Death by Chocolate Read Free Page A

river valley and quarries that had been
turned into parkland some time in the last century. Angela's garden was a haven in all weather,
but Epsi found it especially glorious now, in the spring.
    "Don't tell Maurice, though. Since I'm under suspicion, my having royal blood, no
matter how diluted, might work against both of us. I wouldn't want to raise his hopes and then
disappoint him," Epsi said, thinking too late to look around to make sure Maurice hadn't flown
outside to join them.
    "My lips are sealed." Angela tipped her head to one side and that soft, wry smile lit her
face. "He's grown up quite a bit since he landed here, and I'm beginning to think he's having a
wonderful, maturing influence on every Fae he's encountered so far."
    "Is that your way of saying I'm a selfish twit?" She laughed, even as she felt her ear tips
warm up. Any moment now, they would shoot off sparks, signaling her churning feelings and
deepening her embarrassment.
    "Hardly. But I do believe that seeing Maurice in his...predicament...has given others
pause for thought. They re-examine their own lives and don't need the harsh lessons he had to
learn. Would you have considered helping a mixed marriage smooth out their path, before you
met Maurice and Holly? Before you saw how happy Lori and Brick are together?"
    "Ummm, no. Honestly, I never even considered the thought. I mean, we're definitely
taught that mixed marriages can be good, fresh blood, bringing in Human magic and all that, but
I've never met anyone who considered it, until now. Suddenly there's an epidemic of it." Epsi
sighed. "If I could find a great guy like Brick, I'd certainly go for it."
    "Some people mature faster than others."
    "What's that supposed to mean? You mean, like emotionally or something else?"
    "That, and other considerations. If you could find your true love, your soul mate, before
Need throws you into panic mode, would you?"
    "Heck, yeah! I mean, I've seen Need-bonded couples, and they're always happy, so
     one-mind, sometimes it's scary. But I'm jealous, too, even when I get the oogies over the idea of
somebody being inside my head all the time, without conscious effort." Epsi shivered for
emphasis. "But then I see people who bonded without Need, like Will and Phill, and Lori and
Brick, and I think, maybe it's worth more because they have to fight for it. And I think
sometimes, if it was just handed to me, 'the one' picked out for me by powers beyond my
control... Maybe sometimes, at the back of my mind, way down deep where I'm not even
conscious of it, maybe I'd feel trapped? And then I'd worry if the guy felt trapped, even if he was
blissfully happy with me. And I think... I want a guy to choose me because he wants me ,
and not because some insane spell created by the far-distant ancestors, to ensure effective
breeding and total partnership, chose us for each other. Does that made sense?" she ended on a
sigh.
    "Perfect sense." Angela chuckled and gracefully rose from the swing where she and Epsi
had been sitting and drinking iced mochas. "I think you might enjoy talking with Lanie. She's the
commodore of our resident Star Trek club."
    "Huh?" She followed Angela into the house. "What does Star Trek have to do
with Need?"
    " Pon Farr . And other alien lifemate-choosing conventions in science fiction.
Lanie's brother did a paper on it for his psychology class in college, and she helped him do a
large amount of the research, so she knows a great deal herself."
    "Talk with a Human about Need?"
    "I assure you, Lanie is not your ordinary Human."
    "Got that right!" a cheerful voice responded, as the two of them approached the front
room where the counter and cash register for the shop were situated. A young woman seated in a
sleek, electric blue wheelchair, turned from the counter to face them. She wore cut-offs and a
dark purple Klingon Battle Academy T-shirt, "Did I hear somebody taking my name in
vain?"
    "Epsi, this is Lanie Zephyr." Angela gestured between the two of them