Stone Queen Read online

  “Yes, Lord.”

  He turned and nodded. “Silver, in private, you may call me Jet. I’m a little less formal than most of the lords.” He held out a finger. “In private, mind you.”

  She nodded. “Jet.” She tested the nickname on her tongue.

  “One thing.” Jetre turned away again. His voice was quiet and Silver struggled to hear him. “Was it right? Did it feel right, what I did? When I kissed your breasts?”

  It was the last question she expected from him, the most amazing thing. The great Lord Jetre, wondering if he had given her any pleasure. How to answer him?

  “Because my ten years end in a matter of days.” He pushed his hand through his hair and laughed at himself. “I don’t want it said the oath made the lord incapable. How embarrassing. Is this your nature—to bring out the inner truths of a person?”

  “How will I protect you from the women who will storm your quarters when your oath is complete? They’ll be more dangerous than Fire and Metal combined against you.” And how will I bear to watch it?

  Jet laughed. “As appealing as that picture might be, I must pick only one. The second part of the deal.” He shrugged.

  “I see.” A small knife poked at her heart unexpectedly. No doubt the woman would be Wood and was probably already betrothed to the lord. An elf, of course.

  “You didn’t answer my question.” Jet toweled down and Silver turned away. From the corner of her eye she saw him step into his dark leather pants and pull on a thin, collarless, long-sleeved, black shirt. He went to the dresser and placed a kohl stick against each eye, blinking and wiping the excess from his cheeks.

  “The woman will be quite fortunate, Jet. I hope that satisfies your ego.”

  He inclined his head and smiled very subtly. “It does. Might I practice on you again some time?”

  Silver closed her eyes. The pain came in very faintly, like the smell of a coming summer rain shower on the breeze. She wanted her sworn enemy, and she meant nothing to him. A plaything, a practice toy. Well, there are worse fates than being the whore of such a man.

  He pointed to his tall boots and Silver brought them to him, helped him push into them.

  “You did something terrible to me when you branded me, Jet. I know you did. You say you wouldn’t force a woman, but you charmed me in some way.”

  Jet looked up at her, puzzled. “Nonsense.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  Jet pointed to the dresser and his heavy, white-gold pendant, the Wu Xing symbol of his clan, the symbol of the Way of Ch’i. Silver brought it to him and fastened it around his neck. She bit back thoughts of Kilé and how she had fastened his pendant many times.

  “Not many call me a liar without punishment. If Jaine or Art were here, you’d already be bleeding.”

  “Yes, my lord. Based on my brief encounter with your formidable sister, I believe you.”

  “Now my hair.”

  “What about it?”

  “Brush it.” He rolled his eyes at her.

  “This is fucking awful, Lord.”

  “You’ll get used to it.”

  Silver went to the dresser, grabbed a brush, and pulled a cushion behind Jetre’s. She brushed his beautiful hair, wishing she could bury her face in it.

  He turned suddenly and grabbed her by the neck. “I heard that.”

  She cried out softly, even though he didn’t hurt her.

  “They’ll have to wait a few minutes more.”

  Realm Immortal:

  Stone Queen

  Michelle M. Pillow

  eBooks are not transferable.

  They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  577 Mulberry Street, Suite 1520

  Macon GA 31201

  Realm Immortal: Stone Queen

  Copyright © 2007 by Michelle M. Pillow

  ISBN: 1-59998-433-4

  Edited by Angela James

  Cover by Natalie Winters

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: March 2007

  www.samhainpublishing.com

  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  It’s all about the story…

  Action/Adventure

  Fantasy

  Historical

  Horror

  Mainstream

  Mystery/Suspense

  Non-Fiction

  Paranormal

  Red Hots!

  Romance

  Science Fiction

  Western

  Young Adult

  www.samhainpublishing.com