<span style="font-family:Calligraffitti"><span style="font-size: 26px"><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">Chapter Twenty-Three - Spy in the House of Dreven</span></span></span><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff"><i>Two months later</i></span><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#99ccff"><br/>
In the two months since Ayla had tested for her third circle, things had been going great. Lucian had given her a week off to recover from the ordeal that was Shar Tessa, during which time Ordenel had thrown a lavish party. The following week however, was back to work. Now that they had seen what could be done with the bond, practice in the Workroom was becoming more and more all three of them rather than just two. Using the notes as a guideline they had worked on strengthening the connection, and were getting close to putting the ritual together  in order to see where and what it would affect in their minds. That would give them a good grasp of possible side effects, though nothing is certain. One effect the bond continued to have, and could only be duplicated in this way, was Alexi’s reaction when Ayla and Lucian had sex. He felt everything, which was interesting, but no matter what they did there was no way to make that connection without the two of them getting busy.</span><br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#99ccff">The three of them were relaxing in Lucian’s study after a shorter training session in the Workroom. Lucian, relaxing in his armchair across from Alexi, was staring intently at the chess board between the two of them.</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff"> “I must say, you’ve gotten a lot better at the game since you came here. With both of you against me It’s actually a decent challenge.”</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#99ccff">He moved a rook forward, capturing one of Alexi’s bishops. </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">“Your move.”</span>