By Sun and Candlelight (4 page)

Her father chuckled at the irony.
Suprahumans - vampires, werefolk, and others - had long ago helped
an asteroid miner named Michael Pappas become the first ruler of
what became the Byzant Empire. They'd named the suprahumans Sol
System medical center after him.

"He'll be back in time for the
Sunflower Day Ball," she added.

"But he won't be with us during the
ceremony will he?"

"Daddy!" she responded to the
complaint in his voice.

"Sorry, honey. Matthias is a very
good person. A political liability, but he's the right person for
you." He folded his hands together on the desk top. "We've got
about ten more minutes. Tell me about this brilliant idea of
his."

He was a loving father - they were a
close family - but they never had that much time to be together.
Her and Doc's life together was going to be that way, too. She
hated it. With a burning passion.

"Since we've been at war with the
Hajim our defense spending has risen, but our medical relief
service hasn't had a rise in budget for three years. We are
constantly in need of emergency relief - and we do try - but our
resources for helping those who've suffered from Hajim attacks is
dwindling."

"The Navy, which your Marine,
Matthias is officially part of, is in charge of planetary
relief."

"They don't have enough ships, staff
or resources. Doc ran the numbers, and I checked his data. Things
are going from bad to worse, dad. And it isn't just trouble from
the war. Natural disasters and biological threats need more
assistance than they've been getting since the war started. Doc
wants to put more emergency medical ships in Imperial space. Put
this effort under the direction of Major General Raven and he'll
get the military to support it instead of complaining it takes away
from the defense budget."

"And how will he do
this?"

"With my help."

"You are an excellent diplomat, my
dear."

"Thank you." She thought she'd been
off her game a bit lately, but always accept an imperial
compliment, as they don't come that often.

"And as much of my work is done far
from Terra," she went on. "I intend to make the flagship of the
Medical Relief Corps my headquarters. I can live and work on board
this ship with my bondmate. I'll have my staff, a security force
and diplomatic shuttles as part of my own set-up. The majority of
footage on the ship will be given to medical facilities, emergency
supplies, shuttles and whatever else is needed for aid
missions."

Her father looked at her calmly. He
was good at that. Yet she could feel his temper snap. "Absolutely
not," he said after a considerable silence. "I will not allow you
to paint a target on your back again. You are the heir to the
Empire. You have been put in a dangerous, vulnerable position once.
It will not happen a second time. I will take Matthias's idea under
consideration. I dismiss yours out of hand." His gaze was hard as
stone. "There will be no discussion."

"Yes, sire." She stood and bowed
with the utmost polite propriety. She was very good at concealing
her emotions as well.

Anger seethed through her like
wildfire.

Her position as Porphrgyia was a
prison. She had accepted this as her duty all her life. She had
believed it an honor to serve the Empire.

What was her reward for serving her
people? Why could she have nothing she asked for?

Prisoner. Always a
prisoner.

She did not accept being separated
from her bondmate. She did not accept not being allowed to become
less of a technologically enhanced person. She did not accept the
hostility aimed at her bondmate because of his association with
her.

She would do what she must to
protect him.

Now she knew what she would give Doc
for Sunflower Day.

Zoe wore yellow. Almost everyone did
on Sunflower Day. Yellow or some combination of yellow and brown.
Gold shining like the sun was also popular. The Empress was wearing
a gown gold tissue, while Zoe had opted for a buttery pale shade.
Her jewels were fire opals.

Looking out over the great plaza Zoe
couldn't help but smile at the sea of brightly dressed people. She
wondered where the couple they'd talked to on Santorini were
seated. She could trace their ticket purchase if she wished, or use
several other methods for finding the information. But she wasn't
using her data implants today. She'd used them as little as
possible the last several days. Soon she wouldn't have to deal with
them at all.

Free. She and her bondmate were
going to be free.

Making a public abdication
announcement on Sunflower Day was not a diplomatic way to resign
from being a princess. It was not kind to the people, or to her
family. It was the only way to make sure her decision was
irrevocable.

We are free, sweetheart.

The voice was Doc's. But had it been
him, or her conscience acting on her imagination? In the last few
days since making her decision, she'd been plagued with so many
questions and considering possible dire repercussions. Her mind
spun so much she'd been plagued with a permanent
headache.

Zoe put her concerns on hold by
looking around, focusing on the ceremony. She was seated at the
back of the high stage above the plaza. She and her parents chairs
were front row center, and ornate and gilded. The sun shone down on
all, but their places were designed to make it look like the gold
light from above bathed the Imperial family in protective rays. She
wished for a hat and her eye shields activated. Instead she
dutifully did not squint.

Zoe smiled and pretended to be
comfortable. No discomfort could ever be allowed to
show.

Any member of the Imperial family
could be quite successful on the stage. Perhaps she would take up
professional acting once she was free of her titles and
responsibilities.

You
love having responsibilities, sweetheart.

Her family, officials, and guests
occupied tiers of seats set high enough that they could be seen. Of
course, a production team worked hard to make sure the stage was
also available to be seen on huge digital screens and holographic
projections. Everyone in the plaza had a good view of the stage.
She tried to concentrate on the musicians currently performing. As
fond as she was of this band, they couldn't hold her
attention.

How she wished she could be with Doc
right now.

Same here.

Her smile turned genuine. That had
definitely been Doc's caressing voice in her mind. They were
supposed to meet at tonight's ball. She could hardly wait. Then,
again, she might not be invited to the ball once she was done with
her speech. Pity, as she had chosen a backless blue gown designed
to blow Matthias Raven's mind.

I can hardly wait to see it. Mind
blowing is something you are very good at.

She
chuckled, and all her nervousness and lingering doubts melted
away.
We'll be together
forever,
she
thought.

Sooner than
you
think.

The band was done. The applause had
ended.

"You're up, kid," her father, the
Emperor of the Byzant Empire, said.

Zoe gave him a regal nod and rose to
her feet. Her long yellow skirt swirled around her as she walked
toward the front of the stage. She paused at the center of the
stage, long enough for her name to be announced. Thousands of
people in the plaza rose to their feet.

She took a step, and was halted by a
collective gasp from the audience. The effect hit her like a
windstorm. Her gaze started up to the holo projector. But the
familiar touch of the hand that grasped hers told her all she
needed to know before she looked.

Zoe whirled, all flowing skirts,
flashing jewels and utter joy. Her arms went around the big male in
full dress Marine general's uniform.

"Doc!"

He held her close and kissed her.
She was surrounded by his hard-muscled, protective, warm embrace.
His lips were as sweet as they were demanding.

Somewhere there was a tsunami of
sound rushing up to roar over them. Before the wall of cheering
hit, Zoe realized--

He was standing in the full, naked
light of Terra's yellow sun.

She would have screamed in panic if
his mouth wasn't firmly covering hers.

Why aren't you on fire?

Who says I'm not?

"Or aren't you talking about needing
to get you in bed right now?" he whispered in her ear.

Zoe hoped the sound techs hadn't
picked up and projected his words. Multiple billions of people were
watching this.

Which meant she had to get the
situation under control right now.

And
you have hair,
she couldn't
help but think.

Just a little. The media consultant
says it'll make me look less threatening.

You're a Marine, of course you're
threat -- media consultant?

While she shared her consternation
with her bondmate, Zoe took him by the hand and they walked
together to the front of the stage. She finally became fully aware
that the noise was from applause. Many in the crowd were shouting
as well. Most of the shouting was happy.

Since when did you take advice from
our media staff?

I finally listened to the people of
the Empire. Took what was said on Santorini to heart. So should
you. We can't hide in the shadows.

You need to--

Look
at me, darling.
Doc lifted
his face to the sun.
I can't
be out here for very long. The daylight drugs are just starting to
work.

So that's what he'd been doing at
the suprahuman medical facility on Mars.

But your Clan doesn't use the
daylight drugs.

Doc gave the faintest of mental, and
physical shrugs. Zoe had a great many more questions, but she took
her cue from the way he was looking at the sky and addressed the
people of the Empire.

"I have my own sunflower to
celebrate the rebirth of the human race in all our many forms. This
protector of the Empire is the best present any of us can ask for.
And all I could ever want. Ladies and gentlemen, my husband and
bondmate, General Matthias Raven!"

More applause.

Any second now, hon. I'm starting to
heat up.

"My parents are very happy I married
a doctor," Zoe added.

They joined hands and left the stage
to laughter and more applause.

As soon as they got safely indoors
Doc took her by the shoulders. "I do not appreciate what you were
about to do."

She winced at his anger. "How do you
know -- because we're bonded, right. But I was doing it because of
the bond. It seems like the only way for you and I--"

"You are too responsible to blame
the bond for anything. Especially trying to get out of
responsibility by abdicating. You and I both know that you love who
you are. I love you as you are." He took her in his arms. "You are
the most responsible person I know. You love the Empire more than
anyone else possibly could. I remember when you almost threw
yourself off a cliff thinking it would be good for the
Empire."

"You wouldn't let me."

He caressed her back. "Damn right.
If you can try to kill yourself for the Empire, the least I can do
is walk in the light. My Clan will adjust," he added. "And the
Empire will adjust, because you and I, Prime and Porphrygia are
together, forever."

Her body relaxed against his as she
sighed deeply. "My hero."

"Always, my heroine." He lifted her
chin so that she looked him in the eye. "I will put this bluntly.
We need to get you some help. Psychological help."

"What?" Anger flashed through her.
She shook his fingers away.

"We spent months locked in an
underground prison. It was bad on everyone there, but on you worst
of all. When we escaped you made sure there were therapists for all
the other prisoners to talk to. At no point did you or I talk to
anyone but each other - and you may have noticed we don't discuss
it that much."

"We were debriefed," Zoe said.
"There's no reason to discuss it. It was bad. Let's move
on."

"Do you think you'd be willing to
give up your right to the throne if you hadn't transferred your
fear of being trapped and a prisoner to the thing you love the
most? After me?"

"You are not a shrink, Doc Raven."
But he did make sense.

"I'm not. And I'm sorry I let you
down by thinking all we needed was each other."

"That's not your fault, Matthias," a
man said as he came up to them. That he'd come through the
invisible security cordon surrounding them meant that Doc had
authorized him to be there.

Doc turned her to face the newcomer.
They kept their arms around each others waists. "This is Dr.
Casmerek. He's been the Primes physician for a very long
time."