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Jewel rifled through the only closet in the room and found several robes She withdrew a sheer blue one, lace jagged across the he sapphires sewed into the bodice They&039;d bathed and Gray was already dressed in the leather pants and tie-shirt of the dragons
He&039;d radioed his boss several o and told the man that he had Dunamis in his possession After ,ave her a secret, tender grin before stuffing it in his bag
How they were going to get her past OBI, she didn&039;t know She only knew she was going to the surface! "What do you think?" she asked, holding the glittery material up to her body
"I think I prefer you naked"
She laughed and shi her nakedness "I refuse to go to lunch naked"
"Too bad"
Just as she was fastening the ties of her new light blue robe, a knock sounded at the door "Enter," she called
The doors slit down the middle and slid apart A blond warrior stood in the entrance, the dragon low
"Brand," Jewel said with a sain"
"And you Co anything he shouldn&039;t His hair hung in disarray around his shoulders, giving his auish quality "Lunch is served"
Jewel sighed, alreadythe loss of this wonderful reprieve Of the soft touches Gray liked to slide over her body, of the hot kisses he liked to clio, either, he strode to her side and placed a kiss on her lips, their tongues daring a quickon his heel They followed hientle squeeze "Everything&039;s going to be okay You&039;ll see I won&039;t leave your side" Releasing her hand, he anchored his pal strands of her hair "If there&039;s any trouble," he added, staring into her eyes, o all deon-carved table was piled high with food and drink, wafting aaroma in every direction All of the warriors Gray hadi for him and Jewel to arrive Darius claimed the head of the table with a forht A ruby necklace draped her neck, her red hair was piled high on her head, and she wore a soft pink gown
The only two available chairs were on Darius&039;s left Gray claion, and Jewel eased in beside hi into the food, a lazed ha Each recipe came from the surface, Jewel realized, for she&039;d seen Gray eat each of these dishes She spooned a bite of the pudding into her mouth and closed her eyes in surrender as the rich, decadent flavor spread on her tongue
"I hope you found the roo a bite of ham "We did Thank you" Jewel offered her a soft smile
"Darius explained that you have no name" The pretty human wore an expression of utter perplexity "He said most people call you &039;it&039; or &039;slave&039;"
"She has a na no rooulance "I told you she had a na, she returned her attention to Jewel "I think it&039;s so cool you can predict the future Darius and I could have used that kind of ability when I first came here You could have told hiht it so hard"
Darius arched his brows, his only reaction to his wife&039;s taunting He tossed back a drink of wine "What know you of the vampires and demons Jewel?"
The room tapered to absolute silence; everyone present waited with baited breath for her answer Sto painfully, Jewel said, "I would like to discuss that with you in private"
She meant the discussion to come after lunch Darius took her words to heart "Leave us," he told his ons reacted i their food as they jolted to their feet Their chairs skidded behind the symphony Besides Jewel and Darius, Gray and Grace were the only ones to remain
Darius looked pointedly at Grace
"You told me I could stay, remember?" she said stubbornly She leaned back in her chair, pinched a piece of turkey froes, the picture of relaxation
Darius turned that look on Gray
"Don&039;t even try it," he said, rolling his eyes "I&039; breath, andstare as he next turned it on her "I have an i sense of doom for you Marina once asked me what I knew of the Atlantean Mists"
Fury blazed in the blue depths of his eyes "What did you tell her?" he growled "Watch your tone, Lizard," Gray snapped, "or the conversation ends here"
The dragon king radiated the patient stillness of a predator Then he nodded stiffly and repeated his question in a gentler tone
"You know I cannot lie, so I gave her no answer at all She does know about the ain control of theon relaxed He snorted "As if her puny arer on her chin, Grace frowned "Why would this Marina want control of the portals? Atlantean creatures cannot survive outside of Atlantis They die within days Even Darius was not ihtened "Atlanteans die outside of Atlantis?"
Jewel paled Oh, gods Having always felt connected to Gray and the surface world, she&039;d forgotten about her connection to Atlantis If she traveled to the surface, she would die She covered herto cut off her moan of horror
"Jewel," Darius prompted
Would Gray stay here? He claih to keep hi her composure nearly proved impossible, but she did it She squared her shoulders and forced her next words to form steadily "Marina doesn&039;t know she will die if she leaves None of the creatures do Reons until Grace and her brother cah That&039;s when the vaes, and now of all Atlantis is aware, yet none of them know of our vulnerabilities Marina assumes she can live on the surface without any proble," Grace said to Gray, "The Atlantean Mists are the portals you used to get here"
Gray gave her no reaction His skin was pallid, the lines around hisof the portals," Grace added, "how did you get past Darius?"
Finally he snapped back to attention, though his expression rerim "You have a portal here? This isn&039;t the palace I entered"
Darius&039;s lips dipped into a fierce frown "You entered Javar&039;s The guards posted there obviously didn&039;t see you Did you hurt theht in a scowl as he awaited the answer
"No, I didn&039;t hurt them They never even kneas there They were busy with so else" The ith the nymphs? Jeondered She didn&039;t mention it to Darius Not yet
Two darks brows slashed upward "You must be a fine warrior, then," Darius said
"I am," Gray answered
"Did anyone else enter with you?"