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"I can’t work a full day," Gray said, feeling bitter because he didn’t want to be seen as someone less "Not yet I wastorturedwhen I was younger, and soht"

"Your body’s not working right because you overworked it recently?" Burle asked "That’s what you’re telling me?"

Gray nodded, unable to look the older man in the eyes "Shira says I can work a few hours a day, but not et yappy about it if I try to do ht Vae be?"

"She’s a Sceltie"

"Ah" Burle nodded "Heard of them Haven’t met one"

"You will," Gray said darkly "Vae has opinions about everything"

Burle looked at the room "Tell you what I’ll trade you You help ive you two hours of labor to help take care of your work And we’ll see how it goes"

"Okay"

Burle didn’t think less of hi about the torture Was just asinside Gray relaxed

"Let’s start by taking so care of some of your work, we can talk about how to irl happy"

Later that evening, after a h to just talk, Cassidy and Burle went out walking, heading toward open fields that were away from the house--and the people

"You want to tell ?" Burle asked

Cassidy linked her arht," Burle said after a ?"

"Theran is a pigheaded ass"

"You’re entitled to your opinion, Kitten, but I’m not sure you’re entitled to shame him in front of the people he has to ith"

"Why not? He does it to , and Cassidy felt an odd chill in the air

Mother Night Her father was a Warlord ore Tiger Eye, and under ainst a Warlord Prince But fathers weren’t always careful when they stepped up to defend a daughter

"He blocks everything I try to do," Cassidy said hurriedly "He won’t letQueens and see whonow Hell’s fire! He doesn’t tell the housekeeper how to do her work, but he’s trying to make every decision for ed back to evening cool

"Fro out and about just yetfor a Queen to do," he said

"But Theran won’t let those Queens coot his back up when I wanted to go into toith Gray and look at plants for the garden"

"He h to impress anyone," Cassidy muttered

"That’s foolish talk, and you know it"

Is it really that foolish? she wondered Since she didn’t want her father challenging Theran--and getting killed because of it--she held her tongue

"Time for plain talk, Kitten," Burle said "Queens do important work, and they are as necessary to a land as they are to its people They can make or break a Territory Hell’s fire, they can e But you’ve irl What you do is work, and when you accepted this contract, you were hired for a particular job"

"No one seehened by frustration

"Including you?"

Barely enough light to see his face, but enough to knoas a serious question

"Sometimes I have an idea for a piece of furniture," Burle said, "and I build it just the way I see it in my mind, exactly the way it suits me to build it out of particular materials I take pride in the work Some people will like it and some won’t, but it’s all mine And then there are other times when I’m hired to help someone build a piece of furniture the way they want it built Their vision, their design I’ll n or ner, Kitten I’ so that matters to them And even if I think it could have been done differently--or better--I respect what they’re trying to do and give them the best work I can

"You’ve been here a feeeks Prince Theran’s been here his whole life, watching what bad Queens did to his land and his people I’ve been working with Gray this afternoon, and he’s told ure out that Theran wants to do right by his people and do right by Dena Nehele The naht as well as a privilege to carry the nale" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>