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His lips twisted in a reflection of the putrid inner self she hadn’t seen until it was too late “She is grieving”

Ah “Is that why you’re here? To offer solace?”

“It is a friend’s prerogative”

“A friend ishes to take Eris’s place”

“I aance backed by fact; Arav was one of Neha’s generals “When I a her jaeen thuer before she could flinch away, “I will ask Neha to give you to rip, heedless of whether itthe archangel had never done, it was to overlook the mistreatment of women in her court Any man found to have forced, beaten, or coerced a wo parts of his body amputated—the worse the assault, the enerate

It did not matter if the woman was in favor or not, rich or poor, peasant or courtier The rule was absolute and part of what ht suddenly, a prickling of cold along her spine, ht not be the one who ruled nowat least not where Mahiya was concerned

“So punished for what I did to you and yourrealization, she favored Arav with a scalpel-sharp smile “Neha values loyalty in a man above all else If she ever thinks you have plans to touch another while bound to her, Eris’s torture and diseentle punish until the loss of blood was obvious even under the darkness of his skin, Arav took two quick steps away fro used his momentary shock to skirt past and down the pathway toward the stables—petting the horses she so loved would go so between her shoulder blades until she disappeared around the corner, and knew that where he had previously seen her as a toy, he no her as so he wanted to break She’d made an enemy this day

Three hours after the discovery of Shabna completed a number of other crucial inquiries, Jason had intended to interview the ladies-in-waiting, but found he had need to speak to Neha “Venom asks permission to enter your territory”

Neha’s lips kicked up a notch where she walked beside a large outdoora water pot on her head “So, the prodigal returns,” she said, the grief and anger in her voice leavened by ware?”

“He says he would not dare pass by without paying his respects”

Neha’s laugh echoed off the h he did dare run off to Raphael as soon as his Contract was complete”