"You are a strong woman," Drauni continued, her tone measured, almost clinical.
"A proven swordsman. Your talent with the blade is greater than most of the current generation. You have already borne a healthy daughter. If you were ten years younger, I would have asked you to give the clan several children myself. The blood would be stronger for it. Ruki is young and untested. You are not. The risk to the lineage is lower if the child comes from you."
Kuveri stared at her, stunned into silence. The anger that had been directed at Jake now flickered between disbelief and something more complicated.
Jake watched the exchange, a slow grin spreading across his face. The heat that had stirred earlier settled deeper. A mature warrior woman, proud and fierce, already proven as a mother, is now being considered as the vessel for his seed instead of her own daughter—it was the kind of turn that fed every darker appetite she possessed.
Drauni's eyes never left Kuveri's face.
