Free season avatars 03 - chaos season by sandra ulbrich almazan

change her mind and want Lex after all. They had enough issues from their last life without introducing jealousy in this one.
    Then again, if the Four did want Their Avatars to ally themselves with Lex, or if Robbie was destined to become a War Avatar, what did that mean for Challen?
    The sun continued to shine as Charles challenged Sophia and they tapped their staves together in ritual combat. Even so, Jenna felt cold inside.
     
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
    The Question of Kron
    To Jenna’s disappointment, Lex didn’t attend the special dinner later that evening at the Season Avatars’ house in Wistica. There wasn’t enough room to hold a dance, but Ysabel’s mother, after several protests that she was hopelessly out of practice, consented to perform a private concert for the Avatars and select guests after the dinner. Several unattached nobles and wealthy businessmen stopped in to introduce themselves to Jenna and the rest of her quartet. Jenna smiled and flirted with all of them, but none of them appealed to her more than Lex did. She hoped Gwen, Ysabel, and Kay would have better luck. After the concert, the four of them gathered in Gwen and Jenna’s room with leftover cake and wine to compare notes. Gwen also linked with Ysabel and Kay so they would be less drawn to deathbushes in the future.
    “Found a more suitable fiancé yet, Gwen?” Jenna asked as she poured four glasses of a fine red, taking care not to spill on the bed quilt.
    Gwen shrugged and unpinned her chignon, spilling blonde hair down her back. Gold hairpins clinked as she dropped them in a glass jar on the nightstand. “I’ve met some of the guests already on previous trips to Wistica. Most of them too old or too conceited or too foolish for my tastes, if I were to choose for myself.”
    “You should choose for yourself!” Jenna insisted.
    “You don’t have to worry about your family’s estate,” Gwen retorted. “Someone needs to manage it for me. I’ll be spending most of my time at the One Oak or here in Wistica or on a Grand Tour with you three, so I need someone I can trust.”
    “But then your husband will have to live apart from you.” Ysabel tucked her feet under her skirt.
    “True. I think most of these men have enough to do managing their own interests, though some of the newly rich seek the prestige of an alliance with the lo Havils—or the One Oak. Gold diggers, Aunt Gabri would call them.” Gwen sipped her wine thoughtfully.
    Jenna shook her head. That wasn’t what she wanted for Gwen—or for any of her sister Avatars. Surely there had to be enough handsome young noblemen for all of them. At thirty-eight, Lex wasn’t young, but his royal rank and Avatar status—not to mention his broad shoulders and arms—more than made up for that.
    “I never told Jon I was an Avatar.” Kay stared out the window, as if he might be waiting beneath it. “I wonder how he reacted to the letter I left him. I haven’t heard back from him yet.”
    “How long have you known him?” Ysabel asked.
    “Nearly four years. I met him while I was trying to leave Wistica, right after I gained control of my magic and the nightmares started.” Kay clutched a pillow to herself. “I tried hiding aboard a locomotive to escape, but he found me. Instead of throwing me off the train, he let me stay and even shared his meals with me.” Her eyes shone bright. “I’m not looking for a nobleman. Jon is prince enough for me.”
    Jenna admitted it was a romantic story, though Kay could do better than a train engineer if she chose. “At least Ysabel’s unattached. All the young men will court her.”
    “Mama only married because Fall came to her in a dream and asked her to.” Ysabel deftly moved her cake plate before Pouncer could steal a bite. “She told me I shouldn’t marry unless it was my choice. But I never wanted to be a Fallswoman like her. I want lots of children.”
    Even after your own sister wanted nothing to do with you? Jenna had an older