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35
“What happened to you?” Rihlia demanded as Jasmine limped into dinner that evening. She was late. Everyone was present, even Keilor, and all conversation came to a halt as they waited for her answer.
Jasmine gave her a rueful smile as she lowered herself into a seat, wincing a little as her sore lip pulled. Feeling mischievous, she lowered her eyes and allowed a shy, satisfied grin to curl the corners of her mouth. “I found a new playmate; he likes it a bit rough.” Stunned silence fell on the room.
“J-jas?” Rihlia fina
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The Charmer 36
He set his jaw. Agony had shot through him when she’d declared, no,implied, she had not only taken a lover, but she’d chosen one who abused her. He’d had the sickest feeling of failure and loss, and a grief so fresh that furious searching for the lover had been the only thing to keep it at bay. All of that, only to discover her new ‘playmate’ was a villi! If he hadn’t already spoken to Jayems for her hand, he would have right then just to have the right to beat her!Enunciating very clearly, he said, “I am going back to the others. You will be right behind me. If you are not…”
The Charmer 37
With a roar like thunder, riders burst out of the gates to the left of Jayems’ pavilion, charging straight toward the black blocks of cadets. Jasmine barely had time to note Keilor and the commanders move to the far side of the field, leaving the sub-commanders to handle their units. A single shouted command from five different throats caused the ranks to whip out their knives and turn en masse to present a solid wall of resistance to the oncoming hoard. Jasmine barely had time to wonder at the folly of facing horsemen (or stagmen) with nothing but knives when with a zap!, a hundred blades suddenly elongated into three foot lengths of blue light.“Light sabers!” Jasmine gasped, her eyes enormous.
The Charmer 38
Keilor slammed his sheathed blade down on his scarred and slightly dusty table, scattering stray papers with the slight breeze. “Bath!” he snarled, unbuckling his belt. The sound of splashing water immediately filled the room. He stalked towards the enormous tub, leaving a trail of clothes in his wake, and sank deeply into the steaming water.Little witch! Custom of her country or not, there had been no call to show such favoritism to a mere cadet. Now the fool was in love with her, and all the true suitors for her hand seethed with jealousy. Tomorrow might well degenerate into a blood bath, with all the warriors expecting to receive the prize of her lips.
The Charmer 39
Upset in more ways than one, she roughly scrubbed his neck, or tried to. It was difficult to do much damage with a slippery bar of soap. “You don’t want a wife,” she told him with bitter certainty. She twisted a little to wash his left arm, trying to block out its solid strength, and the hard muscles under his smooth, warm skin. She couldn’t hide her fine trembling. He was so beautiful!Unfortunately, his beauty was not for her. “What you want would burn out in a couple of days, maybe a couple of weeks. Then what? Divorce?”She had reached his chest. Against her will, her hands were getting slower. It was all
The Charmer 40
The warrior’s brows shot up. “The untamable Master of the Hunt, captured at last by a woman?” Mathin studied him. “You have no desire for children?”Keilor rubbed his thumb over the rim of his cup. “I accept that I won’t have them.” He could have explained he planned on adopting a child, but the sudden tightness in his throat prevented it. A forceful swallow of mead cleared it enough for him to ask, “What of you? I had always assumed you liked children. Why would you court a human?”A humorless
The Charmer 41
“Please,” she answered, mentally swearing at herself as his large, warm hands closed over her shoulders, making her nerves jump with awareness. She closed her eyes, shutting herself in solitary darkness as the blessing was said.It’s just a side affect of last night, she assured herself. The more she thought, the angrier became. So I feel a little thrill when a handsome man touches me. I’m young, and healthy, and it’s not as if... She broke into a cold sweat. Even in her mind, her heart wouldn’t let her complete the sentence. Panicked, she thought with desperation, I don’t belong to him! He doesn’t have any claim on me! Her eyes opened. She saw Keilor looking straight at her,
The Charmer 42
A blazing wall of fire flared up directly in front of the gates, and eleven riders charged out, up the ramp, and through the flames. Jasmine glowered at them. She was determined not to be impressed no matter what antics they pulled.That idea lasted all of three minutes.When the first stag beast sailed over Keilor, he raked its belly with the tip of his sword, just cutting through its rider’s girth. Jasmine thought she would have heart failure. When the rider managed to shed his saddle in mid-air, and regain his seat on his stag, she knew this was
The Charmer 43
Keilor and Mathin didn’t waste time. At the signal, they unsheathed their swords with lightning fast moves and attacked.The individual moves were a confusing blur. Both men fought as if they’d just came fresh from their beds, not spent the morning fighting off hoards of opponents. The men were nearly equal in size, strength and endurance. What would tip the scales of the fight?***Mathin on a normal day was difficult to defeat. Mathin with charmer scented
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