Jeweled by Anya Bast Read Free Book Online Page B

up the J’Edaeii, all the nobles, especially the royalty.” He paused. “They’ve already started killing them.”
    “What? Where is the Imperial Guard? The Royal Army?”
    He snorted and hung his head. “You really are a beautiful, clueless little bit of fluff, aren’t you?”
    Except, he knew different. The good part of her was just buried under all that magickal backlash. His gift went both ways, just like hers. He could cast illusion, but he could also see through it. She could sense other people’s emotions, but could too easily block her own—which is what she’d been doing since she was a young child. For good reason.
    He understood the truth of Evangeline, but that didn’t make her any less of a pain.
    She bristled. “Listen—”
    He held up a hand. “I’ll tell you what you should already know. The army is made up of commoners. Most of them have laid down arms and taken up with the people. Those who didn’t join the rest are now dead or imprisoned. The Imperial Guard was defeated right off, overwhelmed by the number of peasants who stormed the palace. Our time is over with, Evangeline. The rich are reaping what they sowed with the poor. Taxing them into starvation. Confiscating their goods and the fruits of their labor. Suppressing inventions to deny the rise of the lower and middle classes and keep power in the hands of the royals. Dancing and feasting while they died in the streets from neglect and hunger. It’s no wonder they hate us.”
    “I had no idea.”
    “Because you weren’t paying attention. Because you are self-centered and oblivious. This has been going on for a long time now. Everyone but you and the royals saw it coming.”
    Her jaw locked. “No.”
    “Yes.”
    She surged to her feet. “No! This isn’t possible. None of it!”
    He hissed through his teeth, grabbed her arm, and yanked her down. “Stop it. You’ll get us both killed. Now calm down and settle in. We can’t move from this spot until morning. It’s not safe.”
    She sat back down next to him with a thump. “I’m hungry.” There was more than just a note of petulance in her voice. She probably couldn’t remember a day in her whole life when her stomach had rumbled and she hadn’t been able to put something in it.
    “So am I, but we’ll stay here anyway. Turn over and raise your shirt.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “When I dressed you, I noticed the skin around your jewel and the tattoo Roane gave you is looking red and irritated. You run the risk of it being infected. I need to look at it again.”
    She scowled at him for a moment, but turned. Efficiently, he assessed the area. The skin around her sapphire looked like it probably hurt, but maybe her mind was on other matters at the moment. He couldn’t blame her for that. The tattoo was a fine swirl of color to either side of the jewel—a brand that marked Roane’s “ownership” of her.
    “It’s too soon to tell.”
    Shivering, she pulled the rough shirt back down. “I’ll be fine.”
    “So you say. We’ll keep an eye on it. Now settle down and try to sleep.”
    “How can we sleep at a time like this?”
    He sighed. “I don’t know.” The truth was that he wouldn’t sleep at all. He hooked an arm around her and pulled her close for warmth. She stiffened. “Hush, princess, we need to share body heat.”
    “What will we do now?”
    “We wait. Rest as much as we can, sleep if possible. In the morning we’ll see where the city stands. We’ll have immediate concerns—food, shelter, water.”
    She pursed her lips. “Thank you, Anatol. You have your head much more right than I do at the moment.”
    Shock vibrated through him. Had she just thanked him?
    “I’ve been expecting this.” He paused. “Not quite like this, but I’ve thought about the possibility.”
    “And I’m just a little bit of pretty fluff that never saw this coming.”
    “You see it now.”
    She looked down into her lap. “I see much more clearly than normal.”
    There was