what was expected than she did, Andrea followed him into the village, doing most of the talking at his insistence. Soon she had four girls and a strapping young man marching off to the castle to battle the chaos under Matilda’s supervision.
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“Wonder what that was all about,” Mathin muttered at her side.“I don’t know, but I’m beginning to feel like the unappreciated fairy godmother,” Andrea complained.His grin sent firecrackers popping clear to her toes. Mathin took her glass and set it down. One quick tug pulled her into his arms, slightly bent at the perfect angle for a kiss. “I think I can do something to change that.”A superb dancer, Mathin twirled her around the dance floor, his grace as beguiling as his dark good looks. The man danced like he made love, and every burning look was enough to set her blood aflame. Schemes and plans for others were lost in the dreamy whirl of pleas
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The next morning, well before the party was to begin, Leo presented Mathin and Andrea with a copy of her notes and sketches. “A gift,” she said simply.Mathin was more excited than Andrea would have dreamed possible. “Do you know how much I’ve wanted something like this?” he demanded of Leo, his eyes glued to the pages. “It’s almost impossible to get any information on the Beasts in the Dark Lands.”Leo and Andrea exchanged pleased looks.“Wait a minute.” His brows furrowed as he stared at the page. “I’ve seen this picture somewhere else, only…”
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“At least there’s that.” More silence. “I never did thank you for all you’ve done for me and my wife.”“It was nothing.”“It was something,” Mathin returned forcefully. “And I won’t forget it. If there is anything, at any time, that I can do for you, you have only to name it.”Scy searched his face. “Be careful what you offer, brother.” He smiled a little. “I might accept.”“Do that.” Mathin left, satisfied that Scy would turn his words over.
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Mathin stilled. Taking her hand, he placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles. “He stayed home with his wife, my love.” His tone became sorrowful. “They lost the baby.”The color drained from her face. Her eyes welled. “No,” she whispered, and slumped to the bed. Jasmine had been so happy!He didn’t try to make it better with platitudes, just held her. “I know.” He rubbed his face against her hair. “I know.”She grieved, but even as she cried for her friend’s loss, in her heart Andrea had to wonder. Had the baby been lost because of some unavoidable defect, caused by the mixing of such alien blood? Might the child have been born
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“Can you help her?” Andrea tried to control her shivering. Scy kept one eye on the swordsmen while his symbiont worked on Leo’s head. Still unconscious, she didn’t move.“I’m trying.” He handed a gun to her. “Fire if you get a clean shot. If anything happens to Mathin, you won’t have time for more than one. Got it?”“I...yes.” Determined to control the contractions that squeezed her lower belly, she tried to keep her eyes on the fighters. It wasn’t easy. Not only were they moving in a virtual blur, but the cramps distracted her. They didn’t feel like the false contractions that had squeezed her whole stomach as the pregnancy advanced. No, these were lower, more intense. They felt like t
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Shivering as much from the spookiness of that as from the damp chill, Andrea glanced toward the dim light coming in from the single exit. A brackish puddle had collected in the sunken depression under the stone tiles, and it reflected a bit of the light and the occasional shifting shadow of a guard. Odd how she’d never felt so wary of her Haunt, but then they’d gone out of their way to put her at ease. There was nothing remotely friendly about these dark warriors.Every now and then Leo would stand up to stretch, but her chains didn’t allow her to lift her arms past her hips. The bolts in the floor were very solid; she’d tugged on the chains enough that she’d bled, trying to loosen them.“I’m sorry.”
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The cycle eased out of the gate, gathering speed as it headed up the road through the village. Naked fields flashed by as the woods edged closer.“Hang on!” the Ronin tossed over his shoulder, and suddenly they were flying.Eyes narrowed against the wind and flying insects, Mathin felt the rope bite into his wrists where he’d looped it. He held on as best he could with the toes of his boots against the edge of the platform as the cycle began a series of fast maneuvers around the trees that blurred past. The slight lip on the edges wouldn’t prevent him from flying off on one of the turns if he weren’t careful.As if to prove his point, the platform took a sharp dip,
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“I wasn’t going to ask her any,” Leo protested. “Scy…” When he continued to ignore her, she placed her body right in front of him. “This is very important to me.”A light like golden foxfire hazed his blue eyes. His body began to tremble. “Don’t,” his voice was hoarse and he couldn’t seem to tear his eyes from Leo’s mouth. “Don’t get so close to me, woman, unless you want to get close to me.” His nostrils flared as her eyes widened. “I’ve long run out of herbs, and you’re provoking far more than my temper.” He brushed past her.“I’m not afraid of you!” she yelled at his back.
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Mathin read his wife’s latest letter, and then sat in silence before the fire in the banquet hall.This might be difficult.He took a long drink of his wine, smiling without humor. His wife had a gift for understatement.Thought you needed to know…Had he? Had he really? He crumpled the edge of the letter in his fist and then tossed it aside. For most of his life, he hadn’t known about these strangers spawned of his father’s madness. No doubt they were content to keep it that way as well. What did his wife think, that the three of them could take up friendly relations as easily a
