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Guilt pricked her. She didn’t want to admit what she knew, since it might lead to questions of how. To stall, she moved to an armchair, tucking one long leg under her. “Lights,” she ordered and then, “Shutters.”
Hoping to avoid more in depth questions, she said, “They figured it out right away. The Haunt brought me back here and Jayems told me they knew.” She shivered, remembering what else he’d said. “I was afraid of what Keilor would do when he found you.” She peeked through her lashes to see Jasmine busily avoiding her eyes. Her voice ached when she asked, “What did he do, Jas?” She was afraid of the answer, but she needed to know. Even if it was the worst, she needed to hear it.
Jasmine looked
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Dark Lands Homecoming 15
“It’s your father, Crewel Sotra,” he said softly.Wiley looked at it, feeling numb. She didn’t remember his face, had forgotten long ago what he looked like, except for the dark hair. Dressed in the black uniform of the Haunt, he had an indigo shirt under the leather vest, and a red Celtic knot, a symbol of rank, on his shoulder.“He loved your spirit. He would have been proud of you for surviving the way you did. He was a good man,” Jayems said quietly.An ache started behind her eyes and spread to her throat. She looked down to hide her expression, but her eyes kept returning to her father’s face. Afraid to cry in front of Jayems, she laid the picture
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Before she could lambaste him, he added calmly, “There are things about your body you’re probably unaware of. It sounds as if your instincts saved you, but I wanted to make certain you hadn’t come to harm.”“Nobody harmed me,” she said coolly. It was tricky deciding what to add. Did he want a history? He wasn’t getting one.“Then you were aware that, once mated, there is no going back for us? You knew that once the male and female sexual fluids mix, you cannot mate with anyone else without going insane?”“Huh?” She blinked at him, feeling stupid. First off, his choice of mealtime conversation was stunningly blunt, but what was he
Dark Lands Homecoming 17
Still, Nilla didn’t look weak, only strained. She didn’t flinch when Wiley met her eyes, either. Hm. For a girl with a sweet name, she didn’t seem like too much of a cream puff. Score one for Jayems.“I don’t want him,” Wiley told her firmly. “I don’t want to be here. Knowing that, if there’s anything you can do…I heard your father has a lot of influence with the council.” Her approach was blunt, but sometimes blunt worked. It all depended on how motivated Nilla was.Nilla looked shocked. She glanced at Wiley’s guard in bewilderment. “You want to discuss this here? Now?”Wiley couldn’t blame her.
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Lemming had been walked on a leash while her mistress was riding, and she sniffed Rihlia all over when she took the lead.“Stags must smell as funny as they look,” Jasmine said as Lemming nosed her as well. “It’s too bad horses couldn’t survive here; they’re much nicer.”“But an inferior steed,” Jayems said dismissively. True, he’d never ridden one, but he knew his history.“What’s that?” Rihlia gestured to a grove of log posts to their right. Each log was covered with plate sized, frilly yellow mushrooms.“Honey fungus. You had some in yo
Dark Lands Homecoming 19
They walked past the gardens on their way back to the Citadel, and Wiley noticed a woman using a hand pump to fill a bucket. Since they were in the area of the family garden plots, she asked, “Why don’t you have hoses or something? I know you guys have electricity, and some of your technology is ahead of Earth’s.”Jayems smiled at her. “Would you like to spend your life in a factory, assembling electronic pumps? We only use technology for certain things, like pumping the water into our rooms and running our lights, or communication. Some of us still use candles and oil lamps, as well as pack our own water. The exercise is good for us, conserves resources and promotes a simpler, more relaxed way of life. You’ll notice that woman is using a wheeled cart to haul her bucket around? It has a spigot on the end, a
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She didn’t see Keilor’s expression as he entered the room, but Wiley did. Jasmine might have hesitated if she’d seen the rawness of his gaze. He looked like a man who’d been pushed too far, and was ready to snap at the bait.Worse, Wiley had not known Jasmine was going to say that. She had a feeling Jasmine was making it up as she went along, and screwing it up, too.Jayems looked at Wiley out of the corner of his eye.Her eyes narrowed. “Forget it.” She was not participating in this lunacy.“I don’t know, I think the idea has merit,” he answered smoothly.
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She hadn’t had an interest in exploring that section of the room before. Now she looked at the polished red bookshelves warily. Every book was handsomely bound, and many of them had gilt lettering. Normally that was a turnoff for her, because she always figured those kind of books were boring old classics. Deprived of her TV, however, she was willing to investigate closer.A book on the side table caught her eye, and she picked it up. It was titled, “Her First Time.” Her jaw went slack. Glancing to make certain Jayems wasn’t in the room, she hastily set it down and moved to the shelves to blankly study the spines.It was a few moments before she actually read the titles. He’d been thinking about her first time? Their first time? Flames lic
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Wiley blinked, but it didn’t clear her head. The light gleamed off his chest, reflected shadows as he turned the page, illuminating every line of muscle. He’d wound her so tightly, his every move was pure temptation.As if her body weighed a thousand pounds, she turned and slowly walked to her room. It was like a nightmare where she wanted to run, but was unable. If she went in that door, she was going to become a wife.She couldn’t be a wife. She couldn’t.***Jayems watched her slow retreat. Not tonight then, but soon.
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