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Rez shook his head. “So, we could be looking at another scourge.”
“It’s a possibility.” Stone’s deep voice, edged with his temper, hit Holly square in the chest. “I was sure my Guard had gotten rid of all the Invictus in Tannisford. I mean we scoured every square mile.”
Rez added. “More than anything, we need to find out where these Invictus are coming from.”
Rosamunde gave the subject a turn. “I don’t mean to disrupt the conversation, but I have a lovely soup waiting, chilled wine and a fabulous bread my former housekeeper sent over from Ferrenden. You’re in for a treat. Anyone hungry?”
The men responded immediately in the affirmative.
Holly was grateful for Rosamunde’s interruption. Both Stone and Rez were powerful men of war and the more they focused on the recent battle, the more their energy kept ramping up.
Rosamunde took Vojalie’s arm and led her toward a formal dining area beyond the living room. The table was set with a unique collection of stones alternating with small vases of lavender rose buds.
Vojalie said, “My husband will be here in another minute. He had some emergency in his garden shed.” All the Nine Realms knew of the troll’s love of horticulture.
As the ladies took their seats, Davido arrived. He greeted everyone, then went straight to Vojalie, caressed her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. Holly thought it a beautiful, smart thing for the man to do. Vojalie caught his hand and gave it a squeeze.
The dinner eased Holly. She hadn’t even known how hungry she was until the aromatic soup was placed in front of her. “This smells wonderful.”
“Thank you. I hope you enjoy it.”
Throughout dinner, Rosamunde kept the table talk from turning to the night’s difficulties. But once coffee was served, the critical subject resumed about the apparent new strain of Invictus.
The entire conversation had turned Holly’s mind back to the main street in Boylbury. She could picture the dead and dying Invictus and now recalled each part of the battle as though her mind was trying to tell her something important.
She finally excused herself and went into the living room. She made her way to stand overlooking a well-manicured backyard that included a pool. Beyond the pool, was a confer wood, the treetops forming a beautiful skyline against the dark starry night sky.
Her realm vision warmed everything up, of course, though right now she preferred looking out at the night. Somehow, it seemed fitting.
She could hear quiet chatter from the dining area and softly spoken words. Maybe they were trying to protect her.
But what was it Rez had said: They needed to find out why the Invictus had come to Boylbury. As surely as night followed day, she knew what would be required of her. Rez and Stone, the women as well, would want her to use the time-path to locate the origin of these Invictus.
She wasn’t a warrior. She was a teacher and she’d built her home from scratch, one nail at a time. She liked to buy shoes and in her off-hours, she spent a lot of time in her artist’s studio at the back of her house.
Artist. Teacher. Builder. Herbalist. Time-pather.
Did any of these occupations suggest a woman who would enjoy going to war?
Now Rez was in her life and she would need to feed him soon. The thought of it, and what it had been like to service him last time, caused shivers to travel down her neck and over her abdomen. Even from several feet away, she could smell his eucalyptus and thyme mating scent and it aroused her even more. She was humiliated by how out of control she felt.
She began to tremble. Through no fault, or desire, or will of her own she was being forced down this path. She didn’t want to be a blood rose. She didn’t want to desire Rez as much as she did. And she sure as hell didn’t want to be battling Invictus monsters.
As though all the stress of the night fell on her at once, she eased her way to the nearby sofa, sat down then promptly burst into tears.
Through her quiet sobs, she felt a lot of movement and heard the sliding glass door to the backyard open then close.
Vojalie sat down beside her and squeezed her shoulders. “This is a perfectly natural reaction. Don’t think it isn’t.”
Rosamunde sat down on the ottoman opposite Holly. “It’s very unsettling, isn’t it?”
Holly lifted her gaze to Rosamunde. “What do you mean?”
“Not wanting to care about a man while at the same time feeling this desperate need to jump his bones one minute out of every two. Then having to feed him because you’re so close all the time? The whole thing is deeply unsettling. It’s too much. What was the Goddess thinking creating something like being a blood rose? She’ll have some questions of mine to answer when I pass from our world.
“I mean, I might have been lonely in the castle, but I confess I miss it, at least sometimes.”
The way she expressed her frustration, even though it was clear she was madly in love with Mastyr Stone, made Holly’s tears dry up. If nothing else, at least one person in the room understood her dilemma.
