Ghost in Her Heart (7 page)

The boys looked at each other. Devin spoke.
“You need an escort, lady. You are far too valuable to try to
protect yourself. We can do it, it you’ll have us.”

The humor made her eyes water. They were good
kids, but did they really think she had more value than a brood
mare? “That’s really kind of you―”

Sensing a rejection, Devin demonstrated a few
quick moves. “You see, lady? We are the best of our class. We can
protect you well.”

The boy was very good. Fast and accurate. And
so gravely earnest she just wanted to hug him. “Um, yeah. I can see
that.”

In a hurry not to be shown up, Keg backed up
to give himself room and executed some quick moves. He was graceful
for one so young. Even Vana wondered if she could take him in a
fair fight. But when the twins got into the act and started showing
off, she hurried to distract them. At this rate they’d be staging a
full-blown tournament, and her bladder wouldn’t take much more
waiting. “Wow! That’s great. Super, even. I tell you what. You guys
point me in the direction of the bathroom, and I’ll think about
it.”

They lit up like she’d promised to introduce
them to Santa Claus. All four of them—and one highly amused
guard—escorted her to the restrooms and waited outside.

“Are you hurt badly? You could go to the
medic,” Keg said gravely as she limped out.

The memory of her encounter with that man
made her eyes narrow. “I don’t think so.”

“Are you afraid?” One of the twins, Gamin,
asked.

It never occurred to Vana to censor her
words. It was her habit to be as frank with kids as she was with
adults, barring certain material. “I don’t like him. He made it so
I can only have daughters, and I wanted to have a boy, too.”

They blinked at her with identical looks of
disbelief.

“Why would you want that?” Keg finally
asked.

“Because I like the idea of snails and puppy
dog tails,” she said a trifle crossly. “Varity is the spice of
life, and all that.” She sighed at their odd looks. “Boys are just
as important as girls. I like them. I’d like one of my own. Now,
thanks to Dagon and that jerk medic of his, I can’t have one.”
Angry, she turned and stalked toward the exit.

The light slap of feet behind her warned her
before Devin jumped in her way. “Lady,” he said hopefully. “You can
have us.”

She frowned, not understanding.

“Our mothers do not want us. Our father died
in battle. You don’t have to claim us,” he added with a flush of
shyness, “but we can serve you, if you like.”

The others lined up next to him. “Yes! You
need guards and pages,” Keg said solemnly. The twins nodded so
fast, she feared their heads would fall off.

She didn’t know what to say. No one had ever
offered themselves to her before. She didn’t even know if what they
were doing was legal. Unsure, she glanced at her guard. “Are single
women allowed to do such a thing?”

He looked at her as if she’d grown two heads.
“Who would stop them?”

Well. Bemused, she stared at the boys. They
stared back. Gamin bounced, while Keg seemed to be holding his
breath. How could she tell them no?

Chapter 3

Dagon stared at his little brothers, and the
guard that bore witness to their words. It wasn’t sinking in. “She
did what?”

“She said she would be honored to serve as
our mother,” Keg said with barely suppressed excitement.

“Lads,” Dagon said slowly, “your mother is
still alive.”

“But she said that Lady Vana could have any
of her sons that she liked,” Keg said solemnly. “I was nearby when
she said it.”

Grieved, Dagon rubbed his jaw and looked
away. He’d known for a long time how Ellyn felt, but to hear her
say the words….

But his brothers were excited, and they
needed his answer now. Not that his opinion mattered. Vana had
accepted them. It only lacked the ceremony to make it official. “If
that’s what you want, lads.”

Keg whooped. “Now we’ll have a mother. Come
on, brothers! We need to plan who will be our new father. Then
we’ll get sisters…” their voices trailed off as they headed for
their apartments.

Alarmed, Dagon listened to them plot. Did
Vana know what she’d brought on herself? He sent for her
immediately.

***

Vana wondered if she were still sane. That’s
what she got for thinking with her emotions. How was she supposed
to run away after adopting a full brood of alien children? Assuming
she could even get home. What would customs think?

It was hardly a surprise when a guard came to
escort her to Dagon. Someone had been bound to object to the
impromptu adoption. He probably had a zillion forms for her to fill
out, or a lengthy discourse on why it wasn’t possible. Secretly,
she was a little relieved. Someone like her had no business taking
responsibility for four children. She was a captive. Soon to be
married off to heaven-knew-who. She’d been crazy to ever say yes.
Having talked herself into letting the adoption idea go, she was
surprised when Dagon met her at his door without a lecture.

“Are you sure you can handle this?” He looked
tense, but not angry or stern. And he was wearing a jacket that
made her avert her eyes in mortification. Or rather, it was the
lack of a shirt under it, and the resulting view of his hard body
that made it so risqué. Couldn’t the man ever wear something that
covered him?

Expecting him to talk her out of it, she
eased into the room, but remained standing. “Are you going to tell
me that I can’t?” It would certainly ease her conscience. Once
given, she couldn’t go back on her word. Not unless a higher power
vetoed it.

Blue eyes studied her with frank appraisal
that was in no way sexual. “I hadn’t thought you were the type to
take on such a responsibility.”

For some reason that made her blush. “I guess
you don’t know everything about me.”

He frowned and waved her to his pile of
cushions. “You do know that the boys who’ve petitioned you are my
brothers, don’t you?”

In the process of sitting, she lost her
balance and went down with a soft whump! “Your brothers?” What kind
of wacky place was this? And why would the boys want her when they
had him? A shocking thought occurred to her. She looked at Dagon in
alarm. “This won’t make us mother and son, will it?”

He looked slightly ill. “No! I am of age. It
is only for the boys.”

“Thank God.” That could be really icky. She
didn’t care to examine why it was important. Besides, a chorus of
‘whys’ sang in her brain. “But if they have you, then they don’t
need another guardian. Why would I matter to them?”

“It’s for the prestige. An acting mother is a
rare thing. Should you match up with a powerful warrior, it will
make them more important in their peer’s eyes, as will the birth of
sisters, for their friends will grow up to vie for the girl’s
hands. The better the girl’s matches, the more connections and
power they will grow to have. Even now, they discuss who is the
best warrior they know in hopes of introducing you to him. I’ve no
doubt they followed you to the practice room and stood outside your
door, waiting to waylay you.”

Nonplussed, she considered that. She was
about to adopt budding politicians. “Did they learn these bad
habits from you?”

His answer was a sly smile.

She sighed. Compassion had prompted her to
extend her word to the boys. Honor wouldn’t let her take it back.
It was disappointing to hear that they hadn’t been prompted by a
real need for her, but surely her instincts hadn’t been that far
off. Maybe deep inside, they really did want a mother. The passage
of years hadn’t stilled the fierce yearning that she still felt for
hers. Though they might not admit it, the boys might feel the
same.

It made her edgy that Dagon was their
guardian, and that she was about to become the other half. It was
too much like…best not to go there. Determined to go into things
with her eyes wide open, she asked, “Who is their mother? Does she
really not care what happens to them? I don’t want to step on
anyone’s toes.”

All expression left him. “You won’t. Ellyn
herself said you might have any of her sons.”

Shock made her eyes widen. Vana didn’t know
what to say. If Ellyn was his mother, too…ouch. Now the kid’s
search for a new mother made more sense. The woman’s callousness
toward her sons made Vana want to slap her. “Does she have any more
sons? She spoke of fifteen.”

He raised a brow. “Four are not enough for
you?”

“I’m just curious.” That came out a trifle
defensive. She hadn’t even adopted the first batch yet, and already
she wanted to mother the rest. Why couldn’t she listen to her
selfish instincts when it really mattered?

Dagon sighed. “Some of them died in battle.
One did not survive childhood.”

Pain upon pain. They were definitely not the
Brady Bunch. “I’m sorry. Does anything good ever happen in your
family?”

“Possibly you, though I’m reserving judgment
just now,” he said with the hint of a smile.

The soft light in his eyes made her uneasy.
She cleared her throat. “That still leaves a few, doesn’t it? Where
are they?”

“The others are with their fathers. Ellyn was
not always faithful.”

Gape mouthed, she blinked at him. His
revelation was at odds with the reserved, elegant picture she’d
formed of Ellyn. “But…what did your father do about that?”

“What could he do? She was a woman,” he said
harshly. Apparently that said it all.

“Why do you act so offended? I saw some of
your television programs while I was on Earth. Your women do worse
things. As far as I can tell, they have no morals at all.”

She sputtered. “You can’t judge us all by
what you saw on TV! Everybody knows that it’s filled with garbage.
Besides, look at me. You took me because I was….” She clamped her
mouth shut. Had she really almost brought up her virginity with the
man?

Eager to change the subject, she said, “But
that’s not right! Ellyn, I mean. You make it sound as if a woman
could get away with murder. Isn’t there any penalty for these
things? I know that women are important to you, but still….”

A shrewd gleam appeared in his eyes.
“Perhaps, as a woman, you could be impartial in these matters. Do
you truly believe that a woman would be better tried by a jury of
peers?”

Like she had to think hard to answer that
one! “Well, yeah. You guys don’t seem to be doing so hot at
it.”

The gleam turned into a satisfied, piratical
smile. “I’ll remember you said that. In the meantime, you have a
ceremony to prepare for. We’ll hold it at the end of the week. If
you change your mind before then, let me know. I won’t announce it
until the last minute to save you face if you back out.”

The way he said it made her burn. As if she
weren’t trustworthy enough to stick to her guns. “What do I have to
do?”

“We’ll go over it later. In the meantime,
spend time with the boys. Make sure you can handle them. We’ll talk
again later.” He waved her out as if she held no more interest for
him than a gnat.

Burning with a surprising amount of
resentment over his attitude, she let herself out. The man had a
way of pushing her buttons. With any luck, he’d get stuck with a
woman who would know how to push back.

***

“You should have her tested.”

Dagon looked at Ser over his breakfast table.
They’d been friends for many years, yet Ser still managed to
surprise him with comments straight from the blue. “Who?”

“The girl. Vana. I see the way she looks at
you when we’re in the harem. How quickly she turns away if you look
at her. She likes you. I think she’s worth testing.”

As a trusted advisor, Ser’s opinion held
weight. Dagon toyed with a stick of spiced bread as he considered
his words. There were many reasons he hadn’t let himself
romanticize about his future wife. The council was still reviewing
the secret recordings of the women, observing them when they were
unaware. It was important to know what they were like when they
thought no one was watching. Just as Dagon had been elected for the
right to be Tzar, so would his consort have to pass the council’s
scrutiny. “You think she would make a good queen?”

“It’s possible,” Ser said firmly. He wouldn’t
have spoken if he weren’t convinced of it. It was his way.

Encouraged by Ser’s words, Dagon allowed
himself a small smile. Vana was a choice he could bear. Of course,
he didn’t have to choose whomever the council selected. He could go
without. That option was hardly palatable.

And Vana was…acceptable. He ignored his
quickened pulse. True, her soft heart would have to be governed,
but he could easily do that. It was preferable to the
alternative.

Perhaps she was too contentious for her own
good, but at least she had spirit. She was athletic, intelligent
and good with children. Her body….

He glanced casually at Ser. “Very well. Since
you suggested it. We’ll test her.”

***

The ceremonial robes they’d insisted she wear
kept tripping her. Tired of stumbling over the layered silk hem,
she plopped herself in a chair and fingered the gold embroidery.
The high-collared robe was stiff, blue, and weighed on her
shoulders, reminding her that what she was doing was no light
thing. In contrast, the pale blue sheath under it was nearly
weightless, making her feel as if she were about to strut around in
public in her pajamas. At least the robe had gold closures, though
they were chunky and designed to show the sheath beneath.

They had moved her to a room much closer to
Dagon’s. Down the hall, in fact. The reason given was that it would
allow the boys easier access to their new “mother”. She didn’t know
if she bought that, but she did like the privacy.