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2024-10-29 19:42:56While she was still mouthing curses and holding her wrist, the door tone sounded, and Rihlia went to answer it. “All right. Bring it on in.” Jasmine glanced in irritation at the doors as Rihlia swung them wide and stood back. A man pushed a wheeled platform into the room. A giant granite pot rested on the platform, and inside it grew a six-foot fruit tree, loaded with ripe avocados.
She looked at Rihlia in bewilderment.
The deliveryman stepped forward and nodded his head respectfully. “Lady Jasmine, may I present a gift from the cadet M
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She lowered her gaze. “You Haunt men must take lessons in charm. Thank you. I will enjoy it.”He leaned back and gave her a lazy grin. “Of course, I have to admit the thought of you wearing it may cause me to loose sleep...” he laughed and caught the pillow she tossed at him, “but the gift of your smile makes the sacrifice worth while.”She wagged a finger at him and he chuckled. “I will call for Rihlia. She will wish to help you prepare to meet your admirers.” He kept the pleasant expression on his face un
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The books were a revelation.Jasmine traced the leather scrollwork on a book’s blood red cover, admiring the craftsmanship. The gilt edges of the pages and the gold title winked in her reading light. The Haunt were a people who took pride in their literature and wrote even their histories with passion. No bloodless recitals of bare facts here.She scooted down against her raised pillows, seeking a more comfortable position. It was after midnight, but her mind was too seduced by the glory of Haunt history to give in to slumber. The first book she&rs
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“Here it is a matter of honor for a man to speak honestly to a woman who asks his feelings for her. I know my cousins. They would not lie to you.”He frowned at her thoughtfully. “I don’t think you realize what your position is. Rihlia claimed you as a sister, and I accepted her claim. You became my family. No one would dare treat you lightly.” He slanted her a mischievous look. “Nor will they court you without my permission.”She eyed him. “You approved all the men who sent me gifts?”
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“I’m sorry, cousin,” Keilor answered politely, with just a touch of distance. “I’m afraid it would be only courteous of me to assist the other ladies as well.” He extended a hand to Rihlia while Urseya walked off, trying to hide her disappointment.Much to Jasmine’s amazement, Rihlia took it.“When in Rome,” she murmured, and hopped out of the pool with all speed. She jogged off to the falls.
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Then her eyes shifted to Rihlia, who stared at the ground with a fierce blush. She moved away, escaping. As she did, his fingers slid up and brushed the edge of her curls. Jasmine gasped and jumped sideways, staring at him in shock.He winked at her.***“So you love Jayems, huh?”R
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Distracted from his ire, Keilor allowed himself to sink into his favorite chair. The leather had worn away on the armrests, but it was still serviceable. He couldn’t be talked into throwing it out.Why was it that all the trouble in their lives of late came in the form of a woman? A woman, he thought angrily, who’d called the undefeated Lord of the Hunt to heel with one phrase from her traitorous charmer lips? Come to me… He closed his eyes at the humiliation of it. How could he insure the safety of what family he had left if the Haunt knew that their Warleader could be brought to his knees by the voice of a woman?“And what is to be the prize in this ‘cost nothing’ tou
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“What happened to you?” Rihlia demanded as Jasmine limped into dinner that evening. She was late. Everyone was present, even Keilor, and all conversation came to a halt as they waited for her answer.Jasmine gave her a rueful smile as she lowered herself into a seat, wincing a little as her sore lip pulled. Feeling mischievous, she lowered her eyes and allowed a shy, satisfied grin to curl the corners of her mouth. “I found a new playmate; he likes it a bit rough.” Stunned silence fell on the room.“J-jas?” Rihlia fina
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He set his jaw. Agony had shot through him when she’d declared, no,implied, she had not only taken a lover, but she’d chosen one who abused her. He’d had the sickest feeling of failure and loss, and a grief so fresh that furious searching for the lover had been the only thing to keep it at bay. All of that, only to discover her new ‘playmate’ was a villi! If he hadn’t already spoken to Jayems for her hand, he would have right then just to have the right to beat her!Enunciating very clearly, he said, “I am going back to the others. You will be right behind me. If you are not…”
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The Charmer 87
Keilor entered the rooms he shared with Jasmine, careful to do so silently. If she were sleeping he didn’t want to wake her. She didn’t need to see him as he cleansed away the blood of battle. It would only upset her.He eased the door quietly shut and paused a moment, listening. Her respiration remained steady and deep, unmistakably that of deep slumber. Satisfaction brought a smile to his face. It pleased him greatly that she would trust him so well.She’d left a light on for him. It was a sweet gesture, and wholly human, for no Haunt would ever stumble in the shadows. Still, the thoughtfulness warmed him. He had a very good wife.It was just as he was finishing his bath that
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Wounded, she answered, “I said I would, didn’t I?”“Yes.” He kissed her lightly. He lingered, teasing her lips. “You did,” he murmured, distracted.She pulled away, a bit breathless, and demanded, “What about Yesande?”“We will take care of Yesande when she comes,” he reassured her, meaning his warriors and himself, but avoiding an argument by letting her think she would be included. When she still looked troubled, he led her to the couch, sitting down and arranging her on his lap. “I assure you I won’t be taken unawares twice. You’ll be as safe as the Master of the Hunt and a citadel full of soldiers can make yo
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Jasmine winced. Close friendships had their drawbacks.“You don’t take those kind of risks with a baby, Jas, ever.”“I wasn’t thinking of it like that; not then. It was only yesterday that I finally realized that I wasn’t just pregnant, I was carrying a baby.”Rihlia stared at her. “I just know I’m going to be fascinated by this explanation.”Jasmine leaned forward. “The day before last I had a condition. Yesterday it finally dawned on me that my condition was a baby.”Rihlia b
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Not a bit reassured, Jasmine peered at the huge creature that watched her with smirking and far too-intelligent amusement. “Uh, what happened to Raziel and Isfael, and the rest of the bodyguard?” she croaked through a dry throat. “They were doing a pretty good job, I thought.”His eyes cooled. “Terza has offered to take their place. They will no longer be needed.”Terza yawned, exposing a mouthful of fangs, and licked her chops. She closed her jaws shut with a snap and a small snarl. Her intelligent eyes mocked her new charge’s fear.Jasmine swallowed. They understood each other.
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Jasmine’s eyes got big at that pronouncement. “In that case...”“Done!” Leo answered, and indeed they were swooping back to the roof of the citadel and a pale bunch of men and Haunt.Keilor was one of them.For long seconds he said nothing, simply looked her over, seeking injuries. Finding none, he took her arm in a firm grasp, saying nothing as he ushered her to the lift. His trembling hand said it all.Jasmine cringed and dragged her heels. Opening her mouth seemed like a supremely foolish thing to do at that moment.
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A slight smile tugged at Jasmine’s mouth. “Who are you calling kid, old lady? Surely you’re not ready for the old folk’s home just yet.”Rihlia frowned with mock severity. “I will be if you don’t stop scaring the crap out of me.”“Aw, you’re just feeling feeble from lying around in bed all the time. Why don’t you get up and take a walk with me? It’ll do you good.”Rihlia’s smile faded to seriousness, and she let go of Jasmine’s hand. “I can’t. I’m paralyzed from the waist down.”“What!” Jasmine sta
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It must have been a doozy of a talk, because when Jasmine next saw Leo, she was not happy. In fact, she was quietly simmering. She tried to discuss it with Keilor, but he had concerns of his own.“Whether she goes or stays matters little at this point,” he said, leveling a stare at his wife across the dining table in their new suite of rooms. “What I want to know is when are you going to start visiting Rihlia again? It’s been weeks, and still you two don’t speak unless thrown together.”All appetite abruptly fled. Jasmine twiddled her spoon as if fascinated with the play of light. “She hasn’t been feeling well.”“All the more reason to
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The one walk through the marketplace was Leo’s last. Her presence had been scented and witnessed, and now all they had to do was wait.“Seventeen days there, seventeen days back,” Jasmine said, shaking her head. “Unless Yesande has taken up residence in the neighborhood, or unless she’s got someone closer to home keeping an eye on things, you’re going to have to purge the charmer thing, Leo.”Jasmine picked up one of the long sticks that speared the marinated meats and vegetables on the tray nearest her. She moved from the table to the bonfire Keilor had built in the fire pit. The fire was the only light in the darkened and deceptively unprotected garden. Fireflies dance
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“Enough! Jasmine, stop making trouble; Mathin, behave,” Jayems ordered. “You don’t have to worry about any of us making use of the information, Jackson. Yesande is the only one who would desire an army of lust crazed fools.”Mathin glowered at him and slid his gaze back to Leo.Unnerved, her eyes flickered away and settled with determination on her brother. “Do you have a better way to end this, brother? Who will it be next time, your wife, our little sister?”“Uh, Leo,” Jasmine interrupted. “Just so you know, you’re letting yourself in for a pack of trouble with this charmer thing. I do hope you can turn it off as easily as you t
