The Shadow Queen

dryly. “I doubt anyone is going to ask.”
    Obviously there were a few things Daemon left out when he’d told Jaenelle about this incident. Like the fact that Rhea had pissed herself when Daemon exploded into the drawing room. His rage and his opinion of her friend left no doubt in anyone’s mind that Prince Sadi now viewed Lady Rhea and her friend as enemies.
    “I imagine Daemon was quite upset when he arrived home,” Saetan said.
    “You could say that,” Jaenelle replied, sounding vague.
    “Is everything all right between you?” He hadn’t seen any signs of distress or sensed any distance between Daemon and Jaenelle when they arrived at the Keep. But Daemon had side-stepped questions about what had happened after he told Jaenelle about this incident. Not that it was any of his business, but . . . Hell’s fire. They were his children, so he was damn well going to make it his business. “Did you work things out?”
    Jaenelle’s face blazed with color, and she looked everywhere but at him.
    “Oh,” she said. “Yeah. We worked things out pretty well.”
    “I see,” he said faintly. Maybe he wouldn’t make it his business after all.
    He cleared his throat to find his voice. “In that case, why don’t we join the rest of the family? Our guests should be arriving anytime now.”
    “Won’t that be fun?”
    Not sure how to judge the words, he simply guided her to the door, and said, “I don’t know about fun, but it should be interesting.”

    Lucivar was waiting for them when they stepped through the Gate that brought them from the Keep in Terreille to the Keep in Kaeleer.
    Theran wasn’t sure if that was because Lucivar knew all of them or because he was probably considered the least dangerous of the three men who were waiting to pass judgment on him and Gray and, possibly, all of Dena Nehele.
    “Lady Cassidy,” Lucivar said, tipping his head in the slight bow that indicated respect from someone of his rank.
    “Prince Yaslana,” Cassidy replied. “It’s a pleasure to be here.”
    For you, maybe, Theran thought. He expected to dance around questions that were no one’s business, and since he wasn’t there by choice, he didn’t expect any part of this evening to be a pleasure.
    Lucivar gaveTheran and Gray a nod of greeting,then said,“Why don’t we join the others and take care of all the introductions?”
    Cassidy smiled as she placed her left hand on top of Lucivar’s right, accepting his offer of escort. “I’m looking forward to seeing Jaenelle again. There are a couple of things I’d like to talk to her about.”
    Jaenelle, Theran thought as he and Gray followed Lucivar and Cassidy. Not Lady Angelline. Jaenelle.
    An unintentional reminder that Cassidy knew the Queen who had ruled Ebon Askavi well enough to address her casually. Should he warn Gray about who—and what—Jaenelle Angelline had been?
    When Lucivar opened the sitting room door, Theran still hadn’t decided how much to tell Gray about the people they were going to see. Then it was too late to decide because as the people in the room turned to greet the newcomers, Gray rushed toward the golden-haired woman standing next to Daemon Sadi and stopped when he got close enough to touch her. His face was filled with awed delight, and he looked at her as if he’d spent his life in a desert and she was the pool of water he’d searched for.
    “Ladies, this is Prince Jared Blaed Grayhaven and Prince Theran Grayhaven,” Lucivar said. “Gentlemen, this is—”
    “The Queen,” Gray said, sounding a little breathless as he stared at Jaenelle.
    Jaenelle smiled. “I was the Queen. Now—”
    “She’s still the Queen.”
    Three male voices, each sounding equally annoyed.
    “—I’m Daemon’s wife.”
    “The Lady honors me,” Daemon purred.
    Oh, the look on Gray’s face. The look in his eyes as he gave Daemon, Lucivar, and the High Lord an assessing glance before focusing on Jaenelle.
    “Of course you are,” Gray said. The words sounded sincere. The tone said he was siding with the other males.
    Jaenelle studied Gray through narrowed eyes. Then she shook her head and sighed. “Why do I bother arguing with any male from your caste?”
    “Because it’s entertaining?” Lucivar replied.
    “Before we throw our guests into the family game of ‘snap and snarl,’ why doesn’t someone finish the introductions?” Saetan said.
    The Eyrien woman standing near the High Lord clapped a hand over her mouth to try to muffle her laughter.
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “But it’s a perfect description of some of