Alec sighed. “Well, needless to say, I've always found her desirable. She's a remarkable and extremely beautiful woman. I spoke with her father about the possibility of courting her, but he refused. I understand now that his reasons were to keep my father and other councilors from learning too much about her abilities. She never had to suffer from wearing the bracelet because my father didn't believe she had much talent. I suspect the bracelets would have interfered with her natural shielding and could have possibly damaged her mind. Her parents did the right thing to protect her.”
He frowned and poured more of the amber liquid into his glass. “I suspect there's also some concern about her talents if she becomes bonded. If she chooses to bond with a powerful fire or air channeler, one of
