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| Link | Quote | Stars | Tags | Author |
| 8b940bf | I have an excuse to be up at this mad hour." Irene yawned as we located her in Salem's nursery. "Why are you looking so bright-eyed?" As she spoke, she rocked Salem in her arms. The babe kept shifting from boy to cobra, trying to wriggle out of her grip, then turning back to human form to pout when she wouldn't let him. "We're plotting reformation of life as we know it," I replied, somewhat flippantly. "Oh, is that all?" she teased. "Why n.. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| 618a040 | Now A'isha offered a small package wrapped in white silk. I opened it to find an old coin, strung on a leather cord. The faded symbol on it was barely recognizable as Primarily, it was translated to mean , though like any words in the old language, it had a million connotations. A'isha explained, "A gift, for your Naga. These coins were once worn by all of the , the priests and priestesses of Anhamirak during the time of Maeve's coven. .. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| dd9f2ec | I'll...be okay," Danica asserted. "I was just...dizzy." She accepted held standing, but once she was up, her balance seemed to return quickly; she rested one hand on my arm, though I sensed that touch was more from habit than weakness. A'isha looked from one of us to the other, and her expression slid from worried to startled to amused. "Little hawk, you've never been faint before," the dancer said. "It's hot in here, and I've been tired an.. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| abf4967 | I don't know much about your kind, but I know that a snake's egg will grow too quickly and die if they're too hot. Your palace doctor has confirmed that your young are the same way. That being so, imagine a serpiente child growing in an avian womb; it would never survive." Without waiting for me to acknowledge whether I understood, she concluded, "Apparently you're both human enough to breed together. Your mate's body is adapting itself to .. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| 7f0bc06 | Loss of that loyalty, respect and trust would destroy the Cobriana. Loss of their royal line would destroy the serpiente. If the serpiente refused to acknowledge Danica's child as their monarch, no number of guards would be able to keep that child on the throne. I had walked this precarious balance before, when I had declared Danica my mate. If necessary, I would do it again. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| 557b5d6 | I don't think we can deal with this immediately." I looked at Danica as I spoke, searching her expression for agreement or argument. "Valene, the dancers have already welcomed Danica and our child. If they can circulate the knowledge that I name Danica's child my heir, I can only hope it won't be as much of a shock when the announcement is made." Even as I spoke, I felt the cold knot of fear in my gut. Our child would be born in peace, bu.. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| 609e9a4 | Would you rather set up our child for war from the instant it's born? If the serpiente reject our child for their throne, then you still have Salem as your heir. If my people reject it, there will be no Tuuli Thea after me." I stepped back from her, horror seeping into my blood. My gaze flickered to the others in the room. Ailbhe's pale blue eyes would not meet mine. Rei's did, but then he looked away. Valene was watching Danica, her expres.. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| 0681ff3 | Danica's eyes fluttered open the instant I stepped through the door, and she smiled softly. "I was starting to wonder if you were planning on obeying Betsy after all." "Never," I assured her. "Though I've promised I will let you get some sleep. How do you feel?" I went to her side, and Danica hooked and arm across my shoulders to steady herself as she sat up. Danica winced. "I " She rolled her shoulders, as if the muscles were sore. "I'm s.. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| a64f695 | You don't have to speak. Words fade," she whispered. "I know that better than anyone. Words are forgotten; they are regretted. Unnecessary. I know." | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| 06937be | We're plotting reformation of life as we know it," I replied, somewhat flippantly. "Oh, is that all?" she teased. "Why not start with breakfast?" | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| 12a29a6 | Amazing how far we had come. A few days ago, I had been surprised to see Rei and Valene accepted as dancers in the nest; now anyone who wanted a part in this project was welcome. We had achieved half the goal of Wyvern's Court simply by dreaming of it. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| a6eddfc | The dancers are a crucial part of serpiente culture, not to mention a beautiful addition to any public area." "They may be important to the serpiente, but making their performances so accessible to our children just isn't appropriate," Lincon said. "Wouldn't it make more sense for the dancers to remain in their nest, so the more impressionable of our..." He trailed off, because the room had suddenly gone very quiet around him. A'isha flitte.. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| 2c884fb | We come from different worlds," I said, "but each has so much to teach the other. There will be moments of dissonance, when people struggle to understand each other's ways, but once we get past our misconceptions, imagine the reward. "The dancers perform in the market of Wyvern's Court; they will be beside avian poets, singers, philosophers and storytellers or we cannot hope to succeed. Merchants will haggle prices and barter goods as the.. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| b278e0b | She broke off the instant food was presented to her, staring at it for long moments as if not believing her yes. After that, she ate with a hunger that reminded e more of wolves than of graceful falcons. She also drained glass after glass of water and finally slowed enough to sip a hot tea. The color began to return to her skin, though in places the change served only to accentuate her injuries. "Feathered Hades, girl, when did you last ?.. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| bcb4bbb | When I had arrived home and learned of this terrible series of events, I had immediately set out for the Hawk's Keep. I had started that ride in a fog of denial, refusing to acknowledge that my brother was dead, refusing to believe that the burden of the roal seat had fallen to me so suddenly at the age of sixteen. The hours had turned my thoughts from disbelief to mad fury. I had scaled the walls of the Hawk's Keep, intent on murder, and s.. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| 81f3e23 | Days and weeks and years. My brother never returned last night. Days and weeks and years. How long until their assassins find me? Danica Shardae Heir to the Tuuli Thea | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| 9b4b13a | You made a good choice for your Naga," she assured me. "Danica is more graceful on a dais than half the serpents I know." "Provided she isn't blushing too brightly to see," another quipped. "The first time I saw our queen perform, I thought she was a lost cause--far too uptight, like most avians--but I'm glad to be proved wrong." I knew I was grinning. I had never doubted that Danica could learn the serpent art. Much of her loved my world; .. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| 55bf00b | You made a good choice for your Naga," she assured me. "Danica is more graceful on a dais than half the serpents I know." "Provided she isn't blushing too brightly to see," another quipped. "The first time I saw our queen perform, I thought she was a lost cause--far too uptight, like most avians--but I'm glad to be proved wrong." I knew I was grinning. I had never doubted that Danica could learn the serpent art. Much of her loved my world; .. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| df72a3a | The Tiger Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? In what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the fire? And what shoulder, and what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand? and what dread feet? What the hammer? what the chain? In what furnace.. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| c154347 | You dance every day with the wind. This is not so different," A'isha said encouragingly to Danica. "Now, look at the man you love and dance for him." The nest hushed, faces turning to their Naga. Her cheeks held more color than usual, which A'isha addressed with a common dancers' proverb. "There is no place for shame, Danica. If Anhamirak had not wanted beauty admired, she would not have made our eyes desire it. You are art." Danica stepped.. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| d7220a5 | People think they want knowledge. Until they have it, of course. | Lisa Gardner | ||
| e3970f4 | Feel the beat. It is the wind," A'isha directed. "Fly with it." The soft beat of a drum, paired with the lilting melody of a flute, filled the room as Danica stepped onto the dais at the back of the nest. Closing her eyes, Danica stretched upward, moving onto the balls of her feet, wrists crossed high above her head, and paused there for a heartbeat. The pose was known as a prayer--a dancer's call for guidance from the powers that be. She m.. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| 9366a23 | Do you feel well enough to travel back to the Keep today?" "We need to," she answered, but despite her tired tone, she was smiling. "We can postpone the trip if you're not feeling up to it. You and our child's health are more important than indulging Nacola." , I thought. She could speak to the rest of the Royal Flight when Danica was ready. "Don't worry; I feel fine," Danica assured me. With wide-eyed innocence, she added, "I know how muc.. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| 742d2e7 | Excuse me." The cold voice behind us made me cringe for reasons that had nothing to do with falcons or Rei's abdication. Danica turned with a smile, and I struggled to do the same. Despite how well the recent months had gone, Nacola Shardae still refused to believe that a serpiente man could possibly be the right mate for her only daughter. Because of that, she hated me as only a mother could." | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| 4fe24af | Nacola Shardae, damn her feathers, was a true queen. In that single little speech, she managed to hit every vulnerability and fear Danica and I had regarding this child. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| ad45d72 | We will do what is necessary to assure our child's prosperity." The statement hurt as I recalled my conversation with Irene. "We have some time before the decision must be made. If we can find no way to raise the child so both our kinds will accept her...then she will be raised to be Tuuli Thea, and I will name Salem my heir until--" , I had been about to say, but there would be no other child. Danica wrapped an arm around my waist and gave.. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| 695827d | How is your lady love faring in all this?" His expression shifted, betraying the smile of one happily besotted despite the circumstances. "I think she is as stunned as everyone else, but she is a very strong, capable woman." I couldn't resist the urge to tease a little. "Strong and capable? Flattering descriptions, but hardly warm enough to merit the soft look in your eyes." "She isn't a serpent, who wears her passions like jewelry and danc.. | Amelia Atwater-Rhodes | ||
| bdf2fa7 | Bad things happen when you least expect them | Sandra Brown | ||
| 93e1be5 | cosmic puppeteer might be listening | Sandra Brown | ||
| 0b8ba34 | she had | Sandra Brown | ||
| 7dd69bf | Drunkenness, she had discovered, | Sandra Brown | ||
| 4148159 | done. Why did he stick around? Why would he force that encounter with you on the road, and that night at the diner . . ." He looked at Chris as though willing him to fill in the blanks, but Chris's implacable eyes gave away nothing. "Wait," Beck said, "I just remembered something. When Watkins came into the diner, I remember him looking surprised to see us there. But it was only me he was surprised to see, wasn't it? He said he was there fo.. | Sandra Brown | ||
| d3a61d1 | died. But he couldn't take the | Sandra Brown | ||
| 297082e | contract. I'm trying to get us through this alive, and I don't want my strategy compromised by an amateur with | Sandra Brown | ||
| 1da37b7 | If she commits to something, it's forged in steel. | Sandra Brown | ||
| 6277345 | She crumpled into the chair behind the desk and, bending slightly from the waist, hugged her elbows. | Sandra Brown | ||
| f4e4b4a | She heard the rustle of the tarp beneath him | Sandra Brown | ||
| 135d118 | sound of outrage, mostly at herself for being so easily tricked by talk of sexy kisses. She pulled hard on her hand, knowing already that it was futile. Then she remembered the knife. She had set it down after using it to cut the bandana into strips. She began searching for it with her free hand. But he was ahead of her on that, too. "It's in my seat pocket," he said, "where the cuff was. It was careless of you to set it down within my reac.. | Sandra Brown | ||
| bb362a4 | media | Sandra Brown | ||
| 50d0e98 | meal congealing in white pasteboard containers. The | Sandra Brown | ||
| b9b3559 | While basking in the limelight, one sacrificed privacy. Anonymity has distinct advantages. Keeping to the background afforded one much more maneuverability and, thereby, power. | Sandra Brown | ||
| d52b210 | her top and into the elastic waistband of the baggy pants. He lightly ground the heel of his | Sandra Brown | ||
| 261f07e | Welcome Prologue | Sandra Brown | ||
| f36f404 | back on it, he wondered why Knight hadn't simply telephoned to ask. Had he and Grange been checking up on him? Did they still suspect him of wrongdoing? Call him paranoid, but... The door to the suite had narrow glass panels flanking it. Keeping his body out of sight, he peered through one of the panes. On the far side of the parking lot sat an unmarked car, noticeable because it was seemingly so innocuous. The driver's door window had bee.. | Sandra Brown |