Read Online Harlequin Nocturne May 2016 Box Set by Susan Krinard - Free Book Online

the wilderness, you know that the Citadels take them from their mothers when they are hardly more than infants and treat them little better than serfs, even though they rely on them to do their daytime spying in the zones around the Citadels.”
    â€œWe do not do that here,” she said. “Our Darketans come to Tanis to live full lives as equals. And female Opiri in Tanis can choose to have children by human males if they wish. There’s no shame attached.”
    â€œAnd how often has it happened?”
    A sharp pain struck Isis’s heart as she spoke. Yes, she could have borne a child, if she had ever found a male human for whom she could care deeply enough. But she had never sought one out. It had always been her work to nurture others, and bearing a child would bend her attention away from those who most needed her.
    â€œIt’s ironic that the Citadels never objected to the wartime practice of Opiri males forcibly impregnating human females,” Daniel said.
    Ironic , Isis thought. Hypocrisy. She was hardly proud of what Opiri had done during the War, even though she had never been part of it.
    But Daniel’s voice had hardened, and she wondered why the subject seemed so personal to him. He claimed he didn’t hate Opiri, but his words suggested otherwise.
    â€œWhy did you wish to know if I’d ever given birth?” she asked, quickly changing the subject.
    â€œIt seems as if it would be natural for you.”
    She relaxed. “Is that a compliment?” she asked.
    â€œIt’s clear that you would love your children, as all these people seem to love you.”
    Her mind flew directly to his accusation that she used her power to influence others. Isis was tempted to end the tour there, even though Daniel had hardly seen any of the city. But he was already walking on, his gaze quick and probing as he looked up and down the streets.
    She caught up with him. “What is it you wish to see?” she asked.
    â€œAnother neighborhood,” he said. He paused by the small Lawkeeper station situated at the northern border of Bes’s ward.
    â€œWhat is this?” he asked.
    â€œThere is a Lawkeeper station set up at every border between wards,” she said, feeling once again as if she had to justify Tanis’s laws. “We find these to be practical locations, and they can easily be found by any citizen.”
    â€œThen they aren’t meant to hinder movement between wards?”
    â€œOf course not! Any citizen may visit any part of the city.”
    â€œAnd are stations located in the Opir wards as well as the human ones?”
    â€œNaturally,” she said, “though the stations are located at the base of every tower except the one inhabited by the Nine.”
    He seemed satisfied with the answer, and they continued past the guard station into the next ward.
    It was overseen by Hera, who, Isis knew, very seldom visited her people. Isis rarely came here herself, and almost at once she noticed that something was not quite right. There was refuse in the streets, and no planters of flowers and greenery near the doors. Even the buildings themselves were in less than optimal condition, seamed with cracks and even a few broken windows.
    Daniel was staring at one of the buildings, his face expressionless. “Is this one of your bad neighborhoods?” he asked.
    â€œThere is no such thing in Tanis,” Isis said, struggling to conceal her shock. “Every citizen receives the credits he or she requires to live comfortably, though work beyond the basic requirements can be used for nonessential goods.”
    â€œIt looks like someone forgot to give these people their share of the common wealth.”
    Isis was appalled. Hera should never have let things come to such a state. She was the advocate here. Even though she kept her distance from humans, there was no excuse for her failing to care for her charges.
    â€œI will speak to her at