“No, because soaking the bed would get Helene mad at him. But he wouldn’t hesitate to shove you under a cold shower.”

“He hasn’t—”

She just looked at him.

His opinion was blunt and explicit. “Why do you put up with that?”

“He’s bigger than me,” she grumbled.

“Someone should remind him that he serves you.”

Jaenelle laughed so hard she staggered into him. “He reminds me of that himself whenever it suits him. And when it doesn’t, I end up dealing with my big brother. Either way, most of the time it’s easier just to go along with him.”

They had reached the door to Jaenelle’s suite. He reluctantly let go of her hand.

“He hasn’t changed at all, has he?” Daemon said, feeling a stab of anxiety as he remembered how volatile Lucivar had always been in a court.

When he looked at Jaenelle, there was an odd light in her eyes. “No,” she said in her midnight voice, “he hasn’t changed at all. But then, he, too, understands what that statue represents.”

CHAPTER FOUR

1 / Kaeleer

“Tell me again why I had to miss breakfast,” Daemon said, breathing heavily as he wiped his sweaty face and neck with a towel.

“Because no one wants to dance around in it if you miss a block and get hit in the belly,” Lucivar replied, sipping his coffee while he watched Palanar and Tamnar go through a warmup routine with the sticks. “And we’re getting an earlier start this morning because I want the males finished before the women get here for their first lesson.”

Daemon took a sip of Lucivar’s coffee, then handed the mug back. “You’re really going to teach the women how to use the sticks?”

“By the time I’m done with them, they’ll be able to handle sticks, bow, and knife.”

A sharp command by Hallevar had the youths stepping back and then going through a move again slowly.

“I’ll bet the warriors weren’t pleased when you told them,” Daemon said, watching the moves.

“They bitched about it. Most of the women didn’t look happy about it either. I don’t expect them to become warriors, but they’ll be able to defend themselves long enough for a warrior to reach them.”

Daemon eyed Lucivar thoughtfully. “Is that why you taught Marian?”

Lucivar nodded. “She kept resisting because Eyrien females traditionally didn’t touch a warrior’s weapons. I told her if a male hurt her because she was too stubborn to learn how to defend herself, I’d beat the shit out of her. And she told me if I ever raised a hand to her, she’d gut me. I figured we were making progress.”