Destined Read Free Page B

headed to the front entrance. His car met him at the door, and he stepped inside, directing it up the hill in the direction that Rhoda had been trudging.
    When he saw her again, he sighed in relief. He pulled up ahead of her and got out. “Miss Evergreen, please allow me to offer you a ride. My companion found herself in possession of your pay chip, and I have it now to return to you.”
    Rhoda’s lips were blue, her hands were white. “Great. I will take the ride, and the chip. And your friend can go to hell.”
    “I have already banned her from my properties, and she will have to find another to leech off of.”
    Her teeth were literally chattering as she took the hand he extended to her to help her into his vehicle.
    He snapped the door into place and walked around, settling in the driver’s seat and turning on the heat. “You lose body heat quickly.”
    “Yes.” She huddled in on herself and shivered. She looked like a small animal he had once fished out of a stream.
    He sighed and engaged the engine.
    “Where are we going?”
    She rattled off the address, and he programmed it into the transport. Seconds later, he lifted her into his lap and rubbed her arms while murmuring in a low tone.
    Her shivers ceased, and she looked up at him in amazement. “How did you do that?”
    He quirked a smile at her. “All part of my charm.”
     
     
     
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    Rhoda woke up and quickly grabbed a shower before heading off to meet her art class. She only got to teach once a month, but it was worth the extra effort.
    Prince Drehl had simply dropped her off at her home after he had made sure that she was warm. She now had her pay chip back, and her shoes hadn’t been completely trashed.
    Rhoda grabbed a breakfast bar, two bottles of water, a flashlight, her sketch kit and started to hike down the hill. The morning was glorious, and at the base of the hill was her little group, all assembled and ready.
    She smiled and explained the day’s task, to sketch crystals in their natural environment. The guide to the caverns took them inside, and after half an hour of walking, they settled in the interior of a giant geode with lights flaring up from the floor, to try and capture light fractured by stone.
    Everything was going fine until there was a rumble from the tunnel by which they had entered and everything went dark.
     
    * * * *
     
    Charm stood outside the cavern with his team and watched Under bury the villain up to his neck.
    The man had thought to blackmail the families of those inside but that was not going to happen today.
    Hawk tilted her head. “Do you hear that?”
    A rhythmic thudding was coming from a few hundred metres away. Charm nodded, and when he made eye contact with Under, his captain jerked his head in agreement.
    Charm and Hawk followed the sound, and at chest height, a hole opened in the rock face large enough for a citizen to slip out. One pair of feet at a time emerged, as those trapped inside slithered out.
    Wealthy art students appeared out of the rock, and all Charm and Hawk had to do were catch them as they emerged.
    Hawk grinned. “Someone did our work for us.”
    One of the escapees sat against the rock face and smiled. “We have a very determined instructor.”
    Charm straightened. “Is her name Rhoda?”
    The student nodded. “It is. Do you know her?”
    He chuckled, though they couldn’t see his grin through his mask. “I have met her. She is a very determined woman.”
    Hawk looked over at him with surprise on her lips. “You have? You just got here this week.”
    He shrugged. “I get around.”
    A dozen students dropped to the ground, and the guide to the caverns followed. He was shaking and pale, but he stepped aside to allow the final escapee to wriggle her way out of the hole.
    Charm watched with interest as Rhoda’s legs appeared, the skirt she was wearing rucked up against her thighs and stopped just short of being lewd. Once her legs were out, the skirt draped