Blood Rebellion (Blood Destiny #7) (30 page)

"I was nearly so. Flavio made me wait until we got home before he would allow me to rid myself of it. It smelled terrible."

"Yeah. That's really awful. I like the way you dress, now. Flavio has really good taste."

"He said that I must look fine from now on, since I might be going out with him to check on the casino that he owns or dealing with some of his business associates or friends. Sometimes I go with him and Kyler, when they meet with Cleo and her husband Harvel."

"Harvel is a Grey House Wizard, like Shadow," I said.

"I want to visit Grey House someday—but Flavio says I have to ask you for that favor."

"Then I'll take you sometime, if you want to go," I said. "Shadow is Glendes' Grandson. Glendes is Eldest of Grey House. We have to get his permission, first."

"Harvel and Cleo explained that to me. Cleo and Kyler are Glendes' daughters."

"Yes they are," I smiled. "And they are my nieces—did they tell you that? That their mother was my sister?"

"No. They did not tell me that. What was she like?"

"I don't know; she died before I was born. I wanted to meet her, though. I just never got the chance."

"People stare at my wings when I go out," Roff said.

"Because you're the first of your kind to come along in a long time," I said. Roff lowered his honey-brown eyes and studied his hands for a moment. It bothered him, I could tell, that he was the only winged vampire. "A few others are like you and they'll have wings when they're made vampire too."

"So I won't be alone?" He lifted his head, his eyes searching mine for the truth of that statement.

"No, you won't be alone. Other winged vampires will come. It just may take some time. As of now, the oldest winged comesula is only four hundred years old. Unless he is involved in an accident, it may be two hundred years before he is turned."

"How many are there?" That was something that Roff could have told me himself, before things changed.

"Eighteen comesuli exist who will become winged vampires, but there may be a nineteenth sometime soon—I think Giff will have a child within the next year and many of the others have not had a first or second child, yet. There could be many, eventually."

"Flavio says that Gavin and Tony will come to me soon to teach me how to fight."

"Well, that's a good skill to have," I agreed. "Every vampire should know how to fight. All the vampires I know fight very well."

"Do you fight, Raona?"

"I do." I nodded. "When I have to."

"I should go; they are expecting me at the winery." Roff stood and shook out his wings.

"It was nice talking to you," I said. I felt like weeping when he leapt off the dome and flew away.

* * *

"Father, something strange happened today."

"What is that, child?" Flavio looked up from the reports he was going through on his microcomputer.

"I found the Raona sitting on top of the large dome of the palace as I was flying over, so I stopped and spoke with her. She was very nice."

"There's nothing strange about that—Lissa is nice most of the time."

"But Father, I got an erection while I spoke with her and I was worried that she would learn of it."

"Child, getting an erection near a lovely woman is quite natural—there is nothing wrong with that. It merely means you might like to bed her. It can be controlled, as you most likely discovered."

"Yes, but it was somewhat uncomfortable."

"Your clothing is sometimes restricting and it is quite rude to make adjustments in public."

"You explained that to me before, but it was never necessary until now."

* * *

"I am fully trained."

"No. No employee of mine is fully trained unless I say so. Come. When you please me, then I will consider your training complete." Gabron held the door open to one of the pleasure rooms. The new pleasure worker shook her hair and stalked past Gabron, heading for the bed. Gabron closed and locked the door behind him.

* * *

I went to check on the werewolves on Harifa Edus on my second off-day. They seemed to be doing well. I'd brought them soap and other toiletries—most everything available was safe for the environment. They were happy to get the supplies and the airtight containers I'd purchased for flour and other staples. I thought insects might be a problem.

Afterward, I went hunting the Ra'Ak-enhanced again. When I sent mindspeech to Kiarra, however, she told me that everyone she had was engaged. "Not to worry," I said and went to get them myself. It took hours, in energy form, to cover the entire planet and rid it of more than fifteen thousand infected humanoids, burying them in mass graves in uninhabited lands. I felt sorry for the ones who would be missing family members, but these were no longer the loved ones they knew. They were programmed, somehow, to pass on the DNA. Their family wasn't safe from infection. Nobody was.

I cleaned out the nest
, I sent to Kiarra. She sent a thank-you in return.

Another five days went by, filled with dull and dreary meetings as the rainy season started on Le-Ath Veronis. I didn't know Le-Ath Veronis had a rainy season, but it did. Kifirin came to explain it to me while the newly hired meteorologist was explaining it to the rest of the population. It didn't stop the gamblers, the shoppers, or the visitors to the brothels. I still hadn't heard from Gabron and I was at a loss as to what to do about that, so I went to visit my grandfather.

"Granddaughter," Wylend smiled at me and invited me to have a drink with him in his private quarters. Of course, Erland showed up, beaming a beautiful smile and sitting down with us to share a glass of wine. I wondered where he'd been but didn't ask.

"Em-pah, I came to ask for advice," I said.

"That makes me feel loved," Wylend said, handing Erland a glass of wine. Erland accepted and sat next to me. He put an arm around me, too, pulling me against him on Wylend's sofa. "What advice can I give?" Wylend asked. Erland kissed my temple and his breath against my ear was comforting.

I twisted Gabron's ring on my finger. That was the only clue I needed to give to my grandfather.

"He has not come to you, or offered an apology, has he?"

"No, Em-pah."

"And you find this unacceptable."

"Yeah. There's a chasm between us now and I no longer want to build a bridge across it."

"He has no respect for my granddaughter, or her position as Queen," Wylend huffed. "Imagine how I might feel if I had a mate who insisted to me that her brothels were legitimate businesses, and then insisted that her training of all her employees was purely business. While that might be true on the surface of things, it makes you seem less in others' eyes that you accept it because you are desperate to keep his love and affection. If my mate did this to me, I would end our relationship, Granddaughter. I will not have my subjects laughing at me behind my back, because my mate does this to me in such a public fashion."

"Em-pah, I don't think the public is laughing at me."

"No, Granddaughter? You have not been watching the vids on other worlds. You only pay attention to what is produced on Le-Ath Veronis and the ones who run your news network care for you too much to publish what others are running away with."

"Erland, what is he talking about?" I turned to my Karathian Warlock for an explanation.

"Lissa, I can show you, but it will be painful." Erland's beautiful face was set in a frown. That statement had me drawing in a breath and closing my eyes. I nodded. Wylend had a vid screen hidden in a table inside his library, where we sat. It rose when he flicked his hand—who needed a remote control when you had that kind of power?

"I learned of this one's presence a short while ago—I still keep spies on Campiaa to watch Arvil San Gerxon," Erland said as Wylend flicked his hand again, causing the vid screen to display images. "She works in San Gerxon's private stable of call girls that he hands out to his best gamblers. She came to Le-Ath Veronis three weeks ago, to work in one of Gabron's pleasure houses." Erland took my chin in his fingers and turned it toward the screen. I watched in shock and horror as Gabron taught this woman how to put her mouth on a man. He was shouting at her when she didn't do it to his satisfaction. Somehow, a hidden camera had recorded this for the universe to see.

"There are other images too—images of his training her in other ways. These images are now being shown all across the Alliance, Lissa. This spy for Arvil San Gerxon is seeing to that. She has managed to record these lessons and now your name is being sullied and ridiculed, because Gabron remains mated to you." Erland flicked his fingers, stopping the images. His dark eyes held a great deal of anger.
On my behalf
.

Stunned was too small and meaningless a word. I had no idea this had been happening and I couldn't even cry, I was so numb. Wylend flicked his fingers again and other images were displayed on the screen. I remembered the gossipmongers from the television programs three hundred years earlier. Those people had nothing on what was happening now. These so-called journalists ripped into me, calling me stupid, oblivious and desperate, all while showing clips of Gabron and his training sessions. I couldn't believe this. I'd trusted him, once. Fought alongside him and helped save his home planet. Accepted his proposal and his ring. One of his employees had tried to kill me and almost killed Roff. Now, Roff was without his memories of me. Gabron had not attempted to apologize.

"Em-pah, what do I do?" I moaned.

* * *

"This letter came for you," Heathe handed the heavy cream envelope to Gabron. It bore the claw crown—Lissa's royal seal. Gabron glanced up at his assistant.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked.

"No, sir. It came just a few moments ago and I was instructed to bring it directly to you."

Gabron broke the seal on the envelope and lifted out the note.

Raona Lissa requests your presence, tonight at eight of the evening. Dress is casual
. Gabron reread the message aloud so Heathe would know.

"What do you think she wants?" Heathe asked.

"I think I may be a single vampire, after tonight," Gabron replied stiffly.

Heathe watched his employer. He'd wondered, over the past several months, why Gabron had not gone to the palace to speak with Lissa. That was the proper thing to do. He dared not argue with Gabron, however.

"Would you like for me to lay clothing out for you?" Heathe asked instead.

"One of my black suits, Heathe."

"Of course."

* * *

"Lissa, this will be over quickly." Gavin attempted to reassure me. Every one of my available mates was there, including Connegar and Reemagar. Connegar waited to place a healing sleep afterward, if things went badly. I had to get through this. I had to. Griffin and Wylend had come and both looked so angry they could have chewed nails into tacks, I think. Flavio had also come, accompanied by Kyler. Kyler wanted to strangle someone, I think.

Gavin had gone into a cold fury when he'd seen the footage that Wylend brought. They'd all seen it; all my mates had. Erland was now watching me pace inside my library. The vid screen on the wall there was huge—Gabron would see all of it—his secretly recorded sessions and then what the Alliance media said about me as a result. I planned to have a talk with Bryan in the next few days. I intended to ask him to expand the media on Le-Ath Veronis to include feeds from the entire Alliance. I never wanted something like this to happen again.

Gabron arrived a few seconds later, nodding to everyone present. "Lissa, why did you ask me here tonight?" he inquired.

"Sit down, Gabron. Would you like a drink?" I asked as politely as I could.

"No, thank you," he refused. Just as well, I didn't want to give him another thing.

"You have an employee named Desire working for you?" I asked.

"I do—she needed instruction when I hired her, but things are better with her now." His answer was stiff—as was his body. He suspected. He just didn't know what it was he suspected. I doubted he'd watched any vids, just as I hadn't. He'd carefully groomed himself and dressed formally for this occasion; he'd armed himself as well as he could. Well, he should have dressed in steel for what was coming his way.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Gabron. She's a spy for Arvil San Gerxon. Did you know that?"

I stood before him, my arms crossed over my chest to keep my hands from shaking. I didn't want him to see how upset I was. Gabron sat on a sofa, blinking up at me. "I was not aware," Gabron replied tautly. "Are you sure this is not a product of your overactive imagination, Lissa? I know how you feel about my girls."

I wanted to shout at him, then. Tell him what kind of fool he was and what kind of fool he'd made of me. I didn't. Wylend did his little trick and the vid screen powered up. Gabron sat and watched image after image of his instruction of Desire. And then other articles were shown. Gossipmonger after gossipmonger. Laughing at me while the vids of Gabron and Desire played behind them. Calling me all sorts of unkind things. One even pointed out that the camera angle could have been better, but he wasn't going to complain—Desire could do that for him, any day. He then went on to say that I must have been cold and unimaginative in bed and deserved all the mud being slung in my direction.