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Believe
me, I will handle it as quickly as possible and return to you this night...I
promise.”
    Ciopori’s eyes positively sparkled. “And I will
hold you to your word.” She rested her hand on her stomach and became all at
once serious. “I must confess, I am fearful of falling asleep again. After twenty-eight
hundred years in the ground, I am terrified that the spell might—”  
    Marquis pressed his finger against her lips. “Shhh.
None of us will let you slip away, Ciopori. Don’t worry about such things.”
    The princess smoothed out her dress then. “I’ll
try.” She looked off into the distance, took a deep breath, and turned back once
more to look at him. “Now then, as for your proprietary affairs. Be it known,
warrior, that I do understand a man’s obligations. Do not forget that my father
was the king”—she stumbled over the word father , her losses too great to
comprehend, and then, she simply collected herself with an ingrained dignity
and continued—“but if you do not wish to share the details of your business,
that is acceptable as well.”
    Marquis reached out to take her hand, still
enamored by the way she spoke. He gently pulled her back into his arms. “It’s
not that, Ciopori. It’s just that it’s ugly business...nothing you need to
concern yourself with right now. Trust me: You will see more of my life than
you care to, soon.” He gently nipped at her throat, nibbled just beneath her
ear, and kissed his way forward from her jaw to the corners of her mouth. Blessed
gods , he couldn’t help himself. The door suddenly opened, and they quickly
broke apart.
    Nachari poked his head out. His deep, forest green
eyes appeared darker in the natural light, and his thick mane of hair fell forward
as he glanced around. “Did you get a hold of Chad?”
    Marquis shot him an annoyed glance. “ Yes . What
do you need, brother?”
    Nachari looked at Marquis, glanced over at the
princess, and then stared at Marquis again....smiling a huge
cat-that-ate-the-canary smile.
    Marquis sighed. “Do you have a purpose, Nachari?”
    Nachari blanched, feigning insult at Marquis’s
blunt dismissal. “Do you mean right now—or as in life in general?”
    Ciopori cleared her throat.
    Marquis turned to regard the princess then. “Forgive
me; have you met my youngest brother?”
    “No, I have not yet had the pleasure.” Her voice was
deliberately kind. “I believe he was speaking with Napolean when I passed through
the room.”
    Marquis gestured in Nachari’s general direction. “This
is my brother, the Master Wizard Nachari. He was born of the last set of my
mother’s twins.”
    “’Tis a pleasure to meet you, wizard,” Ciopori
said.
    “The pleasure is all mine, princess. And I have to
tell you, it is a gift from the gods to have you and your sister back where you
belong.”
    Ciopori nodded and smiled, her manner gracious.
    And Marquis waited...while the angel of his dreams
took her first real, in-depth look at his little brother.
    There was no question: All of the Silivasi
brothers were handsome to a fault, and Marquis’s harsh beauty had a powerful
effect on females, but Nachari Silivasi was in a class all to himself. And
unfortunately, he knew it. Whenever he flashed that radiant, flawless smile—and
his ridiculously perfect features lit up like he was more god than man—women
lost their composure. They swooned. Stuttered. And sometimes just stood dazed with
their mouths gaping open, until eventually, they got used to the sight of him. His
masculine beauty was arresting.
    Ciopori looked back and forth between the two
brothers. “While the adjustment is overwhelming, we are fortunate to have been
found by my brother’s descendants.” She quickly turned her gaze back to Marquis,
her eyes glistening with adoration...for only him.
    Marquis glared at Nachari. “Well?”
    “My phone,” Nachari said.
    “What?”
    “ My phone . You asked me, what do I need— I
need my phone