He wondered again, as he searched the apartment thoroughly, what had been in the wine. A mind control agent, perhaps? Or maybe something to make her sick without actually killing her—too sick to do her duties as Potentate. It would be extremely convenient for the High Priest if the new ruler of Helios Beta was too ill to get out of bed and needed him to rule in her place.
After making sure the royal apartments were safe, Ty gave the “all clear” and Ellina stepped into her living area as he closed the door on the rest of the guards. They knew to stay exactly where they were and not allow anyone admittance without his say-so first.
Ty liked the team Commander Sylvan had picked—they worked well as a unit and followed directions exactly. He hoped that the Chorkay guards he himself had selected and was currently having trained for Ellina’s personal protection would be as tight and reliable a unit.
“Whew…” The new Potentate threw herself down on one of the long, low couches covered in fine, silky golden fibers with a sigh of relief as the door shut. “That was intense,” she said, looking up at Ty. Her chewchie, Lor, sat up on her shoulder and chattered in agreement.
He nodded. “It certainly was—but I think it was a rousing success. Your speech after drinking from the cup was inspired—your people love you.”
“I hope you’re right. But I wasn’t saying what I did just to make them like me—I really meant it.” Ellina looked up at him earnestly. “You know?”
“I do.” Ty nodded and felt a surge of admiration for her. She might be young and inexperienced but it was clear she had a lot of heart and a love for her people that was lacking in many rulers and politicians in his experience.
She smiled at him, a bit shyly, he thought.
“Thank you for helping me with the Cup of Wisdom. I wasn’t strong enough to manage it on my own.” She winced and rubbed her slender wrists. “That thing is heavy.”
“Solid gold usually is,” Ty remarked and frowned. “The High Priest should have been the one to help you lift it, shouldn’t he?”
She nodded ruefully.
“Unfortunately, yes.” She shrugged. “He doesn’t like me very much, I don’t think. But then, he never paid attention to me until I ascended to the throne. Before that, I was just another one of the noble children. Just another palace brat running around, always underfoot.”
“Well, he owes you his respect now—you’re not a child any longer. You’re his Potentate—the Goddess in the Flesh,” Ty said firmly, still scowling.
“I may be all that, but Lord Kikbax’s skin is almost Sacred Blue and he has many years experience on me,” Ellina remarked with a sigh. “Though of course his hair is green and not Sacred Blue as mine is.”
“So?” Ty demanded “What does the color of his skin and hair have to do with anything?”
“The Sacred Blue skin tone is what makes a Potentate fit to rule—it is what gives her the mandate of Thufar,” Ellina explained. “If Lord Kikbax had been born female instead of male, his skin tone would certainly have put him into the running for the crown.”
She touched the thin golden crown that encircled her temples. Ty knew her styling team had wanted her to wear the heavier, more elaborate one which currently rested on a velvet cushion on her dressing table. But Ellina had complained that it seemed too formal and besides, it pinched her temples and gave her a headache.
“Well, Kikbax is not in the running and he needs to stop acting like he is,” Ty growled. “I don’t like that slimy bastard. He must learn to treat you with more respect.”
“Good luck with that.” Ellina said and shook her head. “To Kikbax I’ll never be anything but a little freak.”
Which made no sense to Ty but before he could ask what she meant by it, she asked him a question of her own.
“What did you mean about the wine in the Cup of Wisdom?” she asked, sitting up straighter on the couch and looking at him. “When I asked if it was poisoned, you said it was safe ‘now.’ What did that mean?”
Ty sighed heavily and frowned. He didn’t want to frighten her, especially knowing that she was already afraid of being poisoned. But she had the right to know the truth.
“It means that I neutralized the substance someone had put in the wine,” he said at last.”
“Neutralized it? How? And what was it?” she demanded, sitting up straighter as all three of her lovely blue eyes widened.
“It wasn’t poison,” Ty hastened to assure her. “I don’t know what it was, but it wouldn’t have killed you—I could tell that much.”
“How?” she demanded. “Do you have some kind of special training that allows you to detect harmful substances? Or is it just a special Kindred trait?”
“You could say that.” Ty gave a humorless laugh. But by the serious look on her face, he could tell she wasn’t going to be put off with half answers. “I was…bred to be able to detect poisons,” he said, trying to think best how to explain it. “It’s not a Kindred trait, normally, but I’m able to tell if something has been tampered with and to neutralize any foreign substance in food or drink.”
“How, though?” Ellina insisted. She was leaning forward, looking up at him with great interest.
“With these.” He opened his mouth, displaying the set of short, blunt fangs where a human’s canine teeth would be.
Ellina frowned, her eyes narrowing. “Are
