leo4life/algoml_bookcorpus_10p · Datasets at Hugging Face

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they were the ones she was n't safe from .
they were the ones who had the power to harm her , to lock her away , to destroy her .
they , the ones who should have kept her safe , were her enemies .
and , therefore , they were his .
daemon studied his cold reflection one last time to make sure nothing was out of place , then joined the family for dinner .
6-terreille leland smiled nervously and glanced at the clock in her brightly lit sitting room .
instead of cards , the table held a bottle of chilled wine and two glasses .
the bedroom door stood partially open , and soft light spilled out .
daemon 's stomach tightened , and he welcomed the familiar chill that began to ice his veins .
`` you requested my presence , lady benedict . ''
leland 's smile slipped .
`` um ... yes ... well ... you look tired .
i mean , we 've all kept you so busy these last few days and , well ... maybe you should go to your room now and get a good night 's sleep .
yes .
you do look tired .
why do n't you just go to your room ?
youwill just go to your room , wo n't you ?
i mean ... '' daemon smiled .
leland glanced at the bedroom door and blanched .
`` it 's just ...
i 'm feeling a bit off tonight .
i really do n't want to play cards . ''
`` nor do i . ''
daemon reached for the wine bottle and corkscrew .
`` you do n't have to do that ! ''
daemon narrowed his eyes , studying her .
leland scurried behind a chair .
he set the bottle and corkscrew down and slipped his hands into his pockets .
`` you 're quite right , lady .
i am tired .
with your kind permission , i 'll retire now . ''
but not to his room .
not yet .
leland smiled weakly but stayed behind the chair .
daemon left the room , walked down the corridor , turned the corner , and stopped .
he counted to ten and then took two steps backward .
philip stood outside leland 's door , frozen by daemon 's appearance at the end of the corridor .
they stared at each other for the space of eight heartbeats before daemon nodded in courteous greeting and stepped out of sight .
he stopped and listened .
after a long pause , leland 's door quietly opened , closed , and locked .
daemon smiled .
so that was their game .
a pity they had n't come to it sooner .
it would have spared him all those interminable hours of playing cards with leland .
still , he 'd never been adverse to using the knowledge he gathered about the people he served , and this was just the kind of quiet leverage he needed to keep philip out of his way .
oh , he would be a splendid silent partner in their game .
he had always been a splendid partner , sympathetic and ever so helpful-unless someone crossed him .
then ... well , he was n't called the sadist for nothing .
he found it strangely flattering that she did n't look up when he slipped into the library and locked the door .
she sat cross-legged on the couch , absorbed in the book tucked in her lap , her right hand fluffing her hair as she read .
he glided around the furniture , his smile becoming warmer with each step .
when he reached the couch , he bowed formally .
`` lady benedict . ''
`` angelline , '' jaenelle replied absently .
daemon said nothing .
he had discovered that if he kept his voice quiet and neutral when she was distracted with something else , she usually spoke without considering her words , responding with a simple , brutal honesty that always left him feeling as though the ground was cracking beneath his feet .
`` witch follows the matriarchal bloodline , '' jaenelle said , turning a page .
`` besides , uncle bobby is n't my father . ''
`` then who is your father ? ''
`` philip .
but he wo n't acknowledge me . ''
jaenelle turned another page .
`` he 's wilhelmina 's father too , but he was in a dream web when he sired her so he does n't know that . ''
daemon sat on the couch , so close that her arm brushed his side .
`` how do you know he 's wilhelmina 's father ? ''
`` adria told me . ''
she turned another page .
`` who 's adria ? ''
`` wilhelmina 's mother .
she told me . ''
daemon considered his next words very carefully .
`` i had understood wilhelmina 's mother died when your sister was just an infant . ''
`` yes , she did . ''
which meant adria was demon-dead .
`` she was a black widow but was broken just before she had completed her training , '' jaenelle continued .
`` but she already knew how to weave a dream web , and she did n't want to be seeded by bobby . ''
daemon took a deep breath .
when he tried to exhale , it shuddered out of him .
with an effort , he dismissed what she 'd just said .
he was n't here to talk about adria .
`` how was your lesson this morning ? ''
jaenelle became very still .
daemon closed his eyes for a moment .
he was afraid of what she might say if she answered , but he was more afraid of what might happen if she did n't .
if she shut him out now ... `` all right , '' she said hesitantly .
`` did you learn anything interesting ? ''
daemon rested his arm on the back of the couch and tried to look relaxed and lazy .
inside , he felt as if he 'd swallowed shards of glass .
`` my own education was regrettably spotty .
i envy you having such a learned mentor . ''
jaenelle closed the book and stared straight ahead .
daemon swallowed hard but pushed on .
`` why do n't you have your lessons here ?
it 's customary for the tutor to come to the pupil , not the other way around . ''
she was n't fooled , and he knew it .
`` he ca n't come here , '' she said slowly .
`` he must n't come here .
he must n't find out about ... '' jaenelle pressed her lips together .
`` why ca n't he come here ? ''
keep her talking , keep her talking .

they were the ones she was n't safe from .

they were the ones who had the power to harm her , to lock her away , to destroy her .

they , the ones who should have kept her safe , were her enemies .

and , therefore , they were his .

daemon studied his cold reflection one last time to make sure nothing was out of place , then joined the family for dinner .

6-terreille leland smiled nervously and glanced at the clock in her brightly lit sitting room .

instead of cards , the table held a bottle of chilled wine and two glasses .

the bedroom door stood partially open , and soft light spilled out .

daemon 's stomach tightened , and he welcomed the familiar chill that began to ice his veins .

`` you requested my presence , lady benedict . ''

leland 's smile slipped .

`` um ... yes ... well ... you look tired .

i mean , we 've all kept you so busy these last few days and , well ... maybe you should go to your room now and get a good night 's sleep .

yes .

you do look tired .

why do n't you just go to your room ?

youwill just go to your room , wo n't you ?

i mean ... '' daemon smiled .

leland glanced at the bedroom door and blanched .

`` it 's just ...

i 'm feeling a bit off tonight .

i really do n't want to play cards . ''

`` nor do i . ''

daemon reached for the wine bottle and corkscrew .

`` you do n't have to do that ! ''

daemon narrowed his eyes , studying her .

leland scurried behind a chair .

he set the bottle and corkscrew down and slipped his hands into his pockets .

`` you 're quite right , lady .

i am tired .

with your kind permission , i 'll retire now . ''

but not to his room .

not yet .

leland smiled weakly but stayed behind the chair .

daemon left the room , walked down the corridor , turned the corner , and stopped .

he counted to ten and then took two steps backward .

philip stood outside leland 's door , frozen by daemon 's appearance at the end of the corridor .

they stared at each other for the space of eight heartbeats before daemon nodded in courteous greeting and stepped out of sight .

he stopped and listened .

after a long pause , leland 's door quietly opened , closed , and locked .

daemon smiled .

so that was their game .

a pity they had n't come to it sooner .

it would have spared him all those interminable hours of playing cards with leland .

still , he 'd never been adverse to using the knowledge he gathered about the people he served , and this was just the kind of quiet leverage he needed to keep philip out of his way .

oh , he would be a splendid silent partner in their game .

he had always been a splendid partner , sympathetic and ever so helpful-unless someone crossed him .

then ... well , he was n't called the sadist for nothing .

he found it strangely flattering that she did n't look up when he slipped into the library and locked the door .

she sat cross-legged on the couch , absorbed in the book tucked in her lap , her right hand fluffing her hair as she read .

he glided around the furniture , his smile becoming warmer with each step .

when he reached the couch , he bowed formally .

`` lady benedict . ''

`` angelline , '' jaenelle replied absently .

daemon said nothing .

he had discovered that if he kept his voice quiet and neutral when she was distracted with something else , she usually spoke without considering her words , responding with a simple , brutal honesty that always left him feeling as though the ground was cracking beneath his feet .

`` witch follows the matriarchal bloodline , '' jaenelle said , turning a page .

`` besides , uncle bobby is n't my father . ''

`` then who is your father ? ''

`` philip .

but he wo n't acknowledge me . ''

jaenelle turned another page .

`` he 's wilhelmina 's father too , but he was in a dream web when he sired her so he does n't know that . ''

daemon sat on the couch , so close that her arm brushed his side .

`` how do you know he 's wilhelmina 's father ? ''

`` adria told me . ''

she turned another page .

`` who 's adria ? ''

`` wilhelmina 's mother .

she told me . ''

daemon considered his next words very carefully .

`` i had understood wilhelmina 's mother died when your sister was just an infant . ''

`` yes , she did . ''

which meant adria was demon-dead .

`` she was a black widow but was broken just before she had completed her training , '' jaenelle continued .

`` but she already knew how to weave a dream web , and she did n't want to be seeded by bobby . ''

daemon took a deep breath .

when he tried to exhale , it shuddered out of him .

with an effort , he dismissed what she 'd just said .

he was n't here to talk about adria .

`` how was your lesson this morning ? ''

jaenelle became very still .

daemon closed his eyes for a moment .

he was afraid of what she might say if she answered , but he was more afraid of what might happen if she did n't .

if she shut him out now ... `` all right , '' she said hesitantly .

`` did you learn anything interesting ? ''

daemon rested his arm on the back of the couch and tried to look relaxed and lazy .

inside , he felt as if he 'd swallowed shards of glass .

`` my own education was regrettably spotty .

i envy you having such a learned mentor . ''

jaenelle closed the book and stared straight ahead .

daemon swallowed hard but pushed on .

`` why do n't you have your lessons here ?

it 's customary for the tutor to come to the pupil , not the other way around . ''

she was n't fooled , and he knew it .

`` he ca n't come here , '' she said slowly .

`` he must n't come here .

he must n't find out about ... '' jaenelle pressed her lips together .

`` why ca n't he come here ? ''

keep her talking , keep her talking .