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spin. “You what?” she asked through the slits of her fingers.
    “I believe you made the statement to your analyst that you desired a man not unlike the corsairs of old.” Queen Annalyn grimaced. “That hardly seems to suit the image I have of Daniel Brock.”
    “Your Majesty, you should not have…”
    “Do you not,” the queen said, coming to sit on the side of Chas’ bed, “wish for a real man to warm you of a night, Chastain Neff?”
    Chas could only gape at the older woman.
    “Do you not want a man who will make your blood boil one moment, and then make it flow like hot molasses in the next as his fingers ply your flesh? Do you not desire a man who will take you soaring to the highest mountains then cradle you gently in his arms as he settles you back to earth?”
    “Your Majesty,” Chas protested, her voice a whine of complaint.
    “I am told that when he laid hands to you in the marketplace, you were seen to shudder as though a lightning bolt had traveled the length of you. Is that correct?”
    “While it is true I felt a charge from his touch, I…”
    “Did you not call him Enlil?”
    “Aye, but I don’t have any idea…”
    “Enlil,” the queen said, “was the Lord High God of the Winds in ancient an Iaráin . His wife was Ninlil. That phantom woman you were in the distant past called out to her lover.”
    “That is only speculation,” Chas denied.
    “Had you heard the name before? Is it one you commonly use?”
    Chas groaned with frustration. “No, Your Majesty. The name was new to me.”
    “No, it was love calling to love, Chastain. Ruan Cosaint is the reincarnation of an old, old love and he is the man for you, lass,” the queen said, her statement brooking no argument. “And you are the woman for him! You were meant to be together! The mystic says so!”
    “But when he finds out you hired me to…”
    “Don’t let him!” the queen snapped and rose from the bed. She smoothed the skirt of her gown. “Men don’t need to know everything a woman does, lass. The sooner you learn that lesson, the better off you’ll be!”
    When Queen Annalyn left her, Chas went over the information regarding her heritage and realized she was crying. She had been trying for so long to find out who she had been, who her parents were, the reason Charlton Neff and his wife, Catherine, had adopted her, it was a relief to finally have answers. To learn she had been of noble blood? Unexpected and totally surprising. No wonder the Tribunal did not want her to know of her heritage.
    As to the Gaelachuan queen’s assertion that Chas and Ruan were fated to be mates? Well, she thought as she swiped at her tears, that remained to be seen.

Chapter Four
     
    “You survived my mother’s visit,” he said as he stuck his head around the door.
    Chas smiled. “It was touch and go but, aye, I managed to get through it.”
    He came into the room, leaving the door open, as he had no doubt been warned to do, and came to stand by her bed. All available chairs had been removed and Chas could tell he was annoyed.
    “She tells me you will be here a few days,” he said. “Is that at her direction or because you don’t feel well enough to be up?”
    “I believe her exact words were—’You will do as I say, lass, and I’ll have no argument ‘bout it!’”
    “Aye,” he said with a sigh. “That sounds like my mother. She is a formidable old biddy.” He rested his hands on the footboard of the bed. “When I asked her what your name was, she ordered me to find out for myself.”
    “I am Chastain Neff, Your Grace,” she introduced herself.
    “Chastain,” he said and the name on his tongue sounded sensual. “I am Ruan.”
    “Your Grace…” she began but he held up a hand.
    “No, not Ruan Your Grace. Just Ruan,” he corrected.
    “I would not dare to…”
    “My exact words are—’You will do as I say, lass, and I’ll have no argument ‘bout it!’”
    Chas laughed for his tone and inflection mimicked