complement each other. And you have a great shape. You are, by far, doable..."

Anthea snorted at his choice of words. Gently she pulled at her shirt, but now—with her nerves flaring up—removing it seemed a difficult task. She struggled embarrassingly for several seconds, before she received some welcome help.

The regent himself pulled off the shirt. His muscular arms did the job much better than she ever could. Her face flushed. The regent's dark eyes had the shallow, animal look of lust. He wanted to claim her.

He grabbed hold of her with his strong arms and she fell onto the pillows. He began his deed. It struck Anthea that the ruler of the whole Empire was her mate; she and the most powerful man in the world would bewanted to shine, yet loosing this power from herself obviously caused her pain. She let out a whimper; her skin turned translucent, a light shining through a veil.

"Dump them!" the priest of Orkus hissed.

A pirate laid his meaty fingers around Tivera's shoulders.

She screamed. She was a lamp; light burst from her luminous skin, shining like a star. The priest of Orkus cowered before the blinding light. Marcus hid his eyes, but even through his flesh the light was blinding.

Tivera screamed, as if in pain. The priest of Orkus fell out of the boat and landed with a splash in the water. The priests' servants cried out.

Despite the blinding light, despite the pulsing, radiant energy illuminating from this girl—this insane and gifted lass, this freak, as some might call