"Em-pah, I don't think the public is laughing at me."
"No, Granddaughter? You have not been watching the vids on other worlds. You only pay attention to what is produced on Le-Ath Veronis and the ones who run your news network care for you too much to publish what others are running away with."
"Erland, what is he talking about?" I turned to my Karathian Warlock for an explanation.
"Lissa, I can show you, but it will be painful." Erland's beautiful face was set in a frown. That statement had me drawing in a breath and closing my eyes. I nodded. Wylend had a vid screen hidden in a table inside his library, where we sat. It rose when he flicked his hand—who needed a remote control when you had that kind of power?
"I learned of this one's presence a short while ago—I still keep spies on Campiaa to watch Arvil San Gerxon," Erland said as Wylend flicked his hand again, causing the vid screen to display images. "She works in San Gerxon's private stable of call girls that he hands out to his best gamblers. She came to Le-Ath Veronis three weeks ago, to work in one of Gabron's pleasure houses." Erland took my chin in his fingers and turned it toward the screen. I watched in shock and horror as Gabron taught this woman how to put her mouth on a man. He was shouting at her when she didn't do it to his satisfaction. Somehow, a hidden camera had recorded this for the universe to see.
"There are other images too—images of his training her in other ways. These images are now being shown all across the Alliance, Lissa. This spy for Arvil San Gerxon is seeing to that. She has managed to record these lessons and now your name is being sullied and ridiculed, because Gabron remains mated to you." Erland flicked his fingers, stopping the images. His dark eyes held a great deal of anger. On my behalf.
Stunned was too small and meaningless a word. I had no idea this had been happening and I couldn't even cry, I was so numb. Wylend flicked his fingers again and other images were displayed on the screen. I remembered the gossipmongers from the television programs three hundred years earlier. Those people had nothing on what was happening now. These so-called journalists ripped into me, calling me stupid, oblivious and desperate, all while showing clips of Gabron and his training sessions. I couldn't believe this. I'd trusted him, once. Fought alongside him and helped save his home planet. Accepted his proposal and his ring. One of his employees had tried to kill me and almost killed Roff. Now, Roff was without his memories of me. Gabron had not attempted to apologize.
"Em-pah, what do I do?" I moaned.
* * *
"This letter came for you," Heathe handed the heavy cream envelope to Gabron. It bore the claw crown—Lissa's royal seal. Gabron glanced up at his assistant.
"Do you know what this is?" he asked.
"No, sir. It came just a few moments ago and I was instructed to bring it directly to you."
Gabron broke the seal on the envelope and lifted out the note.
Raona Lissa requests your presence, tonight at eight of the evening. Dress is casual. Gabron reread the message aloud so Heathe would know.
"What do you think she wants?" Heathe asked.
"I think I may be a single vampire, after tonight," Gabron replied stiffly.
Heathe watched his employer. He'd wondered, over the past several months, why Gabron had not gone to the palace to speak with Lissa. That was the proper thing to do. He dared not argue with Gabron, however.
"Would you like for me to lay clothing out for you?" Heathe asked instead.
"One of my black suits, Heathe."
"Of course."
* * *
"Lissa, this will be over quickly." Gavin attempted to reassure me. Every one of my available mates was there, including Connegar and Reemagar. Connegar waited to place a healing sleep afterward, if things went badly. I had to get through this. I had to. Griffin and Wylend had come and both looked so angry they could have chewed nails into tacks, I think. Flavio had also come, accompanied by Kyler. Kyler wanted to strangle someone, I think.
Gavin had gone into a cold fury when he'd seen the footage that Wylend brought. They'd all seen it; all my mates had. Erland was now watching me pace inside my library. The vid screen on the wall there was huge—Gabron would see all of it—his secretly recorded sessions and then what the Alliance media said about me as a result. I planned to have a talk with Bryan in the next few days. I intended to ask him to expand the media on Le-Ath Veronis to include feeds from the entire Alliance. I never wanted something like this to happen again.
Gabron arrived a few seconds later, nodding to everyone present. "Lissa, why did you ask me here tonight?" he inquired.
"Sit down, Gabron. Would you like a drink?" I asked as politely as I could.
"No, thank you," he refused. Just as well, I didn't want to give him another thing.
"You have an employee named Desire working for you?" I asked.
"I do—she needed instruction when I hired her, but things are better with her now." His answer was stiff—as was his body. He suspected. He just didn't know what it was he suspected. I doubted he'd watched any vids, just as I hadn't. He'd carefully groomed himself and dressed formally for this occasion; he'd armed himself as well as he could. Well, he should have dressed in steel for what was coming his way.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Gabron. She's a spy for Arvil San Gerxon. Did you know that?"
I stood before him, my arms crossed over my chest to keep my hands from shaking. I didn't want him to see how upset I was. Gabron sat on a sofa, blinking up at me. "I was not aware," Gabron replied tautly. "Are you sure this is not a product of your overactive imagination, Lissa? I know how you feel about my girls."
I wanted to shout at him, then. Tell him what kind of fool he was and what kind of fool he'd made of me. I didn't. Wylend did his little trick and the vid screen powered up. Gabron sat and watched image after image of his instruction of Desire. And then other articles were shown. Gossipmonger after gossipmonger. Laughing at me while the vids of Gabron and Desire played behind them. Calling me all sorts of unkind things. One even pointed out that the camera angle could have been better, but he wasn't going to complain—Desire could do that for him, any day. He then went on to say that I must have been cold and unimaginative in bed and deserved all the mud being slung in my direction.
"Your ring, Gabron," I handed the envelope to him when Wylend cut off the images after a while. "Desire is in a cell in my dungeon. You have passage booked to Refizan tomorrow, and a note of deposit will be handed over to you when you leave. The amount has been increased to cover the fair price for all your brothels. You may take any or all of the workers with you." I stalked out of the room.
* * *
"You have made my granddaughter a laughingstock across the Alliance," Wylend stared at Gabron. "Whether this was your intention or not, I do not know. This will follow her for years, vampire. I very much want to kill you, but she forbids it. What have you to say for yourself?"
Gabron folded the envelope carefully in his fingers. "Tell her I am sorry," he said and rose from his seat. Tony and Gavin followed him, to make sure he left the palace. Additional guards fell into place as Gabron walked away.
* * *
Arvil San Gerxon strode into his study the following morning, reading a few messages on his microcomputer. Therefore, he was unprepared for what he found sitting behind his desk. Desire, the spy he'd sent to Le-Ath Veronis, sat naked in his chair, her wrists and feet bound and tape across her mouth. A sign hung around her neck. Try this again, it read, and your death will be swift.
* * *
Gabron boarded the starship docked at the space station orbiting Le-Ath Veronis. A private compartment had been reserved for him, with enough space for twenty more people. He was alone. A valise had been handed to him when he'd arrived and he didn't bother to check the contents. Sitting heavily in one of the well-padded seats, he stared at the vid screen mounted on the wall before him. Images of Lissia were being shown. A statue of Lissa, erected in the main square had been defiled. Whore Queen had been painted across the base in tall, white letters. Other graffiti ridiculing Lissa marred the bronze surface.
"She is not the whore," Gabron whispered softly. "I am."
* * *
Flavio wanted to speak to every Council member before the meeting, but knew he couldn't. There wasn't any way to protect Lissa. None at all. The media had also arrived in great numbers. Lissa said to open the wound and let it bleed. She was suffering and there wasn't a damn thing anybody could do about it. The Larentii had to place her in a healing sleep at night. She wasn't allowing any of her mates into her bed and Karzac threatened to administer transfusions if she continued to refuse meals. She disappeared for two hours after waking every day and none knew where she went.
The meeting went quietly for the most part and then Lissa, flanked by Gavin and Tony, went out to speak with the media.
* * *
"Are you angry? I thought vampires killed over things like this." A tiny microrecorder was shoved in my face.
"Our laws prevent that kind of indiscriminate killing," I replied. I felt weary. Bone tired. It probably showed in my face. I no longer looked at my image in the mirror; I allowed Giff to have her way with my hair and clothes and ignored it all.
"Didn't you want him dead? Where is he now?"
"I didn't want him dead and he was sent home."
"Where is home?"
"I will not reveal that; he has a right to privacy." Gabron's right to privacy had been violated in the ugliest possible way. No, I wasn't going to take him back. He'd had a chance—a good one—at making amends. He hadn't taken it by failing to come see me, talk to me or offer an apology after Roff was attacked. Instead, he'd chosen the brothels over me. Not surprising, that's all he'd known for thousands of years. I was the upstart. The latecomer. I snorted at the thought. Whatever I was to him, I hadn't been important enough.