Adrienne by D Renee Bagby

Author:D Renee Bagby [Bagby, D Renee]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781599987576
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Published: 2008-01-01T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Adrienne smoothed her dress over her knees as she knelt in front of the she-cat. The cat was dark burgundy with a sprinkling of pale yellow spots across her shoulders. Belatedly, Adrienne wondered if mulits had any set color scheme or patterning.

Today she would choose her cub. The last few days had been spent getting to know Malik all over again. Now that their relationship was back on track, she wanted her bribe.

She smiled at the she-cat as it eyed her. “Hello.”

“You do not reek of the power of which Malik lays claim,” the she-cat finally said.

Adrienne nodded. “You’re right, I don’t.”

“Who are they?”

She glanced back at Chancellor Riler and Chancellor Sabri. She’d hoped the men would stop following her when they found out her destination. No such luck.

“They are children asking for mommy’s permission when daddy already said no,” Adrienne said. She smirked at the chancellors’ insulted looks. It served them right for trying to get her on their side so she would convince Malik.

Sabri asked, “You can understand the she-cat, Majesty?”

“Can’t you?” She would have thought the chancellors powerful enough to understand and communicate with animals.

Travers answered as he entered the room, “It is a rare mage who can understand animals, especially the animals of Ulan, Queen Adrienne. In my experience, only the Mage Guild masters and King Malik are capable of such a feat.” He sketched a quick bow and smiled at her as he straightened.

“Oh.” She looked back at Feyr. She’d understood him from their first meeting and thought her entourage had exaggerated her abilities to make her feel better. Was communicating with animals really all that rare?

“Yes, Adrienne, it is,” Feyr answered.

She frowned at that. “Could you only answer questions I ask out loud, please?”

Feyr gave his usual feline smile. He stuck his muzzle in her face, his grin growing when their audience gasped. “The volume of your thoughts made me think it was a question asked aloud.”

“Sorry,” she said softly. She gave Feyr’s nose a pat and he retreated to his previous position. Her attention returned to his mate. Given the expression on the she-cat’s face, Adrienne could tell the cat wasn’t happy. She asked the obvious question, “He didn’t ask you, did he?”

The she-cat snuffed at that. “Oh, he asked. Though his request left no room for refusal.”

Adrienne nodded. That sounded like Malik. “Do you want me to have one of your cubs?” she asked and hoped the answer was still yes.

Travers answered before the she-cat could. “If it is King Malik’s wish, the she-cat has no say in the matter. He is King of Ulan, and she resides in Ulan.”

The matter-of-fact quality of Travers’s voice made Adrienne mad. Nothing gave Malik the right to separate a child from its mother, especially not to pay Adrienne’s bribe.

“My child was a bribe to you then, Malik’s mate?” the she-cat asked in a curious tone. She cocked her head to the side.

Adrienne shrugged. “In a manner of speaking. He saw my interest in Feyr and thought a younger version would cheer me up.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.