Dillon ignored the old woman’s outburst. He had heard it all before. He left Bera and went out to the garden where he found his sister with their cousin. They were seated in the grass, and Cam had his hand on Anoush’s own. He quickly pulled it away when he saw Dillon. Dillon’s eyes narrowed speculatively, then he spoke quietly to his little sister. “You are needed at home.”

“No,” Anoush said. “I don’t want to go. Cam and I are having fun. He is teaching me a new game.” She did not look directly at her brother.

Dillon did not argue. He reached down and pulled his sister up roughly. “I am sure it is not a game that a maid of six should learn,” he told her harshly. “Now come, Anoush, we are needed at home.” He began to pull her away.

“I should rather live with Grandmother and Cam than with the usurper and his alien wife,” Anoush said rudely.

“Say farewell to our cousin,” Dillon told her through gritted teeth. His dark, threatening look met Cam’s, but their cousin merely smiled at him. Dillon did not wait any longer. He dragged his sister from their grandmother’s garden, back through her house and out into the town’s square as he made their way home. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself,” he scolded Anoush as they went. “What has come over you, Little Sister? You have always loved Noss and your recent coldness has hurt her greatly.”

“She is Hetarian like the bitch who bore us,” Anoush said coldly.

Dillon stopped dead in his tracks. “Look at me!” he said fiercely. His tone was so dire that Anoush turned startled eyes up to him. “So you understand that Noss is our foster mother, do you? It is true. The mother who gave us life and who loves us beyond measure is Lara, the Domina of Terah. She was born in Hetar of a mortal father and a faerie mother. She was our father’s wife. She is a great lady and she has a destiny to follow.