Keepers of the Flame by Robin D. Owens Page A

discussion over food will be fine. I will, indeed, go, Jaquar.”
    Who
was Jaquar? Calli’s husband or Marian’s?
    Alexa
said, “I’ll hang here with the guys. A coupla croissants and butter and an
omelette sounds good to me, too, with that cheese. And mushrooms!” Alexa
called. “Too bad we don’t have hash browns.”
    “I’ll
go with Marian,” said Calli.
    “Much
running around,” said another male voice in English, very heavily accented.
    Shifting
from foot to foot, Elizabeth stared at the door, wondering if it would be
beneficial to let the others in, four instead of six. Would it throw off their
rhythm?
    “It
might,” Bri said next to her ear and Elizabeth jumped.
    “Sorry,”
Bri said. “You were thinking really loud.”
    “Alexa
and the men are out there.”
    “Ah.
Well I have the feeling that Alexa would be a handful by her very self.”
    “True.”
Elizabeth looked at Bri. She was wearing the leggings and the smaller shirt,
with her bra underneath. Both Lladranan garments were made of cream-colored
silk. “You look good.”
    Bri
shrugged. “The outfit works for the moment.” She smiled. “I didn’t want to put
on damp panties.”
    Elizabeth
grumbled, “More humid here than in Colorado. Our underwear would have been dry
if we were home.”
    “Yeah.”
Bri’s smile became a wicked grin. “Bet at least one of them is leaning against
the door?”
    “I
don’t know.” Elizabeth frowned. “These are warriors. Would they do that?”
    “One
way to see.” Bri strode forward.
    Bri
yanked open the door.

6
    N o one fell into
the room. Instead, with twinkling eyes and a smile as wide as Bri’s, Alexa
strolled in. “Good morning. The greeting here in Lladrana is most often
‘Salutations.’” She waved to the men following her. “I don’t know if you
remember the guys. Bastien, the one with the black-and-white streaked hair and
the baton at his hip is a Shieldmarshall and mine. The taller one with blue
eyes—ancient Exotique blood mixed with Lladranan—is Marian’s soulmate, Jaquar,
a Sorcerer-Circlet, as you can see from his gold headband.”
    Jaquar
walked in, and like Bastien, gave the room and the open doors a quick scan.
Neither of them would miss anything. Then Jaquar bowed, first to Bri who still
held the door, then to Elizabeth. “Salutations,” he said. He spoke English
well.
    The
last man was equally tall and had an easy amble that Elizabeth recognized was
similar to a cowboy’s walk. He carried six books.
    Deceiving,
that last one, Calli’s man. He’s even more aware than the others , Bri said to
Elizabeth.
    Hands
on her hips, Alexa studied them. “You’re talking to each other telepathically,
again. Rude.”
    “We
think we should have all the advantages we can get,” Elizabeth replied. “And
you will no doubt be speaking Lladranan before us.” She gestured. “Make
yourselves at home.”
    “Don’t
mind if I do,” Alexa said, heading for the angle between walls where the chest
sat with the leftovers from their father’s birthday dinner.
    Bri
jumped in front of it at the last minute. “Ours!”
    The
third man holding the books gently closed the door. He made a short bow. “I am
Marrec. I am with Calli.” His expression turned considering. “You will read in
Calli’s book that I was in Co-lo-ra-do with her.”
    With
an effort, Elizabeth kept her mouth from falling open. Possibilities spun in
her mind. “If you were in Colorado, then there’s some way to get back and
forth. We can go home.” To her surprise, her heart didn’t leap in her chest in
delight. She blinked and took a few instants to probe her own feelings. She
wasn’t sure she wanted to go home right now.
    Jaquar,
wearing an ankle-length midnight blue velvet robe and looking every inch a very
masculine man, took a seat on a long leather couch. Bastien hitched a hip onto
the arm nearest the confrontation of Bri and Alexa opposite him. Marrec sat on
the other end of the couch, as if leaving space