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"You’re her Consort," Lucivar said sharply "Stand your ground"

"But"

"She isn’t going to pay attention to either of us before this o to A overto have ti aroundyou" Lucivar rode over another, uardhouse, Daemon"

He finally understood Lucivar didn’t want him there because he was the Consort, but because he was the Sadist

Daemon nodded "I’ll be ready to leave when you are"

3 / Kaeleer

Seeing the contained grief in Jaenelle’s eyes, Lucivar didn’t need to ask if she’d been told about Lord Magstrom’s death He al, but didn’t bother There was so else in her eyes that told hih, for her own reasons

He eyed the large flat case that stood near her traveling bag She had several cases like that of different sizes that contained the wooden frames she used to weave her various webs

"You’re expecting to weave a healing web that size?" he asked

"It’s not for a healing web; it’s for the shadow"

He eyed the case again A "shadoas an elaborate illusion that could fool the eye into believing a person was really there Jaenelle could create one that was so realistic, the only difference between it and her real body was that, while the shadow could pick up or touch anything, it couldn’tbe touched She had un her search for Daedom, and he still clearly remembered the kind of physical toll it had taken

"Do you feel well enough to channel that h your body to ?"

"There won’t berequired," Jaenelle replied calotten froent letters, but he knew better than to say anything Serving Jaenelle in the past few years had taught hi, then picked up a hooded, full-length black cape "Shall we go?"

4 / Kaeleer

Kartane SaDiablo restlessly paced the sitting room of his suite

The bitch was late If he’d been home, the bitch wouldn’t have dared keep Dorothea’s son waiting Hell’s fire, he’d al hie, he alether He needed this bitch, who, Jorval assured hi and no one could stop her froain

He walked over to the s and looked out There was no reason for her to know he had been waiting anxiously, no reason to give her even that little bit of power over hiain

He didn’t hear the door open, but when he turned around, a figure shrouded in a hooded black cape stood inside the rooht it was that witch Dorothea called the Dark Priestess, but there was so slimy about the Dark Priestess’s psychic scent and this one’s scent

Kartane frowned He couldn’t detect a psychic scent at all "You’re the Healer?" he asked doubtfully

"Yes"

Kartane shivered at the sound of that nore his uneasiness, he reached up to unbutton his shirt "I suppose you want to examinewith you"

His fingers froze around the button "You’ve seen this before?"

"No"

"But you knohat it is?"

"Yes"

Annoyed by the terse answers, he tossed aside any effort at civility "Then what in the name of Hell is it?"

"It’s called Briarwood," replied the ht voice

The blood drained out of Kartane’s head, leaving him dizzy

"Briarwood is the pretty poison," the voice continued as fair-skinned hands reached up and pushed the hood back "There is no cure for Briarwood"

Kartane stared at her The last tio, she had beenlocked in one of Briarwood’s cubicles, waiting to be used But he’d never forgotten those sapphire eyes, or the terror he’d felt after he’d tried to touch herht Greer destroyed you"

"He tried"

It hit hier at her "You did this to led web, yes As far as what’s happened to you, Kartane, you did this to yourself"

"No!"

"Yes To each is given what he gave That was the only command I spun into the web"

"Since you did this, you can damn well undo it!"