34

Distracted from his ire, Keilor allowed himself to sink into his favorite chair. The leather had worn away on the armrests, but it was still serviceable. He couldn’t be talked into throwing it out.

Why was it that all the trouble in their lives of late came in the form of a woman? A woman, he thought angrily, who’d called the undefeated Lord of the Hunt to heel with one phrase from her traitorous charmer lips? Come to me… He closed his eyes at the humiliation of it. How could he insure the safety of what family he had left if the Haunt knew that their Warleader could be brought to his knees by the voice of a woman?

“And what is to be the prize in this ‘cost nothing’ tournament?” Keilor asked bitterly. “A chance to drink wine from the charmer’s cupped hands? A sash of scarlet embroidered with her name?”

Jayems laughed without humor. “Nothing so traditional, my friend.” He paused, knowing he was about to hear an explosion. “The victor receives a night with Jasmine.”