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"And?"

The ossip How can my patients trustabout others?"

"You can’t"

"Exactly"

But that wouldn’t stop the kitchen staff or the housekeepers Perhaps a visit to the kitchens was in my immediate future After all, I haven’t eaten all day Too bad, the sound of a drawer rolling open ruined my appetite

As Medic Moe h rasped the vial between her thuht

I stared at the liquid inside

It was blue

11

VALEK

After Yelena left his office, Valek tried to concentrate on the piles of reports But his thoughts kept returning to his heart e under his shirt, recalling the intense eo Amid the maelstro had been crystal clear

Yelena

Nothing elseand terrifying at the same tiht Instead he focused on the joy of her reply and the passion of their union It still hu with the desire to keep her safe, which would be difficult because of the current situation

Valek needed to evict the trio of unwelcoreed with Yelena that Oould lie low for a while Which hy he hadn’t insisted that she have an aruard by her side at all times Not that she’d allow it, or that the protector would be effective if Owen attacked Hell, even Valek couldn’t keep her safe, not if a null shield was used against hi the reports, Valek descended to the lower level of the castle He checked the storeroom that Yelena, Ari, Janco and Maren had used to train back when she had been the Commander’s food taster Except for a thick layer of dust, nothing had disturbed the space Valek would borrow a handful of rags to clean it Hopefully, they could keep her new training sessions a secret

Then he headed to the Commander’s office as ordered The roo the back wall of the throne room When the Commander had taken control of Ixia, he’d removed all the intricate tapestries, the opulent jeweled throne and expensive decorations In their place, he brought in desks, chairs and filing cabinets for his officers and advisers The productive sprawl had no discernible organization or path, but Valek had traversed the expanse so ate it blind

Onora stood with the Couards outside the open door

She hooked a thuht his supper"

"Any problerumped at, no"