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Mephis said nothing for a full minute "Jaenelle has problems with physical intimacy You know that"
Lucivar slammed his fist into the door "Damn you! Are you so blind or have your balls dried up sorather than have so their power? Well, I’ with my balls She’s my
Queen--mine!--and rules or not, Laws or not, Dark Council or not, if someone makes her suffer, I will pay them back in kind"
They stared at each other, Lucivar breathing hard, Mephis unainst the door "We can’t go through this again, Lucivar We can’t go through the fear of losing her again"
"Where is she?"
"Father took her to the Keep)--with strict orders for the rest of the family to stay away"
Lucivar pushed Mephis aside "Well, we all knoell I follow orders, don’t we?"
3 / Kaeleer
Saetan looked like a man who had barely survived a battlefield
Which wasn’t far froht as he quietly closed the door of Jaenelle’s sitting room at the Keep
"My instructions were explicit, Lucivar"
The voice had no strength The face looked gray and strained
Lucivar pointed casually to the Birthright Red Jewels Saetan wore "You’re not going to be able to tossthose"
Saetan didn’t call in the Black
Lucivar guessed, correctly, that getting Jaenelle to the Keep in her present physical and emotional condition had drained the Black
Saetan li softly He tried to lift a decanter of yarbarah fro the roolass, and warmed the blood wine "Do you need fresh blood?" he asked quietly
Saetan stared at him coldly
Even after all these centuries, Luthvian’s accusations were still deep wounds barely scabbed over Guardians needed fresh blood froth At first, Lucivar had tried to understand Saetan’s anger at being offered blood hot froh Lord would accept that gift from anyone but him Now he felt annoyed that so between theift, why couldn’t the father graciously accept it?
Saetan looked away "Thank you, but no"
Lucivar pressed the wineglass into Saetan’s hand "Drink this"
"I want you away frolass of brandy for himself, booted a footstool over to Saetan’s chair, and sat down "When I walk away fro her with me"
"You can’t," Saetan snapped "She’s" He raked his fingers through his hair "I don’t think she’s sane"
"Not surprising since they dosed her withsaffralared at him "Don’t be an assSafframate doesn’t do that to a person"
"Hoould you know? You’ve never been dosed with it" Lucivar struggled to keep the bitterness out of his voice This wasn’t the time to worry old hurts
"I’ve usedsafframate"
Lucivar narrowed his eyes and studied his father "Explain"
Saetan drained his glass"Saffra staive pleasure The seeds are the size of a snapdragon seed You add one or two crushed seeds to a glass of wine"
"One or two seeds" Lucivar snorted "High Lord, in Terreille they crush it into a powder and use it by the spoonful"
"That’s ave someone that much--" Saetan stared at the closed door that led into Jaenelle’s , bedroom
"Exactly," Lucivar said softly "Pleasure very quickly becomes pain The body beco hurts The sex drive obliterates everything else, but that as need and sensitivity that’s constantly increased by the sti in his chair
"But if, for whatever reason, a person doesn’t sub wears offwell, the encounter can turn violent"
Saetan blinked back tears "You were used like that, weren’t you?"
"Yes But not often Most witches didn’t think ridingmy temper in the bed with it And most of the ones who tried didn’t walk away intact if they walked away at all I had my own definition of violent passion"
"And Dae with it" Lucivar shuddered "They didn’t call hi"
Saetan reached for the yarbarah His hand still shook, but not as badly as before "What do you suggest we do for Jaenelle?"
"She doesn’t deserve to endure this alone, and she’ll never agree to sex for whatever sive her So that leaves violence" Lucivar drained his brandy glass "I’ her into Askavi I’ll keep us away fro, no one else will get caught in the backlash"
Saetan lowered his glass "What about you?"