"Well, that's his baby." I was trying to get earrings into my ears and that was always a problem if I wasn't standing in front of a mirror while I did it.
"Let me help," Karzac came over and took the earrings from my hand. He had a wire slipped into my right ear in no time and then did the other ear for me.
"Thanks," I looked up at him. His mouth quirked into a crooked grin.
"We know this is hard for you," Grace said, coming forward. "More than a little, according to Dragon."
"I'm dealing," I said. "Karzac deserves a child, if anybody does. Amara's pregnant, too, did you know?"
"What?" Grace had just gotten juicy news.
"Yep. I smelled it this morning. Griffin is about to dance on the roof, I think."
"Oh, my gosh—two at the same time. Maybe we can school them together." Grace was already thinking about all this.
"Talk to Amara—I think she's in heaven, right now."
"Lissa," Karzac's hand cupped my cheek.
"Don't." I pulled away. "You guys go on—I'm sure they're waiting dinner on me." I made a shooing motion. They walked out the door of my suite, closing it softly behind them. The tears that hadn't come before came now; I dropped to the floor and sobbed.
* * *
"Someone else needs to go," Karzac's face looked haggard when he and Grace made their way into the dining room.
"What's wrong?" Shadow and Tony were both standing at the same time.
"She's crying," Grace said. "We didn't want to upset her. It didn't work."
"I will go." Roff was out of his seat quickly.
"I will do this." Connegar appeared in a brief flash of light and just as rapidly disappeared again.
* * *
"Little Rose, come here." Those were Connegar's first words to me as he lifted me off the floor. Giff had dressed me in expensive blue silk for dinner, since so many people had stayed to eat with us. I probably wasn't doing it any good by lying in the floor and crying all over it.
"I'll get over this," I wiped my face with the heel of a hand.
"My love, I will not say you should not weep. This is difficult for you, I know."
"Amara is pregnant because of you, Lissa." Kifirin appeared in my room; I caught his scent before I heard his voice.
"What did I do?" I sniffled. Connegar caused a handkerchief to appear in his hand and he offered it to me so I could dry things up a little.
"You told her she deserved a child. There was Power in your words. Perhaps you did not realize it at the time; nevertheless, it is so. She became pregnant right away."
"Great." I leaned my head against Connegar's chest. He'd settled on the bed and was holding me against him. Kifirin strode into my field of vision but his face was enigmatic as he studied me.
"Avilepha, do not upset yourself further. Come to dinner with me. I will take my seat and we will entertain our guests." Kifirin held his hand out to me.
"But I look like crap," I said, sliding out of Connegar's lap, still wiping my face with the handkerchief he'd given me.
"It does not matter. Hold your head up, as the Queen that you are. We will do this, you and I."
Kifirin is the most beautiful male I have ever seen. His angel's face now looked worried, though, as I took his hand. He tucked my fingers into the crook of his elbow and folded me to dinner.
Conversation hushed as we walked into the dining room and the servants—vampire and comesuli, rushed away to bring out the first course.
Dinner conversation dealt mostly with casinos, the Reth Alliance, Campiaa and the current conditions there. "I want this so bad I can taste it," Erland said. "We've been dealing with San Gerxon scum for a long time. I'm hoping that if we leave the planet and take at least half the gamblers with us, they'll feel the bite after a while."
"Well, it's a cinch the San Gerxons aren't coming here," I grumped.
"I thought we had the head off the snake when we took Divil San Gerxon down a while back," Adam said. "Unfortunately, it was a hydra and not a snake. His brother Arvil has taken over and he's just as bad as Divil was." Adam was angry over this, I could tell. I also got the idea that Adam weighed everything carefully before he made important decisions, and this was an important decision.
"Then we'll do our best on this," I gave him the biggest smile I could, attempting to hide my concerns for Le-Ath Veronis.
"I'm just worried about what they'll do if things don't work out for them. I know we'll cut into their profits, if not take the business away from them. They could get nasty over this." Adam was still frowning.
"Well, we can always send my newly formed Enforcer Squad out after them," I said.
"What newly formed Enforcer Squad?" Drake lifted an eyebrow at me.
"The one I'll form if I need it," I said, wrinkling my nose at him.
"Just so you go through channels," Tony teased. "I think Gavin and I would have to approve the recruits."
"I have some out of work Enforcers, now," Flavio offered. "And an Assassin who's about to go stir crazy. Trevor asks every day if there's anything he can do."
"We'll work this out," I sighed. "In the meantime, do they like to play baseball or football or anything?"
"Get Brock, bubby loves baseball," Grace said.
"Bubby?"
"Grace and Brock knew each other before he was turned," Merrill coughed into his hand. "They worked together and are like brother and sister. She's the reason I had to chain him up for two months after I turned him."
"Of course," I nodded, although most of it defied my understanding. "I hope he had a shower within easy reach." Both times, my prison cells had been decidedly lacking in the area of personal comforts.
"And a fridge full of blood," Adam agreed.
"Lissa, we can issue a formal apology for locking you up. Twice." Flavio smiled.
"Too late, dude. That boat left the dock long ago. How would Trevor feel about being Sheriff?" I asked. "I mean, we have to have a lock-up—you can't expect everybody to behave one hundred percent of the time."
"Yeah, sending in the palace guards or the army might be a bit much," Tony agreed.
Flavio whipped out a communicator and had Trevor on the line in no time. "How does the position of Sheriff sound to you?" Flavio didn't waste any time.
"That sounds perfect," Trevor replied. Yeah, we all listened in.
"Have him check in with Gavin," I said.
"Tomorrow," Gavin nodded. "In my office." Gavin and Tony shared a good-size office, Drake and Drew did the same. Kyler had her own, as did Roff, and he was very pleased with it. He was already complaining that he needed artwork for the walls.
"Do we have vampires with artistic talent, architectural experience or anything like that?" I asked. "The palace needs decorating and I'd be happy to share any plans they might come up with on the whole casino city thing—both light and dark side."
"I wouldn't mind looking at a few ideas," Adam said.
"Good, you're in charge of that. Is Griffin still here?" We'd moved to the drawing room, for lack of a better title, and coffee and dessert were passed around.
"I'm still here, baby." Griffin came forward.
"Your brother that Narissa mentioned is here, with the Belipharan vampires," I said. "Davan is his name and he's being instructed by an older vampire. I just thought you should know."
"Lissa, that makes him your Uncle," Griffin came to hug me. "How long have you known about this?"
"Since Kifirin and I brought them in. I just didn't want to interfere with his instruction—he's brand new as a vampire. Turned because somebody framed him for a crime. He's a quarter Bright Elemaiya, as is his sire, Jeral, and both have mindspeech. I wanted to talk to both of them, though, and see if they have other talents."
"I want to be in on that meeting. You don't know who his father is?"
"No, Daddy. I don't. I didn't try Looking, either."
"Perhaps I should pay another visit to your grandmother," Griffin leaned down to kiss my forehead.
"My murderous
bitch grandmother? I can't believe she killed her own parents," I shuddered at the thought. "I mean, I might have wished Howard Graham dead lots of times, but I couldn't do it."
"I know, baby." Griffin gave me a squeeze before he let me go. "I'm taking Amara home—she's had a long day."
"Sorry I let the cat out of the bag, Mom," I waved at her across the room. She just laughed as Griffin folded her away.
* * *
"Jeral," he smiled as I acknowledged him the following morning.
"Thank you for the clothing order," he said.
"We pulled you out of there without an extra stitch to your name—it was the least we could do," I said, as he and Davan made their way to assigned seats. The Belipharan Council held seven members and Davan came along to keep records for them. He'd been an accountant before, after all. I wondered if he'd liked his job. We might be able to find something for him, if he were interested.
"My Queen, many of our vampires grow bored," Jeral said as I gave the indication that it was all right to sit in my presence. Making somebody stand was just dumb.
"Well, that may be about to change—the Reth Alliance has approved our membership and we'll need crews to work shifts on the space station. I woke this morning and found more than ten thousand requests from Reth Alliance vampires waiting on my approval, for either visits or relocation. And this is just the first day." I breathed a troubled sigh.
"Are all these requests from vampires?" Jeral asked, sitting down. I sat in the seat next to his; that particular Council member hadn't arrived yet.
"No. Some are just thrill seekers, wanting to see vampires. Some are vampires who wish to see what Le-Ath Veronis is before they make a decision. Reth Alliance vampires are generally fine where they are, but they can still be treated differently."
"I understand that very well," Jeral gave me a small smile. Jeral and Davan both had dark hair and golden-brown eyes. Jeral was the handsomer of the two, but Davan was no slouch.
"And my father and I wish to speak with you and Davan after the meeting today," I said. "Can we get you anything before the meeting starts?"
"We have fed, my Queen. We are quite fine, today."
Once all the Councils were assembled, we discussed more laws, stopped for a blood break and then went after it again. We tabled what we couldn't reach a decision on and rescheduled. And as the Heads of Councils were the only ones notified before, Gabron, Adam and Merrill gave a presentation on the gambling planet proposal, including the brothels and other business concerns, to everyone present.
The Refizani contingent would be commandeering the brothels, but there were others who wanted in, so they agreed to hold a separate meeting the following evening. I really didn't want to get involved in that if I didn't have to. Most of the vampires were quite excited that humans and other races might be coming to visit, and they were very interested in buying shares in some of the businesses.
"But what if the vampires have no funds to invest?" Davan held up his hand. Though he wasn't a member of the Council, I dared anybody to challenge me when I answered his question.
"I have already thought about this," I said. "I and one other are buying shares on your behalf, if all this comes about," I told him. "These shares will be placed in the names of all the vampires from Beliphar. Meanwhile, if any of your people have experience in architecture, plumbing or building of any kind, please have them contact Adam and Merrill if they're interested in that sort of work. We are looking for help and are prepared to pay for good, experienced employees."
Flavio, Gabron, Wlodek, Adam and Merrill came with me as Jeral and Davan followed me to my private study after the meeting. Yeah, I had one, but I didn't get to spend much time in it.
"This is the first time I've seen this," Wlodek said, admiring my study. It was quite large and the Vermeer hung on the wall behind my desk. The Corot held a place of honor on the opposite wall. Merrill had placed both paintings in stasis when he hung them for me. They would never deteriorate while the stasis spell lasted.
"This is lovely." Jeral zoned in on the Vermeer right away. "I remember sunlight like this," he sighed. Yeah, I knew that feeling, except he'd been without sunlight a hell of a lot longer than I had.
"A master artist from my home world painted that, around seven hundred years ago," I said. "I was very lucky that this came my way."
Griffin folded in at that moment. I had a few snacks laid out, including a few bottles of blood substitute. Davan took one of those after asking Jeral. Davan looked to be in his twenties, although the records that Drake and Drew had pilfered from Beliphar said he was in his mid-fifties—slightly older than I was.
"Please sit down," I said, going behind my desk. Plenty of seating was scattered against walls and in corners inside my study. Griffin came and sat on the edge of my desk.
"I asked Lissa to bring both of you for this meeting," Griffin informed Davan and Jeral, after introducing himself. "Jeral, are you aware of your heritage—what gives you mindspeech?"
"I am, but I may be alone in that knowledge, at least among the Belipharan vampires," he said. "My father was a quarter Bright Elemaiya and he was dropped off on Beliphar more than seven thousand years ago. He could mindspeak, as can I. He told me of the Elemaiyan race and how cruel and cold they could be. He despised them after they forced him out. I was handed to him only a month later, after I was born to one of the half-Elemaiyan women. My father raised me when he was only sixteen and had little knowledge of rearing a child." I shook my head at Jeral's tale, but it was something I'd already begun to suspect.
"Davan, do you know anything about your parents?" Griffin asked.
"No. I was raised in a state orphanage. My records said I was three months old when I was left there. No records of which parent left me there were made. I'm not sure they ever knew."
"I know who your mother is," Griffin sighed.
"Who was she?"
"No, who is she." Griffin corrected Davan gently. "She is very much alive."
"And the biggest child-abandoning bitch in the universe," I muttered. "Griffin, Narissa gave us the information she had at the time. Jeral and Davan are both your brothers."
Chapter 7
Griffin whirled to look at me, a shocked expression on his face. "You're joking?"
"No, Daddy. They're brothers. That means they're your brothers. Well, half-brothers, anyway. Davan is definitely your mother's son, as is Jeral. You're both my Uncles," I had to lean around Griffin to see both of them, now.
"We are related to the Queen?" Davan didn't understand. Well, I was a card-carrying member of that club.
"Yes, you're related to the Queen," I sighed. "And I can take you to meet your mother if you want. Be prepared; if that is what you want. Jeral, Narissa had to seduce your father before he turned sixteen, because that seems to be the time when the quarter-bloods are all cast out."
"That is true," Gabron agreed. Griffin, who was still coming to terms with all this, nodded mutely. "That would make him more than a quarter-blood, wouldn't it?" Gabron nodded toward Jeral, who seemed stunned at the information he'd been given.
"Yeah. Don't ask me to calculate the math," I said.
"I have no wish to meet her," Jeral said. "You may go if that is your desire, Davan."
"Is she truly that cruel?" Davan asked.
"She killed her own parents," I informed him with a shrug.
"So, that's patricide, matricide, seducing a child, child abandonment," Gabron ticked off her crimes.
"I don't want to know what else she did," I muttered. "I know too much as it is. I can't help but think Daddy was abused growing up; he just won't say anything about it." He and I had that in common; I just didn't know how severe his abuse was at Narissa's hands.
"Daughter, she is paying for her sins, now," Griffin muttered.
"Yeah, well," I didn't finish my sentence.
"What does this mean, though?" Jeral sounded confused.
"It means that you have a place here, if you want it,"
I said. "Or we can find you another home, somewhere in Lissia, or you can go back to the house in New Beliphar." They'd named their new city after their old planet. Go figure.
"As members of the Royal House, it might be wise to stay here, at least in the city. While most of the vampires here have good intentions, it wouldn't be the first time members of a royal family were kidnapped or threatened to achieve certain objectives," Merrill said dryly.
"And I probably need someone to watch over the books; Kyler is doing what she can with help from Charles, but neither is able to keep up with all of it." I smiled encouragingly at Davan.
"Rolfe could use some help as well," Gabron suggested.
"Rolfe?" Jeral looked up.
"I'll get him," Gabron offered and slipped out the door. Rolfe was there with Gabron in a matter of minutes, a worried crease on his forehead.
"I'm not in trouble, Rolfe," I held up a hand. He breathed a relieved sigh. "Rolfe is my personal guard," I told Jeral. "But he can't be in all places at all times—he gets days off."
"She forces me to take days off," Rolfe grumped.
"I would be more than pleased to guard your life," Jeral stood and bowed.
"Please, don't bow. I'm not that important," I motioned for Jeral to sit down. "You'll be compensated, and I want to set up accounts for both of you. I think Adam and Merrill have our first bank open, now."
"We do—Flavio moved the last of his assets from Earth two days ago. We're doing quite well." Adam laughed. That didn't happen often—even I knew that.
"Am I missing something?" Erland folded in.
"Erland, Erland, Erland," I said, leaning my chin on a fist.
"You are lovely, Lissa," he gave me a smile that would make just about anybody experience an orgasm.
"Uh-huh. What's grampa doing?"
"Ruling with an iron fist," Erland laughed. "Or an iron spell, take your pick."
"Jeral, Davan, this is Erland Morphis, an emissary from my father, the King of Karathia," Griffin said.
"A Karathian Warlock?" Jeral asked. Davan was unfamiliar with the term. That didn't surprise me—Beliphar had become an isolated world.
"Yes," Griffin nodded. "Lissa, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to take Jeral and Davan with me tonight, so we may get to know one another. I've never had brothers before and hardly know where to start."
Blood Rebellion (Blood Destiny #7) Page 11