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of sorts for a while.”
    He kept stroking her hand but turned it so that his thumb was rubbing across her palm and occasionally her wrist. Shivers ran through her at the light touches.
    Teriki came in and bowed, giving their hands a pointed look before she glanced at Amy. Whatever she read in Amy’s face seemed to sooth her, and she said, “Lord Akutan, your meal is ready.”
    He grinned and whispered, “You are not escaping me that easily, Amethyst.” He rose to his feet and held her hand to steady her as she rose with him.
    Teriki was watching his lordship’s behaviour, and while she looked surprised, she had a smile on her lips.
    Amy sighed silently and let Lord Akutan lead her into the dining room where he helped her settle before taking his own seat. “You are a tiny thing, aren’t you?” he chuckled.
    She scowled. “Only when facing absurdly tall races.”
    He laughed. “I see I have struck a nerve.”
    The servants brought in the tea they had abandoned in the other room and fresh cups. Teriki poured tea for both of them before sitting back and waiting for the meal to begin.
    The dishes were brought in, and it was far more than Amy had seen in her previous meals at the palace.
    Teriki made sure that all was proper, and she left the room, sliding the door shut for pseudo privacy.
    “So, Amethyst, how did you come to be introduced to my niece?”
    She assumed that he meant Blade, so she said, “She retrieved me from Janial Prison.”
    He blinked. “Why were you there?”
    “I refused to obey the wishes of a Nyal nobleman.” She grimaced and ate some of the fish she had selected as her first dish.
    “He tried to force himself on you?” Dark, simmering anger was shining in Akutan’s eyes, and she felt a crackling of energy in the air.
    She held up her hands to calm him. “Not in the way you are thinking. I have a talent, and he wanted to use it for illegal activities. I refused, and he had me sent to Janial to think it over.”
    “What is your talent?”
    “Do you mind if I demonstrate?”
    “Please.”
    She reached under the table and pressed her hand up through it to grip her teacup. She slid the teacup down, and when she removed her hand from under the table, she paused to sip her tea.
    Akutan was suitably impressed. “So, thieving.”
    She nodded. “Yes. I didn’t want to use my talent for that sort of thing, so I opted to go into mechanical studies. I was pretty good too until the earl noticed me.”
    Akutan cocked his head as he ate as if he was mulling something over in his mind. “How did Blade find you?”
    “Apparently, one of my people is married to a Guardian, and she is keeping an eye out for Terrans in this area. She set Blade on my trail.” Taking tiny bites of the meal managed to keep her eating, but she had lost all appetite.
    Akutan was consuming everything in front of him. She didn’t comment on his consumption, but it seemed that he was a man of large appetites, though he didn’t show it.
    “Why did Blade bring me here when there are so many other places on Rai to stash me?” She bit her lip as soon as the words were out of her mouth.
    He smiled, and she blinked as his beauty blinded her. “I am her uncle, and I was also a Guardian before they were as organized as they are now.”
    She nodded as if she understood. “Ah. Well, thank you again for the hospitality. The prison was…”
    He gave her a commiserating look. “I have seen Janial. I do not envy you the experience.”
    She laughed. “It is a memory of fear and anxiety. I was not injured, but I was never safe.”
    “You are safe with me.” His eyes took on a heavy-lidded look.
    Amy swallowed. “Why do I think that that isn’t quite true?”
    He laughed. “You are an excellent judge of character.”
     
     

 
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
    After dinner, he had matters to attend to, so a relieved Amy left him and returned to her room.
    She was reading a handbook on handwriting in Nyal common when one of the