Garnets or Bust by Joanna Wylde Read Free Book Online Page B

be the one.
    “Why should we believe you won’t betray us?” she asked, her voice ringing in the
    barren, metal-walled room. “Daaron says you’ll obey him, that you’re his true lifemate.
    Will you obey?”
    Good question, Tessa thought. She knew she should say yes, but she’d never been
    good at lying. Warrens culture might tell her to obey her husband, but somehow that
    didn’t seem to apply to a woman who had been to university and now found herself
    married to a noble-born rebel. And she wasn’t even sure she knew what a lifemate was,
    let alone whether Daaron was hers. He looked at her expectantly, nodding his head as if
    to give her permission to speak. Needing a man’s permission just because he’d cut off
    her braids rankled. Time to lay her cards on the table. She figured it might not be smart,
    but Tessa didn’t care. She should be honest if she hoped to make a new life among these
    people.
    “No, I won’t just do what he says,” she replied, holding the woman’s gaze with her
    own. She needed to get this just right. “Just because I’m from the Warrens doesn’t mean
    I’m a puppet. I’m a thinking, feeling human being.
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    “My mother sold herself into slavery to give me a better life, so I understand what it
    means to hold a debt to those who sacrificed for your freedom. I hear you lost your
    homes and families to the Emperor. I’ll never betray your secret. You dream of a galaxy
    where nobody dies because a seating chart gets fucked up. I dream of a place where
    nobody’s parents become slaves to provide their children with an education. Sounds to
    me like we’re on the same side. But I’m not just going to obey him blindly.”
    Tessa snapped her mouth shut, shooting Daaron a defiant look before turning to
    meet the woman’s gaze. She expected to see hostility there, perhaps even a threat.
    Instead she caught a smile.
    “Good,” she replied. “He deserves to be put in his place. He might threaten you if
    you don’t obey, but I’ll kill you if you do. There aren’t many women on this planet and
    we have to stick together. Otherwise the men will get the idea that they own us, and we
    can’t afford that. They already hold most of the power. The priestesses will agree with
    me.”
    Daaron glared at her, but she laughed, walking up to Tessa and offering her hand in
    friendship.
    “I’m Leezal,” she said, helping her step down. “Don’t worry about Daaron, he
    made it clear to us from the moment he saw you that you were special. I think he’s the
    only one who didn’t realize just how he felt about you. Your people seem to be awfully
    stupid about lifemating. And I’m sorry we shot you with the flechettes. It was the only
    way we could think of to keep you from getting hurt.”
    “I’m just happy that I didn’t hurt Daaron,” Tessa replied, wondering if Leezal could
    be a friend. How strange things had become! “When I thought I’d killed him, I wanted
    to die myself.”
    “And you would have too,” Leezal replied, her face suddenly serious. “We owe
    him everything, Tessa. You can’t imagine.”
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    “I’m beginning to,” she replied, meaning every word. “I’m starting to realize just
    how much I want to learn more about him. I’ve never been so wrong about anyone in
    my life.”
    “I know the feeling. I’d just lost my home and family when he found me. I thought
    he’d come to kill me for the Emperor. Instead he gave me a new life and purpose. Come
    with me, I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
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Epilogue
Six months later

    Tessa leaned forward, kissing her husband’s neck and hugging him so tight it
    almost hurt.
    “A message arrived today,” she said. “My mother will be here in about a week.
    She’s very excited to meet my new husband.”
    “I’m happy to hear that,” Daaron said, reaching down with one hand to rub her
    slightly swollen belly. The Danubians were thrilled about the