Free HM02 House of Moons by K.D. Wentworth

braced on her hip. She wore a faded, much-washed rose-colored gown and her straggling hair was pulled up into a loose knot. Her mouth was pursed, her golden eyes hard as granite. “I suppose you’re used to much better fare—at Shael’donn.”
    Haemas stared down at the greasy soup, then rested her aching forehead on her drawn-up knees. Actually, the quality of the food at Shael’donn, where she had lived nine out of the last twelve years, varied widely since all students, herself included, were required to put in turns in the kitchens. Still, the rancid broth, along with the general air of moldering decay in this place, curdled her already unsteady stomach. She pressed her lips together, then shook her head. “No, thank you.”
    “‘Thank you,’ is it?” The sharp-faced woman set the bowl back on the cracked lacquer tray. “That’s rich—‘Thank you!’ Wait until Diren hears that.”
    “Hears what?” Diren Chee strode into the ill-lit room, his fair hair neatly combed and swept back from the harsh planes of his face.
    Haemas looked up at the sound of his voice, still unable to believe he was the same man she had seen in Council year after year, never suspecting what lay behind those dark-flecked eyes. She should have paid more attention to the gossip that always seemed to be circulating about the infamous House of Chee. She straightened her shoulders.
    Looping his thumbs through his wide black leather belt, Chee scrutinized her with an assured calmness that spoke of power more eloquently than words. He cocked his head to one side, reminding her of one of her silshas stalking a rock barret. “Let’s get down to business, shall we? I want the timeways.”
    Without answering, she tried to probe his mental shields, but her mind still felt muffled and dull. The latteh, whatever it really was, had drained her. With a shock, she realized she could not even have read someone standing across the room at that moment.
    “That’s not possible.” She looked away. “Even among the ilseri, males can’t align with the timelines. You know I can’t take you, or any other man there.”
    “I only know you won’t. ” Chee seized her upper arm and dug his fingers into her flesh until she met his eyes again. “And that’s not the same thing at all, is it?” A bitter smile flitted across his face. “Besides, Jarid Ketral entered the timeways.”
    She jerked her arm from his grasp. “And paid for it ultimately with his life, while nearly destroying the rest of us at the same time!”
    “That was his mistake.” He tapped his chin with a forefinger. “I have no intention of repeating it.”
    Suddenly she threw open her mind and reached desperately for the ilsera crystals set into the Chee’ayn portal. Perhaps she could access the temporal nexus and leave this terrible place.
    Try all you like, Lady. Chee slid into her weakened mind with a practiced oiliness. You don’t really think I’m fool enough to leave the crystals in place, do you? His mirth was like a drenching of ice-cold water.
    With an effort, she raised her shields again and shut him out of her mind, but the back of her throat tasted of burned iron and the ache in her head strengthened.
    “Of course, no one understands exactly how you do it,” Chee continued, “but I do know from the official notes of the last Conclave on Temporal Transference that you need a set of attuned crystals. I’ve separated the Chee’ayn crystals and they won’t be back in place until I’m ready.”
    “It’s pointless!” Haemas stared angrily at his triumphant face. “You can’t change anything by going back. Nothing in the past can be altered.”
    “Ah, Lady, you mistake me.” Chee reached out one finger and tucked a lock of pale-gold hair behind her ear. “I need to learn more about how to use the latteh crystal. Although it’s been forbidden for over twenty generations, I’ve managed to puzzle out a little of the craft. But if you give any credence to the