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"Enough, demon"

"What?"

She sat, then drew her knees to her chest "I&039;ry I&039;ve been sexually toruardeda mine collapse You took down my braids so my dusty hair continually blows into my eyes And I can&039;t move it! On top of all this-I was kidnapped by mon­sters to be sold into slavery!"

And I&039;d feared for the de to her?

"I&039; any farther, not until you free h your head There&039;s no way I&039;o If for no other reason, you could be carrying htened? Proudly?

"That&039;s iether only once, but it could

happen"

"There is no babe-I&039;nant!"

"How can you know?"

"I knew days after," she said "The Hag can tell that

quickly"

"And you let ?

Another lie!"

"Why wouldn&039;t I let you think that? I had no idea what your plans for me entailed!"

"Every day you teach me not to trust you"

"You knohat? You had better keep et free I-will-take-you-out! I a to have to carry "

"You think I won&039;t?" He yanked her up

"I&039; treated like this! And to think I&039;d worried-" She bit her tongue

"To think you&039;d done what? Ah, sorceress, were you worried abouttone Then his eyes narrowed as he studied her face "You were"

"Ha! I was only worried about aze Da So she kicked hiled his hands in her hair, grasping the back of her head They were both still out of breath She was staring at his lips, licking her own When she took her gaze off his mouth, she found his eyes were focused on her own lips

They were about to do that frantic kissing thing again, and she didn&039;t know if she was strong enough to fight it-

"Hello!" a voice called froees had found thee demons were everywhere By sunset, she and Rydstrouards-until they&039;d reached a bluff overlooking a sea of tents spread out below

When the guards had come upon the outside the boundaries "when there are beasties about"

Rydstroe He&039;d been shirtless and still had blood on him, but he was outwardly-if not calm- then at least stable

Now, as she and Rydstroh a crowd of what must be hun­dreds, Sabine stared around her

The de at her lack of clothing The wo-unnecessarily long sleeves and skirts

A lesser sorceress would have been discomfited by

the fact that she wore a swath of cloth, a lanced around, her demeanor bored

When males leered at her body, Rydstrohtening

As she surveyed her surroundings, Sabine had to exhale in exasperation Medieval castle, and kingdom, and people Why should she be surprised that this place looked to be straight out of a Renaissance fair?

The "housing" consisted of pavilion tents, each with elaborate valances hanging fronized several of the noble families&039; colors These deuards took them to a sizable round pavilion Inside, well-dressed males milled about, clearly noble­ outside the boundaries? Everyone has been inforers of this place"

"We aren&039;t part of this group We came from out­side"

"Well, we&039;ve no more room here," the man said "We can barely feed everyone as it is"

"Make roo"

Instant silence was followed by an uproar

-"Rydstrom hasn&039;t been back to this plane in centu-riesr

-"But the scar?"

--"There were rumors he&039;d been captured by a sorcer­ess"

Sabine said, "Only a sorceress? Try the sorceress-"

"I aroeary of this"

"It&039;s true," a woman&039;s voice said from the back "He&039;s Rydstrom" A de chestnut brown hair and petite horns that shone with health Ah, but she was a pastel-wearer She was forever dead to Sabine

Rydstrom narrowed his eyes at the female "Do I know you?"

She seemed taken aback "Iyes, you do I&039; to one of your sisters at Tornin" A young de skirts "And this is Puck" She ruffled his blonde hair "He wasa baby fang, and he stared at Sabine with owl eyes Which seemed to distress this Durinda, because she sent him outside at once

Sabine had just becoazes fell as one on her, Rydstrom said, "My prisoner, Sabine From Castle Tornin"

Jaws dropped, and another uproar sounded

-"Omort&039;s sister?"

-"The Queen of Illusions?"

-"She&039;ll kill us all in our sleep!"

Sabine jerked her chin up at Rydstrom "So now I&039;m only your prisoner? Why didn&039;t you introduce rip on her arm made her wince and keep her mouth shut, for now

Rydstrom asked the apparenr lead noble, "Is this where the portals off-plane will open?"

"Yes, e," the man answered "In four days"

Sabine noticed then that Durinda seemed spellbound by Rydstro in that demoness&039;s eyes thather body into his so ht not be keeping her husband, but for now, Rydstrom was hers, and Sabine had never learned how to share

Durinda said, "I&039;e You can have my tent, and we&039;ll find a place forher"

"She stays with me," he commanded

Durinda&039;s face paled at his fierce tone "O-of course"

Sabine said, "Durinda, we accept your hospitality" As our due

Though the demoness&039;s shoulders stiffened, she showed them to a spacious tent The canvas was col­ored a subdued blue with a steel gray fringe on the valances Tracery scrolled over the sides The effect was striking-and denoted wealth

Inside, the color scheray, with lush quilts in blue Paper lanterns decorated withfrom the roof supports

Sabine&039;s pavilion would be bold criold Because I&039;s, then hesitated at the entrance flap

In&039; her crispest tone, Sabine said, "That will be all, Durinda"

With an indignant huff, she whirled around

As soon as the flap closed, Rydstrom said, "Do you have to act like that?"

Sabine rounded on hius a kindness by letting us sleep here"

"No, she&039;s not They believe you&039;re their king, whichin this cadom is yours Since I&039;m your queen, that ratitude to people for giving an dousing the lanterns, she said, "And why didn&039;t you tell them I&039;m wed to you?"

After all she&039;d put up with, he wouldn&039;t even acknowl­edge her as his queen? She couldn&039;t help recalling Omort&039;s words How disappointed the demon must be

Was Rydstrom shaht as well admit that we&039;re wed"

"Sabine, we&039;re both injured and exhausted," he said, capturing her hand and dragging her down to the bed&039; ding "We&039;ll speak of this tomorrow"

Sabine was out of sorts in every way They&039;d been less than four hours fro this place; maybe they could have done without her meltdown No, she should still be furious with him over her treatment and her continued captivity-

Damn it, is he es when she&039;d slept with hihts When he wrapped his arhtly as he would

his most treasured prize And whenever he did that, she fell into a deep numb sleep

Sabine welcomed it now The heat from his body was so palpable, it seemed to stroke her in the dark The world soon fell away

She woke in the night, blinking her eyes to find hi her, his face so weary

"No more bad dreams, love"

Had he seen her dream? She didn&039;t remember it-

He pressed his lips to her hair "You&039;re safe, now" He eased his hand to her face so slowly, touching her cheek with the softest caress she&039;d ever received It was almost as if he&039;d practiced how not to startle her

Her last thought before sleep claiet used to having a demon hus­band

31

"Retro-Aht her changes of clothing the nextHe was relieved to see that her face and body had healed overnight

Though she&039;d just awakened, he&039;d already bathed in nearby hot springs, dressed in new clothes, and er to turn over the governing-and the problems-of the camp to him

They&039;d been rife with curiosity about Sabine Was she the king&039;s concubine or prisoner or both! Rydstro, just commanded that while she was not to be freed, she was to be shown the utmost respect- and that everyone here be apprised of that order

Sabine gave a nod at the clothes "Let uess- from Durinda?"