"Now wait a minute," smoke poured from Jayd's nostrils.

"Do not attempt to harm me, King Demon. I assure you I will separate your particles just as easily as any other creature's."

"He can," Neeki nodded at Nefrigar's statement.

"I piled it on Reah," Garde admitted. "Kifirin was correct last night. I kept her buried in work here so she wouldn't go looking for another High Demon to replace Torevik."

"Lissa told you, didn't she?" Kifirin stared at Garde.

"Told you what?" Jayd was staring at Garde as well. Garde was firstborn to the House of Rath, Jayd was third.

"That Tory's claiming marks wouldn't hold Reah, if she made another choice. Removing them would just be a formality."

"So you set about turning her against all High Demons." Neeki blinked at Garde.

"It wasn't intentional. Not like this."

"Where is she?" Teeg appeared, Farzi and Nenzi at his side. Teeg's warlock bodyguards, Astralan and Stellan, were with them.

"We don't know." Jayd sat heavily on a chair in Reah's kitchen. "Kifirin dumped her out in the field so Tory would find her last night. She was supposed to stay in a healing sleep so harm would be kept to a minimum. She woke and she wasn't supposed to. Kifirin kept her from turning or skipping away, but she still ended up bloodied and bruised when she attempted to fight Tory."

"Did he mean to hurt Reah?" Farzi was becoming angry.

"No. He kept saying he couldn't let her go. But a full Thifilathi's scales will harm, if someone comes in contact with them. Tory had to grip her hard to keep her from getting away. It wasn't intentional. Kifirin brought a blanket after she fainted, and Tory held her that way for quite a while. Wouldn't let anybody take her away from him until close to dawn. Kifirin convinced him to change and told this one to see to Reah while he took Tory home." Jayd explained as best he could the events of the night before.

"Fuck," Teeg rubbed the back of his neck. Farzi and Nenzi exchanged troubled glances.

"Where is she, Nefrigar? I know you can find her." Garde looked at the Larentii.

"Yes. I can find her. As can the god, here." Nefrigar nodded at Kifirin. "I will go to protect her. What will you offer when you go?" His gaze was hard on Kifirin.

"I was told she might slip away from me. I think I'm losing her."

"Losing her?" More smoke poured from Jayd's nostrils.

"To the other side," Neeki offered. "We were sent to attempt to keep her with the Dark Realm. But she may move to the Light Side."

"Do you mean to tell me that you won't have any control over Reah if that happens?" Jayd was incredulous.

"That is what it means," Neeki nodded. "Teeki and I will try to prevent, but we can only do so much. We wewn. much. re told to help, not interfere."

"She has no money," Teeg said. "She can't get far without it."

"You think to hold her back that way?" Nefrigar was now staring at Teeg. "I am not without resources. I will see she has as much as she needs."

"Why are you assisting her now? I don't understand this." Teeg tossed up a hand in frustration.

"The question is, why aren't you assisting her now? She has a legitimate reason for leaving, don't you think?"

"Neeki?" Another black-skinned male appeared, who looked exactly like Neeki.

"Teeki, the little female has run away. I could not keep her in the healing sleep," Neeki sighed mournfully.

"I feared it could come to this." Teeki nodded at his twin.

"You can all stop worrying, I sent mindspeech. She's safe at the moment." Rylend Morphis folded in beside Gavril. He never called his brother Teeg unless they were in the presence of someone who didn't know already.

"Where is she?" Jayd demanded.

"I promised I wouldn't tell. She'll be back tomorrow night for the claiming, but she's leaving right after to work that special project for Lendill. I wanted to let you know, Gav, that I volunteered to work the investigation with her. You owe me vacation, after all."

"She answered your mindspeech?" Gavril stared at his brother.

"Yes. Did you try to contact her?"

"No. I didn't think she'd answer."

"Next time don't assume that, all right? She got back with me right away."

"But she's not pissed at you."

"True."

"Are you going to tell us where she is?" Jayd was angry.

"No. I promised. You'll have to haul in the harvest yourself."

"We're working on it," Garde grumbled. He was grumbling because some of the help he'd brought in had stacked the fruit too deeply in packing boxes, crushing the bottom layers. Half of what the new crews hauled in was ruined.

"My work is done, here," Ry held out his hands and disappeared.

"You're packing, Master Rylend?" Dee lifted an eyebrow at Ry, who was so handsome he hurt. Women fell over themselves, offering their charms and anything else in order to get Rylend Morphis to notice them. Ry treated them with polite coolness, much of the time. Ry, resembling his father greatly, had dark hair and eyes, sculpted lips that could make almost any woman swoon if they smiled even a little, a beautiful nose and well-shaped eyebrows that quirked a bit if something interested him. Nowadays, that wasn't much. He was also a strong and talented warlock, his power and ability only improving over the years. He still worked with his father at times, although he'd never stepped onto Karathian soil after renouncing his citizenship. Wylend knew of Ry's progress. Ry knew that Wylend knew and didn't care.

"Dee, I offered to help Reah track a missing agent for the ASD. Gav can do without me for a couple of weeks, don't you think? Nothing important is coming up in the near future. Nobody needs their nose wiped or theikiniped orr tears dried. Not that can't wait, anyway."

"You're equating some of the Campiaan Alliance leaders with children?"

"I sometimes offer them ice cream if they'll stop screaming and behave."

"You jest."

"Dee, do you know how many five-gallon drums of Niff's ice cream I've transported to this palace or that state house? Do you? I've even taken cakes that Reah's made along with the ice cream a time or two, although I hate asking Reah for that, she's so busy all the time."

"Am I wrong in assuming those days are over for our Reah?"

"I hope so." Ry closed his second bag with a sigh. "I thought they were going to drive her into the ground. And I have to tell you that if someone who was part of my family insisted that my children be raised apart from me, so, in their words, they could have a better life and a better education, I think I'd tell them where they could shove all that."

"I take it that King Jayd and Prime Minister Garde said that?" Dee offered dryly.

"They did. They almost twisted Reah's arm over the first set of twins, saying that no female High Demon was ever born or raised anywhere except Kifirin. They didn't take Reah's mother into account, either, since they didn't know about her. Then, they made Reah a citizen of Kifirin and promptly brought the royal arm on the neck to bear. I don't blame her for walking out on them. She should have done it long ago."

"You worry about her."

"Yes. I worry about her. Have worried about her. For a long time. I watch from the sidelines, Dee. I don't think Reah has forgotten anything that has been done to her over the years. I know I haven't." Ry used power to lift both bags off his bed. "I'll be at my chateau in the mountains until tomorrow evening. Feel free to contact me until then." Ry disappeared.

"Reah, I brought something for you." Nefrigar appeared inside my tiny hotel room. The room was the best I could afford, and I'd locked myself in after the desk clerk imagined that he recognized me. Most likely he'd seen vids or vid-photos of me on Teeg's arm for some function or other, and thought I looked similar, even dressed in an old shirt and pants, with worn shoes that showed mud stains.

"Hi, honey." I was dressed only in underwear when Nefrigar appeared; I hadn't taken any extra clothing with me from Kifirin.

"I brought this." My Larentii mate produced a tiny credit chip that he held out on a large, blue finger.

"Honey, you don't have to do that," I sighed, staring longingly at the credit chip. It meant better food, better hotel accommodations and clothing, perhaps.

"It is all those things," he nodded, taking my wrist and using only a tiny bit of the vast power any Larentii has, caused it to sink below the skin on my right wrist. "I also have this." He produced a round, metal ball, so tiny I almost couldn't see it on his finger.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Protection," he said. "I am allowed to protect my mate. I am doing so now."

"But what is it?" I repeated my question as I stared at his handsome, blue-skinned face. Nefrigar's eyes alone might drown me if I allowed it.

"It is future technology, therefore I cannot tell you. Just know that it carries my love with it."

"Are all Larentii so secretive?" I smiled at him as he pressed the tiny object against my collarbone. When he drew his finger away, it had disappeared. Another object carried on my person. I had no idea what it was meant to do.

"Of course," he smiled. "Would you like for me to love you in a conventional manner?"

Usually, Nefrigar offered energy sex, but upon occasion (mostly when Farzi and Nenzi weren't involved, they could have energy sex too, if Nefrigar included them) my Larentii mate loved me senseless with his body thrusting into mine. Those were good nights.

"Yes. Can you make the bed better?" I asked.

"Certainly."

"You said Mom was coming." Now that the claiming was at hand, Lara fretted. Grampa Garde was trying to reassure her, while Karzac stood by to place the healing sleep before Eldevik was allowed inside the bedroom. Lara's twin, Kara, was in the bedroom next door, waiting as well, but more sedately.