Though her skin had dried, her hair was still slightly damp, and she knew that it must look quite disheveled at this point. Still, she knew that her d...sheveled look had disarmed many a past lover, and felt pride to know that it was having a similar effect on the Queen. Thoughts questioning why it was so important to her to impress the Queen with her beauty dissipated when the Queen resumed speaking."It is a shame that I have to send you away for you to be of greatest use to me. I do so enjoy. The Danubians’ disadvantage would begin the moment they stepped out into the cleared lands of surrounding Horkustk Ris. 9,000 men may have seemed like a lot for handling any problem to a Danubian inexperienced with the outside world, but a 9,000-man army was a paltry force for Europe at that time. The Danubian Grand Duke knew that there was not a chance his army could survive a pitched battle against an enemy capable of fielding four times the number of troops and guns that his army. The moon was full, and Seth was thankful for the faint patches of moonlight that illuminated even the area beneath the trees. But it would be full dark very soon, and they were still too exposed. They had escaped their pursuers, but there were other dangers.It was Aard who found what they needed. One of the giant trees of the Deepwood had been toppled by lightning, apparently many lives ago. Mossy and overgrown, it at first presented an obstacle, blocking their path. But as Aard circled to find. Prior to this, you had been in awe of this man. A successful entrepreneur, a man who answers to no one but himself - you were attracted to him from the first time you saw him. But this day in the field, away from all others, you did not look upon him as a mate - or even a date. You looked at him in one way and one way only - your prey! Dinner and the obligatory post dinner drinks in the huge den could not pass fast enough for you. There was much attention that you needed. A lifetime of.