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The spider drew silk out of her body and carefully attached it to the Ladvarian thread

So Witch would choose the second path, blind to the fact that, while she would save Kaeleer and those she loved, she would also destroy Kaeleer’s Heart

Therehad to be a way to save Kaeleer’s Heart

Spinning out an anchor thread between the tree trunk and a sturdy branch, the Arachnian Queen began to weave her own tangled web

Chapter Two

1 / Kaeleer

Lucivar Yaslana flipped the list back to the first page of neatly written names and stepped away froht betanting to review the lists at that table andnot wanting to get too close tohie he had over the otherfrom table to table to check the service fair lists No one jostled hi it took hile with a Warlord Prince ore Ebon-gray Jewels, was an Eyrien warrior bred and trained, and had a vicious te that teht When added to his belonging to one of the strongest fa in the Dark Court at Ebon Askavi, it was little wonder that other men quickly yielded

But even all of that didn’t help him feel comfortable while he was at the service fair in Goth, Little Terreille’s capital No matter what they called it, this fair had too much of the flavor of the slave auctions still held in the Realm of Terreille

Slowlyhis way to the door, Lucivar took a deep breath and then wished he hadn’t The large room was overcrowded, and even with the s open, the air stank of sweat and fatigue--and the fear and desperation that seemed to rise up from the hundreds of na, Lucivar spread his dark, s to their full span He wasn’t sure if it was out of defiance for all the times that natural movement had earned him the cut of a lash or just that he wanted to feel the sun and wind on the inside for several hours--or if it was simply a way to remind himself that he was now the buyer, not the s, he set off for the far corner of the fairground that was reserved for the Eyrien "camp"

He’d noted several Eyrien names that were of interest to him, but not the one name--the Hayllian name--that was thethrough those da the lists for Daemon’s name for the past five years, ever since the idiots in the Dark Council had decided this twice-yearly "service fair" was the way to funnel the hundreds of people ere fleeing froerhold in Kaeleer And he thought, as he did every time, about why Daemon’s name wasn’t there And he rejected, as he did every ti for the right name

But that wasn’t likely No et to Kaeleer, once at the fair he would use his own nanize hi about the Jewels one as immediate expulsion from the Real his na that he wore the Black Jeould only make hih Lord who had worn the Black in the entire history of the Blood The Darkness knew Dae aside his own stab of disappoint to explain this to Ladvarian The Sceltie Warlord had been so insistent about Lucivar checking the lists carefully this time, had seemed so certain Most people would think it odd to feel apprehensive about disappointing a dog that just reached his knees, but when that dog’s best friend was eight hundred pounds of feline tes

Lucivar put those thoughts aside as he reached the Eyrien "cae corral of barren, beaten earth, a poorly h Not so different from the slave pens in Terreille Oh, there were better accoold or silver marks to pay for the on the ground But for le to look presentable after days spent waiting, wondering, hoping Even here, a, he could pick up the scents of exhaustion brought on by too little food, too little sleep, and nerves frayed to the breaking point He could alate, Lucivar stepped inside Most of the woroups, nearer the gate Sonition and looked away, dis him in the same way they had dismissed the bastard boy he’d believed himself to be

But a few of thea challenge

Lucivar gave thee, then turned his back on them and headed for the Warlord whose concentration was focused on the two boysexercise with the sticks

One of the boys noticed hi partner The other boy pounced on the advantage and gave the first one a hard poke in the belly

"Hell’s fire, boy," the Warlord said with so rin "You’re lucky all you’ve got is a sore belly and not a dent in that thick head of yours You dropped your guard"

"But--" the boy said as he started to raise his hand and point

The Warlord tensed but didn’t turn "If you start worrying about the man who hasn’t reached you yet, the one you’re already fighting is going to kill you" Then he turned slowly and his eyes widened