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"Sure you have," Lucivar said in a hearty voice that made them both whimper.
Daemon shook his head and realized his error a bit too late. Even when he managed to stop, the room continued moving back and forth, and what was left of his brain sloshed noisily inside his skull. He swallowed carefully. "I've been thrown out of courts and wasn't allowed back into the city because that was the Queen's territory, but that's different."
"It’s all right," Lucivar said. "In a few weeks, Zhara will welcome you with open arms."
"She didn't seem like a foolish woman. Why would she do that?"
"Because we provide a restraining influence on Jaenelle."
"We do?"
They just stared at each other until the dining room door opened.
Daemon braced himself, absolutely certain that hearing the door slam would kill him.
"Mother Night," Surreal said, choking back laughter. "They're pathetic."
"Aren't they?" There was no laughter in Saetan's reply.
The soft footsteps approaching the table made the room vibrate.
"Please don't yell," Daemon whimpered.
"I wouldn't dream of yelling," Saetan replied in a voice that, nonetheless, rattled Daemon's bones. "There would be no point in yelling. You'd both be on the floor, insensible, after the first word. So I'll save the lecture until you're sober enough to listen to it, because I intend to deliver it with considerable volume. The only question I want answered right now is what in the name of Hell did you two pour down your throats to get in this condition?"
"Gravediggers," Lucivar mumbled.
"How many?" Saetan asked ominously.
Lucivar took a couple of careful breaths. "Not sure. Things got a bit blurry after the seventh one."
"After the—" Long pause. "Are either of you capable of walking to your rooms?"
"Sure," Lucivar said. It took him a couple of tries, but he got to his feet.
Not to be outdone, Daemon stood up, too—and regretted it.
"You take Lucivar," Saetan said to Surreal. "He isn't listing quite as much."
"That's because I didn't finish the drinks." Lucivar pointed at Daemon, tipped, and almost flattened Surreal against the table. "That's whyyou're so drunk. Itold you not to finish them."
Daemon tried to make a rude noise and ended up spitting on Saetan.
Without further comment, he was hauled out of the room and up a terrifyingly steep set of stairs. Once he reached his bed, he tried to lie down, but was hauled upright and undressed while his father's ire made the room pulse.
"Do you need a basin?" Saetan asked with no sympathy whatsoever.
"No," Daemon replied meekly.
Finally, he was allowed to lie down. The last thing he was aware of was Saetan's hand brushing his hair back in a gentle caress.
Surreal closed the door of Lucivar's room at the same moment Saetan stepped out of Daemon's room.
"I appreciate your assistance," Saetan said when they met at the top of the stairs.
Surreal grinned. "I wouldn't have missed this for anything."
They started down the stairs together. "You got Lucivar settled?"
"He snarled a lot and kept telling me to keep my hands off him since he's a married man. He didn't want to get undressed, but I pointed out that, since he was married, he should know better than to try to get into a bed wearing boots in that condition. While we wrestled with the boots, we pondered how that little fish got wedged under the laces."
Saetan stopped at the foot of the stairs. "Howdid it get under the laces?"
"He has no idea. So I gave the fish a proper burial at sea, so to speak, managed to convince Lucivar that stripping to the waist was not improper since I'm family, and let what was left of him fall into bed." Surreal looked around. "Say, aren't you going to tuck Jaenelle in?"
"At this moment," Saetan said dryly, "Jaenelle is in the kitchen, tucking into a very large breakfast."
"Oh, dear," Surreal said, then started to laugh.
3 / Kaeleer
Karla removed the ring from the jeweler's box and slipped it on the second finger of her right hand. It was a simple ring of yellow and white gold, with a small oval sapphire. A tasteful design, but nothing that would really catch the eye, yet feminine enough that no one would wonder about a woman wearing it. An everyday ring rather than flash and glitter. "It's perfect."
"I had asked Banard to have that one done first," Jaenelle said, "but he'd gotten all the rings for the coven done since the designs are simple." She paused, then added, "I also ordered rings made for Surreal and Wilhelmina. They'll be ready next week."
Karla nodded as she studied the ring. "How do I activate the shield inside it?"
"You would deliberately activate it through your Gray Jewel. Otherwise, it's keyed in the same way the boyos' Rings of Honor are and will respond to fear, rage, and pain caused by a serious wound. It's set for fairly intense emotions because, when it activates, everyone else within range who wears a Ring that's connected to this one is going to act as if it was a call to battle. Which it is."
"How much range does it have?" Karla asked. "If it gets activated, would Morton sense it even if he's not in the same city?"
Jaenelle gave her an odd look. "Karla, if something wakes the shield in that ring, not only will you have Morton pounding on your door, you're going to have Sceron, Jonah, Kaelas, Mistral, and Khary showing up on your doorstep—along with our Sisters in that part of the Realm."
"Mother Night!" Karla frowned at the ring. "But ... I know the boyos have used this shield on occasion and it didn't make the rest of them go berserk."
"I wouldn't count on their responding to a signal picked up from a ring worn by a Queen in the same way they respond to a signal from another Brother in the court," Jaenelle said dryly. "Besides, at this point, the males are' all attuned to each other. They can tell when to remain on alert but to wait for another signal and when to drop everything and head for the person in trouble with all possible speed."
"And you don't think they'll wait?"
"Not a chance."
Karla sighed. That was a little more male attention than she'd anticipated, and she was glad of the warning.
"I'll link it to your Gray Jewel now," Jaenelle said, holding out her right hand.
"Won't the boyos pick that up?" Karla asked, placing her right hand in Jaenelle's.
"Yes, and it will take them under two minutes to figure out that someone in the coven is wearing a ring they can connect with now."
