Free Guardians of the Desert (Children of the Desert) by Leona Wisoker

expression of astonished horror on her face.
    Deiq held up a hand to keep her from bolting into the other room. “They’re fine,” he told her, his irritation fading into genuine amusement. Time for her first lesson on the southern reality, apparently. “They’re practicing.”
    “They’re—” Her face turned a greenish shade. “That’s disgusting .”
    “It’s practical,” he said, and moved forward, worried that she was about to faint. “It’s their job, Alyea.” He gathered her into his arms; she leaned against him, shuddering with revulsion.
    Another loud, gasping moan came from the kathain room.
    “And I think they’re probably showing off a bit,” Deiq said into Alyea’s hair, grinning. “To show they’re ready for you.”
    Gods knew he was, and the kathain’s display wasn’t helping any; but Alyea wasn’t showing any interest at all. He breathed through his nose and tried to keep his hands from wandering.
    “ Gods .” She broke away from him and put her hands over her ears as though that might help.
    Relenting, he soothed the air around her until she couldn’t hear the increasingly enthusiastic noises from the kathain, then gently nudged her into curling up on the bed. With a sigh, he settled down beside her, arm’s reach away, and eased her into sleep without further conversation.
    Talking could wait for now. But as he leaned back against the wall, he wished he could block his own hearing as simply, or take advantage of the kathain’s enthusiasm himself.
    “This is going to be a very long year,” he muttered. “And I’m a godsdamned fool.”
    Something feathered against his mind, a tickling sensation he recognized instantly: someone was looking for him. A moment’s concentration yielded an image of Idisio slipping from his room, disquiet filling his mind.
    Deiq sighed, looking down at the sleeping desert lord; for there to be any chance of a coherent conversation with the younger ha’ra’ha, their meeting needed to be held away from this room, and he could tell by Idisio’s aggrieved energy that whatever was going on should be dealt with now.
    Crossing the room, he paused in the doorway, fingers resting lightly against the frame, and considered for a moment. Ward the inner room against intrusion, or the outer? Outer, he decided, and moved to the outer door of the suite. He laid his fingers against that frame and mentally traced a meandering, complex design along the edges of the door. A faint golden shimmer washed over the surface of the door, then disappeared.
    Deiq nodded to himself and slipped from the room.
    Nobody would cross the threshold now, not without a serious helping of determination and even then not without alerting him to the attempt. It was the best protection he could give her at the moment. But the kathain could easily gain access to her room, and on realizing that he’d left, probably would ; it was something of a status prize to be the first of a new desert lord’s kathain.
    That encounter would teach her more than words about the reality of her new life, and might actually make her listen for once when Deiq tried to explain things to her. He just hoped she wouldn’t hurt the kathain too badly in the process.
    He intercepted Idisio three hallways over.
    “Deiq! I was looking for you; I have to talk—”
    “I know,” Deiq said patiently, and steered the younger ha’ra’ha to a nearby courtyard, trying to block out the strong musk of recent and enthusiastic sex. He really wished Idisio had taken the time for a sponge bath, at the least; at the moment it was not a smell he wanted pressed into his nostrils.
    “Riss is—”
    “Hold on.” Deiq waved Idisio quiet. He stood still, listening with care, but found no trace of watchers within hearing range. Reassured of that much privacy, at least, he walked unhurriedly to each archway and watch-hole, lacing them with wards to turn away any visitors. Turning to survey the courtyard, he decided darkness