Read Online Ghost in Her Heart by Autumn Dawn - Free Book Online Page B

their brother Dagon.
When they weren’t fighting or plotting, they constantly practiced
their martial arts.
    To his credit, Dagon noticed their efforts to
please him. He knew just the moment to speak a word of praise, and
just the right kind of frown to gain instant obedience. She could
see him as a leader in battle. From what she’d observed, he ran his
kingdom well.
    She was still determined to leave. Maybe it
was dishonorable of her, but she planned to subtly pump the boys
for information. While she was at it, she’d learn all she could of
the world that had snatched her. The more she knew, the easier it
would be to escape and elude capture. Ideally, she would get out
within the month. Already she could feel the growing familiarity
with this place sucking her in. The longer she was there, the worse
it would be. Risky as it was, she had to take the earliest
opportunity to leave.
    Now she just had to figure out how she’d got
there in the first place.
    A knock sounded on the door. “Ma’am? It’s
time.”
    The grand hall she was led to was filled with
a glittering array of guests. Many of the women from the harem
stood beside the soberly robed warriors. They watched her with a
mixture of resentment, puzzlement or curiosity. Jen was there with
Ser. She gave Vana a small smile.
    Dagon stood at the head of the hall on a
small dais. The expression on his face was solemn to match the
occasion. Light gleamed off his glossy black body armor. A gold
trimmed, long coat of scarlet swirled around him. It was
sleeveless, with a Chinese collar trimmed in red.
    Breathless from the sight, she looked at the
boys who stood just below the dais, smiling at their expressions.
Young Devin, not yet a teen, had the rebellious light of hope
shining in his eyes. His white outfit, the same as the others wore,
made him look like an adolescent white knight.
    As dark as Devin was blond, Keg’s stare dared
her to back out. How could she when she knew the tattoo on his face
had been put there by his dying father, the last of his family?
He’d wanted to see the last hope of his bloodline on the face of
his son, to remind Keg of the need to survive and save their line.
It was too heavy a burden to let the boy bear alone. Who would
teach him moderation in his quest to please the dead? Someone had
to give him back the gift of his childhood.
    And the twins. Destined to be lady-killers,
both betrayed their youth with the hopeful fear they tried to hide.
She wondered how long their white outfits would survive the trauma
they’d put them through.
    “Lady, are you ready?” Dagon asked, prompting
her to look at him.
    “I am.”
    He gestured, and his mother stepped forward.
Vana felt the blood leave her face. She hadn’t expected Ellyn to
show up.
    As serene as if the moment mattered nothing
to her, Ellyn said calmly, “From this moment on, I relinquish my
children. I did not birth them. I do not know them.” She turned her
back on the boys. In response, every soul in hall did the same.
They stood there, repudiated before everyone they knew, motherless.
Unwanted.
    Horrified, for Vana had never expected this
kind of humiliation for them, she sought Dagon’s hard gaze. He’d
been abandoned, too.
    Slowly, her hand curled into a fist. Making
sure her voice carried throughout the hall, she stepped forward and
said the words she’d been taught, plus some. “I want them. They
will be my sons. It will be as if they came from my body. When they
bleed, my heart will bleed. Those who will not acknowledge them
will not be welcome in my house. They are dead to me.”
    Gasps went through the hall. That last bit
had not been part of little speech they’d taught her. Considering
her position, it was as daring as actually slapping Ellyn’s
face.
    Ellyn stiffened. The guests turned around as
tradition demanded. For long seconds it looked as if Ellyn would
simply walk off and never face them. But finally, her face proud
and cold, she turned, though the hand