Alitus

 Tales of theChosen

 Kayelle Allen

 Published 2007

 ISBN 1-59578-323-7

 Published by Liquid Silver Books, imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing,10509 Sedgegrass Dr,Indianapolis ,Indiana46235 . Copyright © 2007,Kayelle Allen . All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

 Manufactured in theUnited States of America

 Liquid Silver Books

 http://LSbooks.com

 Email:

 raven@LSbooks.com

 Editor

 Jean Cooper

 Cover Artist

 Laura Givens

 This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

 Author’s Note

 To make the Tarthian Empire come alive, please visit my wallpaper page and download a map ofTarthCity , where the action takes place. The map is updated with each book released.

 http://www.kayelleallen.com/Wallpaper.html

 Dedication

 As always, I want to thank my critique group, para-rom-crit-3 for their assistance and advice. I could not do this without them. To my son Jamin, who designed the Chanoyu, to Stephie, who helped me devise some wonderful cruelties for Pietas to be guilty of, and to my husband Ed who loves me and supports me more than anyone else in the world. Thank you, Icia Teoh! You know who you really are. This book owes a debt to Ms Anne Cain, whose art inspired the epilogue. Visit my website for a peek into the world of Yutai Art, http://www.kayelleallen.com/yutaiart.html

 Prologue

 Tarthian Empire, Tarth,TarthCity

 Kelthian District

 Birit 82, 4664 Tradestandard date

 Alitus Vivaldi checked the drape of his conservative grey coat in the mirrored elevator doors. The fake beard still itched, despite the skin-protectant he’d worn under it. He tucked his hands into his pockets to keep from scratching. The right shoe had a thick lift inside. Not so much that he was off-balance, but enough to make him walk with a noticeable limp when he exited the elevator. A simple security vid wouldn’t reveal his true identity.

 At Janitt and TJ’s apartment entrance, he knocked and waited for one of the human females to answer. Janitt opened the door.

 He smiled and offered his hand, releasing a small amount of his pheromones to ensure her cooperation. Her lashes fluttered, a sign she was coming under his influence.

 “Oh, Dr. Malenkoff. Please, come in.” Janitt held his hand as she turned and called to her sister, “It’s Khyff’s doctor. Come out here.”

 The touch of her bare hand against his allowed him to pass more pheromones through her skin. Simpler than lulling a child to sleep.So much the better. I’ll be in and out.

 TJ entered from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. “Hi, doctor!” She also shook his hand, clasping both of hers around it. “I’m glad to see you. How’s Khyff?”

 “He’s doing well. I won’t stay but a moment.” Alitus put a smile into his words. “I promised I’d bring a donation for your literacy group in thanks for your help.” He handed the young literacy coach a debit bit for her bracelet. “You do both recall what you promised?”

 “Oh, sure we do, don’t we Janitt?” TJ nudged her sister.

 “We never let Khyff know that he only slept here. So he’ll think he overcame his…” She glanced at TJ. “—problem. You’re sure it worked?” She tilted her head. “He’s able to perform again?”

 Not only had their cooperation enabled Alitus to manipulate his quarry, Khyff Antonello had no idea he’d been duped. An undercover operation that had nearly backfired had been smoothed over with Khyff’s help. Not that Khyff would have cooperated willingly, of course. The man would not appreciate knowing he’d been used. Alitus banished the niggling trace of guilt. Number one, the empire’s needs came first. Number two, after tonight, Khyff would never find out.

 “From what he says, he’s back to perfect.” Alitus set his open hand on TJ’s bare arm, took Janitt’s hand in his and released a higher concentration of pheromones. Their eyes dilated from such rapid exposure. “The night Khyff thinks he spent here with the two of you gave him back his confidence. It was all he lacked.” He used his pheromones to offer an additional push of acceptance. “You both made a huge impact on his life. But he must never know you pretended, or it may destroy that confidence.”And make him want to kill me.

 The sisters nodded in agreement. Both were pretty, with quite kissable mouths.

 “It’s best…” He leaned a bit closer and lowered his voice. “…if you never mention this to anyone.”

 They continued to nod, still completely under his command.

 “You will forget that you know me. This donation was anonymous and you are grateful for it, but will not look into the background of the donor.” He rubbed his hands across their skin. Not in his original plan, but Alitus added, “You’ll sleep well tonight and wake refreshed in the morning.”

 TJ yawned. Janitt rubbed her eyes.

 “Good night, ladies. I’ll show myself out.”

 In the elevator, he closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. Khyff Antonello’s healing had been secondary to Alitus’ true motivation—removing Mehfawni Ruh from power on her homeworld of Felidae. Khyff falling in love with her had been a wonderful bonus for the human, no doubt. He genuinely liked the man. The genius of Empress Destoiya to oversee such massive manipulation … Alitus shook his head. He had only carried out her orders and researched the various aspects. Her brilliance had made it all work.

 Worth the deceit, eh, my friend?Perhaps one day Khyff would forgive him for interfering in his life.

 Once in his hoversine, the Empress herself helped him remove his coat and shoes. He peeled off his beard and rubbed his face. The glue had pilled like an old sweater. He did his best to remove it. The vehicle bumped slightly as it lifted into the air, then all sensation of movement ceased.

 “It went well, Alitus?” Destoiya’s storm-grey eyes held a hint of amusement.

 He smiled, relaxing against the seat. “It went extremely well, Majesty. They responded immediately.”

 “Of course, they did, love.” She ran the back of her fingers down his face. He’d had his beard permanently removed a year before. Ever since, she couldn’t keep her hands off his skin. Any time they were alone she was all over him like a lioness in heat. “You’re a master.”

 “Thank you.” He turned toward her a little more and opened his collar. “Are there any more loose ends related to Khyff?”Please let this be the last I ever have anything to do with that man.

 “No. So long as Mehfawni Ruh is out of power, I don’t care what happens to him. I’ve washed my hands of Khyff Antonello and his family. They’re no longer a threat.” The empress trailed a hand along the top of Alitus’ closest thigh. “I think you should use those pheromones on me now.”

 Is that jealousy in her voice?The most beautiful and powerful woman in the empire slipped her hand down the inside of his leg, firing his blood and his imagination at the same time.

 “You wouldn’t want me to be jealous, would you?” Her lashes lowered.

 Such a flirt she is …Alitus had seen her jealous side only once, after Khyff had been stolen out of her Stable. No matter how many of her Stable members she’d used, she’d been impossible to please in bed. For days.

 “I could never do anything that would make you jealous, Majesty. My life is yours.” His android driver could not be affected by pheromones. Alitus released them fully into the air and enjoyed the sight of Destoiya succumbing to the calming influence of the powerful chemicals.

 Her eyes became glassy, unfocused. He’d already made her wet on the way over here by playing with her. A second wave and she’d orgasm the moment he touched her.

 “Alitus.” She almost slurred his name. “You are more effective than the best sex enhancers in the universe.”

 “You’re addicted to me, Majesty.” He stroked the back of his hand down her throat and across her plump breasts. “You love me.”

 “Mmm.” Destoiya wrapped one hand in his hair and pulled him down close to her. She brushed his lips with hers. “Just like you are to me, my love.” She lay back on the seat and drew him atop her.

 He never had to yield to Destoiya. She consumed him—faster than a brush fire over dry leaves.

 Alitus barely had time to unfasten his pants before she wrapped her fist around his cock and squeezed. Tugging him closer, she lifted her right leg to his shoulder and urged him inside her.

 He reached down and ripped aside the fragile barrier of her thong panties, then shoved hard into her. Her sheath gripped him as tightly as her fist. Slick, wet, her body wrapped him, arms tight around his neck, her mouth sucking at his.

 He released a final wave of pheromones. Destoiya’s mouth opened in a sultry gasp. An orgasm rippled through her, milking him. She’d taken him twice earlier in the day. He could last now, make her come a few more times before he let go.

 Laughing with the joy of seeing her release, Alitus drew her close, holding the empress while she writhed. He used his teeth to open her blouse, nudged the lapel aside with his nose and swept his tongue across her left nipple.

 He worked one hand around the side to cup her breast and bring it to his mouth. Careful not to bruise, he clamped his teeth over the elongated nipple and sucked. He battered it with the tip of his tongue, flicking fast and hard until she arched toward him, forcing herself into his mouth.

 “Oh, Alitus! Yes.” Eyes closed, she opened her blouse, twisting her body to bare her other breast for his taking. Alitus curled his tongue around the nipple and drew it into his mouth. With his tongue, he worshiped the texture of her nipple.

 Would he ever get over the awe of doing this with her? With the empress? The queen? The ruler of the empire? No. Not if they did it ten thousand times. Having this woman, this powerful and amazing woman beneath him, lost in lust—it would never grow old. He submitted to her in everything, ordered his life to suit her purpose, yet in bed—or anywhere they made love—she offered herself to him in wanton desire. She was his.

 It was him she wanted. Even when she’d taken others in her Stable, she still came to him. Him she wanted. Him who satisfied her best.

 He withdrew and slid down her ribs, licking a trail to her navel. He tweaked her nipples with his fingers and thumbs, pulling and twisting roughly, the way she liked it. He licked her the way she’d taught him. Wet. Sloppy. Hard. He dug into her skin with his tongue, adding small bites and kisses, tasting her, sucking at her skin.

 She clutched both hands in her hair and moaned, arching away from him. Alitus pushed up her skirt and torn white-lace panties.

 Destoiya knew how much he loved her in white lace, loved to tear it off her. Any time she wore it, it was for him. He nuzzled her, inhaling her rich scent. He could taste her already.

 Destoiya lifted her left leg and placed it atop the seat. With the right already hooked over his shoulder, she lay wide open beneath him. The darkened windows of the hoversine protected them, but the thought of having her so exposed while in the midst of traffic made Alitus even harder. His balls ached. Destoiya never wanted it once. It had to be again and again. The woman was a frenzied, sexual hurricane.

 Her sex welcomed him, open from his earlier invasion, pink and moist. Her labia quivered. He slid two fingers inside her and felt the answering pulse of her orgasm. Alitus slid onto the floor of the hoversine so he could bend over her.

 He slipped both first fingers up along the outside of her outer lips and spread them wide, revealing the throbbing bud of her clit. He rocked his hands to the side and dipped his thumbs inside her; she liked to be filled when she came.

 Alitus bent to breathe across her labia and inhale her scent: a woman’s musk, clean and salty. She glistened with moisture. He pushed the tip of his tongue up along the silky exterior of her sex, lifting her clit.

 “Alitus. Oh, Alitus.” Soft as a third echo, she repeated his name, her lips forming the words.

 “You taste so sweet.” He spread her lips and used the widest part of his tongue to stroke from her opening all the way up to her clit.

 Destoiya tossed her head. She muttered curses in another language, but her pulsing vulva proved she was far from unhappy.

 “Do you want more?” He sent a warm breath across her.

 “Yes! Do it!”

 “Tell me what you want.” He made a tiny lick along her opening.

 “Alitus!” She cursed again, half rising on one elbow. “Damn it! Don’t tease me, slave. Mouth fuck me!”

 He had not been her slave for years, but he cast her a smile, his cock twitching in pleasure. “As my Conqueror wishes.” Alitus ducked his head and began to lick.

 Her wetness soaked the leather seat as he licked and stroked. Her swollen lips and clit throbbed and pulsed. He’d learned when to gentle his touch to bring her off, how to flick only the tip of his tongue against her so she’d erupt.

 She sobbed and bit her knuckles. “So hot. So hot.” Her legs trembled, spread wide across his shoulders and the seat of the hoversine. Destoiya withheld nothing when she made love; she opened every part of herself. “Burn me, Alitus. Burn me with your mouth.”

 He kept up the fast and gentle pace, curling the tip of his tongue around her clit at the top of each stroke.

 All at once she screamed hoarsely and arched off the seat—up into his mouth. He sucked her clit gently into his mouth and slid three fingers into her, rocking them in and out as she came.

 Her orgasm lasted forever. He finally withdrew his mouth, but kept his fingers inside her. Returning to the seat, he guided her across his lap and onto her knees astride him. Destoiya rose to take his cock inside her and slid down hard.

 Alitus tossed his head, eyes clamped shut. The scent of her sex and her feminine tang on his tongue filled his senses. He trembled with the effort of restraining an immediate climax.

 “Not yet, Alitus.” Destoiya rocked up and down, side to side, squeezing his shaft inside her, pleasuring him with an unceasing rhythm. “This cock is mine.” She clenched her sex around it, making him gasp. “You may come only when I tell you.”

 “Yes, Majesty. I—Oh!” He bit his lips, fighting for control.

 She kissed him, plunging her tongue into his mouth. She bit his chin, nibbled her way down his throat.

 “Oh, Majesty, please! I beg you.” A deep, throbbing heat rose from his balls up through his cock. “Let me—Please, oh! Can’t…”

 “Yes. Now. Come for me now, Alitus. Give yourself to me.”

 Head against the seat, he spread his knees wide. “Going to fill you. Fill you full.”

 “Yes, Alitus. Give yourself to me. Give me everything. Let me have you. Let me take you now…”

 Alitus clenched his jaw, both hands gripping her waist, pinning her down as he stroked up inside her. Up into sweet, hot paradise. With a cry, he tipped over the edge of ecstasy, into the realms of heaven.

 Chapter One

 Conqueror’s Palace

 Office of Her Majesty Rheyn Destoiya

 Sumertsag 34, 4664 Tradestandard date

 The Conqueror leaned back in her chair as her blond personal assistant opened the double doors to her office. Alitus wore a black jacket that barely reached the top of his thighs, allowing a splendid view of his long legs. Black pants stretched tight at the top hung straight over those low boots he preferred. As he turned to shut the doors behind him, she leaned a bit to one side for a better view of his hard ass.

 Stop looking at him!She sat up straight in the chair.You’ve lived thousands of years. Get a grip, woman. If you can rule twenty-two planets, you can go one workday without having to fuck him. Be the Conqueror. Be Rheyn Destoiya. Ruthless. Rigid. She folded her hands on the desk as he approached. When she lifted her face, she met eyes as blue as Trien’s deepest ocean and a smile that would melt the Tyran ice caps. Her breath caught in her throat.Your addiction is in your mind. In-your-mind! You can do this. You are in control. Not his pheromones.

 “Good morning, Majesty.” His voice deepened, roughened on her title.

 The subtle change in tone made her throat tighten, her mouth go dry. Betters could make normal humans want to please them simply by modulating their tone. None of them affected her except Alitus. His voice strummed her nerves, resonating within her like the bass of a cello.

 You’ve already been to two of your Jades’ beds this morning.The memory of arousing her pleasure slaves from slumber brought a flush of heat to her face. Each had been more than happy to awaken with her sliding into bed beside him.You don’t need to take Alitus, too.

 “Your morning reports are ready.” Alitus set a pile of info-chips on her desk and neatened the stack. He slid his tapered fingers up them the way they’d drawn over the peaks of her breasts the night before. He tapped one finger against the top chip. “All the news links are in this one, as usual. I sorted them by relevance and made a second set sorted by date.” He stroked the finger down the side of the chips. “Intel reports are in the next three, with the index and cross references in the fourth.”

 Destoiya tore her attention away from his masculine hands and nodded. She swallowed, forcing herself to breathe in and out.In and out. Breathe in and out. Calm and cool. She fought to keep her mouth closed so she couldn’t order him to satisfy her.

 Alitus tucked his hands behind him. “Shall I go over changes to your agenda?”

 Gaze drawn to the bulge in the front of his pants, she pressed the fingers of one hand against her mouth. He was already half erect.Such a simple thing to free his cock from those confining…

 “No!” She shoved herself away from the desk, stood and turned. “I—I mean, that’s not necessary.” Destoiya tugged her uniform jacket into place and smoothed her hands down the scarlet military sash she wore across the front. Its presence and the myriad medals pinned to it reminded her of duty as no other thing could. “I—I already know my calendar. I went over it awhile ago.” She pivoted toward him, putting the chair and desk between them. “I can’t afford to be late. You know how important this is, Alitus!”

 A slight crinkle at the corner of his eyes betrayed his struggle to grasp the reason for her irritation with him. She never raised her voice with Alitus. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

 Damn it. He’s gone to using my full title. Not what I wanted.He respected her too much to call her by her first name even in bed unless she asked him. She took a partial step toward him, steeled herself and turned away, arms folded. “With all the defections we’ve had since that damn Ruffhaus betrayed me, I want to meet on their ground.”

 “I understand.”

 While he had his head down, not looking at her, she savored him. Thick lashes lay on his cheeks, the straight fall of his pale, golden hair wisped around his face and ears. Firm chin, high cheekbones … such a manly face and yet, beautiful. Betters were always beautiful. The unwavering loyalty and absolute integrity that defined Alitus had never hardened his mouth. His old-fashioned courtesy and gentle nature made him a wonder. Especially after so many years in a decadent court like hers. Such a sea of virtues wrapped this young man…

 I won’t touch him. I won’t. Not today. Just one damn day.Destoiya backed away, but more space did nothing to lessen the lust of her addiction.

 Neither spoke. Neither moved. When he finally peeked up at her, he narrowed those dark blue eyes. “Did you sleep any better after I left?”

 She omitted mentioning the Jades she’d visited after she’d sent him away. Of all people, Alitus understood the absolute frenzy of her libido. If she kept him in her bed, she ravished him to the point of mutual exhaustion, yet she rarely slept unless he slept beside her. “I got up and came into the office to work instead.”

 He shook his head. “I knew I should have stayed so you could sleep.”

 “No, no. Not your fault. I’m the one who sent you away. Besides, you’re not a Jade anymore. You need a life of your own.”

 He placed a hand over his heart and bowed. “Youare my life, Majesty.”

 Not trusting herself to answer without giving in to emotions, she strode toward the rear of the room. The echo of her polished heels clicking on the marble tile only reminded her of how far she was from him.

 To distract herself, she slid one finger along the chin of a bronze bust of Destine Pietan, the first Conqueror, and the first role she’d played in the Tarthian Empire, almost eight hundred years ago.How complicated this game is turning out to be. She shook her head.Alitus knows he’s bedding an older woman. What would he think if he knew how old I really was?

 “Majesty, are you all right?” He had taken a few steps toward her and now stood beside her desk instead of in front of it. “Pardon me, but you don’t seem yourself this morning.”

 Destoiya snapped both hands behind her. “That conference with the Praetorian Guard Commander and her staff this morning has me riled up. There’s so much at stake. I need to be gracious, when what I want to do is snap every one of their necks and beat their heads in for daring to challenge my authority.”

 A quick grin dimpled his cheeks. Alitus coughed politely into a fist. “I’ll ensure you’re reminded in time. The meeting atHellTower is in one hour. I sent for your hoversine earlier. It’s standing by. Would you like me to…”

 “An hour?” She leaned toward him. The hope in his eyes brought her teetering to the edge of capitulation. “I thought we only had minutes.”

 “No, Majesty. They rescheduled due to a conflict. I updated your calendar, but…”

 “Well, then, the hell with this.” Destoiya yanked the sash over her head and tossed it across the bronze bust. “Fuck me. Now. On the desk.” She ripped at the buttons of her jacket.

 His smile widened. “I live to obey you.” Alitus moved her chair and set aside the items on her desk. With one hand, he unfastened his jacket.

 Destoiya stepped out of her heels and dropped her uniform coat on the way. She threw herself into Alitus’ arms before he could complete three steps.

 His mouth came down on hers as he caught and lifted her against him. Destoiya savored his taste and wrapped her arms around his neck to hold his mouth against hers.

 He shoved her skirt up her thighs as he carried her to the desk and set her atop it. Her new desk put her at exactly the right level for sex; she’d designed it to suit Alitus’ height. Destoiya leaned on her hands and smiled up at him as he freed his shaft.

 He nudged her thighs apart and brushed his fingers down her mound. “Mmm, no panties. I love it when you come to me already hot.”

 “I’m always hot. Stop dallying.” Destoiya lay on her desk and lifted her ankles to his shoulders as Alitus slipped his cock inside her. She moaned aloud. His shaft’s width relieved the heat inside her, like a good hard rub on a maddening itch.

 Alitus slid her toward him on the polished surface and closed his eyes with an expression of dreamy abandon. “Oh, you’re so wet! I love the feel of you around me.”

 The bare ecstasy of his cock stretching her open spread heat from vulva to thighs and breasts, up into her throat and across her eyes. Destoiya arched her neck, head thrown back on the hard desk. A breath sobbed from her throat.

 Alitus wrapped an arm around each of her thighs and dragged her up hard against him as he thrust.

 “Yes. Oh, yes…” A breath hissed in over her teeth. “Oh, Alitus.” She relaxed her neck and shoulders, squirming to open herself and take him deeper. “Yes. Like that. More. More.”

 Destoiya gripped the edge of her desk while Alitus rocked in and out of her. When the clean apricot scent of his pheromones filled the air, she sucked in another deep, shuddering breath and succumbed to the euphoria she’d fought so hard to resist. Her heart stuttered, then began to pound as if she’d run a marathon. Mouth dry, she fought for air, her lungs heaving.

 All the while, Alitus thrust into her, rocking her hard, slamming himself against her mons, driving himself into her cleft. Taking her ever closer to ecstasy. He slowed, the rich blue of his eyes darkening as he squinted.

 Destoiya thrust herself up against him, showing him without words she needed no breather. No mercy. No respite from the glorious sexual high.

 He slid both hands down her thighs and under her backside, lifting her toward him as he angled down, ramming into her so hard her breasts bounced and swayed. Heat stifled her. Sweat stung her eyes.

 The heavy desk scraped across the floor, screeching against the tile. Choking on a dry swallow, Destoiya stuffed a knuckle in her mouth and bit it hard to stay quiet. A scream would summon Praetorian.

 Alitus moaned, grimacing in pleasure-pain. “Oh, God,” he whispered over and over. He rocked side to side within her, rising on his toes. He bounced as he pressed himself into her.

 The heat of him inside her as he came flooded her with more pheromones, calming her heart and bringing her body into a soothing rest. She came down slowly, like a feather floating on a breeze over the heathers of her homeland.

 “Oh, Majesty.” Alitus eased her backside down to the desk and bent over her. Leaning on his elbows, he brushed his lips across hers, tangling his fingers in her hair. “I love you so.”

 Destoiya slid both arms up around his neck and drew him down for nibbling, biting kisses that lasted forever. He withdrew, opened her desk drawer and fumbled for a soft cloth which he used to dry the skin of her thighs. He pressed it gently against her labia and held it there while she sat up.

 She used the cloth herself and handed it to him as she stood.

 Alitus cleaned himself and tossed the cloth in the recycler before wrapping both arms around her. He drew her against his body. Nearly as tall as he, she ducked her head a bit and leaned against his chest, lulled by his warmth and the steady beat of his heart.

 “Not the way I’d pictured starting the morning, love.” Destoiya snuggled harder against him. “I was going to resist you today. Had it all planned.” She lifted her head as he looked down. Cracking a smile, she said, “I tried to convince myself the addiction was all in my head. Again.”

 He gave a soft laugh and hugged her, her head beneath his chin. “I’ve stopped having such illusions. I can’t focus when I try to ignore my feelings for you. You might eventually get over me, but I’ll never get over you.”

 Destoiya stepped back. “Oh, Alitus, I’ll never get over you.” She stroked a hand down his smooth cheek. “Nor will I ever want to.” She adjusted her skirt and padded over to where she’d left her black heels and jacket. “I only wish I could think straight. You’re a walking aphrodisiac. I can’t keep my hands off you. Though, God knows, I try.” She slid her feet into her shoes. “I promise you. I try hard.”

 Alitus righted his clothes. “Don’t forget your sash.” He nodded toward the bust.

 She gave the statue a mocking bow. “Thank you, Destine. I’ll take this now.” She lifted the scarlet sash over the bust’s head.

 “You know,” Alitus moved to stand before the bust. “She has an uncanny resemblance to you.” He turned toward her. “Especially the nose and chin.”

 “Do you think so?” Destoiya took extra pains with her sash, avoiding his direct gaze. “My mother liked to claim a distant relationship.”

 “Yes, I recall. I’ve been studying Destoiya the Great.”

 “Have you?” His words brought her head up. She’d been her own “mother.” When the game she and her fellow immortals played allowed her another turn at the role, she’d reinvented herself as a long-lost daughter, faked her own death, then executed a swift coup over Destoiya the Great’s administration and taken over as Destoiya the Conqueror. She gave Alitus her best smile. “Why the sudden interest in a dead woman?”

 His swift frown changed to a look of denial. “Nothing sudden about it.” Alitus dragged one hand through his hair. “History has always fascinated me. Especially of the Tarthian Empire and its various rulers.”

 If you only knew how many of them have been me, or one of my people.Sempervians had ruled over the empire a dozen times or more in the past few centuries.How many times have I served in some sort of parliament or been a judge? Time had little meaning to her any more. The years turned into decades before she knew it.I really ought to leave before the next round. It’s getting way too dangerous to stay here.

 He held out his hands and she put hers into them. The blue of his eyes twinkled like stars reflected in deep water. “Of all the rulers we’ve had, you are the most magnificent.”

 Her cheeks heated. “You mustn’t say such things.”

 Alitus curled a finger beneath her chin to lift her face. “I’m not offering vain flattery, my Conqueror. I’ve studied the others. You truly are the best. It’s as if everything the others did has culminated in your leadership.”

 Their gazes held for a long moment, neither speaking. At last, she sighed. “Thank you, Alitus.”

 He offered his arm. “Shall we go? I know you’re anxious to deal with the Praetorian.”

 With a sigh, she accepted his arm and leaned against him. “I only hope I can turn the tide and retain their loyalty. The rebels are gaining a military stronghold. The Praetorian are our last line of defense if the palace is attacked.”

 Alitus stopped and turned toward her. “The rebellion has no chance against the might of the Imperial Armada. But even if everything went wrong and we were attacked, I swear to you, before they got to you, I would be the last thing your enemies saw before I blasted them into the hereafter.” He lifted his chin. “Or I died sending them there.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Come, My Conqueror. I want to watch you turn these ferocious Praetorian into the kittens they truly are.”

 Chapter Two

 TarthCity, Conqueror’s Palace,HellTower

 Office of the Brigade Commander

 Sumertsag 34

 The royal hoversine arrived atHellTower , a pure-white alabaster building rising twenty stories without windows. Prisoners sentenced to “Hell” never again saw the light of day, even after death. Androids buried them without ceremony in an unmarked grave the next moonless night.

 Alitus fidgeted in the silence. The trip to Hell never failed to sober Destoiya. This was the only destination where she remained on her side of the vehicle during the entire trip, too preoccupied to speak.

 He stepped out of the hoversine, moved aside and resisted the urge to assist her. She expected it anywhere else—but here, the Conqueror showed no such dependence. She stepped out of the car and paused, head held aloft like a wary huntress scenting prey, the morning breeze catching and ruffling her hair, tousling a few unpinned curls. The streak of silver near the right side of her brow shone in the early sunlight.

 Stars, she’s magnificent.Alitus fell-in two steps behind her, following her personal android bodyguard.

 A dozen guards in the stark black-leather uniform of the Palace Praetorian lined their path. The golden fists emblazoned on their upper right chests and arms marked them as the elite handful who guarded the empress herself. Bristling with weapons, the massive Kin males stood with feline ears back, shoulders stiff, spines erect. Destoiya’s height put the top of her head at the tip of Alitus’ nose and though he stood six feet tall, the shortest Praetorian’s shoulder was above Alitus’ head and the guy weighed half again as much as he.

 Destoiya paused and spoke to each, calling them by name and asking about family. She always knew if her soldiers had siblings or cousins serving. While she spoke to him, each Kin male softened into a smile and flicked his ears outward in respect. Each accepted her gloved hand and bowed over it, but the moment she passed, back went their ears, fangs bared at Alitus as if he were the enemy.

 The ultra-sensitive Kin sense of smell made them susceptible to the influence of Betters. Indiscreet use of pheromones around a Kin was like smearing yourself with honey and jumping into a bear cage.

 A stray thought brought a tinge of jealousy to the fore.Has she slept with any of these guys? Holy shit, I’ll bet they can smell her on me. He swallowed.

 At the end of the gauntlet stood Captain Dhia Ruh, the senior Praetorian. As Destoiya approached, the Kin female snapped to rigid attention, slammed a fist over her heart in salute and bowed.

 Destoiya tightened her gloves as she made a fist. “Good morning, Ruh.”

 The captain purred before responding, “Welcome to Hell, Your Majesty.”

 Alitus shuddered at the ritual greeting. The previous month, Captain Ruh had disregarded a question he’d asked during the annual inspection, only answering when Destoiya repeated it. Today, the captain acknowledged him with a slight bow and a curt nod.

 Well, this is a first.Kin females generally ignored males of any species unless they expected some type of service or wanted sex. On their homeworld, the feline race of warriors subjugated males. If Ruh could intimidate males with the physical size and attitude of these soldiers, Alitus would have preferred she hadn’t noticed him at all.

 The Conqueror made a small gesture to beckon him to her side and brushed her fingers across his hand when he came closer. Alitus caught her faint but reassuring smile.

 He followed her and Ruh for the usual tour of the facility. Generally, the Conqueror came here but twice a year and never failed to visit the three governors she’d imprisoned for raping Khyff Antonello.Do they ever sense her studying them through the blackened glass wall overlooking their isolated cells? And what of Destoiya? Does it give her some kind of perverse pleasure to see them locked in empty metal boxes not high enough to stand in, nor long enough to stretch out fully and sleep?

 They would leave those dim coffin-like cells only after a long, wasting demise. Faceless androids brought them enough food and water to ensure their starvation wasn’t quick. It could take them years to die. Lots of time for regret. Animals in a slaughterhouse fared better.

 True, Khyff had been the Conqueror’s favorite for the brief time she’d owned him and he had nearly died from what they’d done to him. But surely, the man wouldn’t want this kind of vengeance. Had he known of it, no doubt he’d implore her to cease.

 Though Destoiya said not a word, the unabated rage on her face when she finally turned away warned Alitus not to ask questions.

 Exactly why did Khyff still mean so much to her? She only owned him for a couple of days.Lights turned off beyond the blackened glass, revealing no clues from the prisoners. The antiseptic scent of the place invaded.

 “Alitus.”

 He started at Destoiya’s voice and hastened to catch up to her. She held out her left hand. When he put his right into it, she drew it around her waist, wrapped an arm about him and held him close to her.

 The captain appeared as shocked as he felt, darting looks everywhere but at him and the Conqueror.

 Destoiya lifted her silvery gaze. “You’re wondering why I sentenced them here, aren’t you?” Alitus stood stock still. “Let me tell you. Khyff wasmine .”

 He held his breath, scorched by the savagery in her eyes. Here was the ruthless killer her detractors abhorred. Alitus understood suddenly why her soldiers feared her, her enemies loathed her. Yet that same pride and remorseless ferocity made her a lover beyond compare.

 “Anyone who takes what is mine…” the Conqueror never flicked so much as a glance at Captain Ruh, “…and thinks to keep it for herself, to abuse or misuse it, pays for that sin with death. Full recompense. No mercy. Alitus, my love…” Destoiya reached up and stroked his cheek. “—if anyone ever did to you what those bitches did to him…” A fierce sweep of anger transformed her to an avenging angel, hell bent on retribution. “I wouldn’t let them die that fast. I’d make them suffer for centuries.”

 Alitus remained motionless, riveted by the glint of raw fury in her eyes.

 “Captain.” She turned toward Ruh. “When your troops get their hooks into these rebels who want to steal my empire, remember that. I want a Kin’s vengeance with blood, fangs and claws. They dare eventhink to take my empire? Not while I live!”

 The Kin hissed like a mad cat. Folding a fist over her heart, she bowed deeply toward Destoiya. “My Empress, by the hallowed blood of my foremothers, while I live, no traitor will ever take this empire. If you give me the power, I will rally the entire Armada.” She took a bold step forward. “Let me serve Your Majesty in a greater capacity than this…” She gestured around her. “—and I will break the back of this petty rebellion.”

 After the briefest hesitation, Destoiya inclined her head toward the Kin warrior. “I will see to it.”

 Ruh growled, fierce as a jungle cat. Extending her claws, she bowed as she swept a hand toward the door. “Your loyal Praetorian await you, Your Majesty.”

 With his hand still linked with Destoiya’s, Alitus accompanied her toward the square outsideHellTower . There, she would speak to the assembled crowd of more than five hundred Praetorian.

 He stood aside with Her Majesty while the captain opened the final door.

 Alitus dropped his hand and remained behind when Ruh introduced the Conqueror. Outside, the gathered Praetorian cheered Destoiya’s entrance.

 Alitus followed a moment later and stood at the rear of the platform. While the Praetorian stomped, rattled weapons and roared their battle cry, Destoiya turned her head and met his gaze, the unspent shimmer of a satisfied smile in her eyes.

 Chapter Three

 Conqueror’s Palace

 Stable, Keeper Wing

 Sumertsag 36

 Promptly at nine, Rheyn Destoiya strolled into the dining room of the Keeper Wing for an evening meal with her six Jades, all of whom rose and bowed. The styles of their black tuxes reflected their personalities, from sensual to exotic.

 Dinner in the Stable was formal every night—it kept her Jades on their best behavior and in practice for the times she needed an escort.

 It was no secret each man would set out to seduce her to his bed, greeting her in a way that invited her to sample his talents later. To prevent favoritism, she always had them greet her in order of age, which put Corran Breland first. As a dual-gendered Androg, the proper pronoun wasphe , but Corran, like her other Androg, preferredhe . Most of the time he dressed like a male and usually served her as one in bed. He cupped both hands around her face and pressed his mouth against hers in a gentle kiss.

 “Good evening, Majesty. Your hair looks especially lovely tonight.” Corran stroked his fingers through her hair, which she’d worn down for a change.

 It reached her shoulders, the curls no doubt in disarray after the passionate good-night kiss she’d shared with Alitus. She’d placed a diamond-encrusted comb on the right side to display the silver streak there and she reached up to ensure it was still in place.

 “Thank you.” Her black strapless gown begged for more adornments than the string of pearls she’d worn. Destoiya smiled up at the first Jade she’d owned. “I’m glad to see you. I’ve missed you at dinner.”

 “Night classes at Tarth Tech.” He shrugged. “But you did insist I complete another degree by the end of the year.”

 “This is your third, correct?” When he nodded, she took his hand. Her elbow-length black gloves made his fair skin seem even lighter. “How long ‘til you graduate?”

 “Seventy-six days and a wake-up.” He grinned. “But who’s counting? Will you be there?”

 She squeezed his hand. “You know I will.”

 He bowed slightly and stepped aside with a smile.

 Febreya Andrus, the only Jade she allowed a beard, wore a tux that sported black leather trim. He swept her into his arms, bent her backward and kissed her. The others were applauding when he set her on her feet.

 Destoiya patted her hair. “Well! And good evening to you, too, Andrus.”

 His laugh made him seem younger and carefree. Of all her Jades, he was the only one she trusted with a lash in his hand. He’d never gone too far, but he knew quite well how to make her beg for mercy.

 He was the only Jade for whom Alitus ever expressed dislike. Probably because she always went to Alitus to be patched up after Andrus was through with her.

 Grant Hawke bowed deeply, his straight, sandy-brown hair falling over his broad shoulders and hiding his face. The lapels and sleeves of his tux displayed the intricate hand beading for which his people were famous. He kissed Destoiya’s hand before rising. “Good evening, Majesty.”

 Big, brawny, intelligent, kind, Grant worshiped a goddess of lust whom he appeased by dancing in supplication before sex. And his prayers were always answered in the most glorious way … Destoiya bit a knuckle and nodded to him, smiling.

 The levels of Novice, Toy, and Keeper in the Stable came about so she could honor Lef Ardleigh. Although not her first Jade, this Androg’s abilities and talents soon made him her absolute favorite and the first to be labeled “Keeper.” His voice alone warranted that.

 “So good to see you, Majesty. How are you?” Altered in an experiment at her request, Lef’s tenor resonated under her skin as if he’d stroked her. He could bring her to orgasm by reading aloud. She could never turn him loose in society. Women would swarm him.

 Destoiya caught the wary glances of her other Jades. She could almost hear them thinking,Uh-oh. She’s going for Lef again tonight. His talent made him one she used often. But not tonight.Maybe in the morning, she conceded, flashing him an impish smile.

 She inclined her head to Lef and reached out her hand to the dancer, Rudolf Brakovsky. He and Alitus had birthdays two days apart and were identical in height and size. She might forget ages, but the groom of her Stable alerted her to important events like birthdays and graduations.

 Rudolf wrapped both arms around her, pulled her up hard against his body and bent down for a kiss.

 Rudy liked to boast he’d danced his way into her stable. She submitted to his kiss the way she had to his passionate dancing. She’d taken him to bed night after night, until he’d danced all the way into her heart and made every other Jade jealous to the bone. Rudolf always kissed as if he had every right to take her, as if she were his property and he had liberty to plunder her mouth whenever he wished. Destoiya clung to him and allowed the kiss to take its course, melting into his arms.

 Rudolf’s blue eyes went glassy. He stroked one finger down her face and across her mouth. “So damn glad to see you tonight, Majesty.”

 She set shaking fingers against her lips. His scent clung to her glove, an amber musk that made her instantly wet. “Oh, Rudy. You, too.” She drew off her glove, placed a kiss on her fingertips and lifted them to his lips.

 He opened his mouth and caressed her fingers with his tongue.

 “Oh, Rudy…” Smiling, she fanned herself with the glove as she turned to greet the youngest of her Jades.

 Paytha Lanidrac, her only Jade at Novice level, had been a dancer like most of the others. She had a real fondness for limber, well-toned bodies. What he lacked in experience, he more than made up in stamina and eagerness, and was learning fast. An antique clasp fastened his long dark hair neatly at his nape. One tendril fell over the shoulder of his satin-lapelled tux as he bowed and kissed her bare hand.

 “Good evening, Your Majesty.”

 “Paytha. Very good to see you tonight.” She’d spent quite a bit of time simply enjoying his sculpted face and perfect body the last time they’d been together.How did that old saying go? A thing of beauty … She kept his hand in hers as she gestured to the others. “Well, gentlemen, shall we dine?”

 The meal passed with the banter of companions long used to each other. Jades spent every day together, either in exercise or class. She ensured they stayed fit and educated themselves. Even the youngest was already a graduate of one of the local colleges and beginning a second degree.

 Two steadfast and unyielding rules held sway in the Stable.

 One. Jades exist for the pleasure of Her Majesty. They are slaves given every luxury, indulged like princes and educated like kings. If they serve, obey and satisfy Her Majesty, they will gain their freedom and a generous retirement.

 Two. At the tiniest sign of jealousy, backbiting, infighting, quarrelling, the least disobedience or disrespect, the Jade is sold as a common street slave. No argument, no pleading, no kidding. Gone.

 Once they understood those rules, few others were needed. Destoiya could spend an evening being the center of male attention without the annoyance of egos crashing against one another like bull walruses grunting and shoving over a cow.

 Besides, she managed to get ‘round to each of them at least three times a week.More than most married men get. She lifted her wineglass to hide her smile.

 She rolled the dark red SkovronBurgundy on her tongue. The wine had been a gift from Luc Saint-Cyr only the month before and she’d immediately sent half the cases to the Stable.

 Which one do I want tonight?Paytha’s youthful perfection? Lef’s seductive whispers and skin-tingling laugh? Grant’s heartfelt worship? Andrus and his skill with knots and rope? Or Corran, her first Jade, the one who knew her best and could enjoy the same type of orgasm he gave? An incomparable lover, truly.

 Rudolf threw back his head and laughed at one of Paytha’s comments. The others joined in and Paytha both blushed and preened at their attention. Rudy shared a toast with Paytha and downed the dregs of his wine, affording Destoiya a wide grin.

 She drained her glass and stood. As one, her Jades rose with her. “Thank you for a wonderful dinner, gentlemen. I’ve enjoyed it.”

 The Jades assembled themselves in the reverse order with which they’d greeted her, Paytha first. She extended her hand, signaling he would not be her choice tonight.

 He bowed over her hand, courtly in his wishes for a pleasant rest, his good-night kiss full of yearning.

 She passed Rudolf and went straight to the next Jade.

 Rudy’s chest swelled. His head went up like a stallion that pined for a long, stretching run and had scented open fields.

 After Destoiya kissed the last Jade good-night, Rudolf held the door and escorted her into the foyer. “Which pleasure room would Her Majesty prefer tonight?”

 She smiled up at him. “I just want to be yours, Rudy. Do you mind choosing?”

 The blue of his eyes darkened with lust, lashes lowering. He offered his arm and gestured toward the sweeping double staircase. “Allow me.”

 Chapter Four

 Conqueror’s Palace

 Stable, Keeper Wing

 Sumertsag 36

 The groom kept all the rooms in her Stable prepared for use at any moment. Destoiya smiled at Rudolf’s choice. No bed in this one, but close to the fireplace sat a couch shaped like an S-on-its-side, designed for sex. A fire flickered, and candles had been lit everywhere. The closet held padded foam ramps, squares, wedges, plus other shapes created to adjust body angle and heights. The padded floor provided cushioning as well.

 “I’m glad you chose the Toy Room.” Destoiya pulled on one of her elbow-length black gloves. “I believe I’m wearing the right accessories for it.” She drew on the other glove and turned her back to Rudy. “Do you mind unfastening me?”

 “My pleasure.” His voice sounded thick, rough with passion. His deft touch made short work of the fastener and the dress puddled at her feet like black, silken water.

 She stepped free of it, naked except for her black heels, white thong panties, black gloves and pearls. She swept out her hands as she made a graceful turn. “How do I look, Rudy?”

 He loosened his collar. “Like you wish to be mouth-worshiped, my Goddess.”

 She tilted her head. “You know me well.”

 He went down on one knee before her. “May I have the honor?”

 “By all means.” Destoiya caressed his dark, curly hair. “You may proceed.”

 Rudolf crouched and pressed his lips against the top of her right foot. He kissed along her ankle, flicking his tongue in gentle, circular motions. The feel of his warm mouth and tongue made her so wet she could feel her vulva begin to weep. Few could lick so gently without tickling; Rudy knew how to play her body like a fine instrument.

 He took his time reaching her knee and kissed his way up the inside of her thigh, licking every inch. He steadied her with both hands against her bottom as he kissed his way across the top of her trimmed pubic area. He dragged both hands down her other thigh while he licked and kissed along its length.

 “You’re trembling.” Rudy rose and led her to the couch, seating her before he began to remove her shoes.

 Destoiya stretched on the padded, rolling shape. Its natural arches supported her spine and allowed her to rest her head while her feet remained elevated.

 Standing at the end of the couch, Rudy held one of her feet between his hands, warming it. “Comfortable, my Goddess?”

 “Mmm.” He stroked his thumbs along the arch of her foot, wringing a moan of pleasure. She almost writhed, the pleasure was so intense. When he shifted to the other foot, she sighed. “Don’t ever stop.” She closed her eyes. “You give the best foot massages I’ve ever had.”

 “It’s nice to know I’m good for something useful.”

 She opened one eye.

 Smiling at her, Rudy bent to kiss her feet. “I’ve missed you.”

 According to the Stable’s groom, she hadn’t called for Rudy in almost five days. Jades did not pleasure themselves without permission. Their sexuality belonged to her, and only her.

 “It’s been too long, hasn’t it, Rudy?”

 Continuing to massage, he shrugged in a wistful, non-committal motion, eyes down. “You are worth waiting for, Your Majesty.”

 Destoiya pushed herself up, turned and rose. “On the couch, Rudy. Get your cock out.”

 He looked up at her in surprise, but laughed and quickly sat, legs on either side. He opened his pants; she preferred sex the first time with her Jades fully dressed.

 The couch supported lovers perfectly for woman on top positions, its rolling S loose and open. Rudy made room as she climbed astride him.

 She wrapped a fist around her panties and ripped them off, positioned herself over his erection and slid down.

 Rudy cried out. He wound both arms around her waist and tugged her close. “Oh, fuck, Majesty. Oh, fuck. You’re so beautiful. I’m so in love with you. I want to do really bad, naughty, dirty things to you all night long.”

 “Oh, I’d like that, Rudy.” She rocked her hips, biting into her lower lip. “Like what? What would like to do me, you bad boy?”

 “I want to make love to you until we’re both so sweaty and hot that steam rises off us. I want to fog the mirrors on my bed.”

 “Nnn.” She pulled up her knees a bit, taking his cock deeper.

 He grunted. Starting to shake, he set his hands on her waist and thrust up into her.

 “What else are you going to do to me, you bad boy?” She pushed her hands through his hair and used it to bring his mouth to her right breast.

 He latched onto her nipple like a hungry babe. Rudy always sucked in her entire nipple, not just the tip. A streak of erotic fire shot straight down to her pussy. The ministrations of his hot, wet mouth wrung an orgasm from her. She shuddered, head back while she rode him through it.

 When she pulled back, he stared up at her, his teeth tightly together. “Oh, fuck, Majesty. You know just how to do me. How to get me hot.”

 “That’s right, Rudy.” She drew one finger down his nose and across his mouth. “I surely do. Now, tell me something else you want to do to me tonight.”

 “I want to take you in the pool. The one with the waterfall.” It cascaded hot water over a rush of stone, cooling as it hit the air, making it splash warmly over skin.

 “I like that. The water’s deep in there, Rudy. Are you sure?” She teased him by circling her hips; he gasped, nodding.

 “Yeah. Deep. I’m gonna put you on my shoulders while I lick your pussy.”

 “Oooh…”

 “I’m going to bury my tongue inside you.”

 The image of them in the pool sent bolts of heat through her.

 “You like that, don’t you?” He held her down hard against him. “You like being licked.”

 “Yes, I do, Rudy. I love a big bad boy like you teasing my pussy.”

 “I’m going to lick you raw and then fuck you till you scream.”

 She groaned at his words. Destoiya rose up almost to the top of his shaft and wiggled her way down again. She gripped his head as she bent to take his mouth. Resting her elbows on the arch of the couch, she lay against him while they kissed.

 Rudy opened his mouth for her invasion, stroking and sucking at her tongue. Grinding her hips, she moved in slow circles, bringing the heat of his cock deep inside her.

 Beneath her, he groaned in lust, lost in its throes. She raised a little, arching over him, arms out straight against the headrest to support herself.

 “Come for me, Rudy. I want to feel your hot jism inside me. Get it in me, lover. Fill me. You’re so hot inside me.”

 He gasped twice and arched up against her, tugging her down against him hard. Having this beautiful man out of control and over the edge, deep in bliss in her arms, sent her over the top as well. Her own rhythmic squeezes milked his cock. Destoiya rose on her knees.

 Rudy captured her in his arms and snuggled her close. He swept his tongue around her left nipple, sucked it into his mouth and tugged the other with his fingers.

 Still shivering from her previous orgasm, his touch sent another soaring through her. His softening cock began to stiffen again.

 “Oh, Rudy.” She rocked herself against him. “What a big bad boy you are tonight.”

 *

 Conqueror’s Palace, Stable, Keeper Wing

 Rudolf Brakovsky’s quarters

 Destoiya curled up in Rudolf’s bed with him spooning behind her. She nestled against him, loving the feel of half-hard cock against her thigh and the fuzz of chest hair against her skin. “You’re so warm.”

 He wrapped an arm around her waist. “You like that?” His breath felt steamy against her ear.

 “Mmm. I had no idea you were so cuddly.”

 Rudolf nuzzled the base of her neck. “You’ve never spent the night in my room before.”

 Turning to face him, Destoiya put her head on his shoulder. “I wanted to talk to you.”

 “Now?”

 She smiled, tracing her finger down his jaw line. “Are you too tired?”

 “Hell, no. Whatever you’re up for, I’m ready.”

 “Good.” She drew her finger across his mouth and down his chin. “You’re about the same height and weight as Alitus. Did you know that?”

 Beneath her head, his shoulder tightened. “No. I never noticed.” He kissed her temple. “Why? Does it matter?”

 “Mmm.” She pushed herself up on one elbow so he could see her face. “He’s a Better, you know.”

 “Yeah.” His eyes narrowed. In the dim light, she could not read his expression, but the stiffness of his shoulders and neck gave away his jealousy.

 “Have you heard about the Better veil that Parliament is about to require?” The veil consisted of a head covering like a fine net that fell below the shoulders. In addition to preventing their pheromones from escaping, the veil also altered Betters’ voices to a non-gender specific robotic sound, thereby eliminating their influence over normal humans. Although they could see out without difficulty, no one could see within.

 “They’re going to pass that law?” Rudolf frowned. “Why would you let them, Majesty? It’s so unfair.”

 She lay down beside him. “Alitus knows this will limit him.” She stroked Rudolf’s chest hair, pulling tufts of it with her fingers. “He’s against it and so am I. But we have a democratic monarchy, to an extent, and the people want this. I won’t veto the bill.”

 Rudy shook his head. “I don’t pretend to understand the politics of it, but if you say it’s right, I’ll accept that. How can I help?”

 “There are going to be times when I’ll need Alitus to be somewhere else when he’s supposed to be with me in public. Once wearing the Better veil is law, no one will know who’s actually under that thing.”

 “I see. And you want me to double for him at those times?”

 “Yes.” She moved to where he could see her eyes. “Will you do it?”

 “For you, my Goddess, I’d appear in public wearing nothing but a smile. Whatever you need me to do, consider it done.”

 She clapped her hands and hugged him. After a kiss, she settled against his shoulder. “Thank you, Rudy.”

 “I don’t walk like him, you know.” His voice rumbled beneath her ear. “I’ll have to study his walk.”

 “That’s true. Will you be able to pull it off?”

 “No problem.” He kissed her brow. “Dancer’s tricks. The voice won’t be a problem. The veil changes it, but I don’t know how I’ll pass myself off as him without some briefing on his duties. Is he ok with all this?”

 “Mmm.” She lifted one arm over his chest and cuddled closer. “Whatever it takes.” The drifting relaxation of a good doze came over her.

 She felt as well as heard him sigh. In a soft voice he said, “Why do I have this feeling that I’m going to regret this?”

 Chapter Five

 Tarth,TarthCity

 Conqueror’s Palace, Alitus Vivaldi’s Quarters

 Sumertsag 41

 Alitus let himself into his quarters and smiled at his approaching servant. “‘Evening, Grib.” He shrugged out of his jacket.

 “Good evening, sir.” Grib accepted the jacket and hung it in the closet. The Tyran’s hooves had been encased with padded shoes but they still clicked on the hardwood floor of the foyer. Goat-like from the waist down, Grib seemed human from the waist up—until he turned his head and his pointed ears and downward curling horns came into view. “Will there be a guest for dinner tonight, Mr. Vivaldi?”

 Her Majesty’s visits happened at all hours and rarely with announcement. Alitus ensured his staff stayed continually prepared to accommodate her. “Supposed to be just me tonight. Tell Cook not to bother with anything. I grabbed a bite at work.” He unfastened his cuffs. “My office staff had a party this afternoon and I picked at leftovers while I finished up a project.” He dropped the metal cuffs onto a gold-edged plate one of the Tyran ambassadors had given him last year. “They were cold, but I didn’t want much anyway.”

 Grib stared at him, owl-eyed. “Cold party leftovers?” He held up both hands and wagged them back and forth in denial. “We won’t be telling Cook about that.”

 Alitus sat to remove his boots.

 Grib squatted to help him. He set the boots aside and placed slippers in front of him. “Would you care for a brandy, sir? The new Governor of Notidisia arrived today and she sent over a few bottles. I heard they’re flavored with some sort of flowers.”

 “Why not?” Alitus slid his feet into slippers, stood and stretched both arms wide. He rolled his head back and to each side, working out the kinks. Her Majesty had been out all day and for once, he’d actually finished several projects without interruption. He smiled to himself.Although the way she interrupts, it’s worth it.

 Grib presented a large brandy snifter. “Here you are, sir. I’ll go let Cook know you’re home and bring you something proper to snack on.”

 “Thank you.” Alitus inhaled the brandy’s scent as he rolled it around the snifter. Delicate, similar to the perfume Her Majesty always wore. “Mmm…” He tasted it, letting it rest on his tongue. It warmed his throat on the way down. “Delicious.” He carried it into his private sitting room and took another sip.

 My first night alone in months. What do I do with it?He faced the couch. Stacks of leather-bound books sat beside it, most of them as yet unread. Her Majesty preferred the smell of leather binding and the feel of real paper. Never mind that virtual books had infinitely more features and you could store a hundred of them in a chip on your debit bracelet. Handy for popping into holo-form whenever he had a spare moment. She was always pressing a bound book into his hand and insisting, “Read this,” or “You’ll love this author,” or “Find time for this one.”

 How she found the time to read so many books, have sex three or four times a day and run the entire empire was beyond him. Amazing. The woman was simply, utterly beyond comprehension. Did she never sleep?

 He read all the books she suggested, his in the virtual version, so he could discuss them with her—he grinned—whenshe left him coherent enough to talk. Alitus sipped the brandy, set it down and bent to pick up a new book.

 Grib entered with a tray of food.

 Alitus held up the book. “When did this arrive?”

 “Her Majesty sent it over this morning.” He set down the tray and began unloading dishes. “Cook sent up an assortment of appetizers for you, sir. What do you fancy first?”

 “It doesn’t matter. I’m not really hungry.” As Alitus opened the book, a slip of paper fluttered to the floor. He stooped to pick it up and caught her scent. A dizzying wave of desire swamped him. He brought the paper to his nose and inhaled. Luscious. Between the brandy and her scent on the paper, his cock had stirred to life and demanded attention. He did his best to ignore it.

 The note said simply, “Read this, love. We’re going to the grand opening.” It was signed with her usual flourished letter D. He turned over the book.The Fists, the Killers, and Ruckball; the True Story of Two Teams and One Sport that Changed the Empire. New author to him, yet the name seemed familiar, Erryq d’Shoreyh.Hmm, where have I heard that name before?

 He finished the brandy in one gulp, held it out to Grib for more. “What do you know about ruckball?”

 “Ruckball, sir?” He gave Alitus a lopsided grin while he poured. “Why, I could practically write a book myself. I wish I could play.”

 “Why can’t you?”

 Grib stroked one of his horns. “On Tyris, I was banned because my horns aredinwah, meaning they circle downward instead of up. The Tyran version is a lot more bloodthirsty than the Tarthian one.” He lifted one shoulder. “Here, I’m banned because I have horns at all.”

 “Is that so?” Alitus sat on the couch and stretched his legs, propping one ankle over the other. “Bring that tray over here and have a seat, Grib. Tell me everything you know.”

 *

 Alitus woke to the sound of a doorbell and sat up straight on the couch. Grib’s enthusiastic recounting of ruckball had contained so many stats and blow-by-blow details, it hadn’t been long before Alitus was hopelessly lost.I hope I didn’t nod off while he was talking.

 Grib entered and made a short bow. “Her Majesty and a guest are here to see you, sir.”

 “Don’t keep her waiting.” Alitus stood and ran a hand through his hair. He brushed at his shirtfront and started toward the door as it opened.

 Rheyn Destoiya’s presence transformed the room from a mundane bachelor’s den to a palace. She swept into the room like the sexual tornado she always was, her black evening gown sparkling with a metallic luster, shoulders bare, her arms sheathed in black velvet gloves. Her hair was up, baring her lovely neck. She never wore much jewelry—tonight, all she had was a pendant of blue Kyrenie fire crystal.

 Alitus flexed his fingers, eager to touch her. Just being in her presence gave him a hard-on.

 “I’m glad to see you’re up.” She winked and held out her hands.

 He put his into them and leaned forward for a kiss. Her intoxicating scent drew his balls up and sent a frisson through him.

 “I see you’ve been reading the book I sent you.” She nodded toward the couch, where the book on ruckball lay open, face down. Grib had used it to show him the different zones on the field.

 “I’ve started it, Majesty.” He leaned around her. “I thought Grib said someone came with you.” If she was alone, perhaps she had time for sex. He moved closer to her.

 Destoiya squeezed his hands. “I know you’ve been dreading that law passing.”

 Alitus jerked back. “The Better veil? Have they passed it? Is that why you’re here?”

 “Try not to be bitter.” She caressed his cheek. “Darling, I know it’s difficult to understand. And of all people to have triggered this entire thing, it had to be Khyff.”

 That was true.

 Khyff’s HalfKin brother Senth and his fiancée, the Better NarrAy Jorlan had been attacked earlier that year. When NarrAy had defended them, she overloaded the attackers with her pheromones and stopped their hearts. NarrAy had been arrested for murder, while Senth, who’d been critically wounded in the attack, lay in a coma, near death. To save him, Khyff agreed to Her Majesty’s demand to seduce a powerful Kin ambassador who was a threat to the fragile treaty between the Kin homeworld and the empire.

 The plan had gone awry when the ambassador’s brother had died and she’d returned to Felidae, taking Khyff with her and extending diplomatic immunity to his family. Destoiya managed to pull the situation out of the fire, however and bring about the result she wanted. Khyff had fallen in love with the ambassador and supposedly held no more interest for the Conqueror.

 Yet here the man was again, cropping up between them.

 Alitus sighed. “That veil will cripple my ability to serve you. It will demoralize all Betters, and even worse, turn us into nothing more than draped shapes. We’ll cease to be recognizable as people.” He retreated from her, and without turning his back, moved so he did not face her. “We’ll be required to wear it any time we’re not inside our homes. We’ll become invisible.” He pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, biting back words. “You won’t have to worry about succumbing to my pheromones any more. You won’t sense them at all with me inside that—that—cloth prison.”

 Destoiya covered her mouth, her silver eyes full of unshed tears. “Oh, Alitus.” She took one hesitant step toward him. “I’m so sorry.”

 “Not sorry enough to veto it!” He bit his lips, backed away another step, and bowed. “I apologize, Your Majesty. Please forgive my tone. I meant no disrespect.”

 “Of course, you didn’t.” She tilted her head to one side. “I understand your anger.”

 “Do you?” He heard his voice rising but seemed incapable of stopping it. “Do you know what it’s like to be shunned simply because you’re different? I already have to wear gloves when I’m in public, simply to keep from accidentally touching someone and influencing them. Now I have to hide my face as if I’m some sort of monster too terrible to look upon.” He turned his back, unable to bear the pity in her eyes.

 He flinched at the touch of her hand. “Alitus.”

 He could not force himself to look at her. He breathed as heavily as if he’d run up a flight of stairs. He made fists, fighting to hold onto the anger that threatened the last vestige of his control.

 “I found a way to help.”

 Alitus pressed fingers against his brow, struggling to absorb her words and force them to make sense. “Help.” He met her eyes. “Help how?”

 Destoiya ran her hands down his arms, turning him to face her. “Alitus. Darling.” She touched his cheek. “My love, I treasure you as I’ve treasured no other. You bring peace into my soul when I haven’t had it in cent…” She paused. “—in so long, I can’t remember.” Her tremulous smile made his heart ache. “I’ve thought of a way to give you more freedom.”

 He sagged his shoulders, head down. “How, Majesty? If you won’t veto the law, then how?”

 She smiled, her eyes as silver as a moon’s glow. “Wait here.” She returned to the door and opened it, motioning to whoever waited outside.

 Chapter Six

 Conqueror’s Palace, Alitus Vivaldi’s Quarters

 Sumertsag 41

 Alitus pressed the fingers of both hands against his brow, struggling to fathom what he was seeing. Destoiya had summoned what could only be a male Better, draped with a black veil that completely hid him from the shoulders up. Wearing unrelieved black, not one inch of the man’s skin showed.

 Oh, God. Is this my future? Blankness? Reduced to nothing more than a black shape to be cast off and ignored?His stomach felt as if he’d eaten a nest of live spiders.

 The empress led the man forward by the hand. “Well, Alitus?” She gestured to the other Better and smiled as if showing off a prize. “What do you think?”

 He chewed his lip to refrain from cursing. With barely restrained loathing, he folded his arms. “Am I that easily replaced?”

 “Repla—? No! I would never add another Better to the Stable. One of you is quite enough, believe me.”

 He drew back.

 “I—I didn’t mean itthat way.” Destoiya clasped her hands together. “I only wanted you to see what he looked like so you could…”

 “Am I supposed to beimpressed by this fashion show?”

 Destoiya’s brows lifted, eyes wide. She remained silent a long moment before turning to the other Better. She sighed and made a curt gesture. “Show him.”

 The Better pulled off the veil. “Hey, man.” He reached up and tousled his hair into place, sweeping the dark locks back from his face with a stupid grin. “How you doing?”

 Alitus held his breath, too stunned to speak. Rudolf Brakovsky? Rudy was anormal . One of her fucking boy toy slaves. A Jade.

 “How dare you come into my home and mock me!” Alitus hauled back and punched him right in the nose.

 *

 “Alitus!” Destoiya shoved him back, away from Rudolf. “What are you doing?” She leveraged herself between them. “He’s trying to help you!”

 “Help me? How?” Alitus curled his right hand into a fist. “By coming here in that get up and mocking me?”

 “No. No…” Destoiya planted both feet on the ground and leaned against him, but Alitus slid her aside like a child and went after Rudolf again.

 “Hey! Be cool, Alitus.” He flinched back, one hand held up, the other pressed against his bleeding nose. “I thought you were ok with this.”

 “Who the hell do you think you are, coming here like that? I ought to break your neck, you son-of-a-bitch!”

 “Alitus!” Destoiya grabbed his arms and pulled him back. “Stop it!”

 Rudolf backed farther away. He glanced at his blood-stained fingers. “I’m supposed to be your stand-in.”

 “For what?” Alitus shook off Destoiya’s restraining hands and stalked after the Jade.

 Rudolf retreated to the door and opened it.

 “Rudy, don’t leave!” Destoiya put herself between the two men again, both hands out to hold Alitus back. She’d never seen him like this. Her haven of peace had morphed into a tyrant of outrage. “Alitus! Listen to me.”

 “How could you do this to me?” The deep blue of his eyes neared black, his mouth a hard line. “How could you bring one of your Jades here dressed like that and mock me! How could you!”

 He turned his back on her. She gasped and covered her mouth. One did not turn one’s back on the Empress of the Tarthian Empire.

 Rudolf had pulled a handkerchief from a pocket and pressed it against his nose. “Majesty, forgive me, but I think it’s better if I go.” He motioned out the door.

 Destoiya nodded. When the door closed, she hesitated a moment before walking around Alitus and facing him. His head was down, jaw clamped tight as a vise. She could feel anger coming off him in waves, and she was not the least bit psychic.

 “Until now…” She folded her arms. “—you have been a paragon of propriety and that’s the only reason I’m going to withhold punishment for this behavior.” Since he still did not meet her eyes, she began to pace, gloved hands behind her. “You have always put me first and treated me with the utmost respect.” She stopped directly in front of him and was relieved when he raised his head and met her gaze. “I value that quality in you. Perhaps too much.” She shook her head. “Perhaps I’ve asked far too much.”

 Alitus turned away again.

 “When I speak to you…” She used her military command voice. “—look at me.”

 He stiffened his shoulders and lifted his head.

 She thunked a hand into the middle of his chest and gazed up into his dark eyes. The whites were shot with blood. He’d withheld his pheromones even while furious and hurt—he could have inundated the room, used them to dominate, to force his will. He hadn’t. The result faced her now. She bit her lower lip.Oh, dear God, what have I done?

 Destoiya tore off her gloves and threw them to the floor. “Alitus, I never meant to hurt you. You mean everything to me. If I could spare you this inconvenience, don’t you think I would?”

 “Inconvenience?” He tilted back his head, blew out a harsh breath and laughed. The wretchedness of that sound tore out her heart. “Is that what you think this is to me?” He glared at her. “Some damned inconvenience like having to wait for you to finish screwing everyone else before you get to me?”

 She made a fist to keep from striking him. “If any other man in this empire had dared say that to me, he would be dead right now.” Opening her hands with deliberately slow movements, she put them at her sides. For this gentle, loving man to be so angry, she had indeed hurt him. Perhaps too deeply to recover. She prayed it was not too much, even while she feared the worst.

 With infinite patience, she lifted one hand and stroked it down his smooth cheek. Gentling him the way she would a wild horse, she smoothed her hand across his shoulders, down his chest. “Alitus. Alitus, help me, love. I’m trying to understand. Talk to me.”

 He closed his eyes, shaking his head.

 “You must talk to me, love.” She took his arm. “Please. Please, come sit down.” She led him back to the couch and moved the book aside. Patting the space beside her as she sat, she waited while he seated himself.

 Alitus leaned forward, elbows braced on his knees, head down. A tear dropped onto the floor at his feet.

 “What is it, love? What are you feeling?”

 He turned his face toward hers, agony in his eyes. “How can you shame me like this?”

 “Shame you?” Laying a hand against her bosom, Destoiya caught her breath. “How can you think I want to shame you?”

 “You’re making me hide everything I am, Majesty. You used to take pride in having me beside you. You used to show me off to people.” He mimicked her higher voice, “‘Alitus is my only Better.’ You forget how acute all my senses are, Majesty. I could hear you discussing me with others. Comparing me to other men. To your Jades.”

 She nodded, showing she listened. “Go on, love.”

 “I was reared to have pride in what I am. I’m a Better!” He touched his chest. “The very name says what I am. Anything one of them can do…” He threw out his arm toward the door her Jade had exited. “—I can do longer, harder and stronger. I have never let you down. I’ve always put you first. Always! I’ve never taken anything for myself. Never asked for one single thing.”

 “That is true, my love. I respect you for it.”

 “And now, I have to hide as if there’s something wrong with me. As if I were diseased!” He stood, paced in front of the couch. “I’m a Better! A Better! There is nothing wrong with me, damn it!” He confronted her, his face mottled with rage. “And I resent like hell being forced to act like there is!”

 She got to her feet. Nothing she could say could take away the sting this caused his pride. Nothing she could do would assuage it.

 “Alitus.” How could she explain how this law nudged the empire forward in her master plan without revealing the plan to him in its entirety? Yet to do that meant revealing her true self. She was a Sempervian. She could reveal her true nature only to one of theChosen .

 As part of a secret society, theChosen had access to every aspect of a Sempervian’s life. If she accepted him as herChosen , he would learn her history, her plans, her strengths and weaknesses. Destoiya had not accepted aChosen in over four hundred years for those very reasons.

 A Chosen would die before revealing secrets. Destoiya would die before asking it of anyone. Never. Never. She would never let anyone die for her again.

 Alitus studied her as if reading every thought that raced through her mind.

 If she told him, it would bind him and his house to hers forever. Taking his hands in hers, she lifted her face to his.

 Chapter Seven

 Conqueror’s Palace, Alitus Vivaldi’s Quarters

 Sumertsag 41

 “I owe you an apology, Alitus. I’ve asked far too m-much of you. You have every right to be f-furious with m-me.” She averted her face and turned away.I am the empress, for God’s sake! I have to control myself. Yet, facing his anger, she stammered like an awkward girl ending a bad first date. She clenched both fists.Get hold of yourself!

 Behind her, she heard every ragged breath her lover took. Her own heart hammered.Get it over with, Rheyn. Be the Conqueror. She whirled to face him.

 “You’ve never withheld anything from me except your anger and I’ve taken every advantage I could. It’s been all too easy for me to take you for granted. It was terrible of me to abuse you in such a way, Alitus. I only meant for Rudolf to fill in for you at my side when you had other things to do. He was to be a decoy. Nothing more. I—shouldn’t have surprised you like that.”

 She’d allowed him to rage at her as if she were no more than his doxy, and all she could think to do was stoop and pick up her gloves. He, above all people, didn’t deserve her anger. She drew the gloves across the palm of her hand.

 “Alitus.” She could not bring herself to make eye contact with him. “I—I’m sorry.” She hurried toward the door.

 “Rheyn!”

 Brought up short by his use of her first name—an intimacy he rarely allowed himself—she turned back. By some trick of the light, his blond hair glowed, its paleness diffused further by her tears. Stripped of his usual jacket, his plain dress shirt shone like white fire.

 She waited for him to say something further.

 Arms out at his sides, Alitus stood there, his submissive stance echoing her own futility. He sank to his knees, one hand over his eyes.

 Destoiya hastened back to his side and knelt, gathered him in her arms. “Oh, Alitus. My love. My love…” She pushed her fingers through his silken hair, cradling his head against her.

 “Oh, God, Rheyn.” He lifted his tear-stained face to hers, shaking his head, the bloody whites making his eyes a brilliant blue. Wetness turned his blond lashes into dark, spiky points. “I’m so sorry. Please, please, don’t leave me.”

 “I couldn’t leave you, Alitus. I could never leave you.” She drew him close and pressed his head against her shoulder.

 Day in and out she relied so heavily on this man it slipped her mind how much she truly loved him. He was all man, grown from that sweet, virgin youth she’d fallen in love with. Where did the years go? Gone like a quick snap of her fingers.

 Alitus sucked in a deep breath, shuddering. “I had no right to be angry with you.”

 “Shh.” She kissed his wet cheek, dried his tears with her fingers. “Of course, you did, love. I pushed you far too hard.”

 Too late, she felt the result of the pheromones in his tears. Comforting him brought her under the chemical spell of his pheromones as easily as if he’d released them into the room. Heat bloomed within her as if they’d spent hours in foreplay. Droplets of sweat formed on her brow and between her breasts. Her mouth went dry.

 She clenched a fist across her stomach. “Alitus…”

 He pulled back, confusion on his face. Guilt transformed it. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean t…”

 “It’s all right,” she whispered.

 Every Sempervian bore a blessing and a curse—her curse doomed her to a torment of sexual desire few human men could ever extinguish alone. A nightmare of unquenchable lust that wracked her days and turned her nights into bouts of perversion and twisted sexual escapades. Anything to escape the fire burning within her. A keening fire that allowed her no dignity. No shame. No rest. And Alitus—one of the few who could soothe her maddening heat—could also spike it unbearably with a single touch.

 She stood on shaky legs and staggered, caught in her long hem.

 Alitus rose and swept her into his arms. “Let me love you, Rheyn. Let me give you peace.”

 She tilted back her head, accepting his kiss, arms wrapped around his neck. Hot blood thundered through her veins, scorching her inside. Used to commanding her lovers, submission did not come easy. In her heart she knew he needed to dominate her tonight, take her, prove to himself she was his. Knew he needed to take her inhis bed. Not hers.

 He entreated her with kisses and swept his tongue inside her mouth. She moaned into his, sucking at his tongue, opening wide to coax him inside. Destoiya mated with his mouth, his honeyed taste bringing to mind a sweet brandy. Intoxicating. Lush. Like him.

 He nipped at her chin and throat.

 A sob rose within her. Destoiya nestled against him as Alitus carried her from the room. His firm arms drew her in, held her fast against his muscled chest. His scent, a mix of apricot and peach when he was aroused, drifted to her. She inhaled, taking his pheromones deeper, deeper, right into her soul.

 “I need you, Alitus. I want you inside me. Take me. Love me…”

 “Yes, Rheyn. Yes. I love you.” He kissed her, a wild coupling of mouth and tongue that left her breathless.

 The simplicity of his bedroom—a big bed, a chair, bedside tables—underscored his elegance. The physical beauty of Alitus the Better fit here. The brocades and tapestries suited his golden hair, ocean-blue eyes and perfectly sculpted face. The heart of Alitus the Man wooed her, won her, whether they shared a palace or a hovel.

 “Rheyn,” he whispered her name as he set her on her feet beside the bed. “I love you. I will take care of you. Trust me.”

 He pulled down the golden brocade covers, baring the sheets. He knelt and wrapped one hand around her ankle.

 “Put your hand on my shoulder.” He steadied her as he helped her step from her shoes. Rising, he made short work of her dress’s fasteners and let it fall to the floor.

 She stood before him naked except for panties and necklace, the heat between her legs making her writhe. “I want you, Alitus. I need you so. Please, hurry…”

 “I am, love.” Using both hands, he peeled her panties down her legs, squatting to take them off her. “I’ll take care of you. Satisfy you. I promise.” The warmth of his breath against her mound made her shiver with anticipation.

 He scooped her up and laid her gently on the bed. Its cool sheets against her heated skin soothed. Lying beside her fully dressed, he propped himself up to gaze down at her. Alitus took her chin in one hand and tilted her face to his as he bent for a lingering kiss that made her arch against him.

 The rapture in his tender touch inflamed her. Alitus was desire embodied in a male form that had been designed for beauty and created for exquisite pleasure. Destoiya intended to plunder his passion until she had her fill of him. She spread her legs wide, inviting him without a word.

 “You are so beautiful, Rheyn.” His golden lashes lowered as he took in her body. He slid his fingers between her labia and stroked her, making her arch and cry out. The stark blue of his eyes against their reddened whites spoke of his control, his insistence on caring for her first.

 Even in heat like an animal, she recognized his concern for her. She closed her thighs around his hand. “Fuck me, Alitus. Now. Don’t make me wait, please!”

 She left him no time to respond, but devoured him with kisses born of desperate hunger, wrapping her legs along the length of his. She pulled him atop her and reached between them to free his cock. “Fuck me, Alitus. Make me yours. Put your scent all over me.”

 He angled himself above her and put his shaft at the mouth of her pussy. “How many times do you want me to fuck you, Rheyn?”

 “All night, love. All night.” She gripped his collar. “Take me. Do me. Get inside me and make me beg.”

 He rammed into her up to the hilt and stayed there, pressed against her mound. The fullness of him inside her made her groan, greedy for more. His shaft opened her wide. He rocked her, rubbed himself back and forth inside her, pressed against her clit and opened her lips.

 She rolled her head from side to side, so lost in passion she could not form words to think. Her lust for Alitus left her unguarded, vulnerable and open. Utter trust in him made her secure.

 Alitus slipped an arm beneath one of her thighs as he pulled out, only to slam back in hard enough to make her scream.

 “Yes, that’s it, love.” He rocked into her again. “There’s no one here to interrupt us. Scream as loud as you want.”

 Destoiya braced her arms against the head of the bed and pushed up against him as he slammed into her once more. Her throaty cries erupted as an orgasm shuddered over her. Her ravenous desire demanded more. “Fuck me, Alitus. Take me. Please, please take me. Take me.”

 “That’s right, Rheyn. Cry. Beg.” He put his mouth next to her ear. “Who makes you come all night? Who makes you beg?”

 “You. You. Only you.” She twisted her hands in his hair and yanked his mouth to hers in a wolfish kiss. With Alitus pounding into her, she sobbed through another soaring, throat-clenching climax, surrendered fully to the man she loved.

 Chapter Eight

 Conqueror’s Palace, Stable, Keeper Wing

 Sumertsag 43

 Alitus squared his shoulders. Day One of the Better Veil Law, but no veil for him. He entered Her Majesty’s private elevator and touched his gloved hand to the button marked Stable.

 He smiled as a quote came to mind from an article he’d skimmed for Destoiya only that morning. One of the members in a new rock group made up of five Betters had been asked if he felt inferior when he walked into a concert hall full of normals.

 He’d glanced at his four band-mates and answered, “We feel like drets among a room full of draks.” The joke being that a dret was the tiniest coin in the empire, worth ten times more than a thumb-sized drak.

 The group of five Betters, known as Forbidden Pleasures, had protested the Better Veil Law by canceling their nine-planet tour. “Our managers could put veiled androids on stage and pipe in our music over the sound system and our fans would get the same view. Our fans want to interact withus . They deserve to get what they paid for.”

 Within hours, at least fifty other Better performers followed suit, refusing to perform while veiled. Empire-wide, fans inundated TicketBot, demanding refunds, which forced the company to shut down its hubs on all twenty-two worlds. Imperinet, the empire’s lifeline of communication, suffered major breakdowns all morning because of the overload.

 The President of Lucsondis Entertainment, which had purchased TicketBot only weeks earlier, called the palace personally to voice his complaint to the empress. Any time Luc Saint-Cyr spoke, Destoiya listened. By noon, the empress had decreed that Betters performing in public were free to dress or costume themselves as they pleased, so long as a shield protected the audience from pheromones. In addition, no Better would ever have to veil inside the palace walls.

 Alitus grinned. Nice touch, that last bit. But performers were not going to accept such limitations. The Veil Law was quickly becoming an annoyance no one wanted to enforce.

 As he left the elevator, scanbots in the secured section outside flashed a green light over him and backed off.

 Although the upper levels of the palace where the empress kept her favorite boy toys was once his home, Alitus now visited only if absolutely necessary. Destoiya did not keep wimps in her stable. The humans, whether or not they slept with other guys, ran on pure, unfiltered testosterone. His genetic makeup deviated enough from theirs for all of them to feel the difference. One-on-one, they were ok with him. But whenever he entered their collective presence, they shivered as if a cool fog had entered the room. Her two Androg lovers, accustomed to reading emotions from others, always studied him as if puzzled; Betters were immune to empathic readings and telepathy.

 Alitus presented himself at the Stable groom’s office. The middle-aged human oversaw the literal army of lifelike, identical androids involved in caring for the Jades. He was certainly handsome enough to be a Jade himself, yet Byrin Arual’s relationship with Destoiya seemed completely professional. She’d never shown the least bit of interest in him. Alitus had often wondered at that.

 Byrin welcomed him and gestured to one of the leather-bound chairs in the small office. “Have a seat. Great to see you again, Alitus. Are you here on official business?”

 “Personal.” He started to strip off his gloves, decided against it and smoothed them back over his fingers. “I came to see Rudolf Brakovsky.”

 “Ah.” Byrin perched against the edge of the compact desk. Monitors filled the opposite wall, revealing the Jades in various activities. “Is this about the bloody nose from the other night?”

 Cheeks warm, Alitus cleared his throat. “Yes.”

 “It’s my duty to remind you that any provocation between Jades is strictly prohibited. I know you’re no longer a Jade.” He held up a hand to prevent interruption. “But Rudy is. I don’t want to put him in a compromising situation.”

 “I won’t touch him.” Alitus crossed his legs. “I owe him an apology.”

 Byrin studied him a moment, his expression grave. “If you didn’t represent Her Majesty the way you do, I wouldn’t permit this. Rudy’s a good guy.”

 He resisted the urge to hang his head and instead, met the man’s unflinching gaze. “Yes, he is. Which is why this is so important.”

 The groom stood and walked away. “I never expected violence from you, Alitus. When you lived in the Stable, you were the one everyone looked up to, even though you were the youngest. From the first day you entered the Stable, they called you ‘Mr. Perfect.’ When you were out of earshot, of course, but every one of the guys liked you despite the fact it was no secret you were special to Her Majesty.”

 “I…” Alitus tugged his gloves on a little tighter. Liking him was an after-effect of his pheromones, but Byrin didn’t need to know that. It was unclear whether Alitus could ever have a true friend; his pheromones were that powerful. He wet his lips, took a deep breath. When Byrin stared as if waiting for a reply, Alitus murmured, “Thank you. I—don’t know what to say.”

 “Hell, man.” Byrin threw out his arms. “She created the ‘Lover’ level so she could put you above the Keepers. No one else has ever been in it. You know how crazy that makes these guys? Yet there isn’t one of them that would say a single bad thing about you. And that isn’t because of the rules here. Did you know that?”

 He lowered his lashes.

 “What the hell got into you?”

 “I’d rather not discuss it, Byrin.” He smoothed the crease in a pant leg and rested his hands on the chair’s arms. “Consider it a momentary lapse of reason and let it go, please. Her Majesty has. I’m here to ask Rudy for forgiveness. Isn’t that enough?”

 Byrin glared as if about to argue, but then shook his head. “All right. Suit yourself. Take it easy while I go find him. At this hour, he’s probably working out.” Byrin searched the bank of monitors for a moment before he excused himself and left.

 Alitus thrust himself to his feet and paced.You can do this. Just get it over with and get back to work. For two days, he’d done nothing but argue with himself about coming here.Time to put it in the past and move on. How could I have doubted Her Majesty’s intentions?

 She had not chided him. Although she’d never told him to apologize, she had to expect it.Jealousy does not become you, Alitus. You know you have my heart. You know that.

 But do you love me?Why couldn’t he make himself ask? Why couldn’t she say it if it were so?If she loves me, why is she always in their beds? How long has it been since she told me she loved me? He slammed one fist into the other, grimacing.

 He bit his lips together and paced faster. Clasping his hands before his mouth, he tapped them against his lips.Control yourself, Alitus. You’re going to need Rudy’s help. Get hold of yourself.

 As the door opened, he turned to face it, lowering both hands to his sides. If he released his pheromones now, it would lower Rudy’s resistance. His pheromones gave him a distinct advantage. Cheating, however, was not in the nature of Alitus Vivaldi.

 Facing the competition for the woman he loved did not come easy. Rudolf Brakovsky was built like him, but more athletic, his muscles more defined. Alitus was blond; Rudy had dark hair. Both had blue eyes, Alitus’ like the ocean, Rudy’s, the sky. Alitus had been bred for intellect; Rudy was natural earthiness and sensuality.

 The man stood in the doorway, blocking the groom’s entrance behind him. He made a small gesture. “I got this, Byrin.” The door shut behind him.

 Alitus steeled himself for confrontation, hyper-aware of Rudy’s stillness, like the motionless menace of an animal poised to strike.

 Rudy took three steps into the room and halted. Damn near naked, he wore only gym shoes, socks, loose shorts, and a white towel around his neck. A white headband held hair out of his eyes. A fine sheen of sweat covered him. He lifted a corner of the towel and wiped his face, dabbing at his nose, which had a bluish tinge on its left side. The color had seeped into the area below his left eye as well.

 “How you doin’, Alitus?”

 “This will never work.” Alitus turned his back and resumed pacing. “We’re far too different.”

 “Yeah, well, nice to see you, too, asshole.” He heard Rudy open the door.

 “Wait.” Alitus spoke over his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

 No answer at first, then, “For what, that I’m leavin’ ‘cause I don’t have time for your bullshit? Or that you didn’t actually break my nose?”

 Alitus turned toward him. Outside the open door stood Byrin like a guard dog off its leash, waiting for a finger snap from its master.

 “Neither.” Alitus gestured him to shut the door, which Rudy did. “I’m sorry that we got off to such a bad start. I should have begun this conversation by saying I was sorry for hitting you the other night.”

 “Oh, yeah?” Rudy folded his arms. “That supposed to make it all ‘better,’ Better?” Before Alitus could answer, Rudy put in, “Let’s get something straight right up front. I’m doing this for her, not you. I don’t fuckin’ need your apology, so if that’s all you came for, then you can go. I’ll fill in for you becauseshe asked me to. I don’t need any other reason.”

 “Fine, then.” Alitus clasped his hands behind him.

 “Fine.” Rudy jutted his chin forward.

 Neither spoke. Neither looked away.

 Alitus let out a long sigh. “Damn it, Rudy, I was an ass.”

 “You sure as fuck were.” A grin stole across his face. “You’ve got a mean right hook, you bastard.”

 Alitus chuckled. “If it makes you feel any better, my hand still hurts.”

 The two men met in the middle of the room and shook hands, Alitus still gloved. He winced when Rudy squeezed.

 The other man didn’t let go. “What the hell were you thinkin’, man?”

 Alitus withdrew his hand and rubbed it. “The woman makes me crazy. I went brain blind. I didn’t think.”

 Rudy cuffed him on the shoulder. “My ass’d get thrown out of here, ‘f I used a lame excuse like that.”

 “Haven’t got one better.”

 Both eyebrows shot up. “Punny.”

 They both laughed.

 Rudy wrapped his hands around the ends of his towel. “You do realize what a problem this veil thing is going to be for droid security, don’t you? I’ve been reading up on them. The stuff that keeps the pheromones inside makes it so droids can’t read through them to know who’s who. Hell, a rebel assassin could walk right up to Her Majesty and no one would be the wiser until it was too late.”

 “I know. That’s why they’re limiting access to her. Betters won’t be able to get an audience until they’ve been thoroughly screened. Just one more way to screw us.”

 “On a different note, how the hell am I going to get from the Stable to your office without being seen in that Veil thing?”

 He lifted one shoulder. “Just use the passageway from the Stable to Her Majesty’s office. Mine’s right outside hers.” At Rudy’s dumbfounded expression, Alitus asked, “Hasn’t she ever called for you during the work day?”

 Rudy twisted his mouth in a sardonic grimace. “No, but I’ll bet she did you. Which is one more reason for me to dislike you.”

 Tucking his hands behind him, Alitus rocked on the balls of his feet.

 “You smug bastard.” Rudy shook his head, rolling his eyes. “Why I still like you is beyond me.”

 Byrin knocked at the door and opened it, stepping one foot inside. “Her Majesty sent word for you to join her, Alitus. She needs you immediately.”

 “Right there.” He shook hands with Rudolf again. “We have to talk. There are some things you need to know.”

 Rudy shrugged. “You know where to find me.”

 Alitus joined Byrin, who walked with him toward the elevator. “What’s wrong?”

 Byrin pressed the call button. “Three Betters protested in front of Parliament by burning their veils. When police moved in, things got out of hand. Seven of them were killed.”

 Alitus stepped into the elevator, holding the doors open. “Wait, I thought you said there were three Betters.”

 The man shook his head. “The Betters were working together to prevent the police from moving them. When their pheromones combined, it killed seven of the cops.”

 Alitus pressed fingertips against his temples. “This is going to get much, much worse.”

 “I’ll say. There’s a full-fledged riot going on down there.” He put out his hand to stop the doors from closing. “Alitus.”

 He met the man’s grim eyes.

 “Watch your back.”

 Chapter Nine

 Conqueror’s Palace

 Office of Her Majesty Rheyn Destoiya

 Sumertsag 43

 The droning buzz of more than a dozen Members of the Commons and half a dozen Lords filled Alitus’ office. They silenced and bowed as Empress Destoiya strode through the room, her personal android guardian, Prentice at her side. Black-skinned as a Kelthian and bigger overall than a Kin, the android’s bulk alone often caused people to retreat, long before they saw the forbidding expression on his face. Prentice didn’t carry obvious weapons. He didn’t need them.

 Destoiya entered her own office, allowing Prentice to shut the door firmly behind her. She stripped off gloves as she sat. “What’s keeping Alitus? I sent for him twenty minutes ago. He should have been here by now.”

 Prentice tilted his head like a dog hearing a high-pitched whistle.

 She tapped her fingers on the desk while he connected himself with the network of android servants within the palace security system. Damned disconcerting when he did that. It put her in mind of some overreaching machine-like god being prayed to. In truth, Prentice was as far above Tarthian androids as she was above amoeba. His makers had claimed he had a soul.

 “Hmm. Maybe heis praying.”

 “Your pardon, Majesty?” The android’s voice snapped her back to the present.

 “Er, nothing, Prentice. Well? Did you find him?”

 “Yes.” Placing his hands behind him, he widened his stance. “I’ve sent someone to collect him. He was being detained.”

 “Detained! By whom? Everyone in the palace knows him.”

 “The Parliament security forces have him. They recognized Alitus as a Better, but not as your assistant.”

 “How dare they!” She pushed back her chair as she stood. “They have no authority here.”

 “They have full authority to protect the men and women in Alitus’ office.” Prentice nodded toward the door. “Who, ironically, are waiting for him as well.”

 “I want the name of the person responsible for this action. Someone should have ensured a face-list of all Betters working in the palace was routed to the…” She broke off as Prentice picked up a reader on her desk.

 “You mean this list?” He handed it to her.

 Destoiya hesitated, reached out and took it. She thumbed it on and perused the ID of all four Betters on her staff. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why is this on my desk?”

 “Your signature is required before palace personnel information can be released.” He held out a stylus. “Apparently, you’re the one responsible.”

 With a growled murmur, she initialed it and handed it back to him. “How much longer till Alitus gets here?”

 Prentice took three long strides to the door and opened it.

 Alitus almost fell inside, his hand outstretched for the knob. He drew himself up and tugged his jacket into place as he approached Destoiya. “I hate when he does that,” he whispered.

 Prentice rubbed a thumb across his wide lower lip. “I’ll be outside if you need me.” He bowed from the room, closing the door behind him.

 Had that been a smile? She shook off the notion and turned her attention to Alitus. Hands on her hips, Destoiya lifted her chin. “Where have you been?”

 He gestured toward the door. “I was…”

 “Never mind that.” She waved a hand in dismissal. “There’s a crisis at Parliament.”

 “Yes, I heard about the dead police officers.”

 His words grabbed her attention.How does he always know these things? “I want you to hold a press conference.”

 “Of course.” He withdrew a note reader from a pocket and turned it on, but Destoiya laid her hand across it and mimed for him to turn it off. He did at once.

 “I want nothing recordable on my end, Alitus. This conference must be a personal appeal from you.”

 “Appeal. From me?” Alitus frowned. “In what way and to whom?”

 “You’re the best known Better in the empire. You’re constantly seen at my side. I want you to appeal to Betters to wear the veil and obey the law.”

 Dragging a hand back through his pale hair, he narrowed his eyes. “I was hoping no one would ask me what I thought.”

 “No one has.” Destoiya handed him a chip. “I’m telling you what to say.”

 Alitus dropped the chip into his note reader and skimmed the information. While he did, she folded her arms and waited, tapping her fingers against the wool of her uniform jacket. She smoothed the sash and straightened one of her medals.

 Alitus lowered the reader, pressed fingers to brow and shook his head, eyes closed.

 “Well?” she prompted. “How soon can you present this?”

 He didn’t respond right away, keeping his eyes closed as he wet his lips.

 “For your own safety, Alitus, you must obey me. If this backlash against Betters continues, every unveiled Better will be a target. Or anyone who’s beautiful enough to be mistaken for one.”

 “Majesty, you’re asking me to say things that I don’t believe in. This…” He gestured with the reader. “—says that I accepted wearing the veil of my own accord.”

 Destoiya took his arm and led him to one of the wing-backed chairs in her office. “Sit down.” When he complied, she braced both hands on the arms of the chair and put her face in front of his.

 Alitus drew back.

 This close, his scent enveloped her, sending a rush of heat over her face and down the front of throat. Her breasts tingled. “Mr. Vivaldi, do I have your attention?”

 He blinked once. “Completely, Your Majesty.”

 “Do not mistake my desire for you for weakness. When I tell you to do something, it is not a request. It is a demand from your empress.”

 No anger in his wide, blue eyes—but no simple resignation, either.Well, his intelligence has always challenged mine. It’s one of the things I love about him.

 Destoiya stood upright. “My decree that Betters within the palace are not forced to veil does not extend to you. Despite your personal objections, you will comply with this and do as you’re told, for your own safety. Is that clear?”

 “Perfectly, Your Majesty.” A muscle in his jaw twitched. “But if you’re so concerned about me being a target, why are you marking me as one? A Better veiled in black will be pretty hard to miss among a room full of normals.”

 “If I thought for one moment that was your real reason for arguing with me, Alitus, I’d give it serious consideration. But I know you well enough to understand your motives. There will be no discussion. You either obey me as directed or declare right now that you’re leaving my service.” She folded her arms and waited.

 He opened his mouth to object, but pressed his lips together and cast his gaze downward. “Are you firing me?”

 “Will it come to that?”

 His lips went white. Alitus shook his head once.

 Destoiya had no illusions about his acceptance of either the veil or her will on the matter. “I need a verbal answer, Mr. Vivaldi.”

 He raised his head. The earlier defiance in his eyes had muted to apathy. “When I accepted my position, I swore to comply with Her Majesty’s wishes in all matters. That has not changed.”

 “Good.” She held her head aloft. “Then you will put on the veil, attend the conference and when you’re introduced, lift your veil to let people know it’s you. After you deliver the speech…” She touched the reader in his hand. “—drop your veil. From that moment on, you’re not to be seen in public without it again.”

 Chapter Ten

 Conqueror’s Palace, Press Room Ante-chamber

 Sumertsag 43

 Alitus reached beneath the veil and adjusted the fit of it one more time while he waited to be introduced. A cap snugged over the top of his head, the veil itself attached to the top of that. The thick netting made the room dark.

 How am I ever going to find my way around at night wearing this thing? I can’t believe she’s handicapping me like this. You’d think she’d give me decent tools to work with instead of making me damned near blind and suffocating me.

 He pressed his hands together under the veil as if praying and brought them to his lips. An array of emotions flip-flopped in his stomach: disgust, shame, disappointment, anger, and overriding them all—a gut-clenching sense of betrayal.

 Alitus lifted his head.I don’t have to put up with this. I don’t have to stay here. I can quit. He sighed raggedly, lowered his head again.No. There’s no use in lying to myself. I’m as addicted to her as she is to me.

 A Better became part of his lover. Separation ached. And who would hire a Better already addicted to someone else? Especially if that someone were the empress and the Better was the most visible one in the empire. He let out a long, sighing breath.

 There’d only been one generation of Betters ever born. The public outcry against enhanced beings ended the movement before it gained enough momentum to ever be considered dangerous.

 If my parents had known the true ramifications of their choice to conceive me as a Better instead of a normal, would they still have done it? If they’d had any idea how dangerous we could be? Mother always told me all she wanted was a child, so it had to be my father who—

 “Is it heavy?”

 Alitus started at the deep, masculine voice. He hadn’t seen anyone come close, but Prentice stood right behind him. He did not bother to turn around. “What doyou want?”

 “She must spoil you if you get away with that attitude.”

 “What do you know about attitude? You’re an android. They just program it out of you.”

 “You have a lot to learn.” Prentice rarely intentionally made his presence known, though he was never far from Her Majesty. Easy to forget he was even there. “Her Majesty sent me to watch over you.”

 “Ok, you’ve watched me. Now go back and tell her I don’t need a watchdog. I will do my duty.”

 “I think I’ll let you tell her that yourself.”

 Sighing, Alitus turned around, tilted back his head and set a hand on top of the veil to keep it from slipping. Prentice towered over everyone. “Is she with you?”

 “No. But she’ll be watching your speech.”

 “Fine.” Alitus turned back around.

 “You didn’t answer my question.”

 “What question?”

 “Is the veil heavy? You keep lowering your head.”

 “No, not heavy.” Alitus adjusted the hang across his shoulders and pulled it away from his body in front. “It’s hot. I can hardly breathe.”

 “Turn it on.”

 “What?” Alitus pivoted on one foot. He held the veil against his face so he could see out of it better. “It’s hard to hear in this thing.”

 “Reach up inside it and touch the inner brim above your right ear.”

 Alitus stroked one finger along the brim. “I feel a series of small bumps.”

 “Those are the controls. Press them from front to back to increase the cooling effect.”

 Bracing himself for a breeze, Alitus pressed the first bump. Instead, the air immediately lightened and felt less humid. He took the first deep breath he’d been able to draw since donning the veil. “Oh, that feels good.” He pressed the next bump. “Much better. Thanks, Prentice.”

 “The ones about a finger’s width above them adjust visibility. Did no one show you how to operate the veil?”

 “No. Her Majesty thrust it into my hands and said, ‘This is yours.’ I thought this was all there was to it.” Alitus touched the upper bumps; the room’s brightness increased by half. He tapped the others in sequence. His view of the veil almost disappeared. “Is this thing still opaque?” He held up a hand in front of his face. “I can see every stitch in this glove. It’s like the veil’s not there.”

 “You’ll be able to see out in any lighting, but no one will be able to see your face.”

 “Great.” Alitus pressed fingers to brow. “I really will be invisible.”

 Prentice hmm’d, then ducked his head toward him. “Just like an android.”

 The palace press secretary motioned to Alitus that he was on. When he turned back to thank Prentice once more for his help, the tall android was nowhere in sight.

 “Sir?” The secretary touched his arm. “Is everything all right?”

 Alitus nodded, remembered that the movement couldn’t be seen, and answered aloud. “I’m fine, thank you.”

 He followed the woman into the press room and mounted the dais. Praetorian stood on either side of the stage, guns at the ready. For once, seeing them made him feel secure, rather than threatened. He took his place behind the podium, as he had on hundreds of occasions when announcing press releases.

 The room held the usual press-droids and cam-bots from the major news outlets. Today, however, humans had crowded into their midst, including DNN’s dual-gendered Androg star, Kamarr Chaffer, notable for his exposés and rogue reporting. Rumors of his alignment with the rebellion abounded and he did absolutely nothing to quell them. That kind of publicity sold public newsfeeds and shot Imperinet ratings through the roof.

 “Let me announce first that I will not be accepting questions today.” Alitus lifted the front of his veil and set it atop his head. A collective, unsettling “ooh” wafted through the humans in the room. A few edged back from the stage. He flashed them a wide smile anyway. “Good morning. Thank you all for coming.”

 * * * *

 Conqueror’s Palace

 Office of Her Majesty Rheyn Destoiya

 The empress adjusted the volume. Imperinet was broadcasting this vid throughout the empire and she did not want to miss it. When Alitus lifted his veil, the woman beside her leaned an elbow on the desk and stared at the screen.

 “This is the one you want me to test for you?”

 “Yes.”

 Erryq d’Shoreyh rubbed her palms together. “Oh, I do hope he’s naughty. Then maybe you’ll want me to discipline him for you.”

 “Behave yourself.”

 “He’s incredible, Rheyn. Wherever did you find him?” Erryq’s shimmering liquid-gold gaze turned toward Destoiya. “And do you suppose they have any more? If so,” she grinned, “I want two.”

 Destoiya linked her arm with Erryq’s and pressed her lips against the woman’s cheek. “Believe me, darling, you only want two Betters when you’ve never had one. This single Better right here…” She touched his image on the screen. “—is going to send you up in flames.”

 “Good morning,” Alitus was saying. “Thank you all for coming.”

 The empress set a finger against her mouth, miming quiet, as she sat beside Erryq.

 Alitus’ fair skin, blond hair and blue eyes shone against the blackness of the veil around him. “I stand before you today not only on behalf of Her Majesty Empress Destoiya, but also on behalf of all Betters. The recent violence which has gripped Tarth must not be allowed to play out on other worlds. Bloodshed absolutely must stop, for the good of all. I appeal to each Better to do as I have and accept the veil as a requirement of law. Rather than protest its wearing, work to change the law through legal recourse.”

 The speech continued its logical appeal to the end. Written for minds that grasped details and would not forget them, presented by one of their own kind and delivered after such shocking violence, it was sure to have a strong effect.

 As he prepared to step back, Alitus suddenly reached up and pulled off his veil altogether. He tousled his hair. “I must say one more thing,” he began.

 “Here we go.” Destoiya pressed fingers against temples. “I knew he was going to do this. Didn’t I tell you?”

 Erryq patted her hand.

 “For those of you who think I was forced to stand here and give this speech, you’re right.” The media shouted questions; Alitus held up a hand for silence. “However, I learned long ago that our empress has wisdom far beyond my ability to fathom. If she deems it necessary for me to wear this…” He picked up the veil. “—I trust her judgment. Do not let the opinions of the few determine your acceptance of the veil. I choose to comply for personal reasons. Mine are surely not the same as yours.”

 Alitus spread his hands. “Find your own. Do not risk your lives and your families’ lives for the sake of pride. Surely, this law will be overturned soon and reason will return to our society. But until it does,” he flipped the veil around and covered himself with it. “Please,” the genderless robotic voice emitted by the veil gave no hint of the vibrant young man beneath. “Take my advice and save your strength for battles worth fighting. As believe me,I shall be doing. ”

 Chapter Eleven

 Conqueror’s Palace, Alitus Vivaldi’s Quarters

 Sumertsag 43

 Alitus entered his apartments and slammed the door behind him. He yanked off the veil, threw it on the floor and ran both hands through his hair. Shuddering, he tore off his gloves, cast them onto the table in the foyer and rubbed his face.

 After his speech he’d returned to his office to find it empty, the empress gone and his entire staff sent home for the night. He’d made his way home via the usual back way, taking the servant’s elevator, but this night, there were no friendly greetings. Nobody looked directly at him; a few scurried out of his way. Not one person smiled.

 Only four Betters worked in the palace and none of the others had to veil. They had to know it was him. And now the empress was angry with him. She had to be to send everyone home so early.Maybe I am fired, after all.

 Grib didn’t make his nightly appearance, so Alitus hung up his own jacket and removed his cuffs. He listened a moment, but the place seemed isolated, silent. Maybe she’d let all of his staff go.

 He let out a long sighing breath, opened his bedroom door and halted.

 His Empress stood in the middle of his bedroom. The Insatiable Empress, the Queen of Quenchless Lust, his Conqueror.

 Salt and pepper hair lay in loose waves around her shoulders. Her sparkling grey eyes held all the grandeur of a stormy sky. White lace covered the creamy skin of her breasts and a tiny scrap of it exposed her thatch of dark pubic hair. She shifted her weight to one bare leg and pointed the toe of her other foot. Black leather pumps with slender, spiky heels graced her feet.

 “Welcome home, Alitus.”

 He knelt before her and kissed the top of her foot. The scent of her desire filled him with unbridled lust. Her woman’s hair lay within easy reach of his mouth as he sat up. He inhaled her scent and sighed.

 She smiled lazily, placed a kiss on her fingertips, then pressed her fingers against his mouth.

 He closed his eyes against the heat her touch drove through him and opened his mouth to permit her entrance. When his Empress dragged her fingers across the edges of his teeth, he shuddered. Rheyn Destoiya was fire trapped inside the body of a woman. Fire that escaped during sex.

 She traced one finger around the contours of his lips. “I’m proud of the way you handled yourself today, my love. I know it was difficult. I decided to reward you with a night off and some—personal attention.”

 Alitus could barely breathe. Erotic heat stabbed him and made his thighs ache with desire. He shifted on the floor, putting knees wider apart. The trousers hurt—tight, restrictive. He needed out of them. Into her.

 “I want…” He tried to catch his breath, panting with desire.

 “What do you want, love?” Her calm manner made his lust seem all that much more out of control. “Do you want to do something to me?”

 “I want to take you, slam you up against the wall and thrust my shaft into you. Pound into you until you scream with pleasure.”

 Her mouth made an O as she shivered. “What else?”

 “I want to pull out of you and kneel between your legs while I lick you. I want to feel you trembling against my mouth. I want to taste your salty sweetness. Feel you throb against my tongue.”

 “Now, Alitus.” Destoiya held out her hands. “Do it now.”

 With one swift movement, he lunged to his feet, picked her up and braced her against the wall.

 Destoiya flung both arms around his neck and slanted her mouth over his, sucking greedily at his tongue. She wrapped her legs around him, her wild heat robbing him of breath. He staggered. Alitus freed his shaft and guided it toward her opening with one hand. He gave a quick upward thrust of his hips and sighed when she quivered around his length like living, hot, wet silk.

 He groaned into her mouth and let loose his first wave of pheromones.

 Destoiya rocked her hips. Her pupils widened, leaving a silver circle around black as the powerful chemicals hit her system.

 “Alitus.” She tunneled her fingers through his hair. “I started creaming the moment I heard your footsteps.”

 “Majesty…”

 “My name.” She licked his mouth as if he were a piece of hard candy. “Say my name.” She bit into her lower lip, watching his mouth. “Say it, Alitus. I want every part of me in your mouth tonight.”

 He groaned, held her steady while he rammed into her. She watched his mouth as if she were starving for him to speak.

 “Rheyn.”

 Destoiya grunted, rocked her hips against him and milked him with the hard grip of a velvet fist. She clutched his hair, pulled back his head so she could drag her tongue across his jaw, down along his throat. She nipped him as if she were a Kin. Human she might be, but in bed—or anywhere they had sex—his Empress was an animal.

 Alitus reveled in the way she used him. As if there were no others in her bed. Ever.

 She spoke the command that always drove him to the edge. “Let it go, Alitus. Give me all of you.”

 He closed his eyes and let another wave of pheromones hit the air while he pushed into her. Destoiya’s climax shivered all along his shaft, sucked him harder into her, pulled at him with such strength he nearly fell.

 Alitus wedged her up against the wall while he spilled into her hot sheath, headlong into bliss.

 * * * *

 Waking from a pleasant doze to the feel of Destoiya nibbling at the base of his throat, Alitus kept his eyes closed. He rocked his head back into the pillows. “Mmm, Rheyn.”

 They’d made love for hours. Hands above him, stretched out on the bed, he remained completely still, too exhausted to do more than let her use him. Destoiya had drained his pheromones, but a good, long drink of water and a night’s sleep would restore them.

 He smiled in lazy enjoyment of her attention. Small chance of that tonight.

 Her mouth felt cool, her hands warm. She scratched her nails down his chest and skimmed her fingertips across his belly. His skin jumped at the tickly touch. It made him smile.

 Ooh, yum! I love it when she takes her time.He spread his legs, opening himself to the warm slip of her fingers along his thigh.

 “I’m glad you’re home, love.” She cupped a hand around his jaw and tilted his head toward her. “I’m going to devour you with kisses.”

 Alitus moaned against her lips. Destoiya clutched a handful of his hair and held him as she stroked her tongue deeper. The taste of aged whiskey lingered on her mouth. She’d called for her best liquor tonight.

 Worth it,she’d toasted, honoring him. Then she’d dribbled whiskey over the tender skin of his shaft and licked it off. It stung, but her tender attention made the pain bearable. The memory of his empress licking him stirred his cock to life. His empress.His.

 She continued her rough teasing of his nipples and explored the length of his thighs.

 Wait a sec.He took quick stock of where she touched him.Hair, jaw, thighs, nipples … Whoa! Too many hands. Abruptly out of the moment, he flinched.

 Destoiya’s mouth was still connected with his, but her eyes were open and watching him. Beyond the dark halo of her hair moved another woman. The candlelight shone on curly red hair.

 Destoiya moved back.

 She’d bound him while he slept. Left hand, blue silk, right hand, red. The bonds hadn’t tightened until he’d moved. When he moved his feet, he felt the bonds at his ankles contract. He drew a quick breath, willing himself not to panic. Though every pleasure room in the palace sported bondage gear, she’d never tied him before. She must have her reasons.

 Her Majesty would not hurt him. She would never hurt him.

 “Alitus.” She gestured to the woman who came into view beside her. “This is Erryq. She’s going to share you with me tonight.”

 “Your Majesty.” He never failed to honor her with her title around others. It seemed even more appropriate with him tied.

 “You’re no slave, love, but I want you to give yourself to Erryq as if you are. I want you to obey her as you would me. Don’t fight anything she does.” She leaned down and set her mouth against his ear and licked the outer edge of it. Her warm breath made him shiver. “Trust me,” she whispered. “I’ll explain all this later.” Destoiya kissed his cheek and sat back. “Do you understand?”

 He would trust her even if she never explained. The candlelight made it difficult to see detail, but her eyes had a haunted look. Pleading with him. Whatwas this woman to Destoiya, that his submission meant so much?

 He smiled. “I’m yours always, Your Majesty.” He put all the awe and respect he felt for her in his voice. “Please, use me in whatever way you desire.” The pride in her returned smile reassured him he’d said the right thing.

 Erryq dragged her golden-eyed gaze down him and back up, taking her time. She had heavy breasts, high and round, with brown nipples. The tips protruded as if begging to be sucked, each as big around as a stylus. He’d never had another woman. Never wanted one. But the thought of flicking his tongue across those hard, dark nipples…

 Frank appreciation crossed her face. Far from making him feel cheap, that brought him fully erect. She gave his rigid cock an admiring glance and smiled into his eyes.

 “Pleased to meetyou , too, Alitus.”

 The heat in his cheeks rose by several degrees.

 Destoiya slid a finger from the corner of his left eye down to his jaw. “He has a beautiful blush, don’t you think?”

 “Mmm.” Erryq braced herself on one hand, her head next to Destoiya’s. They both regarded him with lust. “I love it when a man blushes. This one looksso damned sweet .” Her voice lowered, slowed, making her words seem the opposite of what she said.

 Alitus held his breath, aroused beyond anything he’d experienced before. What would it be like, having his empressand this splendidly lush woman?

 Destoiya clasped her fist around his cock, making him gasp at the sudden contact. He was tender from the hours they’d already spent playing. “Alitus is one of the finest lovers I’ve ever had.”

 “High praise, coming from you.” Erryq rested her head against Destoiya’s shoulder. “Your sweet blond darling is blushing again, Rheyn. I can hardly wait to get him inside me.”

 The sight of them so close together fueled an instant fantasy. His proud empress on her back with her knees wide apart, Erryq licking and stroking her into orgasm. Him, kneeling over Rheyn while she moaned with satisfaction and sucked his cock. The vibrations of her hummed pleasure skimmed the length of his penis. The fantasy shifted ‘til it was him alone with her. Only her. Only Rheyn and her wicked, sensual mouth…

 The empress laughed, squeezed him a little tighter. Gaze locked with his, she rubbed her thumb across the sensitive tip, making him twitch. He sucked in a big gulp of air.

 “The attraction seems to be mutual.” She glanced at Erryq, back at him. “I’ve never shared him before. He was a virgin when I got him.”

 Alitus turned his head, his face flaming. Would Erryq think him unworthy?

 “Then I’m his first, other than you?”

 “Yes.”

 “Which means he’s been trained to please you?” Erryq smiled when the empress nodded. “Oh, Rheyn! I can’t wait to ride him.”

 A cry escaped from his throat. A sound of pleasure dragged right out of his soul.

 In response, Erryq growled like a Kin, but she looked human. No Kin irises or fangs, yet she snarled like a cat. What was she? Was she human? Andwho was she? Destoiya only shared her stable members with those who returned political favors, but not everyone she catered to was female.

 He’d dreaded the day she asked it of him. He’d become her slave after she’d saved him from imminent rape at the hands of several male Praetorian Guards. The thought of being used against his will had terrified him. Until tonight, when he woke, naked and bound before Destoiya and Erryq, unable to refuse anything they might do to him. Any way they might want to touch, lick, kiss or ride him. He shivered.

 Damn! What do I do? Do I keep my eyes down?He swallowed his nervousness.

 Destoiya wet her lips, eyes heavy lidded. He knew that look. It meant passion. A long, hard night lay ahead.

 Hard.Alitus groaned at the images that word evoked. When she wanted him, she could always get him up. The woman was a devil. A magical, erotic, fiery devil. God, how he loved her.

 He would never question his empress. He was hers to command, hers to use as she pleased. He closed his eyes, trying to control his breathing and his unruly cock, afraid of erupting like an untrained schoolboy.

 He shouldn’t want another lover, ever. He was Destoiya’s. Body. Soul. Spirit. Heart. She ruled his thoughts, his dreams, his every waking moment. She was his empress, his ruler, his—

 Erryq wrapped the cool fingers of one hand around his cock below Destoiya’s fist and squeezed the base.

 “Oh!” Alitus bit his lips and arched his neck, legs stiffening. His ass clenched.

 The two women took turns clasping his shaft. He squirmed and opened his eyes. The sensation of their grasping hands claimed his breath. He dug his heels into the bed, legs wide apart. He was past knowing, past caring. The heat in his cock and the rock-hard ache in his balls drove him beyond rational thought.

 “Mmm. I love his eyes, Rheyn. They’re the darkest blue I’ve ever seen. And such thick lashes.” Erryq rubbed the back of her other hand across his cheek. “How long can he hold out before climaxing?”

 “I used him for hours before you got here, but he’s rested awhile. He’s ready to shoot again.”

 Alitus melted at her words, his eyes so hot he had to close them. He burned everywhere.

 Erryq milked and stroked down his shaft, her hand firm against his base. Her knuckles pressed into the top of his sac with each downward thrust. “Do you want to make him come now?”

 “Yes.” Destoiya squeezed and repeatedly slid her fingers up over the crown of his shaft while Erryq pulled down toward his balls.

 Alitus panted, so hot he could barely breathe. Fire. He was on fire…

 “He’s almost empty.” Destoiya moved on the bed to lie across it, her mouth near his shaft.

 Alitus wrapped his hands around his silk bindings and held on. The cool slide of their free hands over his chest made him gasp and jerk. Once Destoiya touched him with her mouth, he’d be lost. Lost.

 Pain. Pleasure. Need. Heat. Lust… The women continued to squeeze and pull his cock, unrelenting in their touch.Tight. So tight! Hot. They squeezed him so hard it hurt.Hurt so good—oh! He sucked in air.

 So tired, so tired.Destoiya would never stop because he was tired. She never let him sleep through the night. She used him until he ached from her lust, yet he craved her every moment. Dreamed of her at night, fantasized about her during the day.

 And tonight there were two of them to please … A roll of lust crashed over him, made him throb harder, deeper. He felt the hot trickle of a tear as it seeped down the side of his face. Destoiya always made him come until he sobbed. No matter. He’d go back for more and more until she sent him away.

 “It’s all right, my angel.” Erryq rolled one of his nipples between finger and thumb and gave a firm tug. “You’re ours to enjoy, love, and we’re going to make good use of you.”

 Destoiya lapped at the head of his cock and sank over him, enveloping him in wet heat. Her teeth scraped down his length while the tip of her tongue flicked against the under part of his cock.

 Erryq drew Destoiya’s hair back from her face and ran one hand down his empress’s shoulder and across her back.

 “Oh, Alitus.” Erryq’s honeyed voice crooned his name. “It’s so beautiful, seeing you with your cock buried in her mouth like this.”

 Alitus tossed his head, panting, whimpering, unable to bear the pressure, unable to stand the pain of his empty balls trying to pump one more time. He thrashed on the bed, out of control, at their mercy, unable to forbid them anything. Destoiya gripped his hips and drew him close, took all of his shaft inside her mouth, swallowed his length, her throat every bit as tight as her pussy.

 Give in, love.Erryq bent over and sucked one of his nipples into her mouth. He could hear her voice inside his head as clearly as if she spoke aloud. She rubbed the widest part of her tongue across his chest.Let yourself go. Let us have you. Let us take it all.

 With a throaty scream, Alitus tossed back his head and came.

 Chapter Twelve

 Conqueror’s Palace, Alitus Vivaldi’s Quarters

 Sumertsag 44

 Tied spread-eagled on the bed, Alitus could not raise his head to drink the glass of water Rheyn Destoiya offered. He relaxed into her touch as she cradled his head with one hand and lifted it. She moved the water closer and placed the straw against his mouth.

 Erryq rose from the bed and turned sideways, looking down at him through slitted eyes. Was she angry?

 He closed his lips around the straw and drank. The cold water went down his throat in great, sucking gulps. After he drained the glass, Destoiya eased his head back onto the bed.

 Why didn’t she untie him? It wasn’t like her to prevent him from responding. She usually craved his attention. Was it because his pheromones had drained? He could not induce calm in her without them—could he?

 Alitus licked his dry lips. Depleting his pheromones induced thirst that parched his throat and made his tongue cleave to the roof of his mouth. He kept a supply of water in his suite, made sure he had plenty on hand. Without adequate water, disorientation overtook him. Effective use of his pheromones depended on body fluids remaining constant, a deadly secret he didn’t discuss and no one knew except Destoiya. She was privy to every secret of his life.

 She reached for another bottle and sloshed water into the glass. “Drink all of this one, too.” Her Majesty lifted his head again. “That’s it, love. Finish it.” Her watchful, silver-eyed gaze fastened on his mouth. “Good.” She slid her hand out from behind his head. “Do you want more?”

 At the foot of the bed, Erryq jutted her chin forward and tilted back her head.

 “Alitus?” Destoiya held up the glass.

 Erryq thrust back her shoulders, brows furrowed.

 Should he refuse the water? Hard to think for himself with thirst ruling him. Her Majesty wouldn’t have asked unless she thought he needed it.

 “Please. Yes.”

 Destoiya poured more and lifted his head again while he drank. Afterward, she sat beside him, stroking her fingers through his hair. She cupped her other hand along his cheek and leaned over him to press her lips against his.

 “I treasure you, Alitus.”

 “I love you.” He hadn’t meant to whisper it, but once he had, Erryq’s presence invaded like a shadow. Alitus closed his eyes and leaned against Destoiya’s hand, sinking his teeth into his lower lip to keep from asking her to release him.

 Ask nothing for yourself.His personal rule for his relationship with Destoiya. She had never made such a demand. He freely gave.She is my empress. I live to serve her. I live to advance her cause.

 “I’m glad you’re growing this beautiful blond hair of yours long again, love.” Destoiya tightened her hand in it. “I know you prefer it short, but I like wrapping it around my fists when I’m kissing you.”

 He groaned, feeling his body harden at her words. “I live to please you, Your Majesty.” She sat so close to him he could smell the remnants of his pheromones on her skin. Apricot and peach, crisp and sharp.

 Tears brimmed in her silver eyes.

 “What is it?” He squirmed on the bed to move closer. “What’s wrong?”

 She shook her head and smiled. “Everything’s all right.” A tear slid down her face.

 “Your Majesty, I…” He silenced when she shook her head, but the sight of her tears rammed an ache through his heart. Alitus reached for her and ground his teeth together when the silken bonds at his wrists prevented it. “You’re upset. Let me hold you. I can take away your pain.”

 He could, once his pheromones restored. Unique among Betters, his pheromonescalmed instead of aroused. Her Majesty once confessed that his ability to calm was what drove her into his arms. His touch eased the sexual hunger that sang through her veins like fire. Night after night, she’d confessed the desperation desire created in her, begged him to take away her lust and give her rest.

 “Shh.” She pressed her fingers against his mouth. “I hate being separated from you, even for a moment.”

 But they were going to be separated. It showed in her eyes; the resolute way she looked down at him and away from Erryq. Destoiya was going to place him in that woman’s power, under her control. Under Erryq’s thumb.

 Alitus sucked his lower lip between his teeth and held it. “How long?”

 Destoiya’s chin quivered so briefly he could not be sure he’d seen it. She lifted her head. He had never seen his empress look frail until that moment. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her fingers.

 “Long enough to accomplish what must be done.” Destoiya remained motionless, allowing him to study her. She usually resisted being watched, looked at, examined, but she showed him no resistance.

 Her slender face held no trace of the mercilessness she dished out to enemies. Her eyes were as silver as moonslight on Felidae and as bright, without a hint of the callous indifference she meted out to rebels. That wicked, seductive mouth of hers showed no sign of the ruthless justice she handed criminals in her courts. It looked soft, inviting, begging him to taste it.

 “You’re testing me. Testing some aspect of my devotion to you because I resisted the veil.”

 She gave him the most brief of smiles and lowered her gaze to her hands, folded in her lap. “Is that what you think?” She looked back at him without expression, but his empress could not hide her inner struggle from him.

 “I think you want me to pass this test, but don’t want to put me through it.” He turned his head aside. Erryq’s shadow danced across the ceiling in the candles’ glow. “But you will.”

 She drew in a short, harsh breath. “Alitus…” When he turned back to her, tears streamed down both her cheeks. “You’ve always given yourself to me without reservation. Without holding any part of yourself back.”

 “Yes.” He smiled at her. For her. To give her courage for whatever it was she thought must be done. “And I always will.”

 “You wish to be wholly mine.”

 “No, Your Majesty. Iam wholly yours. If there’s any part of me that isn’t…” He paused when her nostrils flared. Thiswas a test. He resolved to pass it, no matter what Erryq did to him. “—may it die a clean death tonight.”

 “Oh, Alitus!” Destoiya caressed his cheek, brushed back his hair. Her gaze held a tenderness beyond anything he’d ever seen from her. “There is far more to come than simply surrendering to Erryq. But when it’s all over, my love—when it is over, you will be mine forever.”

 Chapter Thirteen

 Conqueror’s Palace, Alitus Vivaldi’s Quarters

 Sumertsag 44

 Alitus lay still, listening as Her Majesty and Erryq spoke in soft tones near the door. They used a language he’d never heard before, until one word came to the fore.

 “Vaara.”

 Her Majesty said it first within a sentence and Erryq repeated it in another. He’d heard that word before.

 Alitus positioned himself protectively in front of Her Majesty, withdrawing a gun from inside his coat. He aimed at the man who’d held a gun at his head. Only Her Majesty’s plea had released him.

 Who was this man that Alitus couldn’t affect him with pheromones? More importantly,whatwas he?

 The man’s long silver hair spilled against a black velvet cloak, which he unpinned and dropped on the floor. He tucked the gun into his belt. “I’m impressed, Rheyn. Out there, in his office, this one looked like nothing more than your usual toy. Does he know how to shoot that thing?”

 “I never miss.” Alitus thumbed the weapon, and it hummed, charging to full power. “Put your gun on the desk. Use two fingers only.”

 The man tossed his head, sending a long lock of silver hair over his shoulder. Despite his hair color, he had the face of a teenager. Danger rolled off him like heat waves.

 The man shrugged, lifted the gun with two fingers, and dropped it on her desk. “Or what, boy? Are you going to kill me?” He leaned against the wall, almost daring him to shoot.

 “Say the word, Your Majesty, and he’s a dead man.” Alitus never looked her way, never lowered his weapon. Her Majesty touched his throat, the underside of his jaw, all the places that stung from being manhandled by this stranger. “Don’t be afraid, Your Majesty. I won’t let him hurt you.”

 “I know you don’t understand, Alitus, but believe me, I don’t need protection. I’m safe with him.”

 His smirk made Alitus want to spit. Alitus didn’t take his eyes off the man for even a second, never sent one glance in her direction. “He’s dangerous, Your Majesty. I can feel it.”

 “Yes, he is, but not to me.”

 The man had demanded to see Her Majesty and taken Alitus hostage when he refused to permit it without an appointment. No one saw her without full background checks and every bit of security Alitus thought necessary. The hooded stranger had been close to seven tradestandard feet tall. The man had grabbed him by the throat, lifted Alitus and dragged him into her office. It was all he could do to keep both feet on the ground.

 Praetorian were always standing by; they’d rushed the room as Dhia Ruh came to escort the empress to safety.

 Until the man had said one word: “Vaara.”

 That stopped everything. Her Majesty shooed the Praetorian out and sent him away.

 Alitus hadn’t seen the man since. Later, when he’d checked the security vids, the entire incident had been cut from the files. No trace remained. Her Majesty never spoke of the event, as if it had never happened at all.

 The door closed, a lock clicked into place and the sound of bare feet on carpet came to him. Alitus turned his head toward the sound.

 Erryq stood near the bed, arms folded beneath her breasts, watching him. Her dark red hair was longer than Her Majesty’s; it tumbled over her shoulders. Her pubic hair was the same lovely color, a rich russet complementing her tawny skin.

 “You are a brave soul.” She padded to the foot of the bed and pulled on a gauzy gown of white lace. She fastened it beneath her bosom. “Staring at me like that will cost you ten lashes if you do it again.”

 “Your pardon.” He focused on the elaborate gilded and crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

 “Much better. I’m going to release your bonds. Do you think you can stand?”

 “Yes.”

 “You will refer to me as Lady Erryq.”

 “Yes, Lady Erryq.” He brought his right hand to his face and rubbed the itchy spot on his nose.

 She worked on his other hand. “Has Rheyn spoken of me?”

 “No, Lady Erryq, but she gave me your book.”

 “Which one?” She patted his feet. “You may sit up.”

 He did so, surprised at how weak he felt. It had been hours since he’d eaten; perhaps it was simple hunger. “The one about ruckball.”

 “Oh, yes.” She took his arm and helped him stand. “Have you read it?”

 “I started it, Lady Erryq, but haven’t finished yet. I’m sorry.”

 “Don’t apologize. I imagine you’re a busy man.” She folded her arms again. “How do you feel? Are you hungry?”

 Should he admit he was starving? The Conqueror always wanted the truth from him, not what he thought she might want to hear. “Yes, Lady Erryq.”

 “Good. Rheyn is sending us something to eat. It should be here soon. In the meantime, I want to get to know you better. Stand in the center of the room, please. Hands behind you, head down.”

 *

 Saying not a word, Erryq walked in a slow circle around him, scrutinizing. Alitus radiated sensuality. No jewelry except the fist-shaped stud earrings that marked him as Rheyn’s. Such a beautiful, endearing man. Rheyn’s description of him had appealed. How could Erryq refuse her request to test him?

 Alitus is perfect, Erryq. But if I make him myChosen , he must be tested first. Will you spend a weekend with him? Get to know him? Find his greatest fear? I must know if he can be cowed into betraying me.

 Erryq had laughed.No man is perfect, Rheyn.

 This one is. He’ll enthrall you. He’ll sate you.

 No man enthralls me. Least of all a human.Being a Sempervian meant outlasting human lovers. Few even satisfied. None sated.I doubt he’d ever be able to sate me.

 Rheyn had folded her arms and given her an imperious glare.Want to bet?

 So here she was, taking that bet, hoping for a miracle with a man who’d been exiled to life within a veil that hid every aspect of his charms.

 “Rheyn extols your beauty, Alitus.”

 He did not move. “Thank you, Lady Erryq.”

 “When I kept hearing how magnificent you were, I decided to see for myself.”

 She slid the tip of her finger under his chin to lift his face. She’d heard his eyes described as deep-water blue. Far from cool, they made heat rise in her cheeks. Other places, much lower, tightened. Dark blond lashes lowered, lifted again in a slow, sultry invitation. Alitus had lush lips and fine cheekbones. A voluptuous male beauty, erotic and tempting.

 “Well,” she said, at last. “She didn’t exaggerate about that.”

 His smile sent warmth right through her. “Thank you, Lady Erryq.”

 She touched his smooth cheek, recalling he’d had his beard permanently removed. “I like your voice, Alitus. Say my name once more.” He repeated it. “Sounds sexy as hell, the way you say it.”

 He smiled again. She signaled his head down and did another walk around him. “Rheyn thinks you’re perfect.” She stopped behind him. “What do you think, Alitus? Is she right?”

 “My Conqueror is never wrong, Lady Erryq.”

 “It sounds possessive, calling Rheynyour Conqueror. I didn’t know her lovers were allowed such liberties. Explain.”

 “A small indulgence of her favor, Lady Erryq. Shall I refer to her in another way?”

 “No, I’ll allow it.” She lifted a handful of his hair, rubbed it with her fingers. Luxuriant, sleek. Silken. “You respond well to questions, Alitus. I’ll be sure to compliment Rheyn when I see her.”

 “Thank you, Lady Erryq.”

 Still behind him, she watched the part of his lowered face she could see. “Rheyn has given you to me for tonight. Does that please you?”

 “I’m always pleased to obey my Conqueror, Lady Erryq. Whatever you desire of me will be yielded at your leisure.”

 Excellent response to a difficult question. Let’s see how he handles this one. “Does she whip you, Alitus?” She saw his Adam’s apple move, and knew he had swallowed. Nervous was he? Good.

 “No, Lady Erryq.”

 “Perhaps it’s time you were tutored in the pleasures of the whip, then. I have a mind to volunteer as your tutor for that.”

 He gave a subdued, broken whimper, so soft, she was not sure she’d heard it. She went to face him and motioned him to lift his head.

 “Give me your mouth, Alitus.”

 He leaned toward her at once.

 She flicked her tongue against his teeth. “Open,” she murmured. She held his face between her hands, possessing his sweet mouth, drawing a little sigh from him when she stepped back.

 His head went down again. Not once had he taken his hands out from behind him, nor lifted his eyes unless told. He knew his place, and kept it, as Rheyn had boasted.

 “Damn, I hate it when she’s right.”

 “Your pardon, Lady Erryq?”

 “Nothing, Alitus. You may look at me without further permission.” Erryq stroked her thumb across his full lower lip. “I’ve been anticipating having you pleasure me. Rheyn will join us later. It seems she can’t bear being separated from you.”

 That erotic smile showed itself again.

 “I’ve never asked one of her lovers this, Alitus, and I’ve always been curious. Does it bother you that she sleeps with other people? How does it make you feel? I want the truth.”

 He seemed to vacillate before speaking. “My Conqueror owns my heart, Lady Erryq. I’m hers to do with as she pleases. Hers to command. I have no rights whatsoever regarding what she does. I have no right to mind.”

 “I didn’t ask what your rights were and I didn’t ask you to parrot what you’ve been taught about belonging to her. I asked if it bothered you when she takes other lovers.”

 “Your pardon, Lady Erryq. I accept her desire to have other lovers. It’s part of what it takes to please my Conqueror.”

 She waited, listening for more. He didn’t speak. “Do you like it?”

 “Yes, Lady Erryq.”

 “Do you like yourself?”

 “Yes, Lady Erryq.”

 She slid her fingers through his hair. “Do you like Rheyn?”

 “Yes, Lady Erryq.”

 “You only like her?”

 “I love her, with all my heart.”

 “Then why didn’t you say so?”

 “Your pardon, Lady Erryq.”

 “Does Rheyn love you?”

 He didn’t hesitate. “She rarely says so in words, Lady Erryq, but she shows her love for me.”

 She brushed back his hair, her fingers gentle. “Very well, Alitus. Your answers satisfy me.”

 “Thank you, Lady Erryq.”

 “Stay still,” she said. “I want to taste you.”

 She kissed him, dragged her mouth and tongue along his smooth jaw and pressed her lips against the pulse in the hollow of his throat. She kissed down his smooth chest, pausing to scrub her tongue across his nipples. She heard his intake of breath when she tugged one into her mouth. As she dragged her teeth across it, he stiffened, rose a little on his toes. He twitched, a muffled cry escaping his lips, part anguish, part desire. His hands remained behind him.

 His muted reactions kindled fire deep inside her and the feel of his skin set her ablaze until the burning threatened to overwhelm.What will he be like when his pheromones restore fully? She pulled back, walked around him again, taking deep breaths. It did nothing to cool her down.

 The high, rounded cheeks of his hard ass drew her hands like a magnet. She slid them down and cupped it. “You sincerely do have a great ass, Alitus. Some men have wiry hair. I like yours. It’s soft. Touchable.” She went back to face him. “Take me in your arms. Kiss me. Hard.”

 He tugged her closer, slamming their bodies together. He slanted his mouth across hers. His lips scorched her. A lusty moan slid from her mouth into his.

 Erryq broke off the kiss. He was burning her up inside. She dragged her gaze down the length of his sculpted body, over his muscled chest and abs. His parted thighs … Lust swamped her. She had to close her eyes for a moment.

 “Down, Alitus, right here in front of me. Knees apart.”

 He obeyed with fluid movements, a tentative glance up at her.

 “Head back. Look at me.”

 A shiver of enjoyment ran through her at the sight of him. The beautiful, blond Alitus, kneeling naked before her, hands crossed behind him, head tilted back. Waiting permission to service her.

 Of course, he would never be able to sate her, but Rheyn was right about everything else. He was perfect. This was one bet she would be happy to lose.

 Chapter Fourteen

 Conqueror’s Palace, Alitus Vivaldi’s Quarters

 Sumertsag 44

 Erryq slid into bed beside the sleeping Alitus and drew the covers over her shoulder. He lay on his side, face relaxed in sleep. His eyes moved rapidly behind his lids. Good, he was dreaming. Soon she’d be able to link her mind to his and see what secret fantasies he held, what secret fears he harbored.

 Rheyn had shared all her Jades at one time or another over the last few years, but never this one. Never her favorite. And now that she finally had the chance to sample him, Rheyn had demanded Erryq refrain from sex with him until Alitus had a chance to eat, drink more water and get some sleep.

 She’s always so damned picky about her pets. This one certainly looks like he might be worth the trouble, though.Erryq smiled as she slid her fingers through his golden hair.

 He stirred, lashes fluttering open.

 “Shh.” Erryq drew the covers up over him. “Go back to sleep.”

 Alitus wrapped one arm around her and tugged her hard against his chest. His warmth soothed. Murmuring something about majesty and warming up, he tucked her head against his shoulder and neck and held her in his strong arms. One big thigh looped across hers like a brand of heat. His cock lay against her belly.

 He might be submissive, but he was all male. Tempting, luscious male.

 Mmm.The meaning of his words struck her, making her smile.He thinks I’m Rheyn and that I need warming up. My goodness, she must make him call her Your Majesty in bed! Rheyn, you are such an evil bitch. She stroked his chest.Well, he’s right about one part. I’m freezing.

 They’d eaten dinner at a small, round glass table, Alitus still naked, his gorgeous semi-hard cock displayed to advantage. She’d toasted him with one of Rheyn’s best champagnes.To the lovely view. Alitus had blushed like a virgin.

 Which in a way, he is.Erryq snuggled against his chest, tucking her hands between herself and him. Alitus had never been taken by another woman; Rheyn had kept him completely to herself.This should be fun. Especially when I can make him think I’m anyone he imagines. I wonder who that will be?

 That was the key, wasn’t it? This test was not so much about his loyalty or commitment, but to find out whether Alitus lusted after Rheyn herself, or used her to gain power. Erryq pressed closer and inhaled the warm scent of apricots on his skin.

 * * * *

 Conqueror’s Palace, Alitus Vivaldi’s Quarters

 Sumertsag 44

 Alitus woke from a pleasant doze to the feel of Her Majesty cuddled against him in sleep. He kissed her brow and drew the covers closer, lying still so as not to disturb her. Sunlight tried to peek past the heavy curtains at his window. When she slept here at all it was rarely past dawn; she liked to be up and about early.

 He used the back of his right hand to flatten the pillow under his head so he could see the clock.Shit! Five in the afternoon! I’ve missed work entirely. How the hell did I sleep in so— Alitus let out the breath he’d been holding as memories of the previous night surfaced: Her Majesty and Erryq sharing him, eating dinner with Erryq alone, her insistence that he go to bed and rest. She must have joined him in the night.

 Alitus lifted his head to have a better view of the woman in his arms. Rich red curls tumbled over dusky skin. Definitely not the Conqueror’s black and silver locks.

 Her Majesty’s words came back to him like a haunting refrain.There is far more to come than simply surrendering to Erryq. But when it’s all over, my love—when it is over, you will be mine forever.

 He’d been so sure last night that he could pass any test. Lying here now with another woman, that bravado seemed far less certain.What will she make me do? Worse yet, what will she do to me? Her comment about lashes didn’t exactly engender confidence.

 He hadn’t had sex with Erryq, except when Her Majesty had been there. Was she going to take him? Or was she here only to punish him in some way? He’d hate being tied up and beaten. The beginnings of an erection made him wonder how much was his usual morning wood or a result of that threat.

 Erryq stretched her legs and drew a deep breath. She tilted back her head and gazed up at him. “Good morning.”

 He glanced away. “Good morning, Lady Erryq.”

 She sat up, stretching her arms. It lifted her heavy breasts and made them jiggle.

 Alitus pushed himself upright in bed, keeping his head down, but her full breasts were in plain view. They bounced as she stretched her arms wide, their elongated nipples a dark brown in the wan light. Each breast was more than two handfuls, unlike Her Majesty’s smaller but generous curves.

 Erryq cupped her hands around them. “Do you like my breasts, Alitus?”

 He swallowed. “Yes, Lady Erryq. They’re beautiful, if you don’t mind my saying so.” His cock rose the rest of the way.

 She rolled her nipples between fingers and thumbs. “You’d like to get your mouth on them, wouldn’t you?”

 He could not restrain his smile. “Yes, Lady Erryq, if that would please you.”

 “It would please me very much.” She slid one hand down her flat belly and between her legs, into her curly woman’s hair. “Mmm, waking up in bed with you made me wet.”

 Alitus swallowed, his throat tight. With his Better senses, he could already smell her heat.

 Erryq stroked herself, her mouth making an O of satisfaction. “Would you like to taste?” She held her hand in front of his lips.

 Alitus leaned forward and captured her fingers in his mouth. He sucked her honeyed essence with his tongue, eyes closed. Sweet, salty, clean, her taste slammed hot desire through him like a branding iron into skin. He moaned.

 “You’re a real pussy lover, aren’t you?” Before he could think of a suitable answer, she climbed astride his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Good, because I love cock and I’ve wanted to try yours on for size since I laid eyes on you.”

 Unsure where to put his hands, Alitus gripped the pillows beside him as Erryq rose above him. He clenched his eyes shut as tightly as his fists, breath held.

 “What is it, my angel?” Erryq took his face between her hands. “Open your eyes. Look at me.”

 Alitus gasped for air as if he’d been running. His hands shook.

 “Easy, love.” She smoothed her hands down his arms. “Take a deep breath.”

 He could not take one deep enough to stop shaking.

 “Again. Take another one.” Her voice soothed.

 He gulped air, trembling like a newborn colt on his first legs.

 Erryq stroked back his hair. “It’s all right, love.” She kissed his brow. “What is it? Talk to me. I’m not going to hurt you.”

 He shook his head, trembling too badly to speak.

 “Take your time, love. Are you all right?” When he didn’t respond right away, Erryq climbed across the bed and picked up a glass of water. “Here. Drink this.”

 Alitus gripped the glass in his fist, shaking so badly he almost spilled it getting it to his mouth. He bumped the glass against his lip twice before he was able to take a drink. The water helped. His shaking subsided, but he still could not speak.

 Erryq left the bed, retrieved a velvet robe from one of the closets and brought it back to him. “Here. Let me wrap this around you.” She tucked it behind him and pulled part of it over his shoulders. “There? Is that better? Are you warmer?”

 He nodded, pulling the robe tighter around his shoulders. “S-sorry.”

 “Shh. It’s all right.” She caressed his face. “Rheyn would kill me if anything happened to you. Are you ok?”

 He nodded again and leaned back against the headboard. “Yes, Lady Erryq. Th-thank you. I am s-sorry. I’ve never been like this before.”

 “Shaking, you mean?”

 “Mmm. I—I mean, yes, Lady Erryq.”

 “You’ve never had the Better shakes?”

 He met her eyes. “What?”

 She smoothed the covers over him, drawing them up to his waist while she remained naked. “It’s caused by pheromone depletion. I thought you might start getting them last night. They come on suddenly. I was glad to see Rheyn giving you water.”

 “Oh.” He nodded, recalling how she’d watched him. “Thank you, Lady Erryq.” He took a deep breath. “I feel much better now.”

 “Good. I want you to rest a little. It’s almost time for Rheyn to get here and I promised her I’d have you ready.”

 “R-ready for what?” He added, “Lady Erryq.”

 “You’ll see. Why don’t you scoot down in the bed and we’ll cuddle for awhile. I think I’d like you to hold me if you’re up to it.”

 “Of course, Lady Erryq.” He moved to accommodate her at once. “It would be my pleasure.”

 * * * *

 Once inside Alitus’ apartment, Destoiya tossed aside her uniform jacket. Her heels joined it.

 Erryq sauntered toward her, spectacularly naked. “Welcome home, Rheyn.” She held out her arms.

 “Aren’t you gorgeous?” She drew the smaller Erryq into her arms and bent to kiss her. The faintest hint of apricot on her skin said she’d been near Alitus, but hadn’t had sex with him. If he’d released pheromones, they’d be deeper into her skin than this.

 Erryq pushed her away. “You call that a hello kiss? I greet my enemies better than that.” She stalked away.

 Destoiya grabbed her hand and spun Erryq back to her, drew her up into her arms and leaned her back for a deep kiss. She stroked her tongue into Erryq’s mouth and fondled one of her nipples. When she released her, the other Sempervian touched her own mouth, smiling.

 “Now, that was kiss.”

 Destoiya folded her arms. “Where is he?”

 Erryq sighed. “I knew you only wanted to get to him.” She nodded toward the bedroom. “I posed him as you requested. Enjoy yourself. I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

 Destoiya brushed a hand down her clothes, straightening them before she opened the door. Alitus lay on the bed against a pile of pillows, naked, hands over his head, bound to the frame by leather cuffs at his wrists. His magnificent erection said he wanted her and wanted her now.

 “You really are beautiful like that.” Destoiya crossed to the bed.

 She’d trained him to please her, schooled him in seduction and his body had been designed to satisfy. She adored his perfection. Alitus understood the power of his sexuality, his control of her passion. But arrogant he wasn’t, and he wasn’t vain.

 Alitus dominated by yielding.

 “My Conqueror,” he said, his voice an urgent, breathy whisper. “Have you come to let me pleasure you?”

 “Yes.” She set one knee on the bed, pushed her palms against his as she straddled him and curled her fingers around his bound hands. She arched forward to possess his mouth.

 His lips parted and she tasted the clean sweetness of his tongue. She darted hers against it, stroking the underside with long, slow licks. She slipped her tongue across the top, circled, and flicked against the tip.

 Alitus groaned with yearning when her mouth left his.

 “I’ve thought about you all day,” she said, kissing down and across his jaw. “Pictured you naked like this, waiting for me.” She licked the side of his throat, heard his breath stop when she sucked the tender skin into her mouth. “Imagined what I’d do to you when I got home.” She kissed all the way back up, taking it slow, tasting and licking and nibbling. “I couldn’t think of work,” she said, between kisses. “Of anything but my mouth on you.” She slid her fingers down his arms, across his back. “My hands.”

 Alitus rubbed up against her, begging her without a single spoken word to take him.

 “I wanted to touch you everywhere.”

 She trailed her fingers from his palms, down across the leather cuffs binding him, along the veins in his forearms, the inside of his elbows, tickling across his biceps. The scent of him, the velvet smoothness of his skin and the hardness of the muscle beneath drove her to the edge of madness. Destoiya gulped air, reminding herself to slow down, enjoy him. Enjoy his surrender. Savor his relinquishment of power.

 “Wanted to skim my fingers over your muscles.” He burned her up inside; his skin almost set her on fire.

 Alitus bit into his lip, head back.

 Destoiya kissed his bared throat. “I wanted to feel you heating up beneath me.” She nipped his jaw. “Pictured you trembling with desire.”

 She gazed into his eyes while running her fingertips across his collarbone, then down his chest.

 “Mmm, yes, Alitus.” She closed her mouth over his. Hewas trembling.

 His breath caught when her hand stopped at his navel. She let her fingers glide down further, into the blond, silken curls between his thighs. A sob of hunger slid from his mouth into hers.

 His eyes blazed with lust. He played mouse to her cat, but he wanted to play tiger. If she unleashed him now, he’d take control. Once freed, he’d satiate her, bring her to elation, to rapture. He’d pin her against the bed, stretch her arms over her head and thrust into her. He’d turn her around, lift her into his arms and rock up against and into her from behind. Ravish her until she cried from the sheer joy of it.

 No, tonight, it was his turn.

 She splayed her fingers wide, slid them back up his belly. A sound tore from his throat that said he knew she intended to postpone his release. Planned to heighten the ache he already suffered. That she meant to make him writhe and twist and beg for deliverance from the craving she built within him.

 In good time, she’d give in to him. Quench his thirst. Sweep them both over the feverish rapids of desire and heat drown them in the falls of bliss.

 With a slow smirk, she withdrew her hand. But not yet.

 Chapter Fifteen

 Conqueror’s Palace, Alitus Vivaldi’s Quarters

 Sumertsag 44

 Destoiya kissed Alitus on the lips and drew her hand along his jaw line. “Are you comfortable?” She caressed his bound hands. “These cuffs aren’t too tight? It’s all right to tell me.”

 He wiggled his fingers. “I’m fine, Majesty. Lady Erryq took great care not to make them too tight.”

 He sounded a bit unsure, but then, he’d never been bound before. Destoiya scooted to the edge of the bed. “I’ll be right back, love.” She found Erryq in the kitchen, pouring a white wine.

 “Ah, Rheyn.” Erryq handed her a goblet. “How did you like him?”

 “Gorgeous, love. You outdid yourself.” She tasted the wine. “I’ll have to pose him like that often, now that I’ve seen him.”

 “So, who shall I be tonight?”

 Destoiya sipped her drink. “Who did he dream about?”

 Each Sempervian had a unique ability or gift. Erryq’s enabled her to finely tune the minds of those asleep. Dreams, daydreams, fantasies … She only needed proximity. Once she understood how a person’s mind worked, she could make herself appear as anyone he’d ever imagined.

 Twirling her goblet by its stem, Erryq shook her head. “You won’t like it.”

 “The idea of him having sex with anyone other than me sets my teeth on edge.” She took a deep breath, held it and let it go on a sigh. “But this is necessary. I have to be sure. Who is it?” She lifted the goblet to her mouth.

 “Another Sempervian.”

 Destoiya almost sputtered her drink. She set down the goblet so hard it chipped the bottom. “Not possible. Alitus has no idea I’m a Sempervian. He’s never met any.”

 “You told me he knows Luc Saint-Cyr.”

 “Oh, well, yes, of course, he knows him. And Roth, who’s my Minister of Defense in this round, but he doesn’t know they’re Sempervians. And he has no idea about Peril.”

 “I didn’t say he did, only that he kept dreaming about a Sempervian. The same face over and over, all night. I must tell you, it wasn’t pleasant.” She toyed with the drink. “He was being choked.”

 “Who would dare to choke my f…” She felt the blood drain from her head. She set a hand her mouth. “You don’t mean … Not my…”

 Erryq set down her wine. “I do indeed.”

 Destoiya turned away, heart hammering in her chest. “Forget wine. I need a shot of whiskey.”

 * * * *

 Alitus flexed his hands as Erryq had shown him, to keep the blood flowing.How much longer are they going to make me wait? Anxiety warred within him, wanting them to hurry, hoping they’d take more time. He pushed himself back against the pillows.

 The door opened and he lowered his head as Erryq had instructed.Tonight you’ll learn the true meaning of submission, she’d told him.You must do exactly as I tell you. Rheyn has decided to share you with someone else as well. She’d set a finger against his lips.No, do not ask. It’s forbidden for you to know.

 Was he to become no more to her than a Jade? A pleasure slave who was given to secure politically necessary votes and favors? Or did she plan to make him part of her master plan and one of—

 The opening door snapped his attention toward Her Majesty, who entered alone.

 Now wearing a caftan of sheer, black silk embroidered with white at the cuffs and collar, she had freed her hair and allowed it to fall over her shoulders. She sat on the edge of the bed, propping herself on one hand as she leaned toward him. Her breasts showed clearly through the black cloth, her nipples dark.

 “I’ve been thinking about an incident that happened earlier this year, my love. Something I never explained to you. I believe it’s time I did.”

 He started to speak, thought better of it and nodded, accepting her decision. Erryq had told him not to speak unless specifically spoken to.

 “You remember the day you were held hostage.” She was watching him, waiting.

 Alitus swallowed and nodded once.How could I forget? He tried to calm his breathing, but his heart started racing as if he ran a race.

 “I destroyed all the evidence that he’d been here afterward. It was foolish of him to come in public like that. He should have contacted me privat…” She shook her head. “Never mind. I never told you who he was.”

 “I…” He bit his lips together, put his head down.

 “Go on, love. What were you going to say?”

 He peeked up at her. No anger on her face. Perhaps it was all right if he spoke. “I did a little research on our visitor.”

 “Did you?” Her surprise gave him a small amount of pleasure and made him feel guilty at the same time. He’d gone against her wishes to find out about the man.

 “Well.” Destoiya nodded slowly, obviously lost in thought. “I see.” She gestured toward him. “Tell me what you know.”

 * * * *

 Destoiya listened as Alitus described what he’d been able to learn about his attacker, which turned out to be very little. She, however, knew the man all too well.

 Soul Ripper. Destroyer of Worlds. Impaler. The Hound of Hell. Slayer of Innocents. And a Sempervian, who like herself, would live forever.

 Alitus concluded, “And he was a doctor on Ezraki involved with the Sabbath Experiment but under a different name.”

 The Sabbath Experiment had been a code name for research that exploited Chiasmii gender phases by intrafertilizing individuals with their own sperm and egg. It created genetically balanced fetuses, which were then altered, producing what was reputedly a step beyond Betters.

 Arson started by protesters resulted in a catastrophic loss of life, the destruction of countless viable embryos, and led directly to the cessation of all genetic experiments in the Empire. And the outlawing of Betters.

 Rumors that some of the babies created during the experiment had survived were entirely true. Pietas had farmed them out, hidden them around the empire as changelings, exchanging them for human and Kin babies. Regarding those—she had decided long ago not to question him too closely, fearing to lose what little remained of her soul if she knew. She had one of the changelings tucked away in another part of the palace herself, isolated from the worlds.

 Age eleven now, Yros had no idea a universe existed beyond himself and his two android nannies. His twin brother Zeri had been freed by Pietas not long ago and if she could find the child, she’d never again have to submit to Penance.

 “Your Majesty?”

 Destoiya shook herself as if she’d been sleeping.

 Alitus was staring at her. “You said you knew him. That day, when he broke into your office. You said you were safe with him.”

 She nodded, smoothing a hand down her lap. She could not quite bring herself to keep eye contact with him. Would he see what she was about to do as a betrayal? Without it, she might never know the truth.

 “Why, Your Majesty? Why were you safe with him?” Alitus rarely questioned her, then usually on procedures only, never her decisions. She owed him this one.

 “Alitus, what I’m about to tell you may never leave this room. If you tell anyone what I’m about to tell you, as much as I would not want to and as much as it would break my heart…” She met his eyes. “—I will be forced to kill you.”

 Chapter Sixteen

 Conqueror’s Palace, Alitus Vivaldi’s Quarters

 Sumertsag 44

 Her Majesty’s threat on his life turned the sense of foreboding Alitus had felt all day inexplicably into euphoria. He smiled before he could stop himself and had to turn his head to hide it.

 What the hell is wrong with me? Rheyn Destoiya just threatened to kill me and I’m grinning like an idiot.

 “You don’t believe me.” Her Majesty stood.

 “Oh, no, Your Majesty! I absolutely do.” Alitus tried not to keep smiling, but couldn’t prevent it. “I have not one scrap of doubt you would follow through on that threat.”

 She set both hands on her hips. “Then would you care to explain why you’re smiling?”

 A laugh escaped; he bit into his lips. “I—I beg your pardon, Your Majesty. I must be nervous.”

 “Do you find this amusing, Alitus?”

 “No, Your Majesty, I do not.” Alitus pushed himself back against the bed. Hard to be manly when he was tied naked to a bed before his empress, but he gave it his best shot, shoulders back, head high.

 She drummed her fingers against her hip. “Have you any idea how serious this is?”

 “Yes, Your Majesty. You’re about to confess to me that you’re a Sempervian.” He took a deep breath.There. He’d said the words he’d been longing to broach with her for weeks.

 And he would have given his life to take them back. Destoiya’s mouth dropped open and she went as still as deep water in an old and quiet lake. Not so much as an eyelash moved, her eyes riveted on his as if he were an eagle and she a mouse under his talons. Her face had gone so white he feared for a moment she’d faint. His own heart skipped a beat at her distress.

 The spell broke with a gushing sigh as she turned her back. He could hear her gulping air, see her shaking. She hugged herself. Destoiya lifted her head but did not turn toward him. “Do you understand what that means?”

 “It means that you’ll live forever, that even if your body dies it will heal and be reborn.”

 She turned her head toward him a bit. “How long have you known?”

 “That you weren’t human? I’ve suspected that for years. No human heals as fast as you do or has that much energy. You never sleep, you barely eat, yet you run rings around everyone twenty-plus hours a day. But I didn’t know for sure until after—that man—choked me. As I investigated him, I learned the truth about you.”

 She stiffened her shoulders, still not facing him. “What gave me away?”

 “When you pretended it hadn’t happened, I knew there was something you were trying to hide. I had to know what it was.”

 At that, Destoiya turned back toward him and folded her arms across her bosom. The steely-eyed empress was back. “Go on.”

 Alitus shrank from the determination in her gaze. “May I explain?”

 “By all means. Do try.”

 He dug in a heel against the bed and tried to push himself up again, but his fingers had gone cold and he could no longer feel them.

 Although he made no complaint, the empress put one knee on the bed beside him and reached over his head. “Let me unfasten these. Your nail beds are a light blue. That’s not good.” She released his wrists.

 His hands fell on their own and he could not lift them.

 “I’m so sorry, Alitus. Those cuffs weren’t supposed to hurt you.” She picked up one of his hands and began to rub it with smooth, long strokes.

 He slid down in the bed, hands and arms tingling as blood rushed back into them. She moved to caress his other hand and her nearness and concern had its usual effect—his cock thickened and swelled. Alitus tilted his head back to better see her face.

 “I don’t care what you are, Majesty. I just love you. Please believe me.”

 “Oh, Alitus.” She closed her eyes. “I do.”

 “I would never betray you to anyone. Never. Never! I would die to protect you, my Conqueror.”

 “Alitus.” She snuggled down closer to him and propped herself on one arm. “The last thing I ever expected was that you already knew.” Tears sparkled on her lashes briefly before dropping against his chest. They rolled down his skin like scalding pearls.

 “No!” He shook his head. “The Conqueror of the Tarthian Empire must not shed tears over anything I’ve said or done.”

 “Alitus. Love.” She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. “You see me as the empress even in your bed.” She trailed a finger across his mouth. “When I’m with you, I would rather be just a woman.”

 “Oh, my Conqueror…” He smiled with all the tenderness he felt for her. “You will never be ‘just’ anything. That isn’t possible. Not for you. You were made for greatness.”

 When she laughed through her tears, he struggled to lift a hand so he could touch her face.

 She brought his hand to her cheek and leaned against it. “I love you, Alitus.”

 Hearing those words made his heart thunder with joy; he had to close his eyes against the elation soaring through him. He stroked her cheek, curled his fingers and pressed the back of them against her skin. “You are my heart.” He drew her down and kissed her, opening his mouth to taste the salt of her tears—tears shed for him and so very precious.

 Without meaning for it to happen, the salty kiss sparked anindicant , a precursor to the release of his pheromones. Nude, even releasing this small amount meant the entire surface of his body became a danger zone of addiction. He held his breath and opened his hand.

 The scent of apricots rose, faint but sure. If she touched him anywhere,anywhere …

 She lifted her lashes and stared into his eyes a long moment before scooting toward the edge of the bed and sliding to the floor.

 “We both know what will happen if I touch you now.” She clasped her hands. “I have so much planned for you tonight. So much I want to share that I’ve never been able to share.” Her fragile smile broke his heart. “Until now.”

 Alitus nodded. “I want to submit to everything you have for me, my Conqueror. I want to prove that I’m wholly yours.”

 She took a step forward and reached out to him, only to halt, draw back her hand and take a step away. She turned aside, arms wrapped around herself. She nodded. “It’s time for you to meet my brother.”

 Chapter Seventeen

 Conqueror’s Palace, Alitus Vivaldi’s Quarters

 Sumertsag 44

 Destoiya paced from one end of the living room to the other while she told Erryq about Alitus.

 Her friend curled up on the sofa and wrapped her arms around her upraised knees, watching her. “I can’t get over that he knew.”

 Destoiya stopped and pressed folded hands against her mouth. “Heknew . And he never said a word. Doesn’t that prove he’s loyal? No one else ever has to prove the loyalty of theirChosen . They just announce who it is and ask permission. I haven’t taken aChosen in over four hundred years. I shouldn’t have to do this.”

 Erryq shrugged. “Who knows why Pietas demands anything? B…”

 “‘But if he demands it, it’s law.’ You don’t have to say it.” Destoiya resumed pacing. He demanded it to goad her. Infuriate her. Show her who had the ultimate power. She might rule an empire of far-flung stars, buthe still ruled her. She slammed one fist into her palm.

 “Why didn’t Alitus come to you?” Erryq had clothed herself in white pants and a white poet shirt—exactly the kind of thing Pietas would wear. “He must have had a reason, Dessy.”

 Destoiya summoned her most imperious glare and aimed it at the redhead. “Do not call me that again. Ever.”

 “Rheyn, I’m so sorry. I forgot.” Erryq raised both hands. “You’re the only one of us who hates her birth name. Hell, half the time I don’t even remember mine.”

 Destoiya snapped her head in the other direction. Pietas insisted on calling her Dessy.But it’s so sweet, he’d told her the last time, trailing a cold hand down her back.Just like the girl I remember.

 Just like the girl he’d molested and threatened, night after night. It had been ten thousand years since he’d raped her, but every time she heard that name the horror of his betrayal crushed her anew.

 No man would ever lay hands on her again without her permission. That monster of sexual heat striving for dominance within her she kept at bay her own way, not by some man’s mercy.

 Pietas was her twin. The other half of her. She should have been safe with him.

 Instead, he was her mirror image. Her opposite in everything. His hair was silver, hers black. His eyes were hard as the turquoise stones they resembled, hers the soft color of smoke. Pietas was male beauty personified. She prided herself on dignity and power. He butchered. She upheld justice. He condemned. She redeemed.

 And Erryq was about to portray him to Alitus. Her precious, gentle Alitus. To see if the fear he felt for the man would break him, make him betray her.

 Betray her the way she was about to betray him.

 The Conqueror of the Tarthian Empire covered her mouth with one hand and dissolved into a woman’s tears.

 * * * *

 Conqueror’s Palace, Alitus Vivaldi’s Quarters

 Sumertsag 45

 A little after midnight, Erryq stood before the mirrored wall, sucking in one deep breath after another, hyperventilating to bring on the change. Her red hair altered first. Red curls straightened and turned brown, then black, then faded to silver and cascaded down her back, past her waist. Brown eyes changed shape, the lashes going from brown to rich, dark blond, the irises reforming to reflect turquoise. She lifted her shoulders and rocked her head side to side to loosen tight muscle. The large shirt began to fill out as her body transformed, soft breasts yielding to hard muscle. Her arms and hands flexed as the change overtook them. Her legs lengthened, thighs and calves bulking up as her body transmuted from petite woman to superman.

 When she was finished, Pietas ap Lorectic stood before her in all his masculine glory. Damned near seven feet of perfect, virile hunk, with the body of a god and the face of an angel. “And the heart of a demon.”

 Hearing her own voice come out of his mouth made her twitchy all over. She cleared her throat and tried again, using words from Alitus’ dream. “I’m impressed, Rheyn. Out there, in…” She shook her head. “No, too high.” She hummed a deeper note, holding it a few beats before she tried again. “I’m impressed, Rheyn. Out there, in his office, this one looked like nothing more than your usual toy.”

 Much better, but if he catches me impersonating him, he’ll kill me every day for a week.She shuddered. That wasnot an exaggeration. She only risked it because she loved Rheyn.

 Erryq held her arms out at her sides and shook them, letting the movement ease tension in her shoulders and upper body. Pietas was casual grace, not rigidity.

 Now, to see if I have the attitude right …In the living room, she startled the hell out of Rheyn by stalking past her and down the hall. Without slowing down, Erryq yanked open the bedroom door.

 Alitus stirred from where he’d been sleeping on the mussed bed and pushed himself up on one arm. “What—Holy shit!” He bolted from the bed and onto the other side, both hands out in front of him to ward off Erryq, face twisted in terror as if a demon pursued him.

 “You!” Erryq jabbed a finger straight down. “Come here. On your knees before me.”

 Alitus scrambled to obey, trembling, head tilted back to stare up.

 Erryq stopped, momentarily rattled by the mixture of terror and worship on his face. She leaned over him and wrapped a hand around Alitus’ throat. “Stand up.”

 After Alitus struggled to his feet, Erryq walked him backward and slammed him up against the wall, keeping her hand tight enough to make Alitus gasp.

 Alitus brought both hands up to clutch at Erryq’s, his head shaking back and forth in denial. “No,” he mouthed, as silent as he’d been in his dream. “Please. No. No.”

 Erryq merged into the mind of Alitus as he faced his fear, saw the man who’d threatened not only him but also the woman he loved come back into his life at this most vulnerable moment.

 This time, Erryq guided the dream past his barriers, beyond what his sleeping mind had endured. Forced him to face what he feared the most. As she moved into his dream, she performed as Alitus saw Pietas perform, felt her hand constrict Alitus’ throat until he gasped for breath.

 Erryq pressed her body against Alitus, leaned into him and down next to his face. Choking him, cutting off his air, overpowering him with raw strength. Erryq tilted her head, slanting her mouth to absorb his fading breath, taking it into herself, swallowing Alitus’ life as she drew him deeper, deeper, into a lover’s kiss.

 The hard press of an erection against Erryq’s thigh yanked her out of the eroticism of the moment.

 Alitus wants Pietas … No! Alitus wants Pietas? That—that is his biggest fear … Erryq pulled away, loosening her grip. Oh, gods, no. No. The man Rheyn loves desires the man who nearly destroyed her.

 Only the tiniest snick of sound warned her of danger before the room went completely black.

 Chapter Eighteen

 Conqueror’s Palace, Alitus Vivaldi’s Quarters

 Sumertsag 45

 Darkness edged Alitus’ vision as the man from his nightmares continued to grip his throat. Helpless, he opened his mouth beneath the onslaught of a brutal, possessive kiss. The man’s body pressed him, forced him against the wall, forbidding movement, denying response.

 Only taking, forcing his will. Demanding surrender.

 Abruptly, the man pulled back, an expression of bewildered concern in his turquoise eyes. A wet, smacking thud sounded an instant before Alitus faded into a black daze and slid down the wall.

 Sparkles of light danced in his vision as he gulped air. His throat felt like it had been stepped on.

 Beside him on the floor lay his attacker. Blood oozed from the man’s head, turning the strands of blond hair a sickening blackish red.

 Alitus pressed his face against the cool floor and lay still, ignoring the hands stroking him. The voice speaking to him repeated his name, forcing him to focus when he only wanted to sleep. Close his eyes and sleep. Just for a moment…

 “Stay with me, Alitus!” A hand stung against his cheek. “Alitus! Wake up. Stay with me. Alitus. Alitus!”

 He opened his groggy eyes to find Destoiya bending over him. She moved to sit beside him and shifted his body so Alitus lay across her lap, his head in the crook of her arm.

 “Saved me.” His voice came out a croak. One of Destoiya’s tears hit his face and ran down his cheek. He put out his tongue to taste its salt as it reached the corner of his mouth. “Why … crying?”

 “I couldn’t bear to watch him hurt you.” His Conqueror wiped at her eyes. “Forgive me, Alitus. Forgive me.”

 Alitus closed his eyes. It was enough to be held, to lie in her arms. “Nothing … to forgive.”

 Destoiya sobbed as if her heart was breaking. Alitus could do nothing to help her, his strength gone.Why didn’t I use my pheromones to stop him? While he puzzled over that, Her Majesty continued to hold and rock him, keening softly. Snuggled against her bosom, Alitus did nothing virtuous like reassure her he was fine. He simply enjoyed the moment.

 That is, until the man on the floor stirred.

 Alitus roused himself and got up, pulling Destoiya to her feet. “He’s awake.” He led her away from the body. “That man is dangerous, Your Majesty. We need the Praetorian. He’s…” His voice dropped on the last word.

 The man on the floor was shrinking before his eyes. The body went from seven feet to well under six in just moments. “What the…” He put Destoiya behind him, protecting her.

 The silver hair darkened, deepened, turned to a rich red. It, too, shortened, until it drew up over the place where a man’s flat chest had been, which was now—a woman’s.

 “What…” Alitus spoke to Destoiya over his shoulder. “Who is he? No,what is he? Is this a man or a woman?”

 She wrapped her arms around him. “Perhaps it would be better if you just watched.”

 The Lady Erryq set one hand near the back of her head. “What hit me?”

 Destoiya shook off Alitus’ protective embrace and knelt beside her. “I’m so sorry, love. I lost it when I saw you choking him.”

 Erryq held out a hand. “Help me up.”

 “Should you…” Alitus took a step forward, halted, and then knelt. “You shouldn’t try to sit up. You need a doctor.”

 Both women laughed as if he’d made a joke.

 Erryq brought her hand to the front and frowned at the blood on her fingers. “Damn it. Now I have to wash my hair again.”

 Destoiya stood and helped her rise.

 “What did you hit me with?” Erryq cast a glance around her. A bottle of brandy lay at her feet. “That could’ve killed me! What were you thinking? How would I explain a death like that to Pietas?”

 “Wait.” Alitus pressed fingers against his brow. “If you were dead, how could you explain anything?”

 “I thought you knew.” Erryq squinted at him. “I’m a Sempervian. I revive after death, just like your mistress.”

 “Mistress!” Alitus jerked back. “I hope you mean that in the domination sense. My Conqueror is…”

 “Easy, Alitus.” Destoiya took his hand. She smiled at him, then at Erryq. “She knows quite well what I am to you and you are to me. She was supposed to help me test you.”

 He pressed his tongue against the back of his teeth, stiffening his jaw. “Test me for what?”

 “I suppose I can tell you, now. Sempervians may take a human as theirChosen . It’s not usually sexual, but it is as binding a relationship as marriage. When one of us takes aChosen , it protects that person from all the other Sempervians. None of them will ever dare lift a hand against you. If you need help, one will come to your aid. It’s a lasting contract—if I make you myChosen , your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be protected as if they were Chosen as well.”

 That’s all well and good, if I could have children.Alitus had no intention of settling down, nor of ever leaving Her Majesty’s side.

 The women’s wandering gaze reminded him of his nudity. He turned his back. “May I dress, Your Majesty?”

 “No need, Alitus. Climb back into bed and cover up if you’re cold.”

 “But I…” At her raised brow, he ducked his head. “Yes, Majesty.” He returned to the bed, aware of their gazes on his backside. He could almost feel their stares. It made him erect without his wanting it to. Pulling the covers over himself, he lay on his side, facing the women.

 “He’s really quite beautiful, Rheyn. I envy you having him all to yourself.”

 Alitus preened at the frank appreciation. All the same, he’d be glad to be alone in Destoiya’s bed once more.

 “I’ll share him tonight,” Her Majesty offered. “I don’t mind.”

 “You—you’re going to share me?”

 They both stared at him, faces reflecting their surprise. Destoiya chuckled. “Of course, I am, love. Erryq is like a sister to me.” She put her arm around the woman. “Once I’ve seen to her bath, I’ll be back. Try to rest a bit. Are you hungry?”

 He set a hand against his stomach and shook his head.

 “Good, then.” Her Majesty came up to the bed and leaned over him, pressed a kiss against his brow. “Close your eyes and sleep until I get back.” She tucked him in. “Tonight, I’m going to teach you some new tricks.”

 Chapter Nineteen

 Conqueror’s Palace, Alitus Vivaldi’s Quarters

 Sumertsag 45

 When he awoke, Alitus wrapped himself with a terrycloth robe and padded barefoot into the bathroom. The women were both lounging in the whirlpool tub, Destoiya at one end, Erryq in the other.

 Her Majesty held out a hand. “After you finish, come and join us.”

 “Yes, Your Majesty.” He tried to focus on business—difficult to do with Erryq laughing.

 “I can’t believe you make him call you ‘Your Majesty’ in bed.”

 “Oh, I don’t, believe me. It’s just his way. I’ve tried to break him of it, but it’s no use. He goes right back to it.”

 “I—I want to show you proper respect when we’re in public, Majesty. I’m afraid of slipping up.” He turned to join them, but Her Majesty held up her hand.

 “Drop the robe, love. I want Erryq to see you in all your glory.”

 His cheeks burned. “Glory?”

 “Mmm, yes.” The empress half closed her eyes. “Glory indeed.”

 Her words brought him fully erect. Alitus untied the belt, opened the robe and let it fall back off his shoulders and onto the floor. He stood before the two women completely nude. Unnerving, yet at the same time, it filled him with pride to be the object of such interested and focused feminine attention. He nudged his chin a bit higher.

 Erryq rested both arms before her on the tub’s edge and set her chin on them. Sighing, she ran her gaze up and down him, her enjoyment plain. “Turn around, Alitus. I want to see that ass of yours.”

 Blushing, he did as told. In the mirror, he could see them staring at him. Erryq was licking her lips.

 “Oh, gods, Rheyn. He’s the same color everywhere. No tan lines. I find that highly erotic.”

 “So do I.” Her Majesty reached over to a shelf near the tub and picked up a glass of champagne. “Come here, Alitus.”

 He went. Her Majesty signaled him to his knees and he knelt beside her. She dipped one finger in the glass and rubbed it across his mouth.

 “Now, kiss me.” She moved the glass out of the way as he leaned toward her.

 Alitus pressed his mouth against hers, savoring her taste, woman, champagne and that unique flavor that was Destoiya alone. She flicked her tongue against his lips and he opened to her. She slid a hand into his hair and tugged him closer, held him against her mouth.

 When she pulled back, it was with a long sigh of contentment. “Mmm, lovely, Alitus. Now go and kiss Erryq the same way.”

 He crawled on his knees to where the red-haired beauty waited and leaned in over the cool edge of the tub to kiss her. She wrapped wet arms around his neck and almost pulled him on top of her while they kissed. Knowing Her Majesty watched sent a thrill through straight him. When it ended, Erryq let him go. Sweat beaded on her face from the hot water.

 “Get in here, Alitus.” She patted the water’s surface. “Right in the middle, between us.”

 “Mmm. Where you belong, love.” Destoiya drew back her legs to make room, as did Erryq.

 Bracing a hand against the wall for balance, Alitus stepped into the tub and folded his legs as he sat. The hot water rose to his navel and only the tip of his cock broke the surface. The heat soothed like a warm hug. He sat sideways, his knees outward. Each of the women was near enough to touch.

 Destoiya sipped her champagne, watching him over the rim as Erryq ran her hands down his chest and one arm. The red-head picked up a creamy-white glycerin soap and sniffed it.

 “Mmm. Almonds and honey. No wonder you smell so good, Alitus.” She rubbed the bar between her hands, creating a lather. She set it aside and moved in closer. “You just sit back and enjoy this. Erryq is gonna get you all nice and clean.”

 He groaned without meaning to and held his lower lip between his teeth to be quiet. Their combined nearness made him so hard he feared he’d shoot like a boy alone with his first porno zine.

 Erryq slid her creamy hands over his shoulders and worked the lather into the skin around his neck, then massaged her way down to his pecs. She pressed the heel of her palm over his rock-hard nipple and slid it back and forth, teasing him. She batted thick lashes, her huge brown eyes the color of chocolate, her red lips plump and wet. Rising on her knees, Erryq arched her back, putting her breasts within reach.

 He cupped his hands around them, pressing the elongated nipples between fingers and thumbs. He rolled them back and forth.

 Erryq tilted back her head and closed her eyes in brief exultation. “Oh, oh. You have a wonderful touch, Alitus.”

 He smiled, continuing to fondle her.

 Erryq leaned across him and kissed Her Majesty on the lips. “You taught him well, Rheyn. Thank you for letting me share him tonight.”

 “He’s an apt pupil.” Destoiya set down her drink and reached out to pick up the soap. When she’d worked up a lather, she began massaging it into his left side, near her. He set his left hand on her knee while she worked her fingers into his muscles. The scent of almonds filled the room. The suds trickled down his chest and arms, into the water, as each woman scrubbed her hands over him. Alitus tilted back his head and closed his eyes, luxuriating in the warmth of their care.

 Destoiya moved closer, opening her legs. Alitus dipped his hand into the water and between her thighs, finding her woman’s hair. Her inner lips felt slick and wet. It took only two strokes to find her entrance and insert one finger inside her.

 She hissed, head back. “Yes.”

 He’d reached her pleasure spot. He pressed harder, loving the sound of her excitement. Destoiya’s orgasm fluttered over his finger. Easy to rouse, it never took coaxing from him to bed her.

 “I want a turn.” Erryq drew his hand between her legs as well.

 Alitus rubbed his palm across her mound, cupping his hand around her outer lips. Fleshy, soft, they parted easily and he dipped a finger inside them.

 Hard to concentrate with both hands occupied at the same time. He pressed upward and inside her wet folds and felt an answering jerk from Erryq. He’d found hers as well. He stroked each of them in time, singing the words of a favorite song in his mind.

 You look so sweet, but girl, oh, no, that body’s a lustful thing. My heart pounds, my hands shake, I’m so on fire, my body aches. Oh, baby, what’s so wrong with a little more sin, when it’s you I’m sinning for?

 Destoiya shivered, both her hands holding his up hard against her body. She rocked side to side, coming, her lush mouth open as she gasped.

 Erryq mewed like a kitten, both hands on her breasts as she pulled and twisted her nipples. Alitus rubbed the heel of his palm against her and felt the nub of her clitoris stiffen under his hand. He slipped a second finger into her and she arched up, her legs going wide apart. She went off like fireworks, bouncing hard against his hand, moaning and whimpering.

 Alitus laughed with enjoyment at their pleasure. These two hot, beautiful and powerful women were enjoying him.Him.

 Destoiya wriggled her hips and reached out to pull him closer for a kiss. Erryq kissed along his jaw while Destoiya plundered his mouth. As soon as one released him, the other took control. Erryq gripped his jaw and turned his face toward hers as she leaned in to kiss him. Destoiya pulled him back to herself and leaned over to wrap her arms around him.

 He held her close with both arms, loving the feel of her heat against his skin.

 Erryq slid her hand up along his throat to his jaw and used it to turn his head back toward her. “I want him on the bed, Rheyn.”

 Her Majesty rose, the water sluicing down her skin. “Rinse that soap off, Alitus, and come with us.”

 The two of them held hands as they climbed out of the tub. He splashed water over himself to rinse, stood and swung one leg over the side. Destoiya tossed him a towel and used hers on Erryq.

 He joined her in toweling the red-head dry, paying special attention to her feet and shapely legs. He and Erryq stroked Destoiya’s skin until it was dry, pinkened from their touch. When the two women began to dry him, Alitus spread his legs wider, a hand on each of their shoulders.

 Destoiya wrapped one arm around his leg and nestled her nose against his sac. “I love the smell of you.”

 Erryq licked up his length. “I love the taste.” She got to her feet and took his hand. “Come on, sweet thing. I want to ride that nice, long cock of yours really hard.”

 Destoiya took his other hand.

 I must be living right.He followed them back to his bed, smiling all the way.

 Chapter Twenty

 Conqueror’s Palace, Alitus Vivaldi’s Quarters

 Sumertsag 45

 Positioned above Erryq, Alitus paused.

 Erryq rubbed her hands up both his arms. “Do you want a more blatant invitation, lovey?” She wiggled her hips, brushing her woman’s hair across the tip of his cock.

 He turned to Destoiya. “Once I enter her, she’ll be addicted to me. Are you sure you want this?”

 Her Majesty nodded. “She’ll be able to break free, Alitus. Once she’s completely out of contact with you, it’ll wear off. Sempervians are never truly addicted once they stop using a drug.” She lifted one shoulder in an elegant shrug. “Or a behavior.”

 “So are you not really addicted to me?”

 “That’s different. No Better has ever affected me the way you do, Alitus. I don’t understand why.”

 “Hello?” Lady Erryq gazed up at him, eager and waiting. “A little attention, here?”

 Smiling, Alitus reached down to guide himself to her opening. Her warm wetness against his fingers made him even hotter. “You are so beautiful, Lady Erryq. I’m sorry for not giving you exactly what you wanted right away.” Alitus thrust into her all at once.

 Erryq cried out at the sweet invasion and pulled her knees up and back to take him deeper. Seeing her open so wide, with her legs spread beneath him shot tingles up and down his spine.

 Oh … so good.He tilted back his head. When Alitus set one hand above Erryq’s curls and stroked her clit with his thumb, Destoiya leaned in closer and kissed him. She left his mouth and moved to lie beside Erryq. Taking the red-head in her arms, the empress drew her close and kissed her.

 Alitus almost came just from the sight of them kissing. Destoiya bent over Erryq’s body and cupped a hand around one of her full breasts to bring it to her mouth. She sucked on the nipple, using her tongue all the way around it.

 Alitus groaned. “So hot. You two.” Hard to speak with lust filling his mind.

 Pistoning in and out of Erryq, he savored the sight of these two hot women in his bed. Erryq lifted her hands to Destoiya’s breasts and played with the rigid nipples, twisting and pulling them. The empress arched her back with pleasure and set a hand beneath one breast, offering it to Erryq.

 At that moment, Erryq wriggled beneath him and Alitus lost all his cool reserve. He shot into her like a schoolboy on a first date. As he came down from the incredible high, Destoiya put him firmly in his place.

 Shoving him backward onto the bed, she crawled over between his legs and took his wet shaft in hand, ready to go down on him. “Let’s get this cock of yours back up, lover boy. I want a good, hot ride.”

 *

 Lying in the middle of his bed afterward, Alitus held one woman on either shoulder. Destoiya tickled her fingers across his chest; Erryq stroked his belly. Each of them had one of their legs over one of his. He wouldn’t be getting out of bed anytime soon. That much was obvious.

 “I don’t suppose either of you are sleepy?” Alitus laughed once he’d said it. “I know. Dumb question. Sempervians never tire.”

 “He really is adorable, Rheyn,” Erryq said. “I have to agree with that. And he’s caught on quick about Sempervian sex.”

 Alitus pressed a kiss against Erryq’s forehead. “You talk about me as if I’m not here.”

 “Girl talk, lovey.” She set a hand on his chin and turned his face toward hers. “Rheyn and I always compare lovers.”

 “I see.” He grinned. “I hope I measure up favorably.”

 “Among the finest, darling.” Destoiya cupped a hand around his jaw and turned him back toward her. The silver and steel in her eyes had softened to the rich glow of pewter. “You’re in a class by yourself.”

 “Coming from you, Majesty, that’s a huge compliment.”

 She chuckled and he felt her laugh through his contact with her all along his side. At times like this, when she was happy and cuddly, she seemed so much more a real flesh and blood woman than a paragon he could never reach. Now, in his bed, the first layer of lust satisfied, she was a woman he could spend his life with, toiling beside her at whatever task she chose.

 “What is it?” She gazed into his eyes, lifting herself on one elbow. “You went all melancholy there for a moment.”

 “Nothing.” He lowered his lashes. “Thinking how much I love you.”

 She traced his mouth with the tip of her finger, making him meet her eyes once more. Hers were filled with satisfied pride. “You’re so precious to me, Alitus. I love you.”

 He kissed her fingertips.

 “You asked very few questions about Erryq’s change, my love. Why is that?”

 He turned toward Erryq, who was also propped on one hand, watching him. “You said you were Sempervian. I know your people have different abilities, but I don’t really know what they are. I assume the others don’t change the way you do.” He frowned slightly, turning back to Destoiya. “Why, were there questions you wanted me to ask?”

 She shook her head. Sitting up, she folded her legs beneath her. “You see, Erryq? I told you he was perfect. Few questions, straight to the point.”

 Alitus blinked. “Perfect?”

 “Now you’ve done it.” Erryq smiled. “He’s going to get the big head for sure. There’ll be no living with him.” She told Alitus, “Rheyn told me you were perfect and that you’d be able to sate me. She bet me money you could.”

 He turned back to Destoiya. “Is this true?”

 “Does that offend you, love?”

 He took his time answering. What did he feel? He let out a deep breath. “No. I am yours to command, after all.”

 “Yours to command.” Destoiya closed her eyes. “I love the sound of that.”

 “Maybe he is perfect, Rheyn.” Erryq smiled down at him. “But he’ll still have to be tested.”

 The way they both looked at him made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He squirmed in the bed. “Tested how? And for what?”

 “Not that I think you’ll fail, Alitus,” Destoiya assured him, “but it was Erryq’s job to read you and discover your biggest fear. Then make you live through it.”

 “Wait…” He disentangled his legs from theirs, pushed himself up and leaned back against the headboard. “Read me? How?”

 Erryq sat up as well, hands folded in her lap. The two women were still nude, yet they sat across from him in bed with as much aplomb as if fully dressed.

 “I’m a Dreamweaver, Alitus. When you sleep or daydream, I can read what you’re thinking. Once I understand how your mind works, I can create dreams for you or make you desire certain things. I can also physically change my body to become whatever you want to see.”

 Create dreams for me …He turned that thought over in his mind, examining it. “You’re saying that because I dreamed about…” He paused a moment, going over Destoiya’s words earlier to bring the name to mind, “—Pietas, that he was related to my biggest fear.”

 “Yes.” Erryq brought up her knees and wrapped her arms around them. “You desired him.”

 “I did not!” He pulled the covers up over his legs. It wouldn’t reach any higher than his knees.

 Destoiya had pressed her hands together and was tapping them against her mouth, studying him.

 “Your Majesty, I swear, I did no such thing.”

 She stared at him. “Go on, Erryq.”

 “At first, I thought you were afraid of Pietas himself. He’d choked you badly that time he came here. It rankled you that you couldn’t control him with your pheromones. When I put on the façade of Pietas and attacked you again, I read your thoughts and desires. You became erect when he forced you up against the wall.”

 “No, I didn’t, I—uh, ok. Yeah, I did.” He rubbed his brow. “But that had nothing to do with being choked.”

 “Ah, but it did. I was just telling Rheyn that…”

 “No.” Alitus turned to Destoiya. “I promise you that isn’t true, Majesty. You remember, you rescued me from being raped by several male Praetorian.” He told Erryq, “Ask her. They had dragged me into a classroom and had me bent over one of the desks with my pants down. She stopped it. I was terrified, Erryq. I would never want to experience that again. I didnot desire Pietas.”

 Erryq and Her Majesty exchanged glances. “It’s all right, Alitus.” Destoiya touched his arm. “I believe you.”

 He sucked in a deep breath.Finally.

 “However…”

 Alitus stiffened at her tone.

 “Since you do admit to being afraid of sex with another man, I think that will have to be your test.”

 “Wh-what do you mean?”

 “I mean, love, that you will have sex with a man of my choosing. If you are able to do as asked, then you will have passed your loyalty test. My brother will not allow me to have aChosen who cannot pass. If you want to be truly mine, you will have to complete his test.”

 A cold, hard fist settled in the pit of his stomach. More disturbing, the beginnings of an erection stroked its way through his cock and drew his balls up close. He folded his hands over himself.

 Oh, God. What man is she talking about? Please not a Praetorian. Too many bad memories. And not—no, please not Rudolf Brakovsky.He shivered.If I have to fuck a Jade I’m going to puke.

 “Well, Alitus?” The woman he loved waited for his answer. “Do you agree to be tested? Or will this be good-bye?”

 “Good-bye? What…”

 “If you cannot pass the test, then you will no longer be considered trustworthy.” She studied her hands. “I will have no choice but to send you away.”

 Chapter Twenty-One

 TarthCity, Thomas Gabriel Stadium Grand Opening

 Sumertsag 50

 “Welcome to Opening Day at Gabriel Stadium,” blared the loudspeakers in the main languages of the Tarthian Empire. Alitus swallowed against the nervous flutter in his stomach. He walked behind Her Majesty and Lady Erryq as they made their way into the owner’s box, midway up above the Tarthian Fists dugout. Next to him, her android bodyguard kept pace easily, his leggy stride slow. Prentice glanced down at him and winked.

 People on the sidelines fanned themselves and sipped iced drinks. Because of his veil, Alitus did not feel the heat that oppressed everyone else.Small advantage, I guess.

 Once they reached the cool haven of the private box, Destoiya made a hand motion, freeing him to remove his veil. Alitus pulled it off and tousled his hair into place, but did not remove his gloves.

 Luc Saint-Cyr greeted them himself. The man was an icon on Tarth. The wealthiest person in the empire and one of the Conqueror’s staunchest allies, he nevertheless had two “adopted sons” who were rebels, one of them none other than Khyff Antonello. Alitus shook his head.Will I never be free of this guy’s influence?

 Destoiya must have noticed his reaction because she queried him with her eyes. He gave a faint shake of his head in response.Everything’s fine.

 Except it wasn’t.

 Before the day was out, he’d have to engage in sex not only with Sempervian Luc Saint-Cyr, but also his human life-partner andChosen , Wulf Gabriel. Alitus shook hands with Saint-Cyr.

 Hard to look the man in the eye; he always wore black lenses that completely covered the whites. When Saint-Cyr cocked his head to one side, Alitus swallowed, fighting the immediate impression that some giant bird of prey stalked him. Saint-Cyr was six feet, five inches tradestandard, a good five inches taller than he. His brilliant smile flashed, the white stark against his black skin.

 What is he thinking about right now? Is he seeing me naked?Alitus shivered.

 “Welcome to Gabriel Stadium.” Saint-Cyr put his arm around Wulf Gabriel’s shoulders. “You’ve met Wulf, I believe.”

 “Yes, I have.” Alitus shook hands with the man. Saint-Cyr and Wulf were often at palace functions.

 At thirty-five, Wulf was in his prime. Fit, tanned, impeccably dressed in a business-style navy-blue suit. His dynamic good looks made him the perfect trophy for a man like Saint-Cyr. Wulf had once made his living as the highest-paid model in the empire and still looked the part. Destoiya had told him they had a love match. Seeing them together, it seemed so.

 “Nice to see you again, Wulf.” Amazed his voice wasn’t shaky, Alitus smiled. “Must be nice, having a stadium named after you.”

 Saint-Cyr laughed and hugged Wulf against his side. “He asked me to buy him the Fists once. Can you imagine what it would cost to own the most successful sports franchise in the empire? I think I got off easy with just a stadium on Tarth.”

 “Don’t listen to him. This was all his idea.” Wulf punched Saint-Cyr playfully. “He said he had ‘a little gift for our fifth anniversary.’ I had no idea the stadium he’d been building was to honor my father.” He hung an arm around Alitus’ shoulders. “Come on, let’s go outside and play while the adults talk.”

 Alitus caught Destoiya’s approving nod over his shoulder as Wulf led him away.

 The owner’s box had an unhampered view of the stadium below. Ruckball had multi-level playing fields to take full advantage of the anti-gravity sections built into the ground. A cross between traditional human football, soccer, and Tyran wrestling, the sport was played in three dimensions.

 Alitus followed Wulf onto the overhanging deck outside the owner’s box and leaned on the railing. “Wow. This place is huge.”

 “I’ll say. Your voice echoes even in the bathrooms.”

 They both laughed.

 People filled the stadium with noise. On the turf below, a marching band played rousing music. The crowd cheered when the song ended and the band began anew. Spotlights skimmed across the sea of people and out across the playing field. Horns tooted. The air smelled faintly of peanuts and popcorn.

 Alitus inhaled the scent. “Mmm, that smells good.”

 “You want some popcorn, Alitus?”

 “No, thank—Yes.” He always ate what his staff put in front of him or dined with Her Majesty at court functions. Why not eat something he liked just for the pleasure of it? “I believe I would. Thank you.”

 Wulf returned inside and came back with two bags, one for each of them. “I like mine with butter. Hope you don’t mind. I put some on yours, too.”

 “I haven’t had this since I was a boy.” Alitus started to reach into the bag, stopped and handed it back to Wulf. “Mind holding this while I take off my gloves?”

 “No sweat.” Wulf tossed his hair. “You don’t have to wear those at work, do you?”

 “Afraid so.” He stuffed the gloves into a pocket. “The veil, too.”

 “No shit?”

 Wulf’s colorful language made Alitus smile. He took back the popcorn. “Thanks. Do you always say what you mean?”

 “Oh, hell yeah. Why waste time pretending? If you want something, go for it. Got to admit, that’s one thing I learned from Luc that’s worth keeping.” Wulf popped a kernel of corn into the air and caught it with his mouth. “Catch.” He tossed one at Alitus, but it went over the railing and into the crowd below. “Whoops!”

 They both leaned over to see where it landed. The white kernel sat in a woman’s hair directly below them. When she reached up to pat her head, they both jerked their heads back.

 Wide brown eyes met Alitus’ startled ones and both men burst into laughter.

 Alitus picked up a handful of popcorn. “How many people does this place hold?”

 Wulf leaned a hip against the railing. “About a hundred-thousand. Destine Pietan Stadium holds sixty-five thousand, so this has a much larger capacity. Since that stadium is built not far from there, we can take advantage of all the usual transportation lines people would use for a game or concert.”

 “Its overall design is incredible. The outside doesn’t do it justice though. This place is incredible.”

 Wulf smiled. “I think you just used ‘incredible’ twice in like two seconds.” He tossed up more popcorn and ate it.

 “Is it any wonder?” Alitus said with his mouth full. He set a hand in front of his lips. Wulf’s carefree attitude was likely to get him in trouble. “Sorry. Is it true ruckball players bounce off the ceiling?” He craned his neck for a better view. The overhead was painted flat black.

 “No one’s ever done that yet, but in this stadium it might happen.” Wulf wadded up the empty bag and tossed it across the balcony, right into a recycler. He dusted off his hands and seated himself in one of the arena-type seats on the balcony.

 “I’ve never been to a ruckball game before.” Alitus sat beside him. Back inside, Destoiya, Erryq and Saint-Cyr had their heads together and were laughing over some private joke.Hope it’s not me.

 “Never?” Wulf touched him on the arm, bringing his attention back to the field. “Do you watch the game?”

 “I sort of tried to. I have a Tyran servant who loves ruckball so I got him to coach me on it a little, but…” He shrugged. “I’m afraid I’m hopeless when it comes to sports. I don’t have time to get out much except for workouts and such.”

 “Me, either. I work for Luc, you know.”

 “No, I didn’t.” He turned slightly in the seat. Saint-Cyr was pouring a round of whiskey. Alitus sat forward again. “What do you do for him?”

 “My title says Producer, Special Assistant to the President, but I’m basically a gofer.”

 “Gofer?”

 “He says he needs something and I ‘gofer’ it.” He grinned. “I essentially manage the office for him and run interference.”

 Alitus chuckled. “Sounds like my job. I’m the Personal Assistant to the Empress. Whatever needs doing, that’s what I do.”

 “You must have killer hours. Does she keep you running all the time?”

 “Pretty much.”

 Wulf raised one eyebrow. “Wait till you’re one of theChosen .”

 Alitus laughed. He hadn’t enjoyed himself this much with another person since …Hmm. Maybe never. Wulf was looking at him with more than friendly interest. Hard to think he’d have to be in bed with him in a few hours. Alitus cleared his throat. He folded his hands and rubbed his thumb across one nail. “What about your hours?”

 “Always hopping. My work at Lucsondis varies from twenty-four and a half hours a day to twenty-five.”

 Alitus frowned. “There are only twenty-four hours in a tradestandard day.”

 One side of Wulf’s mouth lifted in a sardonic grin. “Try telling that to Luc Saint-Cyr.”

 They both laughed again.

 “What are you two finding so funny out here?”

 Alitus stood at Destoiya’s voice. Wulf followed.

 “Talking about our jobs, Your Majesty.” Wulf tucked both hands behind him. “And our impossible hours.”

 Destoiya raked her gaze over Wulf and smiled approvingly at Alitus. “I see. Glad to know you’re getting on.”

 Alitus tucked his hands behind him. “Wulf and I have a lot in common, Your Majesty.”

 “Do you?” She beamed at both of them. “Very well. Carry on, gentlemen.” She went back inside.

 Wulf leaned in closer. “She’s fabulous. You’re one lucky dog.”

 He bounced on the balls of his feet. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

 * * * *

 Destoiya sipped her whiskey. The thought of seeing Alitus being taken by her dear friend Luc brought a flush of heat. She’d loved Luc from the first moment she’d seen him. He’d been her brother’s toy for some time before Pietas offered him to her. She’d argued with Pietas over some trivial thing back when they still lived on their homeworld, a thousand years before they’d been exiled. He hadn’t spoken to her in weeks—or was it months? At any rate, he’d finally deigned to speak to her and had sent Cyken Tomarus to her bed as a peace offering.

 Young Cyken had been created by Pietas, part of the experiment to enable Sempervians to die and stay dead. The rank and file hadn’t understood her brother’s greatness, his genius. To them, creating a being designed for slaughter meant he was playing god. But in addition to creating soul-less beings for experiments, Pietas had also created children from their own DNA. Their people no longer reproduced. Instead of applauding his work, they’d locked Pietas and his staff up on a deserted island and left him there.

 Then known as Dessy, Destoiya had gathered a small contingent of followers and joined him in protest. Despite his abuses, back then she’d adored her brother. Before she’d seen him slaughter a whole world of people simply because he could.

 Before he’d created Peril.

 “Drak for your thoughts,” Luc said, next to her.

 “And ruin your day? I think not.” She sipped her drink.

 “Then you must be thinking abouthim. ”

 He did not mean Alitus. Neither of them needed Pietas’ name between them. She focused on the playing field. The game had started and she hadn’t noticed.

 “Who’s winning?”

 “No one yet,” Erryq put in. “That was kickoff. I think I’m going outside with the boys.”

 “Fine, love. You wrote the book. Go enjoy it.”

 Erryq blew her a kiss and winked at Saint-Cyr as she left.

 “The glass is transparent to us,” Saint-Cyr told her, one hand trailing along her shoulder. “But no one can see through it once I shut the door.”

 One of the few who knew what secret lay behind those black lenses of his, she met his eyes with supreme confidence in her ability to satisfy. A Sempervian rarely had enough sex. She’d built her Stable because she needed multiple lovers. But with another Sempervian, it was satisfaction guaranteed.

 “This is your anniversary with Wulf, darling. Won’t he be terribly upset?”

 He slid the tip of one finger along her exposed collarbone. The dress was cut wide, almost off the shoulders, leaving plenty of bare skin.

 “Our true anniversary isn’t until Sofftem 30. Besides, he won’t mind. After all, I’m giving him Alitus later.”

 “Oh, I thought you were going to take him.”

 “Disappointed?”

 Destoiya brought his hand to her cheek and leaned against it. “A little. I pictured you making love to him. I love your skin, you know.” She stroked his hand across her cheek. “It’s softer than any man’s ought to be.”

 Those perfect white teeth flashed in a slow smile meant to tease. “Don’t worry. You’ll have a good view of everything. Wulf is going to drive him home. They’ll be in the back of the hoversine quite long enough to enjoy themselves, I assure you.”

 “Mmm.” She patted her upswept hair. “Well, in that case…”

 Saint-Cyr stood. “Excuse me a moment, my love.” With a courtly bow, he proceeded to pour three mugs of beer, which he carried to Wulf, Alitus, and Erryq. He shut the glass door and returned. “There. They won’t disturb us for a little while and all the other doors are locked.”

 Destoiya lifted her hand to stroke his face with the back of her fingers.Such a masculine face. Rugged and firm. “You do know how to get what you want, don’t you, my love?”

 He laid a hand on his chest. “Wheeler dealer.”

 She stood and held out her arms to the sides. Saint-Cyr reached around behind her and unfastened the clasp of her short dress. She slid it off her shoulders. When it dropped to the floor, she knelt on the pool of black silk and opened the front of his pants.

 Chapter Twenty-Two

 TarthCity, Thomas Gabriel Stadium Grand Opening

 Sumertsag 50

 Alitus jumped to his feet when Wulf did. The Killer offense had set up Ensak Ssarg with the ruckball and he was running for the end zone. Fist O’Brady Tyrell tackled him and they rolled out of bounds, then back in as they fought for the ball. Having watched the game for the past two hours with Wulf and Erryq, he now knew exactly what was happening on the field.

 The two Rogues were the stars of their teams. Ssarg put his helmeted head down and used his two-hundred-pound frame like a battering ram to open the Fist defense. Two players went down; another flew through the air like straw in a high wind. When he hit the ground, a collective “Oooh!” went up from the crowd.

 “Is he going to be all right?”

 Wulf spared Alitus a brief glance. “Who, Jack?”

 “Yeah. Twenty-four. The guy who went flying.”

 “Oh, yeah.” Wulf whistled as the play ended. During the time out, he sat back down next to Alitus and picked up his beer. “See those medi-droids coming out on the field?” He pointed.

 “Yeah.”

 “There’s a full trauma center built into the stadium. Any medical attention these guys require is right there if they need it. Besides, Jack’s tough. I swear, he’s got nine lives. You wouldn’t believe the stuff this guy goes through every season. Keeps coming back for more, though. He probably got hit right on the edge of that air zone. See the triangle marking where the ground slopes up?”

 Alitus followed his pointing finger. “Yeah.”

 Wulf gestured to take in that part of the field. “That whole section is anti-grav. You can flip someone halfway to the moon on that thing.” He smiled at Alitus.

 “This is one brutal game.”

 “You got that right. Maybe that’s why I love it. I could never do this shit. I think it’s cool that they can.”

 Alitus finished off his beer. A little earlier, Saint-Cyr had brought them all refills, handed out popcorn and shut the door again. “Did you really ask Saint-Cyr to buy you the Fists?”

 Wulf had his beer halfway to his mouth. He rested the mug on his knee. “We’d had a fight. Our first, I think. He wanted to know what it would take to make it up to me. I jokingly said, ‘the Fists’ and he’s never let me live that down.” He glanced toward the closed door, then toward Erryq, who was making notes in a reader. “You know what they’re doing in there, don’t you?”

 Alitus shifted his gaze elsewhere. He thought of Erryq asking him how he felt about Rheyn having other lovers. “Does it bother you?”

 “Some.” Wulf took a chug of beer. “You?”

 “Used to it.”

 “So you don’t like it, either.”

 Alitus kept his head down. “No. Not really. Not that I have a choice.”

 “Sempervians have no idea what faithfulness means to a human.” Wulf leaned back in his seat. “Well, maybe that’s not altogether true. I guess it’s more like they don’t feel bound to it like we do. To them, sex is one more way to power and control. They fall in love, yeah, but it doesn’t keep them from accomplishing their overall goals.”

 “I don’t understand all that.” Alitus rubbed his brow.

 “Has she explained Peril to you, yet?” Wulf was watching him, studying him in some way Alitus didn’t understand.

 “Peril? What’s that?”

 He nodded with a knowing gleam in his eye. “I’m sure Her Majesty will tell you all about it later. Game’s on.”

 Peril.The words danger, hazard, and threat came instantly to mind. Surely it was nothing so mundane as being a thrill seeker.What in the worlds is Peril?

 Wulf leaped to his feet and Alitus joined him. Number twenty-four had come back onto the field on his own power. The crowd started chanting, “Jack is back! Twenty-four! Jack is back! Twenty-four!” The words scrolled on every screen in the arena.

 Wulf whistled again. “Damn! This is going to be one hell of a game.” He glanced toward the door, lowered his head and turned back to the field.

 Alitus felt the pain that Wulf could not verbalize. The person he wanted most to share the day with was not beside him and in a way, never could be.

 How do you fall in love with someone who will live for eons after you’re nothing more than a faint memory?

 One day at a time.Alitus shut his eyes.One day at a time.

 * * * *

 Luc Saint-Cyr’s hoversine

 Sumertsag 50, night

 “Can’t believe I’m alone in a hoversine with Alitus Vivaldi. The almighty Conqueror’s right-hand man.” Wulf grinned at him from the opposite seat. “You sure you don’t mind me taking you home?”

 “Naw. Kind of tired anyway. I haven’t slept much lately.” He stifled a yawn. “Sorry.”

 “You dog!” Wulf nudged his foot. “Both of them have been with you, haven’t they?”

 Alitus blushed. “Yeah.”

 “No damn wonder you’re tired.” Wulf sat back, watching him. “You know I’m supposed to seduce you, right?”

 Laughter escaped before Alitus could stop it. He bit his lower lip. “What, with your charm?” He couldn’t help chuckling.

 Wulf laughed with him. “Being aChosen means a lot of things, Alitus. I didn’t have anyone to show me the ropes at first. Eventually, I caught on, but the very first requirement is loyalty.”

 “Listen, Wulf, I know you mean well, but I promise you there’s no one in this empire more loyal to the empress than I am.”

 “I believe it, man. But she wants proof of it. You don’t have to give it. According to Luc, you can just walk away. I’m bettin’ that’s not your style.”

 “No. No, it’s not.” He put his head down and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. Despite the situation, he found himself wondering what it would be like to submit to Wulf.Should I make the first move? Am I supposed to do something?

 “Luc and I talked this out. She asked both of us to take you, but…”

 Alitus lifted his head at the long pause.

 Wulf continued, “But we think just one of us is all you need in order to prove yourself and Luc says Her Majesty is ok with that. You can have a choice. Me or Luc. I told Luc you’d rather have me do it. I—I hope that’s ok.”

 Alitus flattened his back against the seat and sighed. “Do you—is it—will you…” He sighed again. “I don’t even know how to ask this.”

 “What will I do to you?”

 He bit his lips together and nodded.

 “She said you had some kind of bad experience in the past. You want to talk about it?”

 He shook his head. “Not really, no.”

 “Ok.” Wulf laced his fingers together, rubbed them back and forth. He pressed both hands on the seat. “Um, you want to know what the minimum is that you have to do to satisfy her requirement?”

 Alitus pressed his fingers into his brow and lowered his head.This sounds like I’m in school trying to find out what homework I missed. He swallowed. “Yeah,” he said and lifted his head. “That’d be great.”

 * * * *

 TarthCity, Di Lusso District

 NizamrakBuilding, Penthouse “The Loft”

 Erryq prowled Saint-Cyr’s penthouse while Destoiya sat with him before the bank of screens in his den. “How does all this work?”

 Saint-Cyr poured a whiskey and offered it to her, then another for himself. “When I touch this pad…” He indicated a yellow light. “—Wulf can hear me, but Alitus can’t. And as you can see, everything they do is visible to us.”

 Multiple screens showed the inside of the hoversine. One looked over Wulf’s shoulder at Alitus, another the reverse of that. Two more angled in from the sides.

 “You’ll be able to see everything. I can even zoom. Watch this.” He held a small joystick forward and the camera moved in closer, filling the screen with Alitus’ face. “He’s sweating.”

 “I hate to see him distressed like this.” She took a sip of the whiskey. It burned like fire.

 “I can shut it off, if you like.”

 “No. I want some measure of control over this. It’s bad enough my brother is forcing me to test him. I won’t leave him in anyone else’s hands. Not even yours.” She polished off the drink and refused more when he offered it.

 He inclined his head.

 “Do you use this…” She waved her hand at the set-up. “—often?”

 “No. But I have on occasion gifted Wulf with some young thing he fancies. He knows it pleases me to direct him in using his new ‘toy.’”

 “You amaze me, Luc.”

 He steepled his fingers. “How so?”

 “The infamous Harbinger conceding to a lowly human’s wishes. Especially when that human belongs to him.”

 He tapped his fingertips together. “My dear, you forget. I lost Wulf for more than twenty years. Whatever he wants, I intend to supply it. Even if it means giving him someone else.”

 Destoiya patted her hair into place. “Is that what he really wants?”

 Saint-Cyr made a refined shrug. “It is what it is, my love. Wulf is thirty-five. A child in our eyes, but a full grown man in his. Who am I to stop him?”

 “I understand, but consider yourself warned. One day this scheme of yours will backfire.”

 He bared his teeth in a slow, erotic smile. “How like you to point out your faults in the lives of others.”

 She sat upright, her back rigid. “Meaning what?”

 “Meaning,” he made an expansive gesture, “that you find fault in my use of Wulf when you are doing the same thing to Alitus.”

 She opened her mouth to object—and found she couldn’t. “You’re right, I suppose.” She set a hand over her heart. “I do love him, Luc.”

 He tilted his head. “But…” he prompted.

 “I won’t lose a round of Peril over him. I’ve never lost a round and I don’t intend to start now. I won’t subject myself to Penance at my brother’s hands. Whatever we must do, Alitus must endure.”

 Chapter Twenty-Three

 Luc Saint-Cyr’s hoversine

 Sumertsag 50, night

 Wulf looked up at him from where he knelt between his knees. “It’s ok, Alitus.” He set a hand on either thigh. “I promise I won’t hurt you.”

 Breathing in short gasps, Alitus nodded, though his heart beat so hard he could feel it in his ears.

 “Hey, shh.” Wulf moved to the seat beside him. “It’s all right. We have plenty of time.” He slid his arm around Alitus’ shoulders and drew him in close. “I knew we couldn’t just ‘do it,’ man. Didn’t I tell you?”

 Alitus nodded.

 “It’s ok. We’ll just sit here for a minute. We’re not in any hurry, ok?” Wulf set a hand in his hair and held Alitus close to him. “I want this to be a good experience for you.”

 He nodded his thanks, trying to find words, but none would come to mind.

 Wulf stroked his fingers through Alitus’ hair, rubbed the back of his arm and settled in beside him, pushing back against the seat. The smooth ride of the hoversine lulled Alitus, and after a time, he leaned a little heavier against Wulf’s shoulder and chest.

 “I…” Alitus moved his head so he could hear Wulf’s heartbeat. “Before I belonged to the Conqueror, several Praetorian tried to rape me.” Wulf’s heart slowed for two beats and then kicked in faster in a sympathetic/empathetic reaction only a Better could hear and interpret. Alitus rested against him with more trust, now that he knew Wulf’s concern was real.

 “Oh, shit. Man, I hate that for you.” Wulf kissed his brow and pulled back a little. “I hate that they messed you up like that.”

 Alitus tilted back his head so Wulf could see his eyes. “Her Majesty rescued me, you know. That’s how we met.”

 “Is that why you love her? Because she saved you?”

 “No.” Alitus sat up and tucked one leg beneath him as he turned toward his friend. “I’ve actually thought about that many times. I love Her Majesty because—well, because I just do. I love everything about her. It’s not hero worship, believe me. But a day doesn’t go by that I don’t remember that I’m here by her grace. Because she could have let me die.”

 Wulf took his hand and held it. “Have you ever talked about it?”

 Alitus shook his head, glancing away.

 “Then you need to.”

 “No. I’m good.” He withdrew his hand. “It doesn’t bother me anymore.”

 Wulf touched Alitus on the cheek. “Then why did you flinch away when I touched you just now? Why can’t you look at me?”

 Alitus shrugged, picking at his nails. He clasped his hands together to stop it. “I—I’m—I’m uh…”

 Wulf laid a hand over both of his. “Look at me, Alitus. Please.”

 Alitus shook his head. He pressed a fist against his mouth, shaking so badly his teeth chattered. “I—can’t—do this.”

 “Yes. Yes, you can.” Wulf turned sideways on the seat, not touching him. “I’ve only spent about four hours with you, but I can already tell you’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”

 Alitus head came up. Wulf’s pupils had remained the same size. Alitus didn’t think he was lying, even if what he said was far from true. “Why would you say that?”

 “Are you kidding me?” Wulf rested one shoulder against the back of the seat. “You work for the damn Conqueror. It’s no secret you’re in her bed. The entire empire knows you’re her—uh, hers.”

 “You can say it, Wulf.” Alitus turned sideways and leaned against the back of the seat as well. “I know what people call me. I’m the Conqueror’s Dog.”

 Wulf’s cheeks brightened. He made a small grimace. “See what I mean? You deal with all kinds of shit. You’re one tough guy. Believe me, sex is no big deal compared to the crap you put up with every day. Guys twice your age couldn’t deal with half the crap you do.”

 Alitus had to smile at that. He ran a hand through his hair.

 “What happened to those Praetorian?” Wulf wasn’t looking at him. “The ones who hurt you?”

 “They’re dead.” He pressed fingertips to brow, head down. The hum of the hoversine seemed loud in the silence that followed. The stitching in the seat followed an irregular pattern in one area. Alitus stroked a finger along it.

 “I’m guessing they’re dead as a result of what they did to you?”

 He lifted his head. “Her Majesty walked in as they were about to rape me. There were five of them. They had pulled my pants half off and three of them were holding me down.”

 Wulf’s face scrunched up in a frown. “Were they human?”

 “Two of them. The rest were Kin.”

 “Oh, shit. They can be mean bastards. What did you do?”

 “I begged for help. She pulled a gun and I thought for a minute she was going to helpthem .”

 “But she didn’t?”

 He shook his head. “I don’t think she ever looked more beautiful than at that moment.” He smiled, picturing her in his mind. “Her black uniform, scarlet sash and medals made her unmistakable. I’d never seen her in person, but I knew immediately she was royal. You could almost feel it, you know? She told them, ‘Let him go, or I’ll kill you where you stand.’ They backed off. She made a gesture for me to come to her. I yanked up my pants and got over there.”

 “Did they go to trial?”

 “Trial!” Alitus made a snort. “Hell, no. The Conqueror shot them in the head, one after the other without pausing. All five of them.” With a pointing finger and thumb, he mimed shooting. “Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Just like that. Never missed. Right in the head.”

 “Holy shit!”

 “They didn’t have time to do more than flinch. She never asked me why they did it. Didn’t ask if I’d attacked them. Nothing. Just blam! Dead.” He ducked his head, covering his eyes. “I know it’s wrong to feel guilty, but I do.”

 “Youfeel guilty?”

 “It’s like I killed them. I was standing right behind her. I saw the whole thing.” Alitus wiped at the start of tears, unwilling to let Wulf see them.

 “You never said anything about that to the Conqueror, I’m guessing.”

 “No!” He picked up his head. “She’d just saved my life. What was I supposed to do? Argue with her?”

 “You were torn about what to do.”

 “Oh, God, yes. Yes.” He propped an elbow on one knee and bent to hide his face in that hand. “They never even had a chance to defend themselves.”

 “You’re one incredible guy, you know that?”

 Alitus sat up, laid a hand on his chest. “Me? I’m nobody. I’m a kid whose parents were killed during the riots in 4657. I’d gone that day to claim their bodies and try to get a decent burial.”

 “What riots?” Wulf wagged a hand. “Not too good on history. Sorry.”

 “The riots on the FIST.”

 Wulf pulled at his lower lip.

 “Ok. There had been a peaceful protest on the FIST. That’s the Facility for Imperial Ships and Transports.”

 “Oh. Gotcha. What happened? How did they die?”

 “The Praetorian tried to end the riots by force. There were over fifty deaths.”

 “And your parents were protesters?”

 He smiled. “Hardly. They’d stayed as far away from the politics of the situation as they could. There’d been talk of laying out—not going to work the next day, but my folks both reported for duty. A hundred FIST workers took over a ship in dry-docks and threatened to destroy it. My parents were on board.”

 “So they were taken hostage along with the ship.”

 “Yes.”

 “What a crummy break. What happened next?”

 Alitus let out a long, sighing breath and slumped sideways against the seat. “The Praetorian went straight for the throat without consideration for any of the lives at stake and jettisoned the ship’s modular units. That ended the hostage situation but it also exposed everyone on board to outer space. It killed more than three hundred workers, including my folks.”

 Wulf swore under his breath.

 “The next day, Her Majesty came to Trien and visited the dry-docks on the FIST to appeal to workers and their families for a peaceful return to duty.” Alitus took a deep breath. “When she refused to hear grievances, it escalated into another riot. The Praetorian tried to quell it by shooting into the crowd. Her Majesty finally stepped in at that point. Later, I found out she’d seen two Praetorian drag me off and she’d decided to personally search until she found me.”

 “And that’s how you ended up being rescued and the Praetorian were shot.”

 “Yes.” He picked at a thumbnail. “So you see why I feel guilty.”

 Wulf shook his head. “No. I’m afraid I don’t.” He added, “But I’m trying.”

 “I’d lost my temper. I used my pheromones against those two Praetorian and one of them managed to knock me out before…” He sucked in a deep breath, held it, let it all out. “If I’d kept my temper in check like my parents always told me, those guys wouldn’t have died.”

 Wulf was smiling at him with an expression one reserved for small children and pets.

 “What?” Alitus stiffened his shoulders.

 “The Conqueror probably killed those guys because they were handy.”

 He swallowed. “Handy? What do you—How?”

 “I bet she let everyone know she’d killed them, right?”

 “Yeah. And that she was taking me back to Tarth. She said it was because I didn’t have family and…” He let his voice trail off. “The riots ended after that.”

 “It wouldn’t have mattered what you did, Alitus. Your situation was a handy scapegoat. Nothing against the Conqueror, but I’ve studied the Chosen Chronicles and she’s done shit like that before.”

 “Chronicles?” He leaned toward Wulf. “TheChosen keep some sort of records?”

 “Oh, hell yeah. You’ll never be able to read them all. But you should read as much as you can about the Conqueror, since she’ll be the one you support. Her real name’s Dessy, by the way and she absolutely hates it. No one knows why. Dessy ap Lorectic.”

 Dessy. Hmm.Alitus hid his face in both hands. “Oh, God. All these years.” He sat up straight and blew out a short breath. “All this guilt. And she was only using their deaths to quell the riots.”

 “I’d say so.” Wulf gestured to himself. “Not that I’m the most politically savvyChosen out there, but it sure sounds like things she’s done. Hey—doesn’t mean she didn’t want you. Hell, she might have come looking for you because she thought you were hot.”

 “Oh, sure! I was sixteen years old. She stuck me away with some tutors for two years because I was still a child.”

 “What is it?” Wulf sat beside him. “You look like you saw a ghost.”

 He rubbed a hand across his face.This thing with Wulf is not the same situation. I’m no innocent boy being subjected to torture and humiliation. I’m a grown man facing his demons and proving his loyalty to the woman I love and serve. I can do this.

 He met the other man’s eyes. “I—I think I’m ok now.” Wulf’s infectious smile made him laugh. Alitus rubbed the back of his neck. “I just—I’m worried about my pheromones addicting you.”

 “Hey, you went all day without using them, man. It’s not like you don’t have control. I’m aware of the risks of unprotected sex with a Better and I’m willing to take those risks. So don’t worry about it, ok?”

 “Ok.” Alitus nodded. “Can we just get this over with, please?”

 “Gee, thanks.”

 His face heated. “No, I didn’t…”

 “I’m teasing you.” Wulf held up a hand. “You’re sure you’re ready?”

 “Will you just do it before I lose my nerve?”

 “It’s not gonna be like that.”

 Sighing, Alitus rolled his eyes. “I just want to get it over with, ok?”

 “Well, I don’t.”

 “What?” Alitus tilted his head.

 “You’re beautiful, man. I want to take my time and enjoy being with you. Is that so awful?”

 Alitus did not know where to look, what to do, where to put his hands.

 “Hey. Relax, ok?” Wulf held out an arm. “Come over here and take it easy for a minute. You’ve gotten a lot off your chest. You need to chill a minute.”

 Alitus drew back, unsure. At last he succumbed to Wulf’s invitation and scooted over toward him. “No sudden moves, ok? Are you sure we have time for this?”

 “Hell, yeah. Believe me, this car isn’t going home until you and I are finished.”

 “Oh, God…”

 Wulf laughed. “Come on. I’m good at this. I swear.”

 Alitus took in Wulf’s chocolaty cream-brown eyes and sculpted jaw. His hair fell over his brow in exactly the right places to make him look appealing. Clean cut, wholesome, male. “I’ll bet you are.”

 “How do you like to be kissed?”

 Alitus opened his mouth to respond, but Wulf grinned and pressed a finger against his lips. “That was rhetorical. I’m about to find out for myself.”

 Wulf moved in closer, his gaze flicking between Alitus’ mouth and eyes. Wulf shut them as their mouths touched.

 Sweet, gentle, kind. Just one soft brush of lips, then another. Wulf turned his head, setting a knuckle beneath Alitus’ chin to tilt his face. He pushed his lips against Alitus’ and angled himself a little more. Perfect. Their lips met in an easy embrace as if they’d always been meant to be together.

 Wulf’s breath whispered across Alitus’ mouth. He kissed with a tenderness unlike anything Alitus had ever experienced. The Conqueror kissed with steam and fire; Wulf’s kiss was solid and cool.Burn me, the Conqueror always told him.Burn me with your mouth.

 Withdrawing just a bit, Wulf sighed. “Oh, man. You kiss like…” He grinned. “Like—I don’t know what. Never kissed anyone like you.”

 Hmm. Maybe this was meant to be.Alitus tilted his head and leaned up to press his mouth against Wulf’s. He opened to Wulf’s invasion, almost melting with how good it felt.

 Wulf pulled back again, gazed down at him. “You know Luc thought it wouldn’t work for me to take you. ‘Two subs won’t work,’ he said. ‘Never put two submissives together. They won’t know what to do.’” Wulf rubbed a fingertip across Alitus’ lower lip. “Believe me, babe, I’ve got plenty of ideas about you.”

 Alitus chuckled. “Wulf?”

 “Hmm?”

 “Shut up and kiss me.”

 Laughing, Wulf did just that.

 *

 An entire delicious, cock-teasing hour later, Alitus let Wulf move back to the floor of the hoversine.

 The man set one hand on Alitus’ thigh. “Hey, I’ll make it good for you, ok? Just relax and trust me.”

 Alitus nodded. His heart beat so hard it felt like a bird was trying to take flight in his chest.

 “Let me help you open your pants.”

 “Oh, God,” he murmured. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” He unfastened the front and raised himself up a bit.

 Wulf tugged his pants down his hips. Alitus’ cock sprang free; he rarely wore underwear. Destoiya liked instant access.

 Wulf whistled. “Now that is one fine piece of meat, brother.”

 Alitus blushed even though he laughed. “Thanks, I guess. Never had any complaints.”

 “Damn.” Wulf wet his lips. “I’ll bet you didn’t. Oh, man I love cock and yours is beautiful. May I touch you?”

 No man had ever handled himthere. He’d gone this far. Wulf had touched him through his clothes, what difference did this make? Still, Alitus fidgeted on the seat before nodding.

 Wulf smiled up at him. “Hey, I know you’re a virgin when it comes to guys. I won’t hurt you. I promise.”

 “Virgin. Huh.” Alitus hadn’t considered that. “Are all Sempervians like Her Majesty, Wulf? Able to do it forever?”

 “Shit, yeah. The Man does me till my eyes roll back in my head.” He rubbed his hands together. “Ok, now you just relax and let me take care of business.”

 “Doesn’tthat sound romantic?”

 Wulf shot him an inquisitive glance. “Is that what you want? Romance?”

 He shook his head. “Just get it over with.” Alitus leaned back and half-closed his eyes, not trusting enough to close them altogether. When Wulf stretched up and leaned over him, Alitus flinched a little and shut his eyes, opening them again when he felt the warmth of Wulf’s breath on his shaft.

 Damn. That’s good.

 Wulf rubbed his right cheek from the base of Alitus’ shaft up along the length of it. The movement took his breath away. It was so gentle, so giving, so full of adoration…

 “Mmm.” Wulf nuzzled down his length and buried his nose against his base. His hot breath made the hair on Alitus’ thighs stand up straight. “You smell so good. Like peaches.”

 “Pheromones,” Alitus got out.

 “No wonder people get addicted to you.” He inhaled. “Damn I could spend the night doing this with you and never get tired of it.” His brown-eyed gaze lifted with tenderness. “I want to take away your fear, Alitus. Let me do that for you.”

 He nodded once.

 Wulf rested his arms on the seat on either side of Alitus’ thighs and bent over the rigid cock. He licked the entire underside before moving to the tip. Circling with his tongue, he lapped up the pearly liquid at the opening. That wonderful tongue flattened to stroke the entire head with firm, unrelenting strokes.

 Destoiya worshiped his cock, but she had never made it feel like this. Not this gentle.So this is what making love feels like. It was never like this with the Conqueror.Damn, damn, damn, that’s hot.

 Wulf widened his mouth only enough to let the crown inside before pulling back and then forward once more. Alitus trembled beneath his touch. Head thrown back against the seat, he closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Again and again Wulf stroked and licked him before finally taking the cock all the way into his mouth.

 Like fucking wet fire.Alitus opened his eyes, amazed at the sight before him. Big brown eyes gazed back at him around a mouth full of cock. Tender, sweet, Wulf ran his tongue back and forth across the base, bobbing his head to cover the entire shaft.

 “Oh, shit.” Alitus clenched his ass and stroked up into that hot, wet mouth. “Oh, fuck. Fuck.”

 Wulf reached back and gripped his ass, pulling him closer as he rose and fell over Alitus’ shaft.

 Destoiya always cursed during sex; now he understood why. He’d never had sex like this. Never had sex so hot he burned with it. This went beyond anything he’d experienced in bed with Destoiya or Erryq. He pushed his legs wider apart and set one hand in Wulf’s dark hair.

 Nuzzling, licking, sucking, Wulf pleasured him without cessation, taking him to the very peak within moments.

 Alitus thrashed as he came, out of control, bucking and screaming Wulf’s name.

 * * * *

 TarthCity, Di Lusso District

 NizamrakBuilding, Penthouse “The Loft”

 Erryq sat behind Rheyn and Saint-Cyr, curled up in an oversized chair as the three of them watched Wulf pleasure Alitus. “Well,” she said, once Alitus came, “I don’t think he’s scared of boys any more. I’ll let Pietas know he passed the test.”

 Saint-Cyr thrust himself out of the chair and stalked toward the bar, where he picked up a large drinking glass and a bottle of whiskey. As if weighing them, he lifted the glass tumbler in one hand and then the bottle in the other. Setting the glass down, he tilted the bottle straight up and drank.

 Rheyn pulled her legs up into the chair, wrapped her arms around them, hid her face and cried.

 Chapter Twenty-Four

 Luc Saint-Cyr’s hoversine

 Sumertsag 51, after midnight

 Alitus lay back against the seat, panting, his heart thumping so hard he could see his shirt move on his chest. “Oh, damn.”

 Wulf wiped his mouth as he looked up. “You ok?”

 He nodded, too winded to speak. He sucked in a deep breath. “Oh, damn. I had no idea.”

 “You mean that manlove could be so good?” He winked. “Think what you’ve been missing.” Wulf moved to the seat beside him.

 “Hell, yeah.” He rolled his head toward Wulf. “Does Saint-Cyr make you service other guys all the time?”

 “No way. He hates it, but he lets me do whatever I want. He likes to watch, though.”

 Alitus tucked himself away. “You like that?”

 “Yeah.” Wulf rubbed his chin. “It’s a great power rush, having him inside my head, watching me do some guy.”

 “You mean, he watches from somewhere else?”

 Wulf stared at his mouth. “You have a beautiful mouth, you know that?”

 He shook his head, laughed. “And you’re full of shit.”

 “No way, man. It’s truth.” Wulf kept staring at him as if Alitus was candy and Wulf was a hungry boy. “I really wanna kiss you.”

 Alitus took in Wulf’s warm brown eyes and full lips. “So what are you waiting for?”

 Wulf grinned as he angled himself for another kiss. Alitus opened his mouth, accepting Wulf’s demanding tongue. He tasted like peaches, apricots, and a little salt.

 “Mmm.” Alitus stretched, arching his back to put himself deeper into Wulf’s arms. When the kiss ended, he brushed Wulf’s hair back from his eyes. “So, is that what I taste like?”

 “You taste good, man. I love it.” Wulf leaned in for more.

 Alitus lay back, allowing the kiss to go on, enjoying the way Wulf handled him, so different from Destoiya. It felt as though they’d always been lovers. As if Wulf knew exactly where to touch, where to stroke and lick.

 When Wulf broke off the kiss, Alitus remained in his embrace, their heads together.

 Wulf drew his hand along Alitus’ jaw. “Can you hear me?” he whispered. “Shh. Blink once if you can.”

 Alitus blinked.

 Wulf pressed a kiss against his mouth. “This car is bugged. They can hear and see everything we do.”

 Alitus made a small sound of distress. “Then they…”

 “Shh.” Wulf nodded once, kissed him again.

 People had referred to Alitus as the Conqueror’s puppet. He’d never felt like one until now. Would he spend the rest of his life like this? Holding Wulf close to him, he fought the sting of tears so close to falling. For no reason would he let Destoiya see any shred of regret. When he could control his voice, he whispered, “Thank you for telling me.”

 “I feel guilty as hell for not saying something sooner.”

 “Shh.” He pressed a finger against Wulf’s lips. “Don’t. You were only doing your duty.”

 Wulf ran a hand back through his hair. “I’m sorry, Alitus, I…”

 “No. No apology. I mean it.” He pressed his fingers more firmly against Wulf’s lips. The man’s pale-brown eyes were half hidden by his dark lashes. “Look at me, Wulf.” When he did, Alitus kissed him. “Don’t be sorry. You did what you had to do, the same way I would have.”

 Alitus reached into an inside pocket and withdrew a business chip, which he pressed into Wulf’s hand between them on the seat. He prayed no one noticed. “A friend of mine is giving an art show in a few weeks. Her Majesty is sponsoring it. I’ll be there. I’d—like us to be friends.” He shared a long silence with Wulf, each of them gazing deep into the other’s eyes. “I’ll need someone to show me what a Chosen should and shouldn’t do.”

 Wulf tucked it into a pocket. “I’ll be there.”

 Alitus sat up straighter, adjusting his clothes.

 Wulf returned to his own seat and called the driver. “You can take us to the palace now.” They rode the rest of the way in silence, their eyes sharing what their voices could never speak.

 * * * *

 C-1, Saint-Cyr’s private vessel

 Sumertsag 66

 The massive secrecy required to move the Conqueror off planet without alerting the news media sucked up nearly all of his time. Alitus completed the preparations without incident and still found time to train Rudolf Brakovsky in the basics of his duties. Rudy would cover for him two hours every day and fill in at several public functions that merely required Alitus’ presence.

 Today, the Jade would have the whole day off and Alitus would see Wulf again. That thought brought a swift smile he made no attempt to hide.

 Since the law now required Betters travel separately from normals, Alitus and the three other Betters on the Conqueror’s staff came aboard Saint-Cyr’s ship together.

 Pheromones of one Better didn’t affect another, but they could kill normals.Do they not see what a dangerous thing putting Betters together could be? He kept his thoughts to himself; the other Betters on board said little to him.Just as well. They thought these were secret peace talks. Instead, it was the ceremony that would bind Alitus and his descendants to Destoiya for all time.

 The irony of such a vow brought tears to his eyes. Three years before his parents had been killed, the law demanded all Betters must be sterilized. Alitus would never sire a child.

 Her Majesty would be wearing her formal military uniform and sash, with full epaulettes and gold braid. Wulf had recommended his favorite tailor and since it was such short notice, Alitus accepted.

 Icia Teoh had decked him out in black and silver like Destoiya. The pants left nothing to the imagination, skin tight and cut to reveal all his assets. A stark-white shirt topped it, wrapped with a simple, black leather belt. On top he wore a sleeveless black tunic that covered only his upper back and chest, the sides floor length. Silver trimmed the stiff, upright collar and all the edges. Since he did not have to wear a veil for the actual ceremony, he cropped the front of his hair short but decided to let the rest grow out. If Her Majesty wanted it long, it was vanity for him to cut it.

 When he met with her prior to the ceremony to go over last minute details, she pulled him into her arms and held him close, rocking side to side as they kissed.

 “I’ve missed you, Alitus.” Destoiya tunneled her fingers into his hair and held him as she slanted her mouth across his once more.

 The heat of her kiss made his shaft thicken and lift. He pressed his body against hers. When they broke apart, both panted.

 “Oh, Alitus.” Destoiya placed small kisses across his lips and chin. “I’ve been wanting to hold you.” She moved him back against the wall and braced a hand on either side of his head, her breasts firm against his chest.

 He melted into her kiss, giving and accepting passion from this astonishing woman.

 Destoiya pulled back and focused on his lips, trailing her fingers along his mouth. “In a few minutes, my love, you’ll be mine forever. Please…” She lifted her eyes to his. “Back out now if you have any reservations. It’s not too late.”

 “With practically every Sempervian in the galaxy out there waiting?” He shook his head, smiling at her. “I have never had any reservations about serving you. Or loving you. You are my life, Your Majesty.”

 She took both his hands in hers and smiled back at him. “I’ve adored you from the moment we met. It wasn’t under the best of conditions, I admit.” Her cheeks darkened. “But I think I fell in love with you right then. You were so young, yet so brave.”

 “I was terrified.” He closed his eyes a moment, shuddering. “I owe you my life. They meant to harm me. Probably kill me.”

 “Which is why I killed them.” Destoiya stroked her fingers down his cheek. “Alitus, there is so much I want to teach you about my people. So much I want you to learn.”

 “Can you tell me about Peril?”

 “After the ceremony, that will be one of the first things you learn.”

 “I want to know now.” The insistence in his voice surprised even him, but he refused to show it. “Please,” he added.

 “With your intel, I’m surprised you don’t already know.”

 “I know it’s important to Sempervians, but not what it is or why.”

 “How do I begin…?” Destoiya seated herself on a couch and pulled Alitus down next to her. “When we were exiled from Sempervia, the people there—they call themselves the Reborn—put us in a spacecraft they’d stripped of navigational gear and set us adrift. The world we knew was closed to us. Pietas set off to find us a new home.

 “For decades, we traveled together, all one hundred of us. We visited new worlds, discovered new people. We thought ourselves invincible. Until humans trapped and burned two of us at the stake. We woke up to a new reality. One in which we could actually die.”

 “That must have been horrifying.” Alitus reached out and laid his hand over one of hers.

 “It changed everything. Pietas took terrible revenge.” She shivered as if cold, but held up a hand to stop Alitus from assisting her. “Let me get this out. I’ve never told anyone about this. Not even one of myChosen .”

 “Go on, then. I’m listening.”

 She drew a deep breath. “He destroyed the entire planet. Poisoned every living thing. Man, animal, plant.” She covered her mouth. A tear trickled down her cheek, but she brushed it away with impatient hands. “He wouldn’t listen to reason. There was no stopping him. We’d feared him ourselves for so long, appeased him, placated him … We knew from that moment forward that we served a madman.”

 Alitus had felt the death grip of the man’s hands. He understood some measure of their fear. “Where is that world, Rheyn?”

 She flicked a glance at him. “It’s Detiza.”

 A dead world in our own empire… Scientists had puzzled over it for four centuries.

 “We Sempervians age like humans, Alitus. Up to a point. It’s different for each of us. When I reach seventy, I start aging much faster than normal. Within a week, my body shuts down and I die. Generally, it takes about twelve hours for me to revive. Once that happens, I’m like a girl of twenty again.”

 “You…” he paused, “You were Destoiya the Great, weren’t you?”

 “Yes.” She smiled.

 “And Destine Pietan.”

 “Right again.” Destoiya took his hands in hers. “No one must ever know.”

 “All your secrets are safe with me, my Conqueror.” He bent and kissed her hands. “Luc Saint-Cyr was Cyr de Typhin wasn’t he? One of the founders of the Tarthian Empire.”

 She met his eyes. “Yes, love. He was.”

 He squeezed her hands, rubbed his thumbs across the backs of them. “Will you give me to the other Sempervians? Like you gave me to Wulf?”

 Destoiya cupped a hand around his cheek. “Oh, love, I’m so sorry I had to put you through that. I wish…” She broke eye contact, lowered her hand. “I will not give you to anyone. Now that you’re myChosen , no one may touch you. We Sempervians may battle one another, but we never touch one of theChosen .”

 “Majesty.” Alitus pressed his brow against hers. “I am yours to command. I only wished to know.”

 Her silvery gaze swept up to meet his. She leaned in and kissed him. When it ended, she started to rise, but Alitus held her back.

 “You haven’t told me about Peril.”

 “Oh, hadn’t I?” From her voice, he could tell she was lying; she’d hoped to get away without telling him. “Very well.” She settled herself again. “When you can die twice a century, it can take only a few lifetimes to grow bored with mundane life. Like everything else that has ever gotten me into trouble in my life, I listened to my brother. Pietas envisioned a game, a real-time role-playing game in which each of us lived out forty years—no more—as a character. Each of us had specific goals and abilities and we were assigned partners to play it with. Opposing teams would try to block us. Allied teams could help and neutral teams could help or hinder as they saw fit.

 “The idea was to infiltrate normal society and change it from within. We’ve become adept at altering minor things to cause larger changes. The Better laws, for example. They seem like minor details affecting only the few. In truth, they’re designed to push society—more correctly, Tarthian society—to the breaking point.”

 Alitus propped a foot on the edge of the couch. “So that’s why you wouldn’t veto the law.”

 “Yes.” She toyed with one of her medals, adjusting the way it hung. “Among other things.”

 “Does Peril help pass the time? Is that why you play it?”

 “It helps a bit.” She trailed one finger down his arm. “But we all cheated so much that it quickly became apparent Pietas needed a way to reinforce the need for rules.” A smile quirked the edge of her mouth. “A few left us and went to other parts of the galaxy. But those of us who stayed learned to play harder in order to avoid Penance.”

 “What is that?”

 Destoiya looked him straight in the eye. “Anyone who loses a game of Peril must spend one year in Penance.” She touched a finger to his mouth to prevent questions. “It means one solid year of death at the hands of Pietas. Every single day. In any way he wants to kill you.”

 The thought of this woman at that man’s mercy made his blood cold. “How do you bear it?”

 She rubbed both hands up her arms. Though dressed in military uniform, she shivered as if she were naked. “I…” Destoiya dropped her gaze. “I have never lost at Peril. I’m the only one who hasn’t.” She lifted her head. Her grey eyes had the look of steel, shining, invincible.

 Alitus considered her words. “How long have you been playing?”

 “Nearly two thousand years. Fifty lifetimes.”

 “And you’ve never lost?”

 She shook her head. “I have one chance to break free. If I complete this task, I’ll be free from the threat of Penance forever.”

 He brought her hands to his mouth and kissed them. “What is it? Tell me and I’ll help you accomplish it, no matter what the cost.”

 “I must find a child. A changeling from the Sabbath Experiment.”

 “I thought all the fetuses were destroyed. I studied that time period.”

 “There were twenty-six which Pietas developed into children. He scattered them throughout various parts of the empire. Some even farther than that. He gave me a pair of twins, Yros and Zeri.”

 “So, you only have one of them?” When she nodded, he asked, “And you have to find the other? How did he go missing?”

 “Yros was left with me. Pietas took Zeri. He was to keep the child in stasis for at least five years.” She shook her head. Tears trickled down her face. “Don’t look at me like that. It was an opportunity to break free from the threat of Penance. I would do anything to avoid that. Zeri was supposed to be safe.”

 “Where’s the child now?”

 “He was released on either Tarth or Kelthia. I have no idea which. I have an android similar to Prentice looking for him. He’s come up with a few leads, but nothing has played out.”

 “What will happen to him when you find this boy?”

 She wiped at her eyes. “I plan to take him to my palace on Ezraki, where he’ll be reared with Yros. They’re twins. They should be together. Reunited.”

 “Rheyn, whatever it takes, I’ll help you find him.”

 Destoiya tilted her head. “How I love you, Alitus. I could not imagine my world without you. We’re about to be joined in the Chanoyu of theChosen and I want you to know that I will carry your love with me…” A tear spilled and trickled down her cheek. She sniffed, batting at it with one hand. “—forever.”

 He sought her mouth with his, tasting her sweetness mixed with the salt of her tears. He used his thumbs to sweep them away, kissing her face tenderly. “Pietas wants to see you fall, but I will never let him win. Not while I have breath.”

 She squeezed her eyes shut and leaned her head on his shoulder, her hands curled between their bodies. “I can’t lose, Alitus. No matter what I have to do. I can’t lose. I won’t.”

 He wrapped both arms around her, rubbing her back, soothing her like he would a child. “Shh. It’s all right. Now that I know, I will do everything I can to help you succeed. I will not let him destroy you. What else do you have to do? What’s your goal for this lifetime?”

 She made a choking laugh. “Something you would never believe of me.” She raised her head. “I must drive the people of this empire to rebellion and usher in a new era. My main goal is to bring about my own ruin and the collapse of the Tarthian Empire.”

 Alitus could find no words. She was right. He would never have expected this. He expelled a breath of shock.

 “I can’t do it alone, Alitus. I need your help.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “Now do you see why I needed you so badly? Why I had to risk losing you in order to make you myChosen ?”

 He stroked her cheek. “Shh. I’m here and I’m yours. I will lend you all my strength and all my power. No matter where you go or what you do—you, my Conqueror, have my love, my loyalty and my heart—forever.”

 Epilogue

 TarthCity, Top Tier District,YutaiArtGallery

 Sumertsag 73

 Alitus strolled slowly through the gallery, pausing to absorb the colors and hues of the pieces that appealed most. One he puzzled over for a long time.

 It displayed a woman unlike any human he’d ever seen. She had pure white skin on her face and neck, yet her arms were a pinkish gold. Her black and white dress had elaborate ties and bindings and showed a bit of red here and there. She strummed a stringed instrument with an exceedingly long neck. The alien aspect of the picture brought to mind a Tyran, though the physical differences were strikingly divergent.

 “Like it?”

 He turned, holding the bottom of the veil against his chest. If it swung when he turned, it blurred his vision. “Anne!” He held out his hands to his friend.

 Anne Cain, the owner of Yutai Art, took his hands and leaned in to press her cheek against his through the veil. “How are you Alitus?”

 “Good, good.” He held her hands and leaned back to see her better. “How did you know it was me? There are other Betters in here.”

 “You’re the only one with the Conqueror’s goons following him.”

 He laughed. He’d forgotten his Praetorian escort. Luckily, they’d stayed outside once they’d ensured the building was secure. “Sorry. I hope they don’t scare off paying customers.”

 “Don’t be silly. Women love them, you know.”

 “Praetorian? I can’t imagine why.”

 “Are you kidding? All that muscle and macho male attitude.” She shivered. “Gives me goose bumps thinking about it.”

 It really does take all kinds.Alitus squeezed her hands and released them. “Whatever pleases you pleases me.”

 Anne grinned. “I’ll bet you got to the top by saying that to the Conqueror.”

 “Anne!”

 She only laughed. “I don’t care if you wear that veil thing, you know. You can take it off if you want. I hate the whole idea of Betters veiling.”

 Alitus smiled, even though his friend couldn’t see it. “Thank you, but I’m not allowed.”

 “By who?”

 “Whom,” he corrected, just to push Anne’s buttons. It worked; she popped him on the shoulder. Laughing, Alitus took her hand and walked at her side into one of the outer rooms of the gallery. “Her Majesty disallows me to appear in public without it.”

 “Yeah, well, she’s depriving women everywhere of a real treat.” She linked her arm through his. “Thank you for coming today, Al.”

 “Alitus. You know how I hate that nickname.”

 Anne stuck out her tongue at him and laughed. “I’m so glad you came. Seriously. It means a lot to me.”

 He patted her hand on his arm. “We’ve known each other since we were three years old. I wouldn’t miss this.”

 Anne’s eyes flared wide; she licked her lips. “Ooh, not that you’ll care, Alitus, but look what just strolled in.” She nodded toward the door.

 “There are a dozen people over there. Which person?”

 “There, by the door. The guy picking up a program.” She pressed her breast against his arm, no doubt not meaning to. Still, it made Alitus’ heart stutter. He felt himself release pheromones, a natural occurrence when happy. “The guy with the dark hair. He—Oh, my God, Alitus. I think that’s Wulf Gabriel behind him.”

 Feigning nonchalance when every fiber of his being rejoiced, Alitus cleared his throat. “Who?”

 Anne gave his arm a small tug. “Don’t you mean ‘whom’?” With a chuckle, she put her mouth closer to his veil. “Wulf Gabriel. He was a supermodel years ago. He married that Kelthian warlord.”

 “Luc Saint-Cyr?” Alitus shook his head, remembered she couldn’t see it. “He’s not a warlord, Anne. He’s an entrepreneur.”

 “Whatever you call it, he’s filthy rich.”

 “And they’re not married.” Alitus followed Wulf with his gaze as the man moved to stand before a sculpture of an eagle. Wulf stood with arms folded, legs spread wide in a masculine stance. “They’re life-partners.”

 “Oh, really?” She stuck her hand on a hip. “And you know this because…”

 “Didn’t you hear?” Holding back his veil, he leaned toward her. “I’m the new Minister of Imperial Intelligence. I’m supposed to know these things.”

 Anne giggled. “Is there such a thing as ‘Imperial Intelligence’?”

 Before he could respond, Wulf joined them. “You’re Ms. Anne Cain, aren’t you?” He bowed politely toward her. “Wulf Gabriel. You have a beautiful gallery.”

 “Thank you so much!” She held out her hand and Wulf bowed over it rather than shook it. “I know who you are, Mr. Gabriel. You had a rather celebrated career as a model. I can’t imagine why you’d leave it.”

 “That’s best left for another time.” Wulf inclined his head to Alitus. “How are you, sir?”

 “Now, Mr. Gabriel,” Anne put in. “Don’t be presumptuous. Better females dress exactly the same way, you know.”

 Great.Alitus rolled his eyes.Now I don’t even have a gender?

 Wulf narrowed his eyes, raking his discriminating gaze up and down Alitus’ length. “While true, Ms. Cain, I do believe this Better isall male.”

 Anne laughed at his comment. Alitus held his head higher. He held out a gloved hand to Wulf. “Alitus Vivaldi. We’ve met.”

 “Ah!” Wulf shook his hand. “Of course. At the grand opening of Gabriel Stadium. I remember.”

 “You were there?” Anne folded her arms. “You never told me about that.”

 Alitus shrugged, then remembered to translate the gesture to words. “The Conqueror is invited to everything, Anne. I attend where she does.”

 “Must be nice. You always get to…” She broke off as a gorgeous woman nearly Alitus’ height approached.

 “Wulf! There you are.” The woman looped one arm through Wulf’s. “I’ve been all over this gallery looking for you.”

 Maybe if you took off your dark glasses you could see something.Alitus chided himself for such a catty remark; where had that come from? Still, it must be hard to see indoors in those things.

 Wulf pulled free and put his arm around her back. “Fee, may I introduce Anne Cain, the owner of Yutai Art. And this is Alitus Vivaldi. This is Feeyona Joie. She was my modeling partner for several years in untold number of photo shoots.”

 Her skin shade nearly matched a creamy milk chocolate. She snugged herself up next to Wulf. “Wulf and I have been best friends for, like, ever.” Her whimsical expressionalmost made Alitus like her—quite against his will. “I quit modeling this year, though, to help Wulf and Mr. Saint-Cyr start a new division of Lucsondis Entertainment.”

 “So you work for Saint-Cyr?” Alitus clasped his hands behind him.How close is she to Wulf? Does she know what Saint-Cyr is? Wulf’s expression gave nothing away.

 “Yes and no. I’m an independent contractor, but he considers me part of his staff.”

 “I see.”

 Wulf hugged her closer. “Don’t tell Alitus anything personal, Fee.” He smiled at Alitus to show he jested. “He’s the new Minister of Imperial Intelligence. You never know how or what you divulge could be used against you.”

 Alitus started to respond, but Fee cut him off. “Is there such a thing as ‘Imperial Intelligence,’ Mr. Vivaldi?”

 He clamped his jaws shut. Just as well no one could see him. He didn’t have to hide his irritation with this veil in place. That joke was going to get old very fast. “If there is,” he responded, “I’m it.”

 “It must make you terribly uncomfortable to be stuck inside that veil,” she told him. “Although you work for the Conqueror and I doubt you have much say in the matter, I want you to know that I, personally, think veiling Betters is a disgrace.”

 Alitus bounced on the balls of his feet.Maybe she’s not so bad after all. Holding back his veil, he bowed far deeper than required. “My thanks, Ms. Joie.”

 “Please, call me Fee.”

 “Alitus.” He held out his hand.

 When she shook it, she removed her dark glasses with her other hand. “I know what it’s like to be singled out.” Her eyes were the same solid black as Luc Saint-Cyr’s. She blinked once, slowly and they turned to the mottled grey and silver of a camera-droid’s lenses. “I’m enhanced as well.”

 Anne came to attention. “Oh! Oh, my. I…” She glanced from Alitus to Wulf to Fee. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Joie, but I have to ask you to leave.”

 Alitus bit into his lip, head down. Wulf started to argue, but Fee put her glasses back on and squeezed his arm. “It’s all right, Wulf. I understand. Really I do. She’s worried that I might record her art and reproduce it.”

 “Ms. Cain,” Wulf went on, “I assure you Fee is an ethical person. She handles all the photos and holos for artist resumes and portfolios at Lucsondis. There’s no way she’d…”

 “Wulf.” Fee tugged his hand. “It’s all right. I’ll go. I’m sorry, Ms Cain. I promise you I didn’t download any of your art. If you like, I’ll be glad to imprint everything I’ve seen on a chip and give it to you as proof.”

 “No, that’s quite all right. I…” Anne covered her mouth, then reached out to Fee. “It’s nothing personal. I…”

 “It’s all right.” Fee stood on tiptoe to kiss Wulf on the cheek. “Stay. Talk to your friends. I’ll wait outside.”

 Alitus reached under his veil and pressed the tight place between his brows. All the joy felt washed out of him.Don’t leave, Wulf. No—perhaps he should. Just as quickly, he decided,If he goes, I’m going with him. He waited to see what Wulf would say or do.

 Wulf watched Feeyona to the door, turned back and frowned toward Alitus. “I…”

 “You know what?” Anne interrupted. “I’m going to tell her to come back.” She held up both hands. “Here I was saying how it’s wrong to discriminate against Betters. When you get down to it, cyborgs and enhanced people are no different, no matter what their enhancement. Excuse me, gentlemen.”

 She moved quickly through the crowd of people toward the door.

 Wulf turned to face the nearest painting. “Lovely art.”

 Alitus faced it as well, his heart lifting now that he knew Wulf would stay. “Yes, it is. They say the true measure of art is how it affects you. What does this one make you feel?”

 The painting was by Eliot Taral, whom Alitus had learned only the day before was a resident neutral Sempervian. A lone tree with its branches shaped by wind stretched out over a cliff overhanging a stormy sea. A lonely, isolated scene of desolation—yet determination.

 Wulf rubbed his jaw. “It makes me want to suck cock.”

 Alitus burst into laughter, drawing the attention of the room. He made a fist and pressed it against his mouth underneath the veil.

 Wulf grinned. “I wasn’t kidding.”

 “You wouldn’t.”

 “Suck cock?” Wulf slanted him a sidelong glance. “You know I would.”

 Choking back laughter, Alitus covered his mouth. “Stop that. I meant I know you weren’t kidding.”

 “Damn straight. Come on. Let’s go back to the front of the gallery and start this charade at the beginning.”

 With Wulf beside him, Alitus sauntered toward Anne and a radiantly smiling Feeyona Joie.

 * * * *

 Office of Her Majesty Rheyn Destoiya

 Sumertsag 73

 As Destoiya read through her morning intel, an odd bit of news from a rebel source grabbed her attention. Khyff Antonello’s younger brother, Senthys, had married his Better fiancée, NarrAy Jorlan. An officer in the rebel army, Jorlan had personally wronged Destoiya by breaking into her palace and stealing Khyff right out of the Stable. Senthys had used his skills as a professional union thief to bypass security. Destoiya had demanded the entire system be upgraded that very day.

 She tossed aside that chip and popped in the next. “Oh, hell.” This one reported news of a possible strike on the FIST.

 A new commander had essentially turned back the clock and was overriding workers’ safety concerns and family rights issues. She dispatched a host of negotiators to Trien at once and spent the rest of the morning studying grievances. Apparently, few of the changes she’d incorporated when Alitus’ parents had been killed had been kept.

 “Idiot.” With a sigh, she leaned back in her chair.How is it that the worst idiots always end up being promoted? She sighed and rubbed the area between her eyes.It might not be right, or moral, but it sure makes government what it is.

 She called for Alitus, remembering only when her new assistant entered that she’d promoted Alitus to Minister of Imperial Intelligence and replaced him. This one was sharp and quick, hand picked by Alitus himself from among his own assistants, but Jarod would never match Alitus in intelligence and ability.He’s not that good looking, either, damn it.

 Which, no doubt, was one of the reasons Alitus picked him.

 “Where is Minister Alitus?”

 “I don’t know.” When she lifted a brow, he swallowed and his face turned bright red. “But—um, I’ll go find out right now, Your Majesty.”

 “It’s your job to know these things, Jarod. See that you know it in the future.”

 “Yes, Your Majesty. It won’t happen again.” He bowed and left her presence.

 A puppet as well and Alitus was never that.Her private line chimed and she pulled the mobile out of her desk and opened it, activating the locks on the doors at the same time.

 Luc Saint-Cyr appeared before her.

 “How are you, Luc?”

 “Let’s cut right to the chase. Do you have any idea where your fucking Better is right now?”

 “I beg your pardon!” She held herself as rigidly erect as the black satin stripe down the pant leg of her uniform. “You may be a Sempervian, Mr. Saint-Cyr, but in this office, I am still your Empress.Is that clear?”

 The black eyes narrowed to slits. He looked away, taking deep breaths. When he faced her again, he inclined his head. “Your pardon, Your Majesty.”

 “Now.” She folded her arms and glanced toward the door. “Why do you want to know where Alitus is?”

 “The security tail I put on Wulf said he gave them the slip at an art gallery. He was seen walking through the place with a Better less than an hour ago. A Better who was accompanied by armed Praetorian. Unless you have Praetorian guarding anyone other than Alitus, that was him. Right now, neither of them are in sight and my goons can’t find him. Assholes! What the hell am I paying them for if they can’t keep him in sight for five minutes?”

 “You mean you don’t trust your lover, Luc?”

 “Donot go there, Rheyn. I want to know where your Better is.”

 “Where Alitus happens to be is none of your business.” Still, her stomach tightened as if a cold hand had gripped it. Her throat constricted. “I’ll get back to you, Luc. Give me a few minutes.” She thumbed the control to off as he began to argue. Destoiya swallowed the bile in her throat.Surely, there’s an explanation…

 A knock sounded on her door. Maybe that was Jarod, whom she’d sent to find Alitus. She released the lock and folded her hands on her desk.

 A veiled Better entered, turned and shut the double doors behind him.

 Destoiya palmed the gun fastened to a slot beneath her desk. “Alitus?”

 He pulled off the veil.

 “Rudy! Where’s Alitus?”

 “He went out for the afternoon, Your Majesty. I haven’t heard from him, but he was scheduled to attend…” He pulled a reader out of his pocket. “—the opening of an art gallery over in the Top Tier district. Yutai Art, it looks like.” He tousled his hair, which looked a bit flat. “I think the owner is a childhood friend of his. Her parents worked on the FIST with his folks.”

 The cold in her stomach changed to ice. It felt as though she couldn’t breathe. “Thank you, Rudy. Good job. You may go.”

 She ignored his disappointment; she’d have to deal with that later. No doubt he thought she’d called him for a quickie. She’d had too few of those lately.

 When the door closed, she stood and leaned both hands on her desk. Her private line chimed again. She snapped it on, prepared to snarl at whoever called.

 Alitus appeared above her desktop in miniature, the front of his veil tossed back. “Your Majesty. I’m so glad you answered.” His brilliant smile soothed her heart. “I wanted to tell you something I’ve discovered. I think you’ll be excited.”

 “Thank God.” She sank into her chair. “Where are you, love?”

 “I attended an art show this afternoon and guess who I ran into?” He moved aside and Wulf Gabriel came into view behind him. “Wulf. We decided to see if I could evade detection by Praetorian when I’m veiled.” He held up one hand. “Before you lecture me, Your Majesty, let me explain.”

 Destoiya pushed back her chair. “Go ahead, but I’m not promising you won’t get a tongue lashing.”

 He grinned like a proud schoolboy with a good report card. “I walked out right in front of them with another Better and they never noticed a thing.” He cast a glance over his shoulder and Wulf smiled back. “Do you realize what this means?”

 “Yes.” She folded her hands before her and leaned closer. “That you put yourself in danger to prove a silly point! And that I have some Praetorian who need a flogging. I want you home now.”

 “Of course, Your Majesty. I realize it was risky, but…”

 “Risky! Alitus, it was foolhardy. What if something happened to you? Betters are targets out there. Two have been attacked in the last week.”

 “That’s my point.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Weare targets and all because of these veils. It’s easy to see who Betters are and target us.” With a smile, he added, “At the same time, it gives me complete anonymity. No one knows who I am. Wulf and I went to a coffee shop and had something to eat. No one had any idea I was your man.”

 “Alitus, what are you trying to say? I don’t understand your point.”

 His patient smile warmed her even while she wanted to grab him by the throat and yell, “Just say it!”

 “Your Majesty, I used my Better hearing this afternoon and uncovered not only a rebel plot but also a rebel hideout. The coffee shop where we met is an exchange house for intel. Once I return to the palace, I’ll set up a sting operation to stop them.” He bit his lower lip. “Unless you’d prefer to let them go.”

 His expression said he meant her secret goal—to lose. “No. No, I like your plan. But it’s risky, Alitus. I’d rather you let someone else do it.”

 “Oh, I will. Wulf is the same size as Rudolf and I. I think the three of us can work together to find out all sorts of intel. I’ll go over details with you when I get home.”

 “Alitus, I…” She clenched her hands together. “You’re right, of course. I just—I don’t like you taking chances.”

 “I’ll be careful. Your Majesty, as your Minister of Imperial Intelligence there is only so much I can do. But as the Conqueror’s Shadow, as a Better who feigns one side and walks the other, there is so much more.”

 “My shadow…” Destoiya pressed a hand to her mouth. “Yes. Yes, I believe you’re right, my love.” She thanked every god she had ever prayed to that he was safe—and that his time with Wulf Gabriel was spent in serving her. “When will you be home, love? And where are you right now?”

 “I’m with Wulf. We’re back at Yutai Art, in one of my friend Anne’s back rooms. She’s going to let us use it as a staging place. She’s loyal to you, Your Majesty. I’ll tell you all about it when I get home. I have it all laid out. I want your blessing and approval on my plans. You’re brilliant when it comes to this. I could use your advice.”

 His words warmed her heart. “Very well, Alitus.” She wet her lips. “Tell Wulf to call home, will you? Luc is worried about him. He should call right away. And Alitus…” She reached out and touched the holovid. Her fingers went right through the sparkling image. “Be careful.”

 He glanced over his shoulder at Wulf, then turned back toward her, his eyelashes drifting down to shield his eyes. “Oh, don’t worry about that, my Conqueror.” He gazed straight into the lens. “I will.”

 The End

 About the Author:

 Kayelle Allen designed and maintains www.kayelleallen.com a sprawling site which features a tour of the Tarthian Empire, the setting for her books. Her ebooks have received “Five Angel Recommended Read” ratings from Fallen Angel Reviews, the 2005 EIRRCA for Most Memorable Paranormal Romance of the Year, and been a Romance Junkies Book Club Staff Pick.

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