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Who had tried to kill her last night, and why? How could Judah have known? And why would he bother to save her life? Was it possible that like her, he had never been able to forget their brief time together?
Stop thinking romantic nonsense!
Judah Ansara is no mortal man, nor is he Raintree. He doesn’t love, he conquers. And that’s all you were to him—a very special conquest. Never forget that he knew you were a Raintree princess before he took you to his bed.
For all these years, she had been certain that if she ever saw Judah again, she would feel nothing except fear for her child. She was afraid, deathly afraid, of what Judah might yet do. But she wouldn’t lie to herself. There was more to her feelings for him than fear.
Sexual attraction is a powerful thing.
She suspected that Judah was not as indifferent to her as he had proclaimed. And perhaps, if that was true, she could use it to her advantage. Just how far would she be willing to go to protect Eve? As far as was necessary, even if it meant seducing Judah and using her feminine wiles on him.
Be totally honest with yourself. You know what has to be done.
Yes, she knew. There was only one
sure way to protect Eve from her father. Even if Eve never forgave her, Mercy had no choice but to kill Judah.
The thought of killing the man she had once loved, or at least had believed she loved, created a tightening in her chest. She had been born to heal, not destroy. But she had also been born a Raintree princess. The blood of warriors, both male and female, flowed in her veins.
Mercy looked above the mantel over the fireplace and visually inspected the golden sword hanging on the wall. Dranira Ancelin’s sword, the one she had used in The Battle against the Ansara. Her ancestress had also been an empath, a healer who had used her powers for good. But when called upon to defend her clan, she had fought alongside her husband. When they came to the mountains of North Carolina and built a refuge for themselves and their people, Ancelin had placed her sword above the fireplace in what had then been the living room of her home. The jewel-encrusted, golden sword had not been removed from that spot in two centuries.
“That sword has great power,” her father had once told her. “It can be used for no other purpose than to defend the Raintree, and only a female descendant of Ancelin can remove it from the wall.”
She had always known the sword was hers and sensed that someday she would be called upon to use it. But she had never thought that she would use it to kill her child’s father.
“Judah. Oh, Judah…”
Mercy?
She heard Judah’s voice as clearly as if he were standing at her side.
Had he heard her thoughts? Did he know that she…?
Judah?
Why have you contacted me? he asked telepathically.
I didn’t contact you. You contacted me.
Silence.
Hurriedly, Mercy protected her thoughts, although she had believed she was already safe from anyone’s mental probing.
She heard Judah’s laughter.
I don’t want to talk to you, she told him. Go away.
I would if I could.
What do you mean by that?
Have a talk with our daughter. Tell her that she mustn’t connect us again.
Eve did this? Mercy asked. That mischievous little…Eve, you’re listening, aren’t you? Cut the connection now. Your father and I do not want to—
Sooner or later you’ll have to talk to each other again, Eve said.
Silence. Eve had severed the connection to Judah. And to herself.
