Untouched Concubine Read Online Free PDF Page A

numbness sharpened into anger yet again. “Why? What do you care?”
                He sighed and started walking upward. She followed, fury making her strong and taking away her exhaustion. She wanted to scream at him, pound on his chest and demand he take her back to…where? There was nowhere to go but up this mountain in the twilight.
     
    ~~~
     
     
                Mandia ached all over and was freezing. But still something kept her going, and she lost all sense of time and space in the darkness, with only the half-moon reflecting on Jass’s daggers gleaming at his hips as her guide on the difficult climb.
                “We’re here,” he said suddenly. She couldn’t see anything. “This way.” He took her hand. It was frigid with cold, as was hers.
                She made out the shape of a hut set back on a cliff. She guessed they were about halfway up the mountain. Jass led her inside and lit a candle.
                “We cannot light a fire, although we need warmth. Lenn assassins are looking for me. I don’t think anyone knows about this place, but I don’t want to draw attention with a fire, just in case.”
                He watched her for a moment, the candlelight making his eyes shiny and dark, his face bronze and shadowy. He looked otherworldly, like a spirit sent by one of the goddesses. This thought made Mandia sink to her knees and put her head in her hands. She whispered, “Thank you for saving me.”
                “You’re welcome,” he said simply, no expression in his voice.
                She felt him wrap a heavy fur around her shoulders and he sat next to her, bundled in his own fur. He handed her a ceramic mug of water and a piece of dried meat.
                She ate and drank, feeling some strength coming to her from the warmth of the fur and the sustenance of the food. She took a deep breath and asked what she was dying to know.
                “Why are the Lenn assassins after you, in particular?” She looked at him to gauge his response.
                “What I did last night. You see, Lenn’s king, King Herean, always goes into each battle. His thirst for seeing people fall by his own axe is unquenchable and he’s an incredible fighter. Nobody can defeat him one-on-one, and he can even take on many people at a time.”
                Mandia had a feeling she knew where this was going.
                “You know what I am. I, too, am an assassin. And I’m very good at it, quiet about it. My king didn’t want me to do what I did. He thought he could make peace before war overcame the city.
                “I knew that would never happen. I have met King Herean in person, but he didn’t know who I was. Which was fortunate. But when I looked in his eyes, I saw madness and a man so driven to kill for power and to have people fear him, he would never go for a peaceful agreement.
                “And then there was you.” He looked at her and the candlelight lit half his face. His eyes were serious, and Mandia held her breath.
                “I couldn’t let anything happen to you from the moment I laid eyes on you. And I’m not talking about in the concubine sales house. I mean when we were children. We didn’t speak the same language, but I knew the meaning of what you said to me. You wanted me to live. Do you know what I said to you?”
                “No. Of course, I couldn’t understand you.”
                “I said, ‘I’m happy yours is the last face I’ll see before I die.’ Then I didn’t look at another person until your father came to me and told me I would live.”
                He reached out and took her hand. It was warm now, while hers was still icy. His penetrating gaze, it hypnotized her. What he had just told her was so very personal, but she needed to know