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“Do you not see it?” Vojalie glanced between Charlotte and Willem several times.
“Ah, but alas, seeing is your astounding gift, my darling. Tell me what I’m missing?”
“That Charlotte is a blood rose, of course.”
“A blood rose?” Charlotte’s voice was little more than a stunned whisper.
The three ridges of Davido’s forehead rippled. “By all the elf lords, that’s impossible!”
Vojalie swept an arc with her free arm. “But it explains the bond. Now tell me, Charlotte of Lebanon, how do you feel right now, for I must presume that you’ve recently fed Mastyr Willem? Describe the state of your heart and not your metaphorical one, but what exists protected within the cradle of your chest.”
Charlotte still reeled from the idea that she could possibly be a blood rose, but again she felt compelled to answer the woman’s questions. Planting a hand against her sternum, she said, “I feel liberated, although for a few hours before Willem fed, my heart felt laden. But I can’t be a blood rose. I’m just me. I’m not anything special. I’m human, although I guess that’s up for grabs as well.”
Vojalie chuckled softly. “I won’t argue your choice of words when you say you’re not special, because I understand what you mean. None of us really comprehends why we’re called to a higher place of performance and ability, but you’ve essentially been called. And I would suspect that it began the day that Mastyr Willem entered your world.”
Charlotte turned, glanced at Willem, then thought back to the class he’d lectured and how she’d felt just looking at him. She’d fallen hard, but she’d presumed it was a silly crush a student might feel for an extremely handsome man who spoke with confidence and authority. “I swear I never thought of it as more than simple attraction.”
For some reason, this made Willem smile and the usually severe look in his eyes softened.
She added, speaking to him. “I was so into you.”
“As I recall, I couldn’t keep my gaze from your side of the room, either. You were like a beacon to me that night.”
Vojalie interjected. “How long ago was that?”
“Six months,” Charlotte said, still staring at Willem.
Once, more Vojalie asked, “So have you dated long?”
Both Charlotte and Willem turned toward Vojalie and said the same thing at the same time. “No.”
Charlotte added. “This is our first date?”
Vojalie’s eyes went wide. Davido, on the other hand, slapped his thigh and chortled gleefully. “I love a good romance. Nothing brightens my old, troll heart more than to see so much love.” He then once more clasped both hands around his wife’s. Turning toward her, he said, “And I still love you as I have from the first.”
The marriage of two such dissimilar types was always a subject of discussion among realm-folk. How had the ugly troll, Davido, won the beautiful Vojalie? But Charlotte understood: Davido loved her passionately and told her so a lot.
Willem slid his arm from around Charlotte and rose to his feet. “The thing is, we didn’t know we were bonding when it happened. It’s shocked us both. What I need to know is can the bond be reversed?”
“Is that your desire?” Davido asked, looking way up at Willem. “To be separated from this delightful woman?”
Charlotte looked from Davido to Willem, then back. She felt complimented by being called ‘delightful’, especially by someone so universally respected as Davido the Wise.
Willem turned toward her. “I can’t be bound to anyone.” His hazel eyes took on a wild look and he thrust a hand through his hair, creating a new, disheveled look. He was so handsome and maybe it was the nature of the blood rose, but she felt drawn to him as never before.
Desire for him vibrated through her, a longing to take him back to bed and to feed him all over again.
He frowned and his voice was suddenly in her head. What’s going on? The room smells full of wisteria suddenly. I don’t understand.
She shook her head, then rose to her feet as well, moving to stand beside him. “Mistress Vojalie, I long for this man. I have from the first time I saw him, I remember my heart pounding so hard. I thought it was just because he’s so damn easy on the eyes. Now, it must have been because of this thing I am: A blood rose. But are you sure, about all of it?”
Vojalie lifted her hand, gesturing palm up toward Willem. “Since you’ve already fed him, he can answer the question right now. How’s the blood starvation, mastyr?”
***
Chapter Five
For the first time in the strange sequence of events, Willem only now realized how different he felt. Stunned, he turned to stare at Charlotte. “I have no pain. Nothing. I haven’t felt this way since I reached mastyr status all those years ago. Sweet Goddess!”
