How beautiful, and how welcome the blush on Jahir's cheek. Lisinthir could sense the sorrows they shared beneath the words, but that made those words the more needful. "Imthereli, I live to serve."
"So you do. And have done, to the everlasting glory of our gods." Lisinthir rested his palm against Jahir's scarred cheek and sought, and received, one more kiss. Gentler this time. Only then did he look to one side and find Sediryl, wide-eyed and flushed, watching.
When she met his eyes, she lifted her chin and asked, "Is he taken, then?"
Lisinthir said, "Oh yes. By you, long ere I came along. I am just... a friend with extravagant benefits."
Jahir choked softly against Lisinthir's shoulder. /Cruel man. Be gentle with her./
/You are the gentle one, my dear./ Lisinthir held out a hand. "Come."
"I'm not sure...."
Lisinthir sighed. "Cousin Sediryl. Please." Letting some of his exhaustion show. "We have all been through too much to deny ourselves."
"I'm not even sure what I'm saying ‘yes' to," Sediryl said, but she came, and fitted herself against them. Her scent was floral, but wild... like grain ripening, and the spiced flowers that heralded crops. A heady thing, Lisinthir thought, allowing himself one long breath in near her hair. He reached for Jahir's arm behind her, brought their joined hands up to rest on her back.
"We have survived a thing no other Eldritch have, and share experiences now that no other Eldritch will fully understand," Lisinthir said, and kissed her brow. "No matter what we decide to do, or how we spend our lives after this... this will always join us."
Sediryl pressed her nose against Jahir's collarbones, her head bent under theirs. There was a peace in that moment... but a moment was as long as it lasted.
/You long for dragons,/ Jahir murmured.
/And always shall, I fear. That is why you and she belong together./ When Jahir lifted his head, eyes crimped with worry, Lisinthir smiled and tucked his cousin's hair back. /But do not fear. You are not quit of me entirely./
/Promise me./
/I do. I will come back often enough for you to be glad of my absence when I depart again./
/I doubt that!/
Lisinthir laughed. "I don't. You think I created chaos in the Empire! Wait until I come home. Until we all come home."
Sediryl looked up at them. "It's about time we gave up the habits that were killing us."
"No more Veil," Jahir murmured. "How strange that will be."
"We shall see," Lisinthir said. "I trust that if I leave you to each other you will find some way to entertain yourselves? I am called upon, my cousins, and I must go."
"Lisinthir," Sediryl said, ignoring the teasing. "Come back after you've seen them? Please? There's something I have to do and... I need help."
Both of them looked at her, because through Jahir's power Lisinthir could sense her anxiety, so intense a thing it shone like a blade in sunlight.
"Of course," Jahir said. "Anything, Sediryl."
Lisinthir smiled a little. "Be careful, my lady. He means it." He caught up her hand and kissed it, and then stole another kiss from Jahir, well-aware that Sediryl was staring, and how quickly she was breathing. "I will find you when I'm done. It may be a while."
"We'll be waiting," Jahir promised.
/For you the belt,/ Lisinthir said. /I won't forget./
Jahir flushed. /Nor will I. Go to your dragons, Lin./
And that was a fair thrust in return. No one else had contracted his given name to derive its love name, and Jahir knew how it affected him. /Tease,/ he murmured as he detached from them both. /Enjoy your woman./
/I fear I will be spending most of my time uncovering what has her so distressed./
/I always thought relationships with therapists must be fraught. If this is your idea of foreplay, I was certainly correct..../
He heard Jahir cough and then answer Sediryl's query just before the door shut. He paused outside it, sensing the tentative things behind him, like new plants uncurling bright shoots, and smiled, glad of it, glad of anything that reminded him that life continued after so much death.
And then he went in search of his dragons.
Fleet Central had a wing for hosting its powers; crossing into this section of the naval base brought Lisinthir to an area that reminded him of Admiral Levy's office on the border, sumptuous with dark blue carpeting and golden wainscoting. He had been abroad long enough to recognize the difference between the human military aesthetic and the Pelted, and wondered if Chatcaava like the Knife would tarry long enough among aliens to begin to recognize the warring cultural influences that shaped the Alliance. It had taken Lisinthir long enough to see the warring ones in the Empire... but then, he hadn't been looking, not until the Emperor had made allusions during their loveplay, not long before he'd left.
In so many ways, Lisinthir felt he was traveling backwards, and yet, he was carrying so much more than he had when he'd left the Eldritch homeworld in hopes of a mission that would give meaning to his aggression, his intellect, and his need to be useful. That mission had led him here, to the door the computer reported housed the Chatcaavan emissaries. Lisinthir stared at the door for several moments, then pressed his palm lightly to the frame and requested entrance.
The room inside was all that he expected, a gem that could only have been set in the Alliance, with its floor-to-ceiling windows framing a room paneled in dark wood and thrown with intricately woven carpets and sleek furniture. Full half of its opulence involved the knowledge that all this had been brought into orbit and arranged in a military base. The other half involved knowing how much of the décor had been crafted by hand.
A lamp on the desk by the window was shedding a low, warm light. That light suited his beloved, who was coming to him from that desk, shedding his draconic seeming for the human so he could seek a kiss from lips that suited it. That partway through that kiss his Emperor became a dragon again hardly mattered: it was who he was. Kauvauc Ueneuvin, who Changed as easily as breathing. Lisinthir bit his way down the male's neck until he was certain they were here, together at last.
"Perfection," the Emperor murmured against Lisinthir's hair.
"Greatness," Lisinthir answered.
The Emperor said, "Come," and led him through the sepia shadows, into a room even darker yet... but not so dark that he did not find a gladsome sight. Lisinthir went slowly, as slowly as if he stalked something that might fly from him if he moved too suddenly. But she remained there, sleeping on the bed, on her side with her head resting on her arm. Gingerly, he perched on the bed's edge and set a trembling hand on her arm, let it skate to her back and up the arm to the wings. He sensed the Emperor's approach, and the Emperor's halt, giving him the space to encompass this... this gift unlooked-for.
She was alive, and she was whole.
The Queen's lashes fluttered, then parted. Sleepily she raised her eyes and saw him.
"Hello, Beauty," Lisinthir whispered, bending to kiss her between her eyes.
"My lord," she answered, her voice sleep-mazed. "Do I dream? If so it is one of the fairest I have had, save one."
"No dream," he answered. His eyes were wet. "Unless I am dreaming with you."
She reached for him. "You have been too long away."
"And all of us too long parted," the Emperor agreed. "It is late by station time, Perfection. Come to bed."
"Oh, gladly," Lisinthir said. At last. "Gladly."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
"And that's the whole of it," Sediryl said to the woman on the other end of the call. "At least, the parts I know."
Liolesa's brows drew together slightly. "Excellent. Well summarized."
For once, Sediryl had felt like she could not only sit, facing her aunt, but that she had to. It had been a long recitation, and a painful one. Particularly the parts she hadn't felt comfortable confessing, but had in all their particulars. This was the woman who was evaluating her for a throne; Sediryl couldn't leave anything out, not and live with hersel
f. And maybe some part of her wanted to know if a woman who'd held a throne for centuries, and was as close to an expert in assessing other people's ability to handle the job, thought she was still a believable candidate.
But: "Really? ‘Excellent'?"
Liolesa's smile was wintry. "Shall I say aught else? You, your cousins... you acquitted yourselves well. Better than I hoped, to be truthful."
"So many died...!"
"Yes. But I expected the butcher's bill to be higher." At Sediryl's gape, Liolesa said, "War on the scale of interstellar nations? If you do not yet understand the scale, niece, you will."
"But how... how can you work with numbers that big? With... with patterns that big?"
"Just as with any other endeavor," Liolesa replied. "Practice." She smiled at Sediryl's expression. "Yes, I know. You may scoff if you wish."
"I... I wouldn't scoff at you-"
Liolesa snorted. "Sell me another bill of goods at that price, niece."
Sediryl rubbed her cheek, knowing better than to think that would hide the blush. In the past she'd been less than respectful of her aunt, but that had been her bitterness. Her problem. The events of the past... weeks? Months? How long had passed, and by which world's clock? Those events had knocked all the sarcasm out of her. "I'm sorry. I'm just... I feel..." She stopped, settled her thoughts and said, "I could have done better."
"So could we all. But better to do, at all, than to wait for perfection, which comes to us not in this world." Liolesa's eyes lost their focus; Sediryl wondered how many threads she was weaving, what patterns she was seeing, and whether practice would really be enough for her to approximate a quarter of her aunt's ability. "No, you have done all that I could have asked, and more. Now it is my turn." Sediryl sat up. "Tell them I'm on my way."
"You... you're coming here?" Sediryl asked, wide-eyed.
Her aunt's mouth curved into a smile that hinted of mischief. "I do occasionally leave the planet."
"Yes, but... " Sediryl waved a hand. "It's a mess!"
"All the more reason to make a state visit. Besides, I doubt I will have many opportunities to meet with the Chatcaavan Emperor and Empress in the flesh. I owe them the return of their heirs, anyways."
Memory spilled back into Sediryl's head: Amber. The women of the Chatcaavan harem and all their children. The abbey, and the charity, and... "Lord and Goddess. I had entirely forgotten about them. Did that go well?"
"It has been... an... interesting experience. For all of us." Liolesa's eyes sparkled. "Their adventures would fill a book... probably will, in fact, as many of them took up chronicling their experiences, even after my cousin put paid to their tonguelessness in his wife's new hospital. Nonetheless, most of them will be glad to return to a world they understand."
"Most of them," Sediryl repeated.
"Our hospitality intrigued a handful of them," Liolesa said. "Sufficient to their wondering about staying. But all that needs negotiation, so I will come. And fear not, niece. I'll bring a sufficiency of guards to attend to my safety."
"I'm not sure there are enough guards for that," Sediryl said. "Who'll replace you if you die? No one's ready! Least of all me!"
"No," Liolesa agreed, and Sediryl wasn't sure whether to be chagrined that the Queen agreed with her, or relieved. "You need some seasoning yet. But I am pleased with the raw materials." She lifted a brow, her eyes still merry. How did she manage that, given the shadows Sediryl still sensed in her aunt's demeanor? Did she ever stop carrying the weight of the people she ruled? "So long as my choice agrees with my decision to tap her for the work?"
This was the moment where she committed. Once upon a time, she would have leapt for the offer, sublimely confident in her abilities. Now...
"Can I give you your answer when I see you?" At Liolesa's raised brows, Sediryl said, "It's just that there's something I have to do before I say ‘yes,' or I won't be able to live with myself."
"May I ask...?"
"The slaves," Sediryl said. "I'm going back for them."
Liolesa nodded slowly. "How?"
Just that. No justifications required. Sediryl breathed in slowly to steady herself and said, "I'm not sure yet. I was going to talk to Lisinthir about it. Maybe the Chatcaava have a spare vessel they can lend me."
"As escort perhaps. No, I'll provide your ride."
Sediryl flinched. "The Visionary...."
Liolesa lifted a hand. "As you said, not an option. Don't fear over the ship, niece. I'll make arrangements for its repair. No, I have another project in my back pocket, and this seems the right time to launch it."
"I'm afraid to ask..."
Liolesa laughed. "Why do people fear my gifts so much? I am a completely reasonable gift-giver!"
Sediryl folded her arms. "Your gifts tend to have teeth, my lady."
"'My lady,' is it! Woe, I have lost my family affiliation." Liolesa smiled. "Never fear. I have not had long to work on this particular project, so it is not yet as expansive as my Lord of War and I have planned. But this errand will serve as an excellent proof of concept. I'll bring Hirianthial so he can see its maiden errand himself."
"He's.... going to be involved?" Sediryl asked, unable to help her trepidation. She knew Lisinthir and Jahir could do amazing things with their talents, but the story of how Hirianthial had conducted himself during the short-lived Eldritch civil war had been enough to inculcate a very deep respect for his powers. His rather unnerving powers.
"Only to see you back, as I suspect you will be leaving before he arrives," Liolesa said. "He'll attend the summit with me as a minister of the government. And frankly as a bodyguard. Will that ease your fears over my safety?"
"Yes!" Sediryl exclaimed. "Goddess."
Liolesa laughed. "I thought so. You'll tell them we're on the way, then?"
"Immediately," Sediryl said, fervent. "I'll be very glad to let you oversee the remainder of the negotiations."
"This time," Liolesa said. "And only until you've finished your errand. After that, you will return home and give me your answer."
"Absolutely."
Liolesa nodded. "Very good. I will see you anon, niece." A flash of a smile, an arched brow. "You'll be able to tell me in person how it is that I've come to have a Chatcaavan demanding employment with my fleet."
Before Sediryl could say anything, the transmission ended. She let her head fall against the back of the couch, blowing out a breath. Who'd decided to importune Liolesa, she wondered? Maia? Or had Uuvek found a way to contact her directly? She wouldn't put it past him.
Straightening, she reached for her display so she could arrange Liolesa's arrival with the Alliance's dignitaries. Just getting in contact with them would take time, so she sent a message and sat back to wait. Strange how few days it had taken for her to get a sense for how the diplomatic process worked. They'd been full days, though: too full for her to do much more than come back to her rooms and sleep, and in a way that was good... it kept her from belaboring the fate of the slaves. She'd been serving as the Eldritch ambassador to the talks amending the longstanding treaty-the extremely loose and poorly worded treaty-between the Chatcaavan Empire and the Alliance, which would be expanded now to include the Eldritch nation (empire, she reminded herself). She'd anticipated finding the work tedious, but instead the legalities fascinated her. She'd never had cause to attend to such matters before, and their intricacies felt like puzzles waiting for solutions. Too, it had been gratifying to be sitting at a treaty table across from the Chatcaavan Queen, who still called her sister.
She'd earned that, somehow.
Some part of her regretted that she'd be leaving Liolesa's side during the bulk of the work, because watching the document come together would have been satisfying, and she would have liked to see how it happened. But before she felt right about her aunt setting the heir's coronet on her brow, she had a promise to keep... and that promise occupied a great deal of what remained of her spare thoughts.
The rest of those thoughts were entirely i
nvolved with her cousin.
Jahir's reunion with Vasiht'h numbered now among her most favorite recent memories. So did his reunion with Lisinthir-Goddess, yes. She touched her burning cheek. But she hadn't failed to notice the common denominator in those favorite memories was Jahir. She wanted to be one of those people who received special reunion embraces. She knew, having seen him at it twice, that her embrace would be unique, as different from his greeting of Vasiht'h as his greeting of Lisinthir. What would that look like, she wondered? Would he still look at her the way he had in the Pad room after Lisinthir's departure? That combination of smoldering and whimsy and sweetness? They'd talked briefly, and Sediryl had felt all the awkwardness involved had been her contribution. If she'd fallen into his arms, she sensed he would have wrapped her up and kissed her, as passionately as she could have hoped.
But she couldn't... quite... do it yet. Lingering in uncertainty made the consummation she could see in her future all the more precious. And erotic.
He knew, she thought. What was stopping her. Even before she'd explained the help she'd needed, he'd understood that there was an obstacle still, one that had nothing to do with him and everything to do with her. That was another thing that distracted her about Jahir: that sense that he would understand her so clearly, and so often without explanation.
It was strange to realize that she still wanted power, and still wanted love, but that she no longer believed they were her due. But then, she'd had it demonstrated, amply and irrevocably, that she was not infallible. Was it strange that mistrusting her ability to do the right thing made her feel like she might begin to deserve the power to do the wrong thing?
Sediryl rubbed her head. The darkened display chose that moment to play a rising arpeggio, and she set her thoughts aside to talk with the administrative aide about Liolesa's arrival.
The following morning, someone chimed at Sediryl's door while she was having breakfast and reading over the previous day's progress on the treaty. She set her tablet down and her hot chocolate, and said, "Enter?"
From Ruins Page 38
