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.Vazar still wanted to throttle him.A fourteen-year-old boy appeared behind Coop.He resembled his father, with the same blue eyes and slightly darker gold hair, but his face had traces of the Majda bone structure, giving him stronger features.Ryder was also taller than his father, and growing fast, with broader shoulders and a more muscular physique.“I wouldn’t let him go without me,” Ryder said.His voice had changed since the last time I saw him.It was deeper now than his father’s voice.Vazar gripped the edge of the hatchway.“I could have lost you both.” Her words were all the more compelling for being so quiet.“Both.After we lost—” She drew in a ragged breath and said no more.The name she left unspoken almost seemed to hang in the air.Althor.“That’s why we came.” Coop drifted closer to her.She started to lean toward him, then pulled back.He touched her shoulder, and she put out a hand to steady him so he didn’t float away.“Whatever happens,” he said, “we want to be with you.Security on the Orbiter wouldn’t let us leave.So we, uh—avoided them.”She glowered.“You stole a ship and made an illegal launch? It’s bad enough you do that yourself, Coop.But Ryder too?”“He said I couldn’t come.” Ryder moved out of the chamber.“I told him that if he didn’t let me, I would steal another ship and follow.”“What if you had been hurt?” Vazar growled at her son.“I ought to ground you—for the rest of your life.”I cleared my throat.“Perhaps we should take our guests to more comfortable quarters.”Vazar glanced around with a start, as if just remembering their sentimental reunion was taking place in public.It disconcerted me to see her so unsettled.I had watched her face Trader commandos without a flinch, but seeing her family undefended shook her in a way she never showed in battle.So we headed back, with Coop and Ryder.Vazar now had an even worse conflict; if our fleet ended up in combat, her husband and son could die.Coop and Ryder entered Vazar’s quarters as if they were visiting a stranger.Given the way Vazar was seething, it didn’t surprise me.She motioned curtly at the aide who had brought their belongings from the ship, and he sent a robot carrier to unload their bags.As it trundled off, Vazar crossed her arms and glared at Coop.“I’ll help the robot unload my bags,” Ryder said, his glance darting between his parents.Then he made a fast retreat, headed for the safety of his guest room.Coop stood self-consciously in the center of the living room, watching Vazar with those large blue eyes that could melt steel.He resembled a concubine more than a husband.And indeed, when Althor had first set up Coop in an apartment and given him an art studio, everyone assumed Coop was little more than a male courtesan.That he turned out to be a remarkably gifted artist had caused surprise; few people had actually believed Althor had any interest in becoming a patron of the arts.Coop obviously wished to please his patron, though, and did whatever Althor wanted, like turning his hair from gold to red and then back to gold again on Althor’s whim.He spent his days working on his holo sculptures and his nights doing who-knew-what with Althor and Vazar, and no one of the noble Houses said a word, just smiled with glee at the beautiful if rather kinky toy Althor and Vazar had acquired.Then Althor and Vazar married him.The irony never stopped amazing me, that the Houses accepted with salacious delight the idea that the Imperial Heir and a Majda Primary would share a male concubine, but exploded with outrage when Althor did the honorable thing and offered a legal contract that gave Coop the full rights of a spouse.I understood why Vazar and Althor loved Coop.Not only was he a strong empath, but his mind also shone like an idyllic harbor filled with light.He gave off a golden aura.A prickle went up my spine.Puzzled, I glanced around and saw Ragnar by the wall.He was watching Vazar and Coop with unabashed fascination.I recognized that look, the hunter studying his prey.Damn.Given Ragnar’s hunger for power, it made too much sense.Amazing how his distaste for unconventional marriages could evaporate if it involved gain for him.Not only was Vazar a high-ranking member of the House of Majda, she had a similarly high status within ISC.Add to that her connections to the Ruby Dynasty, and she wielded great power.And here she was, a blazingly sensual widow desired by many men, with a bereaved husband who loved her more as a sister than a wife, leaving a gaping hole in their marriage.Enter Ragnar.Vazar stalked over to Coop, her arms crossed, her hair disheveled about her face.“I ought to take you over my knee and thrash you [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]