Games Empaths Play

by Cynnara Tregarth

  “’Til later, Timeon.”

  “Later, Noah.”

  Noah sat back in his chair, sending out an empathic touch, questing for Astra. When he felt something, he mentally sent, “I love you. Come home. Not genetic.” Satisfied that he’d tried to make her listen, he turned his attention toward the business merger details. He hadn’t expected the information that Astra had sent while on her remote journey, nor had anyone else. This was a time of mourning, but as Astra had pointed out, business and the rest of Peruth didn’t stop because of her father’s death -- and considering his lack of fondness, neither would she.

  The data sent to him, her uncle Stavros, and other key personnel in both companies was quite intriguing and contained full disclosure on certain secret research begun by her father and herself. Other things included the breakdown of combining both companies’ upper-level management, including allowing management to move around to other branches, jobs, or positions within the merged company. She had also surprised him with just how much she knew about Helsguard Corp. Through shrewd manipulation, she’d found a way to minimize job loss, expand production, and blend production schemes.

  Iji’s cock, she’s damn intelligent and business savvy. How can a man resist a woman who’ll make his life easier by helping him with his work and his play? Noah grinned as he checked and rechecked the numbers, making sure of her accuracy as well as his assessment on the reconstruction lines she’d taken. He knew they were perfect, but his family and the business paid him to be sure, not to just let it go.

  As he did the tallies, making notes on where a bit more negotiating would be needed, he realized he needed her there. Being able to talk this out with her directly had advantages over talking to her uncle Stavros, who ran the company in her absence. Once the funeral was over, they’d do final negotiations, and then they could all concentrate on their personal lives together -- her, him, and Timeon. Her self-imposed exile was killing him. Gone for a day and her presence was missed more than he would admit to Timeon, though he figured his brother knew. But how could he make her acknowledge it? How to make her know that it wasn’t genetics, but love?

  * * * * *

  Noah’s mouth lingered on hers. “I love you, Astra.”

  “I love you, too, Noah. But I’ve got to be sure,” she whispered, her fingers playing in his long hair. “I can’t afford to love you and know it’s only genetic. I want it to be real.”

  “It’s real. I promise. I’ve seen the papers, Astra. This love we all share, it’s real.” His mouth captured her rosy nipple, tugging and suckling.

  Astra felt her desire peak as her cunt filled with wetness. Reaching out, she stroked his cock, loving how it jerked at her touch. Smiling, her thumb rubbed the tip as a drop of his pre-cum emerged. “We met so quickly. It can’t all be natural.”

  “No, but that was only to give us the advantage of feeling bonded in friendship, at the least. Plus, we’re empaths. How much do you know about me that I’ve not told you?”

  She couldn’t think as his mouth shifted downward, trailing kisses on her skin. There was no good answer, she knew. There wasn’t anything that couldn’t be broken with patience and hard work, including personal shielding. But neither Noah nor Timeon had ever hid anything from her except the deepest of thoughts and emotions. And she respected them enough to not probe there.

  When his mouth found its destination, she arched against him, urging him to taste her, as her hand fisted in his long, silky hair. The heat of his mouth warmed her clit and her soul as she felt her desire spiral upward, this joining freeing her from worries. She begged him for more as her hips lifted in rhythm.

  Noah surprised her as he slid three of his fingers into her slick cunt, sending her into a strong climax.

  “Noah!” Astra screamed as she sat up in bed, sheets strewn everywhere. Panting, she looked around the darkened bedroom as she struggled to get control of her shaking body and brush away the tendrils of the empathic sending. He had found her. Oh, my gods above, he found me!

  “Dammit! How the hell did you get past my shields?” she whined as she flopped back on the pillows, her body still trembling from Noah’s empathic touch. Cursing her treacherous body and very willing spirit, she tried to piece together how he had entered her dream.

  Once she figured out that Timeon had to be helping Noah to reach out, she decided it was payback time. She knew she’d made contact to them on her own at least once, based upon their reactions. Now it was time to up the ante. There was one more day left before she had to be home, and she wanted it uninterrupted. They wanted to play games, that was fine, but not with her. She didn’t want them chasing her to make sure she knew they loved her. She accepted that. What she needed was away time to digest it, and this empathic linking wasn’t giving it to her. Damn them!

  Astra climbed out of the comfortable bed and went toward the kitchen for a drink. There had to be a way of paying them back for this. “Oh, the games we play in both love and war,” she muttered, grabbing a fruit juice from the refrigerator. “Now, the question is, do I call you both on it, or do I just get even?”

  Various scenarios played through her mind as she tried to figure out which would get her point across with the least amount of fuss and without her getting caught up in the passion that blazed between them. She admitted that she missed them, even more now, but the point was to make decisions alone and to see for sure if it was true love or genetically induced. Granted, Noah insisted that it wasn’t, but that was him, not her.

  Astra wished for the umpteenth time that she had brought Flit with her. He was useful to the point that doing without him was a hardship. With a sigh, she grabbed the plasti-sheets she’d printed out on a nearby computer. Hacking into it had been too easy; then again, it was a fun pastime that she’d not indulged the past couple of years, testing the defense of friends’ companies when she got into being one of the full-time designers for Crysocorp. She missed making her money from goofing off on the computer systems.

  While she read about genetic codes and what exactly scientists could and couldn’t do, she felt another tingling of a sending. Increasing her shields, she ignored the soft touch of her lovers. Now wasn’t the time, and they needed to realize that. Growling, Astra opened her shields just enough to grab the tendrils and shout back, “Leave me alone! I’m reading!” at them. Then she slammed her shields closed, upping them to a higher level with a passing thought.

  Shuffling the plasti-sheets, Astra realized just how much had been done in this field. Medicine had never been something that interested her, but nanotechnology was an ongoing project for her and others in Crysocorp. Though some of the explanations were a bit difficult to understand, she tried to comprehend the various manipulations that had been successfully and unsuccessfully achieved. With her reading, she realized that the genetic shiftings that Verona and company had done weren’t registered anywhere, but at least now she was getting some unprejudiced information.

  After making a mug of tea, she settled in so she could make sense of what was before her. Five hours later, she stretched, caught by surprise when a yawn escaped. The research had been eye-opening, and she felt much better for doing it. Though she didn’t know exactly what Verona had done to her or the brothers, she possessed a better understanding on what couldn’t be manipulated. Her relief was immense. It meant that her last day on this beautiful, albeit cold, island should prove a wonderful relaxation before she headed back to Lurien for her father’s funeral.

  Heading off to bed, she sent a message to both men. “I love you truly, unencumbered.”

  Noah stirred as Astra’s words caressed his skin and entered his subconscious. Smiling at her kiss and her words, he allowed himself to drift toward slumber. “I think we did it.”

  Timeon smiled back at his brother and indulged himself in the comfort of Astra’s words. But he was also realistic. Whatever the cause of it, Astra had made the decision on her own, not because they had empathically reached out to her. With that thoug
ht, he too drifted off into much needed slumber.

  Tomorrow would let them know if she truly accepted them or not. Her father’s funeral would be one for the record books and only Iji and his mate knew whether or not all hell would break loose.

  Chapter Eight

  Astra stood before the main house and sighed. The trip home had been annoying and worse. The messages left for her suggested that her skills were needed to clean up the mess her father had left behind. The three days away had helped her to sort out her emotions, especially the ones dealing with her father. But living in the big house wasn’t going to happen. Let others in the family have it. But for right now, this was where the funeral procession would start in an hour. Dammit all, I don’t want to be here. Then again, hiding in the library yesterday didn’t do much for me, either, beyond clarifying that someone has to right the wrongs out there.

  Carefully she climbed the steps, and the door opened before she reached it. Out floated Flit. “Come with me, Mistress Astra.”

  “Flit ...” she warned.

  “The Trifecta is waiting to pay their respects, Mistress.”

  “Oh.” Astra allowed Flit to lead the way, realizing that the computer had done the necessary deeds, including getting to the main Crysomark home to control the funeral arrangements from beginning to end, with minimal fuss for her. Though Flit often did his own thing, at least he’d done this one thing that she’d needed. She wasn’t sure how to thank the saucy little computer, but she’d find a way, someday. Maybe she’d create him a girlfriend, or something.

  Walking down the corridor, she stopped at the main receiving room and looked down at her jeans and shirt. Not the best way of receiving the Trifecta, but they’d better get used to a younger generation that wasn’t cowed by them or the Prefects, which, by right, she was now part of as head of House. She pushed open the door and strode in, her back straight.

  “Thank you for coming today,” Astra said, nodding first to Valinora, then to Gavin of House Arian and Hect of House Via. She hugged Valinora. “My sympathies for your loss, my aunt and Trifecta.”

  “My sympathies, as well, Head of House.”

  Astra shook hands with the other two Trifecta leaders, then sat in the blue chair, giving herself an advantage, as it was higher situated as well as allowed her to amplify her empathic skills if needed. “How may I thank you three for coming today?”

  Gavin cleared his throat and looked into Astra’s face. The more she looked at him, the more she realized that he was older than anyone thought, but he hid it well in the deep blue colours the Trifecta wore when doing business. The blonde hair had some silver strands, but nothing to suggest he was in his late fifties.

  “We’re here today to honour your father’s memories, as well as to speak to you about your position within House Crysomark.”

  She steepled her fingers together, allowing no emotion to play upon her face. “I see. What about my position as head of House Crysomark?”

  “Well, you had allowed your father --”

  “I allowed him as Lord of Crysomark, yes. At the time, I was busy working for the government and for Crysocorp, and was thus unable to also attend as head of House,” Astra clarified.

  “Thus you gave up your position,” Gavin continued. “We don’t think it’s appropriate for you to accept as head of House now.”

  “Are all of you in agreement with this?” Astra asked, her heart pounding. She’d known this might happen, but that they were here justified what she was about to do. Having spent the day in the Library of Ancients was going to prove to have been a fruitful endeavor, one that helped pave the way for her responses.

  “Valinora has abstained, stating that because of her House allegiance, she can’t speak on this subject without prejudice,” Hect stated, his fingers ruffling through his salt-and-pepper hair.

  “She is in the right to abstain. In fact, she should’ve told you the arrangements made with my father in regards to the House position.” Astra nodded toward Valinora. “First, in the legal paperwork, signed and duly witnessed by five empaths, class-six and up, there was a clause that my father was acting as my proxy.” She watched the men look to each other and wondered how on earth they’d become Trifecta when they didn’t know the basics of House law. “Second, I never gave up the position of head of House. The records state that I’d take it in the event that my father failed as my proxy or when my duties to the government were completed.”

  “But you and your father were fighting --”

  “Yes, we were. So?” Astra leveled her gaze at Gavin. “Fighting does not mean anything in Peruthian laws. In fact, it’s a right of proving that is justified in the codex for ruling-House laws.”

  “We already have an empathic-sensitive as head of another House,” Hect said, his gaze narrowing.

  “Yes, I know. They’re very close to me. So, the actual issue is that it’s not the norm for empaths to run a House?” Astra asked, feeling the giddy sensation that signified she was about to administer a well-deserved bitchslap.

  “It’s not allowed,” Gavin stated. “No empath may rule a House or be in the Prefects.”

  “You’re wrong.” Astra waited. “You cling to a fearful tradition. You do not speak for the ancients, nor do you speak the law as it’s written. Perhaps you need a refresher course.”

  “How dare you!”

  “Oh, I dare much. In fact, I call into review the fact that the Trifecta is not supported by law, but only have occurred through tradition, and thus are truly nothing. I demand the Rights of Truth. Flit! Come here.”

  She waited until the ball entered the room. “Yes, milady?”

  “Please recite the law in regards to the heads of House, including the original laws, which haven’t been revoked.”

  “Yes, milady. I would also tell you that your betrotheds, the brothers Helspawn, await you in the other receiving room.”

  “Thank you, Flit. Please state the law.”

  “In House law, as well as in the laws pertaining to the rulership of Peruth, it states that any person capable shall hold the office of head of House and has a say in the Prefects. That an empath will be accepted, cherished, and shown greater respect within this realm of law, as their goal is to help those who would lie, cheat, or steal for their own gain against the interests of the people. In fact, the goal is to eventually have the Prefects all be empaths, for the betterment of all.”

  “Thank you, Flit. Please ask Noah and Timeon to come in. They need to hear this as well.”

  The Trifecta started to argue with that, until Astra raised her hand and voice. “I invoke my right as head of House, member of the Prefects, and as a class-ten empath for witnesses.”

  Noah and Timeon entered the room and headed to Astra’s side. Neither sat, but instead stood by her side. She touched their arms. Thank you. I’ve found some answers to the questions we’ve had in regards to empaths being head of House and in the Prefects.

  Really? queried Timeon.

  Yes. In fact, the Trifecta is unconstitutional, according to our codex of laws.”

  Well, that puts a new spin on the things we were looking into,” Noah said.

  I’ll want to hear more later. Right now, let me handle this. Then we can talk about everything else, including the betrothed business that’s going on.

  Yes, dear, both men responded.

  Valinora spoke first from among the Trifecta. “Will you explain yourself, Mistress Astra, head of Crysomark?”

  “Explain what? House law and the second portion read from the Law of Peruth’s Unification are quite self explanatory.” Astra leaned forward and smiled, knowing that Valinora was behind her. She wasn’t sure how, but pieces from her childhood and how Valinora spoke on the laws of Peruth slid into place, making sure she got the full scope of what was happening today. “In fact, I spent the day at the Library of Ancients, searching for information on the formation of a unified Peruth, the Trifecta, and the Prefects. I’ve submitted the information to a polit-lawyer
for review, and if I’m correct, you three are out of a job.”

  Hect stood up, saw the look on Astra’s face, and sat himself back down. “You have no idea of the hows and whys the Trifecta --”

  Astra pointed to her aunt. “Wanna try that again, Hect? I think I know full fucking well the hows and whys of the Trifecta.”

  Timeon placed his hand on her shoulder. “We, too, were trained to know about the government of Peruth, but we were told the Trifecta was necessary, part of its running. Beloved, you have reason to dispute this?”

  Flashing him a smile, she continued. “Oh, yes. The Trifecta has only been in rulership for the past two centuries. However, Peruth has been unified for over two millennia. With the help of the librarians, we searched, catalogued, and found every listing of the Trifecta and its origins, as well as the role of empaths in Peruthian society.”

  “Yes, you keep stalling, but you say nothing,” Gavin sneered.

  “Actually, you know the truth as well as I do; it’s part of the oath you take for office. Being the first daughter of House Crysomark, when Valinora was brought into the Trifecta, I witnessed the oaths. Recite them, Gavin. This is a command by the head of House.”

  “I do not --”

  Noah stepped forward. “Under the Peruthian laws of House and Unified Codex, when commanded to speak by the head of House, the party in question, regardless of station, must comply, or face penalties exacted to the tenth degree, verified by another in good standing and a high-level empath. So, yeah, you do.”

  Gavin looked at both Hect and Valinora, who nodded at him. “Do it, Gavin. They can remove you from office for refusing,” Valinora urged.

  “Taking my steps as Trifecta, I promise to uphold the sanctity of Peruth. The Trifecta will guide the families, Houses, and businesses of Peruth without rancor, greed, or prejudice. Our role is to give acceptance and tolerance and to encourage diversity while being a unified world. We shall oversee that the laws passed are fair, consistent, and free of prejudice to all Peruthians. If one arises that breaks these goals, then the Trifecta must act in concert to overturn and correct the law. We are to benefit humanity by our presence, not to harm it. Thus we swear to rule by love, kindness, and respect above all else.”