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  “You’re kind to offer my slave sanctuary in your palace, your Majesty, but her place is with me,” Terex said firmly. “The deep pink pigmentation of her nipples is normal for one of her kind. Note her tan skin color—it’s a natural continuation of that tone.”

  “Ah, yes…I see.” Krumf looked disappointed and maybe a little angry, Terex thought. “Well, in that case, as you have already claimed her…”

  “I have.” Terex frowned at him and wrapped one arm possessively around Elaina’s waist, drawing her close to him. “Elaina is mine and no hand but mine may touch her.”

  “That’s a very strong statement to make to your Supreme Leader, Valdor,” Krumf growled.

  “Please, your Supreme Excellency,” Elaina said, surprising him. “Forgive me for talking out of turn in your presence, but my Master Valdor is only trying to keep me healthy. You see, once a woman…er, female of my kind has been claimed by a male, he is the only one who can touch her. If anyone else tries, she sickens and dies in a matter of just a few weeks. We call it the separation sickness.”

  “Is that true?” Krumf demanded, frowning at Terex, who was looking at Elaina in surprise.

  Quick thinking! She’s smart as well as beautiful.

  “Yes, your Majesty,” he said, dragging his eyes away from her and looking back to the disgruntled Krumf. “Elaina’s people form a chemical life-bond with the male who claims them. It makes them physically unable to be with any other male without dying.”

  It was a difficult lie to disprove—he hoped. At any rate, it seemed that Krumf was beginning to buy it.

  “It’s a very dangerous situation to be in and my Master didn’t want to risk my life by taking me outside his spaceship,” Elaina went on, fluttering her long eyelashes at the dictator. “But, well…I had heard so much about your Supreme Excellency’s power and influence and…and uh, good looks, that I longed to see you with my own eyes. So I begged him to bring me.”

  “You did, did you?” Krumf was beginning to look mollified—maybe even pleased with her lavish flattery. He puffed up like a old toad and beamed at her. “And is what you see before you the way you imagined it?”

  Elaina made her eyes wide and wondering.

  “Your palace is so much more opulent and luxurious than anything I could ever have imagined, your Supreme Excellency,” she murmured in an awed voice. “And your, er, personal self—I mean you—are much more, um, manly than I ever could have anticipated. In fact…” She pressed her face to Terex’s side, like a shy little girl. “It makes me feel quite overwhelmed, just to be in your presence.”

  “Well…” Krumf sat up straighter on his throne and preened a little. “Then I suppose we must give you a little time to process the experience.” He looked at Terex. “I hereby extend an invitation for you to stay in the palace for the next two days, friend of my ancestor.”

  “Thank you, your Majesty.” Terex bowed his head briefly. “I accept your invitation.”

  “Very well. And Ambassador Waygu—you and your lovely slave must stay too, since you were kind enough to bring Master Valdor to us in the first place,” Krumf added.

  “I thank you, your Supreme Exaltedness—it is always an honor to stay in your presence.”

  The rotund Ambassador bowed low and Jessa pressed herself into the carpet and trembled with either fear or ecstasy at the invitation—Terex couldn’t tell which and he didn’t care. He just wanted to get Elaina out of here, away from the prying eyes of the old bastard on the golden throne. He didn’t trust Krumf and his motives one damn bit and the less time Elaina spent in his presence, the better.

  “Very well then.” Krumf clapped his hands at the guards, who came forward at once. “Take Master Valdor and his lovely slave to the very best guest room the palace has to offer. They’ll need time to refresh themselves and change before the banquet tonight.”

  “Thank you. You’re too kind, your Supreme Exaltedness.” The Ambassador bowed low again and Terex bowed his head.

  “You’re welcome. And Master Valdor?” The dictator gave him a sharp look as they were about to follow the guards out of the throne room. “I’ll be watching you. You and your lovely slave both.”

  “Yes, your Majesty,” Terex said stonily and then they turned and filed out. But every step of the way he was very aware of the other male’s gaze on his back. We’re going to have to be careful of Krumf—very fucking careful indeed, he thought to himself. The smartest thing would be to take Elaina and go now, before things get any more complicated.

  But they couldn’t go. He felt in his gut that the palace was where they needed to be—that this was where he would find information pertaining to the prophesy the priestess Nirobe had given them.

  They were stuck here—they would just have to be very damn careful and try to stay away from Krumf. But remembering the way the dictator’s greedy little eyes in their pouchy bags of flesh had stared at Elaina, Terex wondered if that would be possible.

  Chapter Twelve

  “This is fucking ridiculous! He’s doing this on purpose! He just wants to see more of your body, the lecherous old bastard!”

  Terex’s voice was a low, angry growl as he held up the clothing and…other things the attendant had brought to the door of their suite for her to wear that night. It had come directly from his Supreme Excellency with a note which directed her in no uncertain terms to wear the outfit he was providing to tonight’s banquet. The instructions had definitely not been a request—which was possibly one reason Terex was so angry.

  Elaina didn’t know when she had seen the big Kindred more upset and she couldn’t stop thinking of how possessive and angry he’d gotten when he was claiming her in front of the Supreme Leader. It was almost as though he really cared for her. But no—he had to be acting, just like she had been, right?

  “He probably does want to see more,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm and level. “But only because I’m ‘exotic’ here on this planet." She lowered her voice, in case they were being listened to. "Too bad I don’t know the trick of changing my hair and eyes and skin the way you seem to be able to do so I could blend in," she murmured.

  “It was an ability given to me through surgery to replace parts I lost in combat—I don’t recommend it,” Terex said shortly, also in a lower voice.

  Elaina shrugged. “Well, it seems pretty useful to me. But since I don’t have it and we’re in the palace of his Supreme Exaltedness, I don’t think I have a choice about wearing what he sent me to dinner.”

  “But look at this!” Terex held up an extremely skimpy looking garment with long silky fringes dangling from it. To be honest, Elaina wasn’t even sure what it was—a top or a bottom or something else entirely. But she could tell it wouldn’t cover a hell of a lot.

  “Give me that,” she said, snatching it from his hand as a blush rose to her cheeks. “I have to put it on.”

  “You can’t wait to wear it, can you?” Terex demanded, glaring at her. “Can’t wait to show yourself off for that…that—”

  “Wait a minute!” Elaina held up her hand for silence, glaring at him. “You think I want to wear this? That I want to go around half naked in embarrassing costumes?”

  “The way you were acting in the throne room—”

  “I was doing what I had to do in order to save my sister!” She didn’t even try to keep the anger out of her voice, though she did keep her tone low. “I don’t want to wear this!” She shook the tiny fringed garment in front of his face. “Any more than I wanted to do the hoochie-choochie dance in front of his Supreme Horniness back there. But I had no choice! Neither of us do.”

  “You’re right.” Some of the anger in Terex’s eyes died away and he ran a hand over his hair and sighed. “Forgive me. I don’t know…what came over me. It’s just…when he was looking at you like that I felt…felt so…”

  He shook his head, apparently unable to finish.

  Elaina stared at him, uncertainly.

  “So…that wasn’t an act?”