Page 15 (1/2)

He braced for the punch He wouldn’t take it, but he’d dearly love an excuse to push her face into thea kettle When she finally spoke, her voice was dangerously controlled "You’re the one ears the Red, Warlord So show so"

She brushed past hiainst her back

Brock raised his hands and shrugged, fighting hard not to laugh

Blaed bit his lip, rolled his shoulders, and finally said hesitantly, "I have a chess set, if that would help"

Using Craft, the Blood had the ability to call in and vanish objects, allowing the physically burdened with them Sadi had described it once as an invisible cupboard, its size dependent on a person’s strength and how much poas siphoned off to maintain it

Jared didn’t ask what else Blaed--or any of the rest of theroup When a man’s body was someone else’s property, material possessions could take on fierce i them wasn’t done by choice All too often these ser slave or by someone in the court anted the objector siht," Jared said, letting nothing in his voice or expression make any demands There had already been too many demands made on Blaed, as barely twenty and the only other male who had been used as a pleasure slave Jared ree, and the harsh lessons he’d learned when sexual pleasure had been turned into a twisted ga, and handed it to Jared

"Thank you," Jared said "I’ll see that it’s returned"

Relief visible in his eyes, Blaed son, which had passed his" with Thera He wondered briefly why no one was riding the saddle horses, then shrugged off the thought Either Thera and the Gray Lady were supposed to be riding this turn, or whoever was supposed to be had chosen to walk instead of being that close to titches ere grating on each other’s te a little Craft to keep his balance Taking the muffled snarl that answered his knock as an invitation, he entered and closed the door quickly so he wouldn’t tuon were opened enough to provide a little fresh air, but not low near the Lady’s head

Dressed in dark-gray trousers and a long, heavy gray sweater, she sat on one of the benches that acted as seats and beds, her back resting against the storage boxes stacked against the top side of the bench A blanket rapped around her shoulders like a shawl Her long gray hair, usually hidden by the hood of her coat, was pulled back in a loose braid The die lines in her face andwoman she oncehis heart beat a little faster,like this, not for an old woon and the horses But

Was there a , who considered it a privilege and an honor to warm her bed? Did she have a consort or a lover, or did she use pleasure slaves? Would she enjoy having hiave her release? What would she do if he kissed her until the desire huhts--and foolish ones He was thinking like a ranted equal pleasure in the bed instead of a slave who e

"What do you want?"

The surly tone, the wary look in her gray eyes, and the way her body stiffened slapped his thoughts back to so close to neutral Had he slipped so hts had shown on his face? Thank the Darkness his coat was long enough to hide his body’s response Or was it the Ring that had betrayed hiame of chess to pass the tihtened with interest She swung her legs over the side of the bench, wincing when the right knee refused to bend

The sharp look she gave hi, so Jared settled on the other bench and pulled the box out of the cloth bag Partly because it was practical and partly to test her, he didn’t ask per Craft to hold the box in the air

There was nothing in her expression except eagerness

Odd that she didn’t ask where the chess set came from Slaves were supposed to show any possessions they carried using Craft, including the Jehich always traveled with them even if they were forbidden to wear thes--favorite books, a ga set like this, personal ed having this, he wouldn’t have been so fearful about ad to her because of it

Jared opened the box, which becaray squares

"Red or black?" he asked, indicating the playing pieces

"Black," she replied, pushing up the sweater’s sleeves

Even slogging through the race, and he’d been surprised when he’d carried her to the wagon yesterday to discover that the body hidden by trousers, layered tunics and a knee-length coat was shapelier than he’d expected More solid, too Now, seeing the strong wrists and foreare of her a little orous woed in all kinds of physical activity All kinds