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"We expect nothing less," she agreed.
I'll keep an eye on them, Kyler sent the silent message. I nodded slightly. I needed to get back to my palace; I still had work to do before the Conclave.
* * *
"Your dinner, Tetsurna Prylvis."
"Thank you, Zellar." Prylvis nodded as Zellar, Viregruz's hired Karathian Warlock, made a plate appear before Prylvis. Prylvis was entertaining Viregruz and his brothers at his compound on Mazareal. The evening's entertainment had already occurred—Prylvis had watched as Viregruz and his brothers consume several youths his Blood Captains had captured the day before. Once Viregruz was finished with his meal, steaks had been cut away and cooked for Prylvis' favorite dish.
"I don't understand why you bother to cook it," Viregruz watched as Prylvis raised the fork to his lips.
"It's tender this way, Lord Viregruz."
"Ah. I prefer it my way. Screaming and all."
"I enjoy the screaming as well. It's why I invited you to dinner."
"And it's only polite for your guests to bring something, is it not?" Viregruz drew a finger through a puddle of blood—his and Prylvis' dinner had died atop the table.
"This is quite good, Lord Viregruz," Prylvis chewed another chunk of humanoid steak. "Tell me of your plans to destroy the bitch Queen and her planet."
"It will be easy enough to get to her—we have plans to join Twylec's retinue. After that, it is a simple matter," Viregruz snapped his fingers.
"What if it's not so simple?" Prylvis stopped chewing for a moment.
"A contingency plan is in place. It involves a tremendous effort on the part of my brothers, but I believe it will come out well, should they be required to use it."
"What about her planet? We've taken money from San Gerxon, after all. Surely he will be made happy if Le-Ath Veronis is destroyed."
"Oh, he will be more than happy, I assure you. We all know what happens when vampires are exposed to sunlight, do we not?" Viregruz's smile was malicious and wide.
* * *
"Giff?" Markoff led Roff inside his home. Roff had been there before, but not since he'd been turned. Dariff walked behind Roff, unsure how his cousin was going to react to her father, or to the return of his memories. Giff was now heavily pregnant and Rolfe had brought her to Markoff when he'd been called to hunt spawn on a faraway world.
"Uncle?" Giff wandered out of her bedroom, wearing a carry sac that held her baby pouch slung over the opposite shoulder. She'd just wakened, it appeared.
"Child, I am sorry you went through such misery on my account," Roff pulled his oldest child against him, and kissed the top of her head.
"Father, do you remember?" Giff wept as she turned her gaze on Roff's face.
"Yes, my little one. I remember."
* * *
"Lord Warlock." Rigo nodded to Erland, who appeared in Lissa's library. "How goes the assignment?"
"Good and bad—I found the information, but it wasn't good news when I found it. Nice work on Satris, by the way. My spies tell me the whelp now has a disease the physicians can't cure."
"Many years of research and working with poisons, venoms and such," Rigo shrugged off the compliment. "If they find the cause after his death, they will only believe he was bitten by a spider during his travels. It is uncommon but not unheard of."
"How long will it take?"
"Perhaps a few months, at the most. We will achieve our objective in the long term. At the end, he will wish for the quick death our Queen would have commanded."
"Tsk, tsk," Erland muttered, shaking his head in mock sympathy. "Perhaps Lissa should raise the topic of Diplomatic Immunity at the Conclave."
"That, my friend, would be inadvisable. She is new and many will be waiting, as vultures do when an ox is dying."
"I know. At times, I feel the need to cover myself in oil, just to slip through the tripe and garbage of Wylend's court. Lissa will have to contend with five hundred times that when she goes to Conclave."
"I fear that no amount of diplomatic oil will keep her from the shock that is coming. She will be snubbed and mistreated by many, I fear. Not only because she is a new monarch, but because there is a price on her head. Most will be placing as much distance between that and themselves as they can get. It is never wise to befriend one who is marked by the Assassin's Guild. That is usually a death waiting to happen. And if one gets too close, one might be targeted as well."
"Sadly, it's true," Erland agreed. "But they don't know what Lissa is made of, or some of her mates."
"You know I wish to be included in your number," Rigo didn't meet Erland's gaze.
"We know. All of us do. We're just waiting to see if she offers a ring now or waits awhile." Erland cleared his throat.
"You have bets riding on this, don't you?" Rigo lifted an eyebrow.
"Yes, but it's embarrassing to admit it."
Rigo surprised Erland by laughing out loud.
* * *
I had a private meeting with Erland to discuss his spying assignment, and Erland wasn't willing to let me get away afterward. Well, my desk got broken in, that night. Nobody can accuse Erland of being unimaginative—in bed or out. I met up with Solis and Hardin, formerly Captain and General, as we walked out of my study. Solis and Hardin were now part of my palace guards. They were patrolling the halls as Erland and I made our way to the dining room after a quick cleanup.
"Solis, Hardin," I nodded to both of them.
"Liss, we seldom see you," Solis smiled.
"I hear that a lot," I said.
"Mostly from her mates," Erland gave a long-suffering sigh.
"Oh, you poor thing," I swatted at Erland, who managed to evade my hand. "Did they find a good home for you?" I asked, turning back to Solis.
"They did. We travel to the light side on off days and have sun bulbs installed in the bedroom for the days we stay on this half of the planet. Flavio told us not to invite any vampires inside."
"Well, not unless you want them to fry," I said. "Only a few of us can stand the light of day."
"I wasn't sure what you talking about when you told us you were vampire on Vionn," Hardin told me. "I'd never heard of anything like that."
"There aren't any vampires on Vionn," I explained. "If there were, they'd likely have been hidden. Even on the worlds that recognize vampires as citizens, they don't mingle much with the general population. They're just too vulnerable during the day. No sense in inviting trouble, don't you think?"
