by Wren Weston
Lila drained her wine. “He needs a second—”
“That was the second opinion, Lila. The senator cannot have children, and since your sister is determined to marry him without exercising the right of eyre-cleue, neither will she. Jewel will bear no heirs for the Randolph family. As such, I have had to rethink several prior arrangements about Wolf Industries.”
“We have a contract.”
“A contract I can rescind any time I please,” the chairwoman reminded her. “Regardless of your ill-timed and ill-thought-out foray into BullNet, I can no longer accept your abdication. Starting today, your contract is forfeit. You are once again prime, and you will be my legal and rightful heir, and as my heir you have certain responsibilities, responsibilities that you have dodged for long enough.”
“I’m chief of your militia. I’m the best damn chief you’ve ever had, regardless of my current—”
“Not anymore. I will expect the name of a trustworthy and competent replacement by the end of the year. Commander Sutton can pick up the slack until then.”
“You can’t do this. She can’t do this!” Lila hopped up from the table, quieting every impulse to overturn it. “She promised.”
“This isn’t a game, child. Jewel has never had any real responsibility to remain as prime. For oracle’s sake, she was twelve when she made the vow!”
“How old was I?”
The chairwoman’s fork dropped into her plate with a clink. She abandoned her orange juice and poured herself a glass of Gregorie.
Lila retreated to the corner, her eyes fastening on to the buildings outside the glass. On the drive in, the compound had seemed solid and secure. Her job had always been to protect it, to smooth out the infighting and plotting among the heirs and relations, to ensure that the whole structure did not crumble from within or become vulnerable to infiltration. Now her mother asked her to take on an altogether different responsibility, to war against the other families in Saxony. The compound seemed so much smaller and more fragile.
All except Wolf Tower. It caught her eye in the center of the estate, a shard of glass cutting through flesh, penetrating the sky. Her new office would be at the top, just down the hall from her mother’s, both overlooking the compound.
Every structure on the estate contained members of the Randolph family, and every one of them needed someone competent in Wolf Tower.
But why did it have to be her?
Her mind strayed to the warehouse floor, to the rivers of blood pooling underneath torn necks and broken limbs.
The gods had seen fit to punish her at last.
Why not? Why did she deserve a happy ending after dealing so much death?
Remorse.
Compensation.
She had to pay, and the gods had given her just enough time with Tristan to make it hurt.
“Surely there are treatments for the senator,” Lila said, somber, calm, and confused by the detour the morning had taken. She’d thought she be exiled, but now—
Now she was being promoted.
And punished.
Both at the same time.
“Be serious, child. There are few treatments for men in his condition. It’s never been all that important when a man cannot conceive. Perhaps in twenty years, Grace Medical might discover some treatment for his case if we put all our resources into it, but it will be far too late for Jewel and Senator Dubois.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I asked!” the chairwoman snapped. “Do you really think I want both of my children to be unhappy?”
Lila crossed her arms over her chest, stilling her impulsive answer. “Jewel isn’t barren. She can easily keep the senator around while she takes other men on the side. Let her bed the whole damn High House one man at a time. She doesn’t have to live with any of them.”
“She only wants Senator Dubois.”
“So let her marry the senator, then. Declaring eyre-cleue would completely absolve her of any charge of adultery or duty to compensate Senator Dubois while she—”
“Elizabeth Victoria Lemaire-Randolph, I said no. I have rescinded your abdication, and your contract is void. You are once again prime. You might have dodged your duty if your baby sister had been able to produce an heir, but we both know that she would have been incapable to run things after I’m gone. She’s not woman enough to lead. You are. You would have had to take over, anyway. It’s just sooner rather than later.”
Lila peered through the glass-paneled wall. “I have no interest—”
“I don’t really care what you have an interest in. You had your fun. Count yourself lucky to have had the last ten years and adapt quickly to the change.”
“I would rather—”
“Yes, you’d rather gallivant around in the middle of the night stealing data from Bullstow, putting this entire family at risk.”
“I’m handling it. You told me that I’d have two weeks to find—”
“I’m trying to protect you, you little—” Her mother broke off and took a long sip of wine. “You’ve had nearly two weeks to fix your mess, Elizabeth. Two weeks. It’s my turn now. I need to know what Bullstow will find if your blackmailer forwards the story.”
“I scrubbed the logs. Bullstow won’t see me there, not even if they know what they’re looking for. At best they’ll find shadows.” Lila cleared her throat, hoping she’d finished the job completely. “I’m not that worried about Bullstow, madam. I’m worried about what proof this blackmailer might have against me. I broke into Bullstow for the hack. If this blackmailer copied the logs before I took care of them, then my identity and intentions will be clear. Things could get complicated.”
“Our lawyers can spin all sorts of confusion, Elizabeth, and I can pay them to weave the best. Any company that consults with Bullstow on your case is sure to have connections to our rivals, and our lawyers can highlight that. As for a trespassing charge, you’ve been sneaking into Bullstow to visit your father and Shiloh since you were a child; they can hardly complain about it now. All we need is doubt and enough votes on the senate disciplinary committee. I can make it all go away with enough money and favors.”
“You’d ask Shiloh to lie for me?”
“No, you’ll ask him to lie for you. Without proof, this story is nothing but tabloid twaddle. Is there anything they’ll find? Did you profit from this hack?”
“Gods no.”
“They can audit your accounts? Even the ones outside the country?”
“If they can find them.”
“That’s what I thought. It’s the only reason why I gave you two weeks, you know. I should have summoned Commander Sutton to escort you out that night. It’s what your great-great-grandmother would have done.”
“No, she would have summoned her blood squad. She called them for her own son.”
“Yes. It nearly killed her to do it, but she preserved the family’s honor. Perhaps I should have done the same. Unfortunately, you’re my heir, and you have put yourself and this family in a very difficult position. I either exile you and keep Jewel in your place, or I elevate you and fight your charges. A highborn, even an heir, might be hanged for your crime, but the standard of evidence is quite a bit higher for a prime. But if the truth comes out and our lawyers do not believe they can overturn the charges, I will exile you from this family, do you understand?”
Lila nodded.
“Best case, no one finds out what you’ve done. Slightly worse case, Bullstow arrests you, you go free, and we put this whole mess behind us. A cloud of mistrust will hang over the Randolphs for years. Half the highborn families will sever their ties with us out of protest. We will lose some of our lowborn partners, some of our accounts. Bullstow will audit our files. It will sour our relationships with High House, with the oracles, with the High Council of Judges. We will take a major hit, but—”
“Half our business would crumble.”
“Yes, and it would be your doing. We would survive, though, and so would you. This blackmailer won’t do anything as long as we pay him. So you will continue to pay him, Elizabeth, and you will fix it. If you can’t, you risk harming several thousand in your care. At least you’ll be alive, though. What’s the alternative? You spend the rest of your life in Burgundy?”
“Yes,” Lila said quietly.
“What happens when you get caught doing something equally stupid there? I can’t help you in Burgundy, and once you leave, you can’t return and take my place.” Her mother shook her head. “Oracle’s wrath, I thought you were smarter than this.”
Lila clenched her jaw and took the hit.
“Do you think so little of yourself that you thought you had to cheat to get what you want?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“How in the world would I know what it’s like? You haven’t told me. This sneaking into BullNet stops now. You’ve been much too careless with the Randolph name. This is why you hire out such work if you’re going to do it.”
“Maybe I should be exiled. Maybe I would prefer Burgundy.”
“You’d be bored within a month. Burgundy is a very small country with very limited prospects. You’d be unhappy playing on such a tiny chessboard. No matter how much you resist our likeness, you are still my daughter. You could never be happy unless you controlled an army. How many people are under your command right now, spread over the compounds? Two thousand?”
Her mother waited for confirmation, but Lila refused to give it.
“Soon you’ll control a great deal more. Every Randolph, every contracted workborn, every slave on every compound will bow to your authority, just as it should have been for the past ten years. You might have hidden from the cameras for the last decade, but everyone knows your name. Now they’ll know your face.”
Lila looked away. She hadn’t even thought of that. Her precious anonymity would be stripped away as soon as she put on the whitecoat. “I’m not the only one who can take over. I can fix this and remain chief. Any one of your sisters could be the new prime. Aunt Georgina—”
“My little sister can barely handle her own businesses, profitable as they are. She may be able to throw the most lavish weddings in Saxony, but could you imagine her handling the oil rigs? She’s never even seen them. You have. You’ve even earned the respect of those who work on them.” Her mother sighed, clearly tired of the fight. “Georgina has the time to dawdle with brides and grooms because her eldest daughter has taken charge of the Beaulac compound. I’ll not hand Wolf Industries to any of my sisters or their offspring. I won’t see everything that I’ve worked for over the last thirty years run into the ground. None of them have what it takes to lead the family. You are the only one who has the mettle and the brains to run this place successfully. I should know. I designed you that way.”
“I didn’t know I was a new coat.”
The chairwoman raised her glass. “It’s an apt metaphor. I ensured that you had the correct education, that you had the proper experience. I even controlled how you played as an infant. You—”
“Don’t want to lead, and I don’t want children,” Lila interrupted. “That was what Jewel was for.”
“She can still be useful in that role. Have a few children and pass them off to your sister and her fiancé the day they are born. Senator Dubois aches to be a father. He spent too long at Bullstow taking care of all those boys while dreaming of his own. He’ll mend what Jewel rips. I’ll educate the heir. You wouldn’t even have to see your children if you can’t be bothered.”
“I’m not that cold-hearted.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear it,” the chairwoman said. “Think of what will happen to the Randolphs should someone else become prime. Would your aunt or cousins do well by the family or would they line their own pockets first? Would they do well by your little brother? Would they show the same dedication and consideration for Randolph General? What about poor Ms. Wilson? Think of what you can do for her as prime. I am not completely ignorant of your plans.”
“What plans?”
“Freeing her and letting her run Grace Medical after I die. You both will no doubt forget your stations and become what you were before she lost her mark. I’d be exceedingly angry if you gave it all back to her, but after I am dead there will be nothing I can do to stop it.”
Lila rubbed her chin. Alex’s fall had occurred long after Lila had abdicated as prime, so such a plan had never crossed her mind. The thought tempted her now, though, the idea that she could do this thing for her friend. Alex certainly desired her old world once more. She wouldn’t be highborn, but she could be lowborn.
Lila certainly owed her that much.
The fact that her mother brought up the idea made Lila wary, though, for that and for hinting that her brother and her hospital might fall under someone else’s careless hand. She was being bribed, and her mother did not even try to hide it.
“Lila, you had more time to indulge than I did.”
The mild censure, said so quietly, kicked Lila in the gut. Her mother had become the chairwoman of Wolf Industries at the age of fourteen due to her own mother’s early death. She’d survived intrigue and assassination attempts from several aunts as a teenager, then had Lila at seventeen, all to settle the chaos surrounding her and procure the stability of her family.
Luckily, a young, caring senator with a great deal of potential had made the job easier. Henri Lemaire, Lila’s father, had become a close friend and confidant of the young chairwoman. A decade ago, she had repaid that kindness by helping him become the American prime minister.
Lila couldn’t imagine becoming a mother at seventeen, nor could she imagine attending the execution of a few murderous aunts. But by the time her mother had become pregnant, she’d already run a company worth several billion credits. She’d done well for the family over the last thirty years, tripling their holdings and wealth. She’d also wormed her way onto the Saxony High Council of Judges, which made the Randolphs one of the most important families in the state. She’d even begun buying land in Unity, her eye already on the nation’s capital.
“You might not like it, Lila, but this is the only way I can keep you safe and ensure the security of the family. I have thousands to think about, not just the whims of my eldest daughter, a daughter who has put herself in a very precarious position. A chief does what she must to protect the family. This is what you must do to protect us now. If you refuse to accept your new role, then you will no longer be a part of this family.” The chairwoman refilled Lila’s glass, then looked her daughter in the eye. “What will it be? Will you finally become the prime you were always meant to be, or will you choose exile instead?”
Lila felt the morning room close in around her. It would have been easier if her mother had fixed her with the same look she reserved for the boardroom, but that expression did not lurk behind her eyes.
Pity filled them instead.
Lila looked away first. She returned to the table and snatched up her abandoned wine.
The chairwoman nodded, taking it for assent. “I’m sorry, Lila. I did try to let you live your life the way you wanted, but for all I know, my time is growing short. I’ve already outlived my mother. I have to think of the family and its future.”
“You’re not dead yet.”
“Much to your dismay, I’m sure. Your first act as prime is drawing near. You have an appointment at noon to have your birth control reversed.”
“Oracle’s light,” Lila whispered. Her mother’s demands had crystalized before her, like a fanged wolf, circling.
It growled, lunged, and snapped at her womb.
She clutched her belly, unnerved.
“Bullstow marks the end of legislative session on Friday, Lila. After the Closing Ceremony, the High Senate will throw
their annual Closing Ball. You need to be ready.”
Lila drained her wine in one long swallow. During the Closing Ball, women from highborn families and very prosperous lowborn families selected men for the season, that time when every local, regional, and national legislature closed its doors. From mid-November until April, senators expended all their efforts on making babies, rather than laws, all in order to tie themselves to the people.
That wasn’t the only reason, of course. Men raised in Bullstow, especially senators, really loved having children. A senator didn’t consider himself remotely finished with his family unless he had at least a dozen, and none would breathe easily until he had a son to raise. But only heirs gave up their firstborn sons to government service, handing them off to their fathers and Bullstow soon after birth.
As such, heirs without sons were mobbed in every ballroom by well-dressed senators trying their best to tempt the lady into a season. Lila avoided highborn events for that reason, even though her role as heir was fuzzy and unofficial. Senators became quite frustrated when an heir claimed she did not want any children. It usually ended up as some extended legislative session where small groups of men attempted to filibuster her into changing her mind.
And now she had Tristan to think about.
She didn’t want another lover, not if she was honest with herself, but perhaps she needed one. She’d completely lost herself in the man. She was a highborn, for oracle’s sake. She’d never let herself end up like Jewel, letting one man absorb all her attention. It was pathetic and clingy and…
Weird.
“It’s not too late to find a good match,” her mother said. “Many of the truly eligible men are rather coquettish until the last moment, holding out for precisely this sort of situation. Providing you with a daughter would make any senator’s political career or his happiness should you bear a son. Both are valuable to a woman in your position. You’ll have your pick of men. It will be the talk of the highborn and good for business.”
