“Saying?” Jihan looked around, her eyes shimmering.
If Jihan had not had the power to freeze his soul to the bedchamber floor, Molin
would have laughed aloud. She couldn’t bear to see something she wanted in the
possession of anyone else and she always wanted more than even a goddess could
comfortably possess.
“I wanted your advice,” he began, lying and flattering her. “I’m beginning to
think that we should seize the initiative with Roxane, or her ghost or whatever
she’s become, before our visitors from Ranke arrive. Do you think that we could
bait a trap for her and-with your assistance, of course-catch her when she came
to investigate?”
“Not the children,” she replied, clutching the dripping child to her breast.
“No, I think we could find something even more tempting: a Globe of Power-if it
looked sufficiently, but believably, unattended.”
Jihan’s grip on Gyskouras relaxed, a faint smile grew on her lips; clearly she
was tempted. “What do I do?” she asked, no longer thinking of children, or even
men, but of the chance to do battle with Roxane again.
“At first, convince Tempus that it’s a good idea to give the appearance of doing
something very foolish with the Globe of Power. Suggest to him that he could
solve the problems within the Stepsons by letting them prove to themselves and
everyone else that Roxane is dead and powerless.”
“Tempus? He spends more time with his horses than he does here with me or the
Stepsons. I’d like to do more than talk to Tempus.” Her smile grew broader when
she mentioned the man who was, by Stormbringer’s command, her lover, companion,