Ten Crescent Moons (Moonquest) Read Online Free Page A

powerful,
musky mist doused Adalginza, who responded with a choking cough.
    "Are
you trying to kill me?"
    "The
musk scent is irresistible."
    "Nevertheless,
dear Bruna, the captain seems ever so capable of resisting me."
    Adalginza
tried to keep the hurt from her voice, as she pulled a silken purple wrap gown
around her and tied it under her slender left shoulder.
    "Perhaps
it is simply you he detests," Bruna said mockingly.
    "No. Kalos
clearly dislikes women of the Fifth House."
    "Does
it bother you then that your beauty has so little effect on this one?"
    Adalginza
glanced up sharply, catching Bruna's smirk in the reflection of the dressing
table mirror.
    "Do not
be so anxious for me to fail. For if I fail, Benfaaro fails. Surely this cannot
give you pleasure."
    Bruna
merely lifted her thin, drooped shoulders in a shrugging non-answer.
    "Finish
getting ready. Apply your own masque. I must finish preparing the meal."
    "What
must I do after they arrive?"
    "Stay
upstairs, until I summon you to greet them. They must be left unattended, but
fed well, until the sun dips completely below the horizon. When it is fully
dark, the host of First Welcome appears to greet the guests."
    "But…why?"
    "It makes
little sense to me. But we must follow the custom of the Crescent Houses, or
they will be suspicious. I must go now."
    "Bruna
— " Adalginza's sharp voice caused the woman to hesitate, and turn back.
    "Do
nothing to our food. Hear me?"
    It was
better that Bruna not smile, for the grimace on her lips held only rancor.
    "You
have nothing to fear from my potions, little one. I pledged to Benfaaro that I
would protect you. So I will not harm the sister of my mate's own blood. Even
though half of your blood is tainted."
    "Through
no fault of my own. But do not divert me from the matter before us. You will do
nothing to their food, either. To anyone's food. Agreed?"
    Bruna
hesitated for a moment, then gave a short nod.
    "For
now."
    "For
as long as I say."
    "I do
not follow your orders."
    Adalginza
angrily slammed two clenched fists down on the table before her, causing
several vials filled with lotions and scents to tip over in tinkling protest.
    "I tell
you again, it was unwise of you to poison Captain Trelos. We were graced by the
moon gods that the source was not discovered. It easily could have been traced
to the social gathering we had here."
    "Our
safety was assured." Bruna's expression grew sullen. "I knew the
delay would be long enough. And I knew these ignorant fools would blame his
death on disease."
    "Kalos
and his family will not be so easily deceived. I'm warning you. Keep your blood
lust in check, or you will destroy all we are trying to do here."
    "I have
no regrets about Trelos. I killed a viper in his own nest." Again, that
twisted grin instead of a smile. And this time, an unholy glow lit Bruna's reptilian
eyes. "You should praise me, little one — not condemn."
    Adalginza
looked away from Bruna in disgust, and reached for one of the vials containing
gooey, clay-based masque. She began applying it thickly to her cheeks, chin,
forehead, and neck.
     "You
were wrong to do what you did. Captain Trelos and his mate had befriended me,
on behalf of the cousin he had hoped to match with me. I was making progress."
    "Not
so. You shared pleasantries, fine food, and wine at his abode for almost three
seasons. But you did little else."
    "You
weren't there! Bringing me into his clan was the captain's passion. He wished
for indigo eyes to be bred into his line. It would have been a matter of great
pride."
    "Yet,
he was not passionate enough to bed you himself."
    "He was
loyal to his mate. Is that so hard for you to understand?"
    "It was
taking too long."
    Adalginza
reached for a small fiber brush, and began drawing thick, dark lines of organic
paint around her indigo eyes, making them appear even larger.
    "I had
made much progress with the family. The information I learned even helped with
the raid on the Tremasto settlement in South