Season of Sacrifice (Blood of Azure Book 1) by Jonathan Michael (best ebook for manga txt) 📕

silence to prevent any further punishment. It has been beneficial thus far, and I plan to stick with it.”

“Deceitful,” he replies.

Not deceitful, it’s cunning. It’s brilliant to keep an everyday, common skill hidden from those around you. How could a man with his natural ability to be a spider possibly think it deceitful?

The Taoiseach reaches for his glass of wine. He empties it and holds the glass out, waiting for a refill. Sasha swiftly makes her way to the decanter and fills it. She is a master at silence and invisibility, and she does it in plain daylight. Although, this is a dark room. But there is much more to learn from her.

Finally, the Taoiseach picks up his fork and knife and cuts into his meat. I follow suit with a bit more enthusiasm.

“How is it?” Harris asks. This conversation is so dull. It’s forced. It’s an obligation for both of us. This is not going to win over the Taoiseach. I must impress. Cunning. Confidence. Discipline. Seduction. Maybe I should try being seductive. He’s easily three times my age, maybe more, it’s hard to tell, and more of an absent fatherly figure, but maybe he’s into that kind of thing. I must try. I must get closer to him. It’s the only way. But how? I’ve never tried to seduce anyone before. Ellia has only thrown me out to the hungry dogs who don’t need that kind of attention. Throw them a piece of meat, and they attack in packs without hesitation. They’re interested in humping anything they can, even if it’s a delicate kitten. I’ve never had to seduce a man.

I look down at my chest. A tool pillow girls flaunt willingly. Maybe I ought to start with that.

After devouring the small portion of meat—because that’s my priority—I swipe my finger across the plate, lathering it in sauce. I slide my finger between the fork in my tongue and close my lips tight around it. A drip falls on my cleavage. Unfortunately, Harris has not looked up from his meal.

“Whoops,” I exaggerate girlishly to get a glance. Then I accentuate my breasts by squeezing them between my arms, and I rub my fingers across my chest to get his eyes roaming where they ought not to.

“What are you doing?” He grimaces. “Did Ellia not teach you any manners? You are eating like an animal. You might as well be feeding out in the sty with the hogs. I see you’ve dressed to impress, likely part of Ellia’s scandalous wardrobe, but please, if you’re not going to dress like a lady, then at least eat like one. Sasha, please have them bring out the main course. We need to speed this along. I have more obligations I must attend to before the night has fully swathed us.”

Damn. This isn’t working. I have none of those qualities he mentioned about Ellia. Maybe I ought to just take him out right now. I don’t need these games. I can pull the blade from my bun when he bids me good night and put it right through his neck. The thought of seeing him choke on his own blood is appealing, but I know it wouldn’t work. Otherwise he would have been assassinated ages ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody has already attempted it. Ellia, perhaps. I need to be patient. What will get his attention? What will impress him and win him over? Think, Jaymes, think.

Ellia said the energy of those around you is contagious. What does that mean? That the energy of the Taoiseach is rubbing off on me? He is a dreary man. Seems emotionless, dark, angry, and anything not pleasant to be around. Ellia isn’t so different, and it has probably changed me.

I wonder what Stone would think of me if he saw me now. His kid sister, the one who he has devoted his life to keep safe and raise like a lady. And now I’m slaying slum dogs and hood rats and trying to befriend our nemesis. He would be disgusted. Even if I do end up assassinating the Taoiseach, I would never be the same person to him. Eh…who cares what Stone thinks. He abandoned me. Regardless, this is something I must do for myself. I must make sacrifices.

Now, how do I grasp his attention in a way that will gain his interest? No, I don’t want him to simply be interested, I want him to appreciate and respect me. What energy is the Taoiseach exuding that I can use against him?

My first impression of the dreadful man, the tyrant, was fear. That’s it. When I first stepped onto his compound, it was fear that crept into my bones. Not just fear. Power. Elegance. And fascination. The man’s entire aura radiates that energy. No wonder he has achieved such a great status. How do I take that and make it my own?

Maybe I’ve already demonstrated some of that energy and that’s why I’m still here. There must be a reason I have been invited to dine with him. I’ve heard it over and over that my potential for power and greatness is why he latched onto me in the first place. That first encounter we had with him four seasons ago, that is when I first demonstrated my power. I cut through a solid slab of ironwood, the densest and most indestructible organic material known to man. And the Taoiseach watched me do it.

And even though it was in the negative form, I believe I generated some fascination when he came to my quarters back when I was first imprisoned in his manor. The destruction I caused back then had to have left him awestruck along with another dose of the potential of my power. Otherwise, he would have had me slain right then and there.

As for fear, he has no reason to fear me. Except possibly