Page 24 of Breaking Ties

The station was familiar now, and the path to the bondholder section of the building was glossy and elegant.

She walked over to the jewellers and explained what she wanted. They looked at her head, smiled, and went to find something that matched her description.

A deep voice said, “Shop here often?”

She smiled and kept looking. “It is currently my only option.”

“No bond?”

“No shuttle or ship.” She glanced at him and froze. “Oh, hello, Honoured Vress.”

He smiled at her. “You insist that you are my match, and that is all I get?”

She looked at him seriously. “Yes.”

Vress looked at her and said, “How are you making purchases?”

“I have been paid for my sight. I only just found out, and I need something shiny. My head is the only part of me not sparkly, and I feel it keenly.”

The jeweller brought over a box and held it open. The headpiece levitated, and she smiled. “May I try it on?”

“Of course, Oracle. Do you require assistance?”

She smiled, eased her fingers into the hovering arrangement of chains, lifted it, moved the centre so she could see it, and settled it on her head.

The jeweller grinned. “It is perfect.”

Vress frowned. “It is too simple to match that gown.”

“Yes, but it is in my budget, and I won’t be a pauper when it’s paid for.” She smiled at the jeweller. “I will take it.”

She slid her hands through her hair and settled the headpiece back in the box before she flicked her hair into order.

Vress cocked his head. “Is your hair always that short?”

“It grows, but I needed to cut ties with my old life symbolically. Hair is easy.” She shrugged.

He looked at her. “Would you have it repaired?”

“You mean longer? Sure, but not on my funds.”

He smiled slowly, showing a lot of sharp teeth. “You are budget-conscious?”

“Sure. I had to accept the dresses because that came with the white eyes, but I eat when folks invite me, or we end up at the places with the best cheap food on the station.” She glanced at her guards. There was chuckling around her.

Vress nodded. “My own experience with companions contained a bit more avarice.”

“Ah, well, I am not a companion. I am a consort or nothing, and anyone taking me on must deal with those who come to consult the oracle.”

He blinked. “This is not going as I imagined.”

She reached out and patted his chest. “I know.”

His eyes widened. “You touch me without fear?”

“Of course. I mean, sex is going to take all my nerve, but it has been a while.”

“You know I destroyed one of my companions?”