Queen of the Darkness

could hear the smile in it.
    Oh, how his hands wanted to caress and explore, but he was afraid she would pull away from him, so he kept them still. She was alive, and he was with her. That's all that mattered.
    He could have stayed that way for the rest of the night, just holding her, feeling the easy rise and fall of her breathing, but after a few minutes she drew away from him.
    "Come on, Daemon," she said, holding out her hand. "You need to get some rest, and my orders were to herd you back to your room so that you'd get some sleep before daylight."
    His temper sharpened instantly. "Who would dare give you orders?" he snarled.
    She gave him a look full of exasperated amusement. "Guess."
    He almost said "Saetan," and then thought about it. "Lucivar," he said grimly.
    "Lucivar," Jaenelle agreed as she took his hand and pulled him toward the stairs. "And trust me, boyo, having Lucivar haul you out of bed because you weren't on the practice field when he told you to be is not an experience you want to have."
    "What's he going to do? Pour a bucket of water over me?" Daemon said as they reached the corridor and headed toward their suites.
    "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 inher 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."
    Daemon laughed. The laughter backed up into his lungs when he saw Jaenelle striding over the lawn, heading toward them. His senses sharpened to a razor's edge, the heat of desire washed through him, and the smell of other males became a declaration of rivalry.
    'Rein it in, old son," Lucivar murmured, glancing over his shoulder and then at Daemon.
    Palanar and Tamnar finished their routine, and Hallevar and Kohlvar stepped into the practice circle.
    Palanar shifted his mouth into a sneer. "Here comes a chirpy, trying to grow some balls."
    Daemon whipped around, his eyes filmed with the red haze of fury.
    Hallevar pivoted and smacked Palanar on the buttocks with his stick hard enough to make the boy jump.
    "That's my sister, boyo," Lucivar said too quietly.
    Palanar looked sick. Someone else muttered a vicious curse.
    "Now, I'm going to forget you said that,"