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"Very good, Deje," Surreal said quietly "Very, very good"

She quickly settled into the roo theh variety to satisfy the different appetites in whatever Territory she was in Most of her things were scattered in a dozen hideaways throughout Terreille

Surreal suppressed a shudder It was better not to think of those hideaways Certainly better not to wonder about hilass doors so she could listen to the fountain, Surreal settled into a chair, her legs tucked beneath her Two black leather books appeared, floating before her She took one, leafed through to the last written page, called in a pen, and made a notation

That contract was finished It hadn’t taken the fool as long to die as she would have liked, but the pain had been exquisite And the ood

She vanished the book and opened the other one, checked the entry she needed, wrote out her menu, and with a flick of her wrist sent it to the kitchen Vanishing the second book, she got up and stretched Another flick of her wrist and there was the faht of the knife’s handle, its stiletto blade a shining co her wrist the other way, she vanished the knife and sht He never gave her any trouble Besides--she sht hio? Twelve, fourteen years?

She took a quick shower, dressed her long black hair so it could be easily unpinned, reen dress that hid as ainst the inevitable, she walked over to the freestanding mirror and looked at the face, at the body, she had hated all her life

It was a finely sculpted face with high cheekbones, a thin nose, and slightly oversized gold-green eyes that saw everything and revealed nothing Her slender, well-shaped body looked deceptively delicate but had strong muscles that she had hardened over the years to ensure she was always in peak condition for her chosen profession But it was the sun-kissed, light-brown skin that made her snarl Hayllian skin Her father’s skin She could easily pass for Hayllian if she wore her hair down and wore tinted glasses to hide the color of her eyes The eyes wouldto a delicate pointthose were Titian’s ears

Titian, who cah Terreille Titian, who had been broken on Kartane SaDiablo’s spear Titian, who had escaped and whored for her keep so Kartane couldn’t find her and destroy the child she carried Titian, as found one day with her throat slit and was buried in an unrave

All the assassinations, all thoseto their planned deaths, were dress rehearsals for patricide Soht time, and she would pay him back for Titian

Surreal turned away from the mirror and forced the memories aside When she heard the quiet knock on the door, she positioned herself in the center of the roouest would see her when he first walked in And she would see hi Craft, she opened the door before he turned the handle, and let the seduction tendrils flow from her like some exotic perfume She opened her arms and smiled as the door locked behind hi out of hi with his fire She put her hands on his chest, stopping hi hard, he clenched and unclenched his hands, but he didn’t touch her

Satisfied, Surreal glided to the sht to the kitchen A lasses and a bottle of wine appeared She poured the wine, gave hilass, and raised hers in a salute "Philip"

"Surreal" His voice was husky, aching

She sipped her wine "Doesn’t the wine please you?"

Philip consulass in a s

Surreal hid her ser for that he couldn’t have? Who did he pretend she hen he closed the curtains and turned off all the lights so he could satisfy his lust while clinging to his illusions?

She kept thehim consume her with his eyes as he drank the wine and ate the delicacies As he always did, he talked to her in aher more than he realized or intended

Philip Alexander Gray-Jeweled Prince A handsoray eyes Half brother to Robert Benedict, a premiere political player since he had tied himself to Hayll, toKartane Robert only wore the Yellow, and barely that, but he was the legitimate son, entitled to his father’s estate and wealth Philip, a couple of years younger and never fored, was raised as his brother’s accessory Tired of playing the grateful bastard, he broke with his faelline, the Queen of Chaillot

Subtle cultural poisoning over a couple of generations had allowed Chaillot’s Bloodunnatural and wrest control of the Territory frourehead, but she was still the Queen of Chaillot and wore an Opal Jewel A little strange, too Well, unusual It was rulass covens even though Black Widows had been outlawed by the Blood hter, Leland, as Robert Benedict’s wife

And they all lived together at the Angelline estate in Beldon Mor