Knotted Read Free Page B

act for her and Rowen was just along for a very uncomfortable ride.
    Timor nodded to them. “Countess Nakkua, Lady Nakkua.”
    Rowen smiled and bobbed her head.
    She sat next to Countess Akadeel and took up a prim pose. A moment later, they were in the air and zipping through pathways and switchbacks on a cushion of air.
    “Do you often travel like this?” Rowen felt it necessary to break the tension. The world was moving past too fast for her to orient herself.
    “Above-ground permits are only issued to certain few. Why have one if you are not going to use it?”
    That seemed to sum it up. There were first class tubes down below that could be used for a modest fee, but if her mother-in-law wanted to use her permit, then they would use it.
    Rowen was already familiarizing herself with the means to travel. Eventually, she thought, she would save enough to take a holiday in the grand gardens spotted all over the world.
    Irudan held thousands of possibilities for her and she was only just beginning to recognize them.
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    The shopping had gone off without a hitch and the clothing was being delivered the day before the party. Rowen wasn’t comfortable with Akadeel, but they had reached an understanding…she thought.
    Rowen finished her work for the day, logged the plants that were clear for returning to their point of origin and headed home. Akadeel had the next day filled with trips to a groomer, but for tonight Rowen could be grubby and drink a glass of wine in front of the vid screen while she went through boxes.
    Her apron had pinged just after lunch, and she had checked her small message server. Her new clothing had arrived.
    She walked to the manor house and headed up the stairs to her rooms. There was something exciting about opening the clothing that she had only the faintest memory of. Rowen had tried on dozens of outfits, and Akadeel had approved fourteen for this season with matching shoes and underpinnings.
    Rowen desperately wanted to frolic in the clothing, but she needed a shower first.
    After the speediest shower she could manage, she put on a loose robe and opened the first box. Her hair was swinging in the way, but she flicked it over her shoulders before she opened the pressed cardboard box. Smiling, she lifted the gown out of its transport and she held it up to her chest. For a girl who never went to prom, this many formal gowns were dizzying.
    One by one, she waltzed the gowns into her wardrobe until her ensembles were all accounted for and all that was left was a strange crate that was not made of the recyclable cardboard of the others.
    A note on the box was rather cryptic. Open to see your destiny.
    With curiosity rampant, she flicked at the latches until she could remove the outer plate. “Oh my.”
    She heaved the portrait out and couldn’t stop looking at it. It was both attractive and creepy. Rowen set the portrait at the foot of her bed, climbed onto the sheets and stared at it.
    A man with the skin tone of an Irudan was embracing a woman who was obviously Rowen. She reached out and traced the heavy tattoos that marked his back and shoulders, the narrow waist and ended at the upper curve of his buttocks.
    The lines were similar to a vine and she knew that pattern. She shifted forward and the light caught the wedding band on her arm. She jerked back. “Holy crap.”
    According to the portrait, that muscled body belonged to her husband, or at least one of his relatives.
    Asking men to display their backs was probably not going to be an easy thing to do.
    She stared at the picture and her pulse sped up. The Rowen in the image had her leg draped over the man’s hips. His face wasn’t visible but hers was, and Rowen was positive that she had never seen that particular expression in a mirror. Her eyes were half closed, lids heavy, and when she analyzed the tension of his buttocks, she blinked rapidly. The couple in the image were having sex. It explained the swollen and