Free Unleashed by Kate Douglas Page B

scholarly goals.
    Isra glanced at their clasped fingers and then raised her head. “Would you, by any chance, be interested in . . .”
    Gods-be-damned, no! Taron quickly extricated his hand from her grasp. “I’m flattered, Isra, but I’m a scholar. My interests lie elsewhere.”
    Frowning, she stepped back a pace and stared at him like he had two heads. What? Didn’t the woman believe him when he said he wasn’t interested?
    Obviously not.
    Still staring, she said, “You’re well-formed and powerful. You move with a soldier’s grace and speed. You’re here, training women to fight. Not a very scholarly occupation, is it?”
    He shrugged. “We do what we must in times such as these. Once the Paladins are fully trained, I will return to my studies and my solitude.”
    Laughing softly, she shook her head. Why would she look so confused? It was only the truth, after all. “Are you a celibate?” she asked. “Is it possible you prefer the company of men?”
    His laughter surprised him as much as her question. “No, Isra. I do not prefer the company of men. I am celibate by choice. It’s not unusual for a man to choose a life of quiet study over the constant turmoil of politics and warfare—or love.”
    She grinned at him, still shaking her head.
    “Do you think I make light of you?” He honestly didn’t know what she thought. He didn’t really care, though he did not want her to think him rude. Women had always been, and probably always would be, a mystery to him.
    One he had absolutely no interest in solving.
    Still smiling, Isra was the one to shrug this time. “I know better, Taron. You are not one to make light of an honest question. I guess it’s just not the answer I expected.”
    “Well, I certainly didn’t intend to confuse you, though I’m pleased you realize I would never play you false.” Truth be told, she was a lovely young woman, and if he were so inclined, he might be showing interest in Isra the female rather than merely dodging her crystal blade in training.
    Isra reached for a cup of water while he turned away and grabbed a towel. Wiping the sweat from his face, he tried to think of Isra as a woman, as someone with whom he might want to form a relationship.
    He couldn’t do it. He saw her as a Paladin and nothing more. It wasn’t the Lemurian way to lust after women, and it certainly wasn’t his way. Control of what he thought of as his baser instincts, that wild creature buried deep inside, was more than a matter of honor—it was the way he had chosen to live.
    It was a choice many of his peers had made, though that so-called Lemurian way, like many other things in their society, was undergoing a rapid change. For one thing, these strong-willed, intelligent women now training as warriors were not quiet and soft-spoken like their aristocratic counterparts.
    No, they were bold beyond measure.
    Taron found their attitude refreshing, invigorating, even, though he had no intention of pursuing any of them for romance.
    They were much too distracting.
    This was different, though, this position as a trainer for the women who’d once been slaves. This was a role that had essentially chosen him—one he found he enjoyed in spite of the risk to life and limb.
    Of course, Isra’s sentient sword would never have allowed her to actually harm him, which was the only reason they were able to train with their crystal blades. Nor could he blame her powerful strike on demon influence. His people, for now at least, were free of the bastards. None remained who were possessed by demonkind.
    Isra—an average-sized woman fully a foot shorter than he and with only a fraction of his reach—had almost taken him down, proving once again that women had the ability to stand as equals beside their men.
    One more long-standing Lemurian tradition that had quickly been erased. Like the one that said a woman waited all her life to be chosen by an interested male, so she might then focus her life on making his