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He watched the knowledge--and the anger--fill Andulvar’s eyes
"The bastard who raped her ed to shatter the crystal chalice, didn’t he?" Andulvar said slowly "He shattered her , he studied Saetan "Or did it push her somewhere else?"
"Who knohat lies deep in the abyss?" Saetan said bitterly "I don’t Was she lost inroads the rest of us can’t possibly comprehend? I don’t know Ido know she is more and less and different than she was, and there are so left of the child we knew She told ether, and from what I can tell, she has But she doesn’t remember what happened at Cassandra’s Altar She doesn’t re the fewThat’s part of the reason she’s withdrawing from us Shadows and secrets She’s afraid to trust any of us because of those da silence "Perhaps," he said slowly, "if she could be persuaded to see us in one of the public rooht help rebuild her trust in us Especially if we don’t push or ask any difficult questions" He added sadly, "And is being locked within herself while she lives in her body really any different than being lost in the abyss?"
"No," Saetan said softly "It’s not" It was a risk Mother Night, was it a risk! "I’ll talk to her"
Andulvar, Prothvar, Mephis, and Geoffrey left after agreeing to meet him in one of the "smaller parlors Saetan waited for severalthe few yards that separated his room from the Queen’s suite Once Jaenelle established her court, no males but her Consort, Steward, and Master of the Guard would be per unless they were suuardian
Saetan knocked quietly on her bedrooot no answer, he peeked into the roo rooh his hair, he wondered where his ard child had gone He could sense that she was nearby But he’d also learned that Jaenelle left such a strong psychic scent, it was sometimes difficult to locate her Perhaps it had always been that way, but they’d never spent iven tie Keep, and her dark, delicious psychic scent was a pleasure and a torment To feel her, to yearn with all one’s heart to embrace and serve her, and to be locked out of her life
There could be no greater torture
And it wasn’t just for Andulvar, Mephis, Prothvar, and Geoffrey that he illing to risk her e for contact There was one other, lately never far frohts If she didn’t heal emotionally, if she could never endure a man’s touch
He wasn’t the key that could unlock that final door There was much he could do, but not that He wasn’t the key
Daemon Sadi was
DaemonDaemon, where are you? Why haven’t you co to find Draca--she always knehereeveryone was in the Keep-- when a sound made him turn toward a half-open door at the end of the corridor
As he walked toward it, he noticed howhim with her tonic If he could stomach it for a couple more weeks, he’d be able to put the cane away--and hopefully the tonic with it
He had almost reached the door when someone inside the room let out a startled squawk There was a loudpop fizz boosh, and then a lavender, gray, and rose cloud belched out of the roo, "Daan a slow descent to the floor
Saetan held out his hand and stared at the chalky lavender, grey, and rose flecks that covered his skin and shirt cuff Butterflies churned in his sto hile and flee
He sed the giggle, strapped a bit of mental steel to his backbone, and cautiously peered around the doorway
Jaenelle stood by a large worktable, her ar as she frowned at the Craft book hovering above the table The candlelights on either side of the book gave off a pretty, stained-glass glow, softening the surrounding chaos The entire roo Jaenelle--was liberally dusted with lavender, grey, and rose Only the book was clean Shewhatever it was
"I really don’t think I want to know about this," Saetan said dryly, wondering how Draca was going to react to the ave him an exasperated, aave hiame smile "I don’t suppose you’d like to help anyway?"
Hell’s fire! During all the years when he’d been teaching her Craft and trying to unravel one of these quirky spells after the fact, he’d hoped for just this invitation
"Unfortunately," he said, his voice full of wistful regret, "there’s so else we have to discuss"
Jaenelle sat down, on air, hooking her heels on the nonexistent rung of a nonexistent stool, and gave hi it could be to have Jaenelle’s undivided attention
Saetan cleared his throat and glanced around the roo for inspiration Maybe her workroom, with the tools of her Craft around her, was the best place to talk after all
He stepped into the rooood neutral place, not invading her territory but acknowledging a right to be there "I’m concerned, witch-child," he said quietly
Jaenelle cocked her head "About what?"
"About you About the way you avoid all of us About the way you’re shutting yourself away from everyone"