By the time the villagers from Teasarn arrived with Ewan and the others, the castle had started to look more inhabitable. With the sudden influx of hundreds of new people, civilians and soldiers alike, the castle soon bustled with activity. Every able-bodied person began to clear away rubble and weeds, while those who couldn't carry began to clean. When the clearing was done, rebuilding began.
On the morning of the seventh day in the castle, Tyrian found himself kicked out of the tower that he had been using for his room. Befuddled, he nonetheless went to find other things to do rather than try to go over maps. He ended up helping some of the soldiers set up training grounds behind the palace.
When Cassie went to find him that evening, he was covered in dirt and his dark hair clung to his head with sweat. He was also the most incredibly beautiful thing she had ever seen. Even this way, dirty and sweaty, she wanted him until she was mad. "I'm in such trouble," she groused under her breath as she walked over to him.
"Hey, Cas." His smile came slow and dangerously. He had seen her watching him. "Sure you're not going to change your mind?"
He had offered to let her share his room every night. Every night she had said no. And every night, he had smiled and let it be. She put her hands in her pockets. Fast. "No," she said, but her voice quivered slightly on the word. "I'm just here to escort you to your room."
"What, I can't go by myself?" he asked dryly. He scrubbed a towel over his face as he fell into step beside her. "What the hell has been going on up there? Every time I glanced at the balcony, I could see people moving around. I also heard banging. What gives?"
She smiled. "Oh, you'll see." She watched him from the corner of her eye as they walked through the castle. The strain under the surface of his tranquility seemed to be blatant to her, but no one else had noticed at all. She couldn't even be sure that Liang had noticed, and he wasn't much less sharp than she was for Tyrian.
Tyrian was unaware of her scrutiny, so she admired him at her leisure as they made their way to the central tower. He had a smile for everyone, something to say. He always knew the right words for any given person. Charisma? That was one word for it, but it seemed more elemental than that. She couldn't put her finger on it, yet she knew it was a special quality only inside this one man.
Two guards stood attentively at the doors at the base of the tower. They saluted with smiles when they saw Cassie and Tyrian and then moved aside so they could access the stairs. Tyrian quirked a brow, though he didn't say anything. The guards had been there ever since he had taken the tower for his own. They rotated out daily, but he knew all of them by name.
The stairs had been meticulously repaired, and there was now a handrail. The stairs had been rebuilt from stone, much less likely to break than wood, and someone had painted a green and black 'carpet' down the middle. Tyrian liked it. It added color without being excessive.
The door to his room at the top of the stairs was now properly mended and hung on the hinges as it should. It was bright and clean and looked very welcoming. Fairly sure as to what he would see, he opened the door with a wry smile.
Sure enough, his room was in pristine condition. The floor had been completely stripped and rebuilt and no longer creaked warningly when walked on. The room had been creatively sectioned into two halves with a three-quarters tall wall splitting it down the middle. On one side, behind the wall, was the actual bedroom. The front area was now a sitting room. A fireplace had been installed and already crackled welcomingly to cast light and heat through the room. A table with two chairs sat near it while a plush rug lay directly in front of the protective grate.
"Well," Tyrian said. "Now I see why there was a lot of banging. Where'd all this come from?"
"We've had some busy builders over the last few days," Cassie offered innocently. She leaned in the doorway and watched with a smile as he curiously examined every inch of the room. He was being his normal mature and serious self, but she could tell he was pleased. A sudden relaxation in his eyes and shoulders implied a heavy weight had been lifted. She had wanted nothing more than that and had in fact personally picked every item in his tower for that very thing.
He didn't need to ask to know she had done everything. He couldn't have asked for anything more, and she knew him better than anyone. He curiously peeked around the wall and discovered a large closet and bed. A smile teased his lips as he wondered if she had realized she had picked both with enough space for two.
The bathing room was also spotless, and it held a large tub that he eyed wistfully. If there was any one luxury he had always appreciated for his station, it was to have hot and cold running water. As Cassie came up beside him, he asked, "Is the whole city outfitted?"
"They're working on it." She smiled. "We figured you'd want it."
"You figured correctly. It's one of those things that shouldn't be enjoyed by just the nobility." He blew out a breath. "Or former nobility. I'm pretty positive that I've been disowned by now, traitor to the Empire that I am."
"You'll still be Lord Tyrian to everyone," she said gently. "But not because of your birth, Tyrian. Because you have earned their respect." She rested her cheek on his back and wrapped her arms around his waist. "More expectations are being placed on you, but at least they are placed by people who love you. We want you only to be yourself."
He turned to skim his hands through her hair. When she held him, he felt indomitable. "It's a curious thing. I never questioned how much I loved Liang and Marian, or how much they loved me. We're family. Then I met you. And Kyle. And Ewan. And R.K. . . . Dylan and Kell. Shots."
She softly smoothed his hair out of his dark eyes, her fingers lingering warmly on his cheek. "It's mutual, you know. We're not questioning it. We're just accepting it."
He caught her hand and his eyes darkened with an intense hunger that took her breath. "There's something different between you and I," he said softly. "It's not the same. I need all of you, but I need you more. Don't ask me to qualify how. There are too many ways." He bent his head and skimmed his lips down the line of her jaw. "And it's not the same for you," he added huskily.
Her lashes lowered on a helpless surge of desire. She wanted so terribly to be his lover. To keep him safe in her arms. She couldn't even tell if the two prongs of hunger were separate or part of each other. She couldn't tell where her need to protect him ended and her need to have him for her own began.
His right hand curled around her waist, and the skin felt hotter than usual, even through her clothes. Her breath wedged in her chest. It was as if his heat seared her, branded her. She could feel the delicious tingle of magic, but he didn't wear a relic. It was impossible that he do the things he did. "Tyrian."
The way her voice hitched on his name sent a shudder through his body. He trailed his lips lower until he found the edge of her scarf. If she wasn't wearing it, she wore high-necked tunics. He had yet to see the scar that marked her. He needed to know everything about her. "Trust me," he urged softly. "Trust me."
"It's ugly."
"Let me be the judge of that." He lifted his head and stared down into her eyes, his force of will so strong and powerful that his eyes seemed to glow like gems. "You don't have to tell me about it yet. But let me see."
She closed her eyes in acceptance, unable to fight him over something minor. All her will was on fighting her own fear. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she just give in? What was that thing inside that balked so fearfully at the idea of surrendering to her own heart and body? Her own soul.
He caught the ends of the scarf and untied them so that he could unwind the cloth. In the light coming in the windows, she was perfectly illuminated. Her pale skin looked ridiculously soft for someone so powerful, and that seemed to be what made the tiny scar that much more vivid. It was little more than a white line, but it crossed from one side of her neck to the other. Shaken, he touched it lightly. This was no accident, no lingering wound from a fight that magic couldn't heal. Someone had once tried to murder her.
She caught his hand and brought it to her cheek as she saw his body tremble. "I survived." She framed his face and tugged him down so that she could kiss him tenderly. She felt naked and exposed, both external and internal scars showing, and yet she felt safe, and driven to comfort rather than be comforted. Somehow, she knew that he held a deep hatred of scars not earned in battle.
He remained stiff for a few moments and then the tension fled his shoulders and he cupped the back of her neck so he could softly deepen the embrace. For that moment, time seemed to stop. He could have stayed there kissing her forever.
Reality intruded with the sound of a soft bell chiming. She slowly eased back a breath and whispered, "Inter-castle communication via Voice Relics. The contact point is near the door. Someone wants your attention."
He nipped at her lower lip. "I want your attention."
She managed a shaky laugh. "Trust me. You have it. You're a dangerous man, Tyrian Southerwind."
"A patient one," he reminded her. He slowly released her, and his hands deliberately caressed her body as he did. "Infinitely patient."
She pressed her fingers to her swollen lips, which were curving against her will. "I can only imagine what I'd be going through if you were the impatient type."
Humor edged into the hunger in his eyes. "You'd have been naked in my bed that first night. That I promise." Because there was another bed sitting temptingly close, and she looked outrageously soft and sultry, he wisely went around her to where the contact point was located. It looked like a box embedded in the wall and had a button that said 'talk.' He pushed it. "Hello?"
"Ah ha!" The voice that emerged belonged to Kyle. "This thing does work. We weren't sure. We've had some crossed signals around here. Kell tried to get Shots' room but got Marian's. When she tried to answer back, she got R.K.'s inn. At least one of them is working right."
"Seems so. Is this just a test or did you need me, Kyle?"
"Both. C'mon down to the meeting room. Have Cassie show you where it is." Blandly, he said, "I assume the delay in answering was because she is still there."
Tyrian didn't respond to the light teasing. He felt far too grateful that Kyle was making an effort to keep his spirits high. He looked over his shoulder and smiled at Cassie. She had put her scarf back on, and had smoothed her hair, but she still looked as if she had been soundly kissed. He said nothing about it. "Well?"
She cleared her throat. "Follow me." Studiously ignoring his smile because she was going to kiss him again if she didn't, she led the way out of the tower and back down into the castle once more. They crossed down two halls, went up another flight of stairs, and then went down two more halls before reaching a set of double doors. "It used to be the throne room," she explained.
The guards outside opened the doors and Tyrian walked in curiously. He could definitely tell it had once been a throne room, but it had been turned into a strategic meeting room. Maps and charts hung on the walls along with a roster of soldiers and combatants. A long meeting table resided in the center of the room with chairs spaced around it.
Ewan sat in one of the chairs with his feet propped on the table. Kyle leaned on the table beside him. In another chair was Kell. Also present were Liang and Dylan, both of whom were having a lively conversation with a slender young woman possessing pale blonde hair.
She was new, Tyrian noticed immediately, since she was unfamiliar, but she wasn't entirely a stranger. He could feel that instant tug inside his heart and soul, that familiar feeling that told him this was another person he needed to have near. Someone who would love him for being himself.
"Ah, there you are," Dylan said. "Lord Tyrian, Lady Cassie, this is Hawke. She's coming to us from a distant village. Her brother is in our army. She wishes to join as well."
Tyrian smiled. "Nice to meet you, Hawke."
She smiled back and gave a jaunty bow. She looked to be barely courting age, but there was a confidence in the way she moved and held herself. The belt around her hips held not a dagger or sword but a set of slingshots and a bag of ammo. An unusual, yet quite useful, weapon. "Greetings, Lord Tyrian and Lady Cassie."
"Just Cassie," the monk said hastily. "I'm not nobility."
"Guilt by association," Ewan said idly. "Everyone's calling you it, Cassie. Just bite the bullet, as Shots says, and accept it graciously."
Cassie said nothing and crossed her arms. Tyrian just smiled and leaned against the table. "We'll be glad for the extra specialization," he said to Hawke. "You'll be a big help to us."
Hawke studied him for long moments, vastly fascinated. It was like finding a long lost friend or something. She absolutely had to protect him and keep him smiling. He needed her. She felt sure of it. The depth of emotion he tugged was amazing. "You make me really feel like I'm needed."
"Lot of that going around," Liang murmured.
"Well," she said briskly, "I guess I ought to go scare up a room. Unless you need me right now?"
"If I need you, you'll know." Tyrian lightly touched her shoulder as she went past and was rewarded with a smile. He suspected he knew who her brother was; they looked as alike as two peas in a pod. "One of the few vegetables I like," he muttered to himself.
Liang coughed before he laughed. Cassie bit her lip. Ewan quirked a brow at Kyle and Dylan, who shook their heads. "Mmkay, well moving on," Kyle said, "it's time we start talking about the next city we want to liberate. We're going to need to increase the army dramatically if we want to hold it and still be able to move on to other cities."
"I've sent a message to the Clans. There's no knowing what they'll send or how long it will take for word to get to them and back," Cassie noted. "Shots has also contacted the Guild to see if they'll spare anyone. He said not to count on it, though."
"I think," Tyrian said slowly, "that it might not be as hard as we think. Look what happened with the last engagement with the Army that we had. A fair chunk of them chose to surrender and cross to our side. I fully believe it will continue to happen."
"What about the Lower Generals?" Ewan asked. "Word has it that they've spread out to the checkpoints. We won't want to go after them just yet."
"What makes the checkpoints so important?" Cassie asked curiously. "I'm not sure I've ever known that."
"They're the four entry points into the country," Kell explained. "General laws of engagement state that holding a country's checkpoints means you hold the country. You have full control over the import and export of all goods and supplies. It would be very easy to completely choke a country if you had the checkpoints."
"I see. So by guarding the checkpoints with the generals, Albanion is stating that he's not taking any chances." She pursed her lips. "This prophecy of Blaine's must have really spooked him. He must really believe Tyrian is capable of overthrowing the Empire."
"Well, he's making it easier," Tyrian said softly. "Because you can also control a country by taking the cities on the inside. He'd be putting up a more effective block on me if we weren't from the inside. More still, the people are going to rally around us. He's fighting against his own country. There won't be enough naysayers who like his policies to stop us."
"I don't think anyone truly wants someone else to suffer," Kyle noted. "So even if high class nobility hasn't noticed anything personally, they will have likely noticed everyone else suffering. And unless they're bad to the bone, they won't like it."
"We need a professional strategist," Kell added. "I've got some feelers out to see if there's any out there that aren't happy with the current status quo."
Kyle's fingers briefly tightened on the edge of the table. "Ophelia's older brother. Matthias Goldwind. I'm not sure of his current location. I'm trying to find him to tell him . . . to tell him what has happened. I want him to hear from me, not someone else. If we can find him, he may be able to help us. I don't know if he'll want to, but he's the best strategist on Oriku."
"I'll start looking for him," Kell said promptly.
"So, what next, Tyrian?" Ewan asked.
Tyrian raked a hand through his hair. "As was said, we don't want to go after checkpoints yet. We need to start with the small cities and move bigger. Small ripples to become big waves. There's another city not much different in size from Teasarn that's a few days away from us in the other direction. Lupine, I believe is the name. Let's have our most experienced soldier take a few of the others incognito and scout out the town to see the current state."
"I'll go tell her," Dylan said. He got to his feet silently and headed out of the meeting room. He was beginning to be fascinated by the events, even through the grief that still held his heart. They would do it. He knew it. He knew that Tyrian would never let Ophelia down. He would never let any of them down. They wouldn't let him down either.
"It'll be a few days until we have any information either way," Liang said as he got to his feet. He firmly removed Ewan's feet from the table and then looked at Tyrian. "It's getting late. The kitchen is being renovated to provide enough food for the army, but R.K. said we could use the inn's kitchen in the meantime."
Tyrian almost said that he wasn't hungry, but every pair of eyes in the room seemed to glare at him at the same time. He bit back the words and sighed. "I suppose you are right. I'll head over there. I need some air." He didn't wait for assent before walking out of the meeting room. Cassie followed closely behind.
"He's tired already," Kell murmured. "He didn't even bother to turn stubborn, and the gods know that he certainly can. If he digs in his heels, we won't be able to change his course at all."
Ewan got to his feet. "Cassie will. It's why he has her. C'mon. I'm hungry too. Marian brags about your special porridge," he told Liang. "Can I bum a bowl off you?"
Liang smiled. "With your size, you'd need to bum two."
The inn was quite busy since not everyone had their homes built, and the soldiers had nowhere else to go for food just yet. R.K. was doing his best to keep up, and he had lucked out in hiring some kids to help with cleaning and an elderly woman to help with the cooking. Both were more than willing to let Liang take over the kitchen.
It wasn't long before the entire dining room smelled decadent. Cassie sniffed the air appreciatively and then sighed. "Home cooked food. I haven't had that before."
"In a long time?" Ewan asked curiously. He poured Tyrian a brandy and then poured himself and Kyle both ales. Kyle, thankfully, wasn't in any further need of getting drunk, but the ale helped him sleep. Ewan knew when he saw Kyle stop drinking in the evening that it would be a sign that the pain had finally loosened. Gods knew Ewan had gotten drunk every night for a long while after the attack on the Commune.
"Ever." As even Tyrian looked at her in surprise, Cassie swirled her glass of juice. R.K. had teasingly made it look like a cocktail though there wasn't a lick of alcohol in it. "I was raised by our Clan Master after my parents died. He was a good father, but we didn't exactly have a typical family life."
"How old were you?" Kyle asked softly.
"Five."
Tyrian instantly covered her hand under the table, his fingers lacing with hers securely. When she had mentioned losing her parents, she hadn't before mentioned just how young she had been. He could even see her in his mind, just a little girl with dark eyes chipped with blue. "Give Liang a chance and he'll make up for lost time."
She smiled. "I thought he was just your tutor and mentor."
"And he frequently took over the kitchen." Marian plopped down at the table between Tyrian and Kyle. "We've told him for years that he needs a restaurant. But, no, he's determined to keep Tyrian safe until he gets married, just as he promised Uncle Donald."
Ewan saluted Cassie with his glass. "Marry Tyrian so Liang can open his restaurant and feed us."
She kicked him under the table hard enough that he yelped. Gathering her dignity, and ignoring the slow grin on Tyrian's face, she sipped her juice. She wasn't going to deign to give any of them a response. Marriage? She was having enough trouble fighting her own fear so she could be his lover! Was it really her control issues like Tyrian said?
Liang shortly served them bowls of porridge that smelled so good that people at other tables became instantly interested. As orders came in, R.K. said to Liang teasingly, "Can I pay you to make that for dinner rush every now and then?"
At not so subtle pushing from Tyrian and Marian, Liang gave in. He went back into the kitchen to make a bigger batch for everyone else. Marian just shook her head. "We need to find him a wife," she said decisively. "Someone who needs to be protected, but someone who won't let him get away with murder. Maybe a woman who was married once already." She pursed her lips as she thought about it. "A widow. One with a kid. A daughter." She nodded decisively. "That's what Liang needs."
Marian knew people and could be nearly prophetic at times. Tyrian took her words as being fact. He also hoped that just such a person not only existed, but also came across their path soon. She would be a great distraction to keep Liang from following him everywhere. It was as if he didn't remember Tyrian could take care of himself.
Dark had fallen by the time they finished dinner and split up for the evening. Cassie fell into step beside Tyrian as they walked back into the castle. She had a room on the first floor that was one of the ones closest to the tower. It was a privilege that was reserved for her, Marian, and Liang. If she looked out her window, she could see directly up to Tyrian's balcony doors. They often stood open, and she knew it was an invitation. Who else around there could scale a building that tall from the outside?
Twenty feet from the tower doors, they stopped walking. Tyrian gently cupped her cheek and then skimmed his thumb over her lips. "Stay with me," he said softly. "Nothing will happen unless you want it to. But I need to have you in my arms. I need you to hold me." He lowered his forehead to hers. "I can't sleep without you, Cas. Trust me."
"I trust you," she managed to whisper around her tight throat. "But I don't trust myself." She framed his face almost helplessly. In that moment, she hated herself for not being able to give him what he needed. She existed solely to protect him, to be his salvation, and she couldn't do it.
He took a deep breath and struggled to find the willpower to let her go. The sight of him fighting so visibly made her entire body quiver with a combination of fear and desire. She could push his limits. This man, who seemed to have no limits, was pushed to the edge of his endless iron will by his feelings for her. "Soon," she promised huskily. "Please, Tyrian. I'm trying. Keep doing what you are. Let me try and muddle through, else you hate yourself for taking the decision from me."
His green eyes looked nearly black in the light of the stars and it seemed as if some had gotten caught in the depths. He framed her face with his hands, tugged her onto her toes, and kissed her as if the world was ending around them. When her body went limp against him, he released her and took a step back. "Good night," he managed to say, his voice little more than a rasp.
It took her willpower not to run. Whether it would be to him or away, she didn't know. Instead, she took a deep breath and walked to her room. She kept her chin up even though she felt her cheeks heating. There were many fascinated and yet sympathetic guards wandering around and watching.
Tyrian did not feel embarrassed nor did he care if there was a betting pool going on—which there was. He felt as if he fought for his salvation. Cassie had been trained from her childhood to not lose control, to complete every job with cool control and calculation. It was simply the way monks had to live; theirs was a dangerous lifestyle. Having never lost control in any way, the loss of herself to the explosive force of desire between them was as terrifying as any enemy she would have faced down. More, perhaps.
He was still thinking about it as he took a cold shower, and it was still tumbling through his head as he dressed for bed and then went to stand on the balcony. Cassie knew that what she fought was both inevitable and irrational, and she was trying to get past it. Knowing was half the battle, but that didn't make the rest easier. But just what the hell was it that was so profound between them? It was nothing Tyrian had ever imagined. He was as out of his depth as she was. Why did he need her so much more terribly than the others, and in this way? He was in love with her, and he couldn't even pinpoint when it had happened. He needed her smile, her laughter, her love. Needed her to protect him, to keep him safe emotionally and physically. Needed to touch her, taste her. Needed to feel those strong hands on his body. "More than air," he murmured, "I need her."
"Such is the way of your destiny."
The soft feminine voice was entirely unexpected and wholly unfamiliar. And yet, he didn't feel alarm. He turned from the balcony and walked into his room as a soft lavender glow began to appear. The glow seemed to softly spark with bits of lightning and rolled like storm clouds. When the glow faded, it left behind a shockingly beautiful woman with long black hair that had wings of reddish-orange scattered within.
Her hands linked together inside her long white sleeves, and she wore what looked like an ancient Magician's robe. Lightning bolts hid within the material, and her face was as ageless as it was lovely. Her eyes glowed the haunting color of the twilight time when day met night.
He did not know who she was at first, and then his gaze lowered and he saw the relic mark etched into the skin over her heart. It was so vivid and detailed that it could only be the mark of a Pure Relic. Its shape resembled that of an elaborate hourglass, and so had to be the Pure Relic of Time. Only one person had ever possessed that relic. "Lady Tanelia," he said softly. He bowed gracefully. "You honor me."
She smiled. "I knew I would not surprise you."
He tilted his head slightly. "It's odd. It's as if I knew I'd meet you eventually." He studied her eyes and saw a wisdom as ancient as time, as if she was truly as old as people suspected. Some thought she might very well have lived when the mirror had been whole. He was beginning to believe it himself.
"I have been watching you a long time, Tyrian," she said gently. "Your birth was preordained many millennia ago." She walked over to the balcony and gestured toward the stars in the sky, one of which seemed to be glowing the brightest. "That star. That star is yours alone, Tyrian. It shone on your birth, and shines now as you find your destiny."
"And what is my destiny?" He walked over to join her, nothing in his voice or eyes giving away how he felt. Yet there was an intensity inside him strong enough to be felt. He needed to know what she was telling him. Perhaps it would all make sense.
"You are destined to be a hero." She took his right hand with hers. "You are the first Kaiten Star, Tyrian Southerwind. Blessed by the stars themselves, you will bring freedom for those who are oppressed. Yet it is not a burden to be borne alone. See there in the sky, those many other stars that draw in? They are the Destined Stars, the stars that shone on the birth of those who will be your companions. Of all walks will they come, with only their love for you in common. They will love you enough to die for you, just as you will love them enough to fight for them."
He took a long breath and looked at the sky. There was one star in particular that shone close to his, so close that it seemed to be sheltering the brighter star. "And that is Cassie, isn't it?"
Her smile came quickly. "You are as bright as your destiny. Yes, that star is Cassie. She is the Kentei Star, your fiercest defender and destined lover. She, more than any other Destined Star, will want you to be safe. She will hold you together even when you are on the brink of devastation." Her hand tightened around his. "The price of such a great iron will. You can endure, can go to the breaking point, and can go beyond. But . . . because you cannot break, you cannot truly heal. Should you break, there will be nothing left. The Kentei Star exists solely to keep the Kaiten Star together."
He remained silent for long moments and then his breath slowly unraveled. "Thank you," he said softly, sincerely. "I think things are finally beginning to make sense." He tilted his head. "How many Destined Stars do I have?"
"There are one hundred and eight to share the skies with you. When you have found them all, you will be strong enough to turn this rebellion into a republic, to remove the chains of oppression."
"The first Kaiten Star," he murmured. Her phrasing seemed to imply there would be others. He didn't ask. There was only so much to be taken in at a time. "What of Ben?" he asked suddenly. "All of this began with Ben."
"In more ways than you know." Sadness filled her eyes. "Ben . . . I would have stayed the hands of time had I been able, but I could not change what had to occur. Return to his gravesite, Tyrian. There you will find the answer behind his finding you, his death, and the madness behind the Emperor."
He nodded briefly. "I will do so. I will find my companions, and I will free my country. How will I know when I am ready?"
"You will know," she said simply. "And on the eve of the final battle, I will come to you again. If you need me before then, simply call to me." She rose on her toes and tenderly kissed his cheek. "I waited a long time to meet you, Tyrian. Every minute was worth it."
He smiled as she disappeared in the same lavender light that had heralded her. She was not as imposing as he had always assumed she might be. There was something eternally sad in her eyes, something that made him hope she was also freed someday. Freed from what, he did not know. But she, too, was trapped.
Thoughts tumbling in his head, he went to bed. He had no idea if he would sleep or not, but there was a certainty gelled inside his heart. By guile, bribery, or blackmail, his Kentei would share his bed from then on. She could have her time, but he would have her close.
You couldn't fight destiny.
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
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