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“What did you do?” Startled by her own voice, she looked down, confirming the damage. Hands trembling, she lifted them. The age spots and fragile look of raised veins had completely disappeared. One hand flew to her mouth, the back pressed against her lips.
Scared at Matilda’s drastic reaction, Andrea quickly fetched a mirror, hoping to reassure her. “It’s okay, Grandma. The symbiont just made you young again.”
Matilda took the glass and stared at it, stone still. Then she threw it, shattering it against the side of the wagon, narrowly missing Raziel’s thigh. “How could you?” Tears of fury welling in her eyes, she rushed past Andrea and into the woods.
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A root tripped her up, and Matilda immediately placed a supporting hand under her elbow. Grateful for the help, Andrea looked up and saw Mathin coming toward her, concern on his face.She stumbled in her haste to avoid him. “No.”Confused, he stopped. “I just want to help.”“No! I’m fine. I don’t need help.” Before he could stop her, she stumbled to the wagon and clambered up the ladder.Concerned, Mathin tried to follow.Matilda grabbed his arm. “Don’t. You’ll just make it worse. Gi
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“Your father’s brothers and your cousins have argued for some time over who should succeed you should you die without issue.” Tomlin looked at Andrea as he picked and raised his brows.“Not yet.” Mathin said quietly. He wouldn’t have Andrea pressured into an attempt to conceive.A grunt expressed Tomlin’s thoughts on that. “Pity. One of your more hotheaded cousins has stepped forward to assume the roll. Although no one’s officially endorsed his claim, none have refuted it. He’s made much noise about assuming your duties in your absence. We expect him to make a show here before the storms hit.”“Do you?” Mathin asked, v
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Puzzled, she halted and looked him. “I’ve got to get something to clean this up.”He slowly shook his head. “I don’t think you grasp the scope of your new duties. You’ve got far too much to do to finish by yourself, and Mathin never meant for you to be down on your knees scrubbing. We’ll go to the village, hire girls with mops, buy supplies and return here so you can take a tour and see what else needs to be done.”Since he seemed to know more of what was expected than she did, Andrea followed him into the village, doing most of the talking at his insistence. Soon she had four girls and a strapping young man marching off to the castle to battle the chaos under Matilda’s supervision.
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By the time she sat down to a simple dinner of stew and flatbread with Matilda and Raziel, she was almost too tired to eat. Matilda wasn’t much better. They’d put in a hard day cleaning up the worst of the citadel, making it livable if not cozy. New bedding covered the two mattresses they’d been able to scrounge up, with more promised for delivery over the next several days. Jell candles lit the table, since the lighting system still wasn’t repaired. Even the table was only a makeshift affair, nothing more than a couple of wide planks propped on boxes. More crates served as seats.Mathin still hadn’t come home.It wasn’t very good, but Andrea finished her stew anyway, too hungry to worry about it. With luck, she could find someone wi
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An unholy racket woke them in the morning.“I said get out!”Mathin leapt out of bed and grabbed his sword. He opened the door just in time to see Raziel thrust outside the door of the room directly opposite. Buck naked, he held his clothes in his arms, his muscular backside to Mathin as he argued with Matilda.“I was only there to sleep, woman,” he groused irritably, tossing back his mussed hair. “Had I wanted anything else you’d have known it.”Matilda, red hair equally disheveled, but attired in a flowered nightgown, stood in the doorway and glared at him. “Decent men don
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“Perhaps.” Raziel stabbed at his meat. “The scouts are in place. You would know within the hour if he stepped foot on your land.”“What of your lands?” Mathin raised a brow and rested his forearms on the table. “You show great concern for my situation, and I thank you, but your estate is nearly as extensive as mine.”“I’ve sent men to look it over.” Raziel’s face shuttered. “My overseer is more capable than Tomlin ever thought to be. All remains under control.”Mathin shrugged. “It’s your choice.” His careless tone didn’t match his expression.
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Mathin had felt the eyes on them for a good hour by the time he stopped that night. All but unconscious, Andrea lolled in his arms as he dismounted and gently lifted her down. Careful not to jar her, he lay her down on a tarp he’d tossed down on a patch of high ground and covered her with a blanket. “It’s going to be all right,” he whispered, and kissed her. He stroked her cheek and stood up.Looking up in the trees, he called out, “All right, come out. Don’t you know better than to stalk a Haunt upwind?”Feminine laughter echoed through the swamps. A line was cast down from the heights and moments later a woman slid down. Hands on hips, the tall blond surveyed him with a crooked grin. “Mathin. Finally found yourself a wo
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Leo shook her head. “A season? Longer? Who can say? I’m not a medic, but I’ll wager the baby will strain her system and the symbiont.”“Can she get a new one?” At Leo’s look of horror, he demanded, “What?”“You can’t just switch symbionts like you’d change your pants! It would be murder.”“Andrea would die?”“I don’t know, but the symbiont would for sure. Their systems are far too integrated now. Just give it time. It will regenerate.”Mathin
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