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"And if I'd told Wylend, or anyone else, it would have turned out worse than it did. Wylend would have sent some of his and Vionn would have suffered, if not been destroyed outright. So I put this on my daughter. Who has had enough pain as it is. I removed the memories from Roff because I knew, even then, that things would come to this."
"Lissa told him what happened. I heard that from Kyler. She says that Roff hasn't spoken to Flavio for days. She also said that Lissa will barely speak to anyone, locks herself in her room most nights, only does what she absolutely has to do and now has a fifty million-credit price tag on her head. I'm grateful I still have my son in my arms, Brenten, but what have you done to your daughter?"
"I won't have a daughter, Amara. Not when she discovers what I've done. And I may not hold onto my Oracle status much longer—I feel that Belen may be considering what to do about this even now. I interfered, Amara. To save myself and to save my son. The one my daughter managed to give to us. Wyatt wouldn't have come to us any other way."
"Who else knows of this, Brenten?"
"Wylend and Erland know. When Lissa finds the truth, she'll be angry with them as well."
Chapter 8
"Grant, why don't you take a break?" Thurlow Burghin, the Alliance Rep stood in my doorway, so I was giving Grant the opportunity to get away from this meeting if he wanted to. I would, too, if I could.
"Okay," Grant smiled and headed toward the kitchen to pick up a bottle of blood substitute.
"Mr. Burghin, come in and have a seat," I offered. So far, he'd been discreet and polite enough. I couldn't fault him on his manners. He wasn't bad looking and I couldn't help but think he'd probably like to be anywhere but here.
"Please, call me Thurlow," he smiled and sat in the offered chair.
"Would you like something to eat or drink?" I asked.
"Lady, no. If you and your staff feed me any better, I'll be too heavy to board ship again," he chuckled. He didn't look as if he had an ounce anywhere that wasn't hard muscle, but I didn't say that. It made me wonder what he'd done for the Alliance before coming on this little assignment.
"So, what can I do for you, Mr. Burghin—Thurlow?"
"What would you be doing now, if you weren't taking time to talk to me?" he asked. That made me sigh. Honestly, I wanted to crawl out of my skin and into a hole somewhere, until the pain that followed me everywhere I went had gone away. But that wasn't something I'd tell anyone. Except for Gavin—or Kifirin, perhaps. I was feeling Gavin's absence the past few days, much more than I normally would.
"Please," Thurlow said when I didn't answer, allowing too many things to rush through my mind instead.
"Sitting on the roof," I said. He'd asked, I answered.
"On the roof? Why, lady?"
"Mr. Burghin, I'm not sure I can do this interview right now. My apologies." I stood up behind my desk.
"I've upset you."
"It wasn't you, or anything to do with you, I assure you," I muttered.
"Is it the price on your head?" He stood because I was standing.
"No, I'm sorry to say. I wish it were something as simple as that." I looked down at the immaculate surface of my desk—Grant, Heathe and Davan kept it that way for me.
"A price on your head is a simple matter?" His voice was almost gentle.
I wanted to tell him that if I desired, I could hunt the ones down who'd placed that price on my head. Moreover, I could make them very dead—all by myself. What I couldn't do was make a child mine again, when someone had stolen him away, body and mind.
"Walk with me," Thurlow said. I looked up at him. I truly wasn't in the mood to do anything except find a place to cry. Again. I don't know how we ended up walking out of my office together, or down the long hallway toward the front steps of my palace. Long ago, I used to tuck my hand in the crook of Don's elbow and we'd walk that way. I felt the urge to lean on someone, but Thurlow Burghin was a stranger and he'd been sent by the Alliance, on top of that. Not someone I'd consider for an arm-in-arm walk.
"Where are we going?" he said after a while, when we passed the courtyard and wandered into the nearest vampire neighborhoods.
"Some of my friends live down these streets," I sighed. I hadn't seen Bryan lately. He was busy—I knew that. He coordinated all the news and edited the newsfeeds that went out to the Alliance daily. He probably needed help to do it, too.
* * *
Thurlow watched her face carefully, without appearing obvious about it. So many people thought that vampires were veiled killers, unfeeling and grim. He wondered what some of them might think if they were privileged enough to walk beside this one—weighed down with grief as she was. He wanted her to tell him what was wrong, although he knew already.
Long, strawberry-blonde hair was brushed away from her face with a graceful hand and then tucked behind an ear as she stared down a street; several grand houses stood there, surrounded by well-manicured lawns. The grass that grew in the dim light on this half of Le-Ath Veronis was blue-green and looked nearly black when in shadow. The moon was out—if the planet had a normal orbit, it would be night, now. The Queen should be preparing for sleep instead of wandering the streets of the capital city.
"I know about the child," Thurlow surprised himself by saying.
* * *
I stared at him stupidly for several seconds after those words came from his beautifully sculpted lips. I shouldn't have been surprised—the comesuli gossiped all the time. They probably knew all about it—what with Giff collapsing in on herself and everything. Why would I expect anything else from someone whom the Alliance had sent to spy and report back to them?
"I will not include that information in my reports," he said softly.
"Do you think I trust you?" I asked, walking away from him. He stepped up beside me.
"A missing child is not the reason I'm here," he replied.
"Then why are you here?" I turned away from him, afraid I might cry at any moment. I wanted to mist away from him and wondered if the Alliance had that information about me, too. Wondered what their dossier held regarding the Queen of Le-Ath Veronis.
"Many reasons. The Alliance wishes to keep you safe. I am their eyes and ears at the moment, charged with sending reports on just how safe you are. I'm not sure they're interested in personal drama, or the fate of one small child who was never legally adopted."
"There's the problem, I suppose. Legally. Isn't that what everybody bases everything on? The letter of the law?" I walked on and he followed. "Legally," I went on, "there shouldn't be a price on my head. Legally, I shouldn't be a vampire. Therefore, legally, we shouldn't even be having this conversation."
