* * * *
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 thes
e. 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 ou
t 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.”
Allen, Kayelle - T4 Alitus (2007) Page 11
