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they d left out for him.
 Where s the new husband, Natiri? Ger asked, smirking slightly.
 Never thought you d settle down, old man.
Natiri snorted.  A marriage that was arranged between monarchs
that I was never privy to is not exactly my idea of a romance, but
what s done is done. His eyes flicked toward the door.  He ll be
along, I m sure. His royal highness is courting, so he believes that we
should be attached at the hip.
 You re not liking the courting? Ger asked.
Natiri snorted.  I m not a maiden.
Cord couldn t help but agree. Natiri was massive, the biggest man
Cord had ever seen with the exception of the dragon clutch that
belonged to Rasta. To think of a man courting him seemed almost
silly. He was a man used to being in charge, and Cord imagined he
wasn t happy at being slotted into the position of beta male.
 The circlet looks nice, Cord said, wanting to contribute
something to the conversation. The thin, gold circle was simple with
only the subtlest of decoration in the forms of Celtic knot work in the
metal.
Again, Natiri snorted.  Yeah. It was the simplest one in the
treasury. At least he knew better than to pick out one of the gods-
awful ones that had all the dangling, sparkly gems. Dragons feel like
they have to wear half their hoard all the damn time. He made a
sound of disgust and touched the gold on his head.  Trying to
convince them that I really don t want something glittering and I m
not being modest is like convincing a dog to leave a bone alone after
he s claimed it. It s bloody well impossible.
Ravyn s Mates 163
Okay, well, so much for trying a neutral subject. Cord watched
Michel hide a smile behind his napkin as he wiped his face of crumbs.
The connection between them wavered, and Michel and Cord turned
to look at Druas, who had perked up and tilted his head like he was
listening to something none of them could hear.
 What is it, pretty? Michel asked. Fear started trickling into
Cord s mind. What was wrong now?
 Desmond is holding Court. He s just announced that there is to
be a draft. He s not happy about the reaction to it. Dru sounded
dazed as he spoke.  The nobles are arguing with him. No one argues
with him. Gods, he s pissed.
 That is fucking creepy, Ger said softly.
Dru surged to his feet and nearly fell over for his trouble.  I ve
got to go. He s calling us.
 Us? Cord asked.
 The Doves. I ve got to go. Unhook these things, Dru demanded,
extending his hands toward Michel and Cord.
Ger huffed.  He has obviously missed the whole point of being a
prisoner of war. Desmond s mind fuck certainly didn t affect your
stubbornness.
Cord saw the frustration building in Dru s face, and he knew that
his mate was heading for another explosion.  Unhook his binds, he
instructed Michel. Dru turned toward him.  Want to go for a walk,
baby? Dru reminded Cord a little of the turned cats who, for
whatever reason, were infected by the spirits of the shifter s beasts
and turned into unstable creatures somewhere in between human and
shifter. Sometimes it helped to get them out of the situation and let
them walk off the feral energy.
Dru nodded.  Yeah. He sounded strained.  Yeah, I d like that.
Ger opened his mouth.  Do you think it s a good 
 Trust me, Ger, Cord interrupted. He saw the indecision on Ger s
face, but he got a nod anyway. They were Ravyns. They backed one
164 Jana Downs
another up. It was almost the first time Cord had been showed so
completely that he was a part of the brotherhood.
 I ll have a couple warriors follow you, Natiri offered.
Cord nodded.  Fine, just have them hang back.
 Will do.
Michel unlocked the bottom half of the chains to free up Dru s
legs and pressed a kiss to his injured thigh and then unlocked his
wrists.  You sure walking will be okay?
 I gotta move, Dru muttered, his eyes already darting to the door.
 I ll bring him back, Cord said.  You stay and get the info on our
departure. Okay?
Michel agreed and gave both of them kisses before ushering them
out into the sunlight. It was early evening by then, the sun making its
trek toward the horizon and turning the regularly golden-orange sky
into something of burnt sienna.
They walked in silence for a good twenty minutes, watching the
demons as they moved around camp and went about their business.
They moved farther out from the busy center toward the less- [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]