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Lorkin a game involving gemstones that had failed to take on any magical properties and a painted board. The game was called “Stones”, and they’d chosen it because gemstones were what he had got into trouble over.
    A growing audience was hovering nearby. A few men were talking to Evar, and several more were scattered about the room, doing their usual chores or relaxing. So when the room began to quieten all of a sudden, everyone paused and looked up to see what the cause was. The men standing between Lorkin and the room’s entrance shuffled aside. Lorkin looked beyond them, saw who was standing there, and felt his heart stop beating and stomach start to flutter.
    “Tyvara,” he said.
    A smile fleetingly touched her lips, then she was serious again. She walked gracefully toward him, ignoring the men staring at her. Being the focus of those beautiful, exotic eyes sent a shiver of pleasure down Lorkin’s spine.
Oh, I definitely haven’t got over her
, he thought.
If anything, the time she’s been away has made seeing her again even more exciting.
    “I want to talk to you in private,” she said, stopping a few steps away and crossing her arms.
    “Love to,” he said. “But I’m not supposed to leave the room. On Kalia’s orders.”
    She frowned, then shrugged and looked around the room. “Then the rest of you leave.”
    She watched as the men, muttering good naturedly, made their way out, and noted that Evar hadn’t moved. She narrowed her eyes at him.
    “Under the same orders – but don’t worry,” he said, standing up and moving away. “I’ll stay over there and try not to listen.”
    Tyvara watched, one eyebrow raised in amusement as he moved away to the food preparation area, before looking down at Lorkin.
    He smiled. It was too easy to smile at her. He was at risk of grinning like an idiot. Her long dark hair was clean and the dark hollows under her eyes were gone. He’d found her alluring before; now she was even more beautiful than imagination had painted his memory of her.
    I wasn’t like this when we were travelling
, he thought.
Maybe I was too tired …
    “I guess this will have to do,” she said quietly, uncrossing her arms.
    “What do you want to talk about?” he managed to ask.
    She sighed, then sat down and fixed him with a direct stare that set his heart racing. “What are you up to Lorkin?”
    He felt a vague disappointment.
What did I expect? That she’d invite me to her rooms for a night of …
He quickly pushed the thought aside.
    “If I was up to something, why would I tell you?” he countered.
    Her eyes flashed with anger. She glared at him, then stood up and started toward the door. His heart leapt in alarm. He couldn’t let her leave so soon!
    “Is that all you’re going to ask me?” he called after her.
    “Yes,” she replied, without turning.
    “Can I ask
you
a few questions?”
    She slowed, then stopped and looked back at him. He beckoned. Sighing, she walked back to the seat and dropped into it, her arms crossed again.
    “What then?” she asked.
    He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “How are you? I haven’t seen you in months. What has Riva’s family got you doing?”
    She regarded him thoughtfully, then uncrossed her arms. “I’m fine. I’d rather be out there doing some good, of course, but …” She shrugged. “Riva’s family have me working the sewer tunnels.
    He grimaced. “That can’t be pleasant, or interesting.”
    “They think it’s as nasty a task as they could come up with, but I don’t mind it. This city needs its waste removed as much as it needs defending, and being a slave can involve much more unpleasant duties than that. But it is boring. I may end up hating it for that, alone.”
    “You should come by and visit. I’ll try to entertain you, though I can’t promise it won’t be anything more than the silly mistakes a foreigner makes in an unfamiliar place.”
    She smiled. “Has it been difficult?”
    He spread his hands.