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"Really?" Daeh doubt to rip at Saetan’s heart

"Really I’ll even read you a story after I take care of a couple of things Go on, now"

Daeot to his feet, unable to hide how shaky he was physically and emotionally He sed once, twice Then he rushed to the bathroom and slammed the door shut

A moment later, aural shields went up around the bathroo, Saetan went across the hall and knocked on the door to Jaenelle’s sitting rooolden hair still damp He saw no fear in the sapphire eyes that assessed hi Craft, he floated a footstool over to her chair and sat down in front of her

"How is he?" Jaenelle asked

"First things first Was this rape?" A to have to execute my son?

He saw the shock in her eyes, quickly followed by anger "No"

"Are you saying that to protect him because he’s your husband?"

"No" Her voice was icy and knife-edged "I’ave me a choice, Saetan He asked o I chose to stay"

Sick relief washed through Saetan Daeh the word had reivable line had been in every word Daemon had said

"You need to see a Healer, witch-child"

"I am a Healer"

And a Black Widow and a Queen One of the three witches in all of Kaeleer who had a triple gift

"Then I need an accurate list of your injuries" Jaenelle was his adopted daughter; Daemon was his son More than that, he had been her Steward This wouldn’t be co to have this conversation "Before you try to shrug this off because you’d rather not be frank with me, you should keep in ht may stay broken unless it’s fixed in a hurry, and if it stays broken, your husband ain"

"Does he really knohat happened last night?"

Saetan frowned "I had the impression he explained some of this to you"

"Yes, he did" Jaenelle studied him for a moment, then pushed back the sleeves of her robe and held out her wrists

Ugly bruises His orists ached in sy the sleeves back down "There are a few other bruises frooing to show you"

On the basis of Dae far more serious, and he found himself comforted by Jaenelle’s tone of amused snippiness

"I’m a bit sore, but that has to do with quantity, not his tely sympathetic about that," Jaenelle continued "And between the exercise I got with Nighthawk and Daeh that I’ for a couple of days"

Saetan gave in to the s his lips "That’s it?"

"That’s it"

His smile faded Couldn’t be all of it "He scared you That’s the sticking point for him He scared you"

"Yes, he did," Jaenelle replied quietly "He didn’t knoho I was, Saetan He didn’t knohere he was He was caught in so memory, and when I realized that, I also realized that if he really tried to hurtto have to hurt him, because he would be able to live with a physical injury e that he’d done ive me a couple of unintentional bruises"

"Could you have hurt hih that you could have stopped hiht hand into a loose fist When she opened her hand

Her fingers no longer had human nails These were cat claws, the kind that could do serious da blow

"I see," Saetan said softly A physical wound, even a per one, would have been less destructive for Daemon She had known that--and her choice of weapon would have shocked any ht hand, then fluffed her hair with her nor out to Dharo Aaron should be here by now"

"Oh?" He kept his voice carefully neutral, but he wondered if Jaenelle was being honest about her own e hi hours so that he would be here when Dae Aaron could indicate a need to escape