darling…that is not what I meant. Both Raphael and I have been worried over how he would take your alliance with another male.”
Considering what she and Damon had been doing just before the palace alarms went off, Jayla was fairly sure he was just fine with her marriage. What would not have been possible for the two of them before Marc was now an option. “It isn’t an issue.”
“I see.” Her mother settled back, a faint look of amusement on her face. “I rather thought that might be the case. Kartel is just as intelligent as I thought he was to share you so willingly.”
“He and Damon are not at all alike, and yet…”—Jayla searched for the right words—“…and yet they complement each other in many ways. Marc is naturally more diplomatic—almost everyone is more diplomatic than Damon—but Damon is so passionate about the same causes that concern Marc that their disparate personalities do not seem to be a conflict.”
“Nor are you?”
This time she definitely blushed. “Nor am I.”
“I’m glad.”
She agreed. Wholeheartedly. If they were going to coexist with any semblance of harmony, there could be no jealousy. S-species males were territorial by nature, but they were also aware of the rules of sharing a female. Both Marc and Damon seemed to accept the situation with equanimity, and she understood she was lucky in their accord. “I know you do not always approve of him, but Damon is more reasonable than you perceive.”
“I most definitely don’t approve of him half of the time and yet I am aware he can be prudent when he wishes to be.”
Jayla wasn’t surprised to hear it put just that way. Her smile was rueful. “He just isn’t prudent often enough.”
“No, he isn’t. Especially when it comes to you.” Her mother took a small sip of wine and then cleared her throat. “I’m pleased. With you and for you.”
She was pleased too, but the current crisis precluded discussing her happiness. “There was a threat found here. Marc said his father was also targeted. Someone tried to kill you.”
“We won’t know who was supposed to enter their code until the team finishes defusing the explosives.”
Jayla knew when her mother was being politic and when she was just evasive. “But you already have an idea.”
“Me.”
She turned in her chair, watching Damon’s father enter the room, a slight ironic smile on his face. He had always seemed so tall when she was a child but she’d realized as she got older he was a slight bit shorter than his son, but he had the same striking features. He crossed over to take a goblet, filled it, and turned around. “The target was me. I hope I am not intruding.”
“ What ?”
He shook his head. “Don’t worry, it is disarmed. Can I get you something, Highness?”
“No.” Her mother smiled but it was strained and she had visibly paled. “Of course not, Raphael. What…what makes you think the device was aimed at you?”
She loves him . Jayla realized it in a single blink of a moment with astonishment. Her mother loved Raphael Le Clerc because she clearly would rather have had the explosive set to detonate when she scanned in that doorway rather than him. When her mother had thought she was the target, she was pragmatic over it. Having him the quarry was a different matter.
Jayla was starting to think she understood. What she felt for Damon had always seemed to be more a quarrelsome childhood rivalry than anything else, but she knew now that wasn’t true. He loved her—he’d said so, and Marc…well, her relationship with her new husband was just beginning but there had been an instant chemistry between them from the moment they’d met.
Life had certainly taken an interesting turn.
“It was set to my code.” Raphael sank down and crossed his long legs. “I suggest we not limit ourselves to the palace and have all the government offices swept. We must be thorough.”
Her mother nodded in one decisive inclination of her
Considering what she and Damon had been doing just before the palace alarms went off, Jayla was fairly sure he was just fine with her marriage. What would not have been possible for the two of them before Marc was now an option. “It isn’t an issue.”
“I see.” Her mother settled back, a faint look of amusement on her face. “I rather thought that might be the case. Kartel is just as intelligent as I thought he was to share you so willingly.”
“He and Damon are not at all alike, and yet…”—Jayla searched for the right words—“…and yet they complement each other in many ways. Marc is naturally more diplomatic—almost everyone is more diplomatic than Damon—but Damon is so passionate about the same causes that concern Marc that their disparate personalities do not seem to be a conflict.”
“Nor are you?”
This time she definitely blushed. “Nor am I.”
“I’m glad.”
She agreed. Wholeheartedly. If they were going to coexist with any semblance of harmony, there could be no jealousy. S-species males were territorial by nature, but they were also aware of the rules of sharing a female. Both Marc and Damon seemed to accept the situation with equanimity, and she understood she was lucky in their accord. “I know you do not always approve of him, but Damon is more reasonable than you perceive.”
“I most definitely don’t approve of him half of the time and yet I am aware he can be prudent when he wishes to be.”
Jayla wasn’t surprised to hear it put just that way. Her smile was rueful. “He just isn’t prudent often enough.”
“No, he isn’t. Especially when it comes to you.” Her mother took a small sip of wine and then cleared her throat. “I’m pleased. With you and for you.”
She was pleased too, but the current crisis precluded discussing her happiness. “There was a threat found here. Marc said his father was also targeted. Someone tried to kill you.”
“We won’t know who was supposed to enter their code until the team finishes defusing the explosives.”
Jayla knew when her mother was being politic and when she was just evasive. “But you already have an idea.”
“Me.”
She turned in her chair, watching Damon’s father enter the room, a slight ironic smile on his face. He had always seemed so tall when she was a child but she’d realized as she got older he was a slight bit shorter than his son, but he had the same striking features. He crossed over to take a goblet, filled it, and turned around. “The target was me. I hope I am not intruding.”
“ What ?”
He shook his head. “Don’t worry, it is disarmed. Can I get you something, Highness?”
“No.” Her mother smiled but it was strained and she had visibly paled. “Of course not, Raphael. What…what makes you think the device was aimed at you?”
She loves him . Jayla realized it in a single blink of a moment with astonishment. Her mother loved Raphael Le Clerc because she clearly would rather have had the explosive set to detonate when she scanned in that doorway rather than him. When her mother had thought she was the target, she was pragmatic over it. Having him the quarry was a different matter.
Jayla was starting to think she understood. What she felt for Damon had always seemed to be more a quarrelsome childhood rivalry than anything else, but she knew now that wasn’t true. He loved her—he’d said so, and Marc…well, her relationship with her new husband was just beginning but there had been an instant chemistry between them from the moment they’d met.
Life had certainly taken an interesting turn.
“It was set to my code.” Raphael sank down and crossed his long legs. “I suggest we not limit ourselves to the palace and have all the government offices swept. We must be thorough.”
Her mother nodded in one decisive inclination of her
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