The Charmer

Chapter 26

Keilor frowned at Fallon. “Your mother does want you to wed.” There was a silence as they considered just how far the manipulative Portae would go to secure a daughter-in-law. Considering the lengths she’d gone to in the past to manage her only son’s life, there was no telling what she was capable of, and Jasmine was the first woman he’d ever shown a serious interest in.

“Had the d**g been in your dessert, Keilor, I would have suspected Urseya.” Jayems smiled faintly. “Under the circumstances, I can’t see her wishing to inflame Jasmine, lest she be forced to toast the pair of you at your wedding feast.” 

His cousin gave him a sardonic smile.

“You give up on me too soon, Jayems,” Fallon interjected smoothly. “The lady might have preferred to spend the night in my bed.”

Rihlia stood up, fists clenched. “You leave her alone!” 

Surprised by the fury of her command, the three men regarded her with uncertainty.

Fallon tried to soothe her. “We jest, cousin,” he assured her. “No one is going to treat Jasmine with less than honor and courtesy. Surely Jayems has explained to you...”

“Just this morning you told me, Keilor, that the only thing you men feel for Jasmine is lust.” When he didn’t respond to her challenge, she continued tightly, “Well, I’m taking you at your word, and I’m telling you, commanding you, to leave her alone. She deserves far better than a man whose only interest in her is as a one night stand.”

“Keilor speaks for himself if he said such things, Rihlia.” Fallon glowered Keilor, who said nothing to defend himself. “I admire your friend, respect her, and I…”

“Admiration is not enough,” she answered him coldly. “She deserves a lot more.”

Fallon was silent for a moment. His jaw ticked when he said, “If you are looking to know my heart, it’s not yours to know.” The expression on his face when she tried to interrupt him was so savage, she stopped before uttering a word. “If your friend wishes to know, I will speak truthfully with her. Until then…” He softened his voice a little. “Be satisfied that she is in good hands.”  

Rihlia stared at one of the many potted plants dotting the room. “What about the other? What will you do when she finds out about the Haunt?” Silence followed her comment.

All three men had been there the night Rihlia had been found. She had been wary from the beginning of the three strangers who had suddenly appeared in her camp, emerging from the shadows as if they owned the night, and she had not gone willingly to the Dark Lands. Worse than that, when she had attempted to use the only weapon she had left, the one thing that they now knew she feared above all else, Jayems had shown her the true nature of the Haunt.

Tonight had been the first night since that she had willingly suffered his touch.

Keilor waved a hand irritably, dismissing her fears. “Jasmine’s made of stern stuff, Rihlia, and loyal. I think she’d settle down quickly after she became used to the idea.” He gave her a level look. “Your friend is the type to face her problems, not to turn and run.”

“Have you seen how she looks at the soldiers?” she countered. “She’s never relaxed around them, never forgets their presence for a moment. If one of them makes an unexpected move, she tenses and watches him as if she expects him to try and eat her.” Keilor winced, and she nodded, vindicated. “How do you think she’d react to the announcement that you were one?”

***

Rihlia was curled up in a fat chair beside Jasmine’s bed, knitting, when Jasmine finally woke up. She immediately set aside her needles and came to sit on the big bed.

“How are you doing, Jas?” she asked softly. She felt Jasmine’s forehead with the back of her fingers and smiled. “You look better, and your skin’s not clammy anymore.”

Jasmine frowned, sifting details through her sleepy brain. She lifted her bandaged hand, staring as memories trickled through her awakening brain. “The glass,” she croaked. Her throat was still sore from screaming.

“Yes. It took the medics a long while to get all the pieces out.” Rihlia helped her take a sip of water, adjusting the straw so she could drink without sitting up. 

Jasmine closed her eyes and relaxed back into the pillows. Her whole body hurt. “Did they figure out who tried to poison you?”

There was a pause. “It wasn’t poison.” 

One eye opened and looked at her. 

“It was an aphrodisiac.”

Jasmine’s eyes opened wide and she started to sit up. She groaned when her sore muscles and tender stomach protested. Temporarily defeated, she flopped back down, allowing Rihlia to fluff the pillows behind her head. “Someone gave you an aphrodisiac?”

Rihlia sighed. “Someone gave you an aphrodisiac, Jas, only it backfired. It acted on your body like a poison.” 

Jasmine stared at her for a long moment. Her face darkened. 

Before she could explode, Rihlia hastily said, “It wasn’t one of the men. You should have seen their faces; they were so upset. Nobody has any proof, but we think it might have been Fallon’s mother.”

A queer look passed over Jasmine’s face, and Rihlia smirked. “Not for herself, silly! Apparently she wants Fallon to get married pretty badly. She might have used the stuff for that, never dreaming she might kill her future daughter-in-law.”

There wasn’t much Jasmine could say to that without a great deal of thought, and she felt too drained at the moment to engage in lengthy internal debates. Instead she grumbled, “So I’m going to be all right? There’s no lasting effect to this stuff?”

Rihlia studied the quilt. “The medic said that you’ll be all right, except for…” She cleared her throat uncomfortably and shifted on the bed. “You might have a few hormonal problems at first.”

Jasmine narrowed her eyes. “Like what?” Sudden visions of sprouting facial hair taunted her. If Wiley’s aunt had made her into a bearded lady, Jas was going to have to hurt her.

“Your s*x drive.” Rihlia waffled a hand in the air uncomfortably. “Uh, you may not be able to feel, er, arousal for a while.”

Jasmine squinted one eye. This was getting worse and worse. Not that she wasn’t grateful to be alive, and she’d never been a s****l dynamo, but not to feel any desire at all? Sheesh! “How long?”

“A few weeks, maybe. Or months.” Rihlia cringed. “Or maybe never.”

“Never!” Jasmine tried to shout, but it came out more of a croak. Never? 

“Don’t worry!” her friend hastened to assure her, laying her hand on her arm. “They can give you hormone therapy if it doesn’t come back on its own, which your doctor is almost sure it will. You’ll be fine.”

“Great,” Jasmine rasped, furious. “Viagra for women.” She smacked her damaged hand on the bed and yowled with the pain. She’d forgotten it was injured.