“I’m afraid not.” Ellina sounded regretful. “If I had on my full Court regalia I’d have any number of pins or pics to work with but I took down my hair and changed into my more comfortable evening wear when I decided I wasn’t going back to Court today.”
“Well we have to do something. We can’t just stay down here and wait for Kikbax to come back. We need to get out and be ready to take him down when he does,” Ty said fiercely.
“And then what?” Ellina’s voice was dull. “You’ll defeat him, stop the coup, return me to my rightful throne and then leave me, just like you planned in the first place?”
“No!” The exclamation was drawn from his lips in a fierce whisper which echoed in the darkness. “No, I never want to leave you again,” he told her.
Ellina’s grasp tightened on his hand.
“You mean that? Is this because you know that the Sacred Blue breeds true? Because you know we can be together now?”
“It’s more than that,” Ty admitted. “It has to do with my past…”
Taking a deep breath, he told her all about himself. How he had been genetically altered before birth, formed and trained to be the perfect Body Slave.
“I was conditioned for years—up until the age of nineteen cycles—to worship and protect the Mistress who would eventually buy me,” he told Ellina. “After the Kindred rescued me, the conditioning was broken. But in the back of my mind, I’ve always had the fear that I might revert to that—to being a mindless slave who only wants to be used for his Mistress’s pleasure in any capacity she chooses.”
He heard Ellina draw a shocked breath.
“No wonder you didn’t want to stay with me,” she whispered. “No wonder you felt like it was impossible for us to be together.”
“I wasn’t sure if my love for you was true…or something that had been conditioned into me back when I was being held at the Slave Station,” he admitted. “I hated myself—I felt like a freak for the way I was manipulated and raised. I guess…” He cleared his throat. “I guess that’s why I identified with you so strongly when we began to get close—because you seemed to feel the same way about yourself.”
“I did,” Ellina whispered. “Until you made me feel beautiful.”
“You are beautiful,” he said fiercely. “The most beautiful woman I’ve ever met and I love you.”
“Do you mean that?” She sounded doubtful. “Do you truly love me or is it just a product of your early conditioning?”
“I truly do,” Ty said firmly. “As for my conditioning, it might enhance my love for you, but it couldn’t create it in the first place.” He leaned forward, clasping her hand more tightly. “Don’t you see, Ellina? Now I know. Now I understand why I was built to be the perfect Body Slave—the perfect consort. It was because the Goddess knew you would need me.”
“The Kindred Goddess?” She sounded doubtful.
“Yes.” Ty nodded, though he knew she couldn’t see the gesture in the darkness. “She came to me briefly while I lay here in this cell, hating myself, and told me that. She told me that I was made the way I was with her blessing—all so I could one day serve and protect you. And love you, little one,” he added. “Which I do—so damn much.”
“Really?” Her voice trembled with hope and emotion. “You really love me, Ty? You want to stay with me and be my consort?”
“That’s all I want,” he swore softly. “The minute this is over, I’m going to call my commanding officer and give my resignation to the Elite Espionage Corps. I’ll stay by your side the rest of my life—if you’ll have me.”
“Oh, Ty, yes---yes, of course I’ll have you.” She leaned through the bars as far as she could and Ty’s heart swelled as he longed to take her in his arms. “I love you,” she whispered in a soft voice filled with emotion. “Gods and goddesses, Ty—I love you forever.”
“Well, well—isn’t this a touching scene?”
The sneering familiar voice shattered the mood like glass and the torchlight which had just returned showed the faces of Lord Kikbax and Captain Fundreg.
“Apparently there’s some trouble going on up above,” the High Priest said, his eyes flickering greedily over Ellina in a way Ty didn’t like one damn bit. “So I came back a bit early. I’m afraid we’ll have to speed things up considerably.”
Chapter Forty-seven
Ellina drew back as the door to her cell opened. She stood on wobbly legs and backed away as Kikbax came towards her.
“What do you want?” she demanded shakily. “Stay away from me! The dust you blew on me hasn’t taken effect yet. I thought you wanted to wait for that.”
“I would have liked to wait—the lust dust does ensure conception,” Kikbax remarked. “But since, as I said, we are having some problems above and might be found at any moment, I must be certain you are tied to me now—so that you can’t pick another consort later.”
“But, Your Holiness, you swore that once the dust took effect she’d be begging for it,” Fundreg protested. He was still standing outside Ellina’s cell with the torch raised and an uncertain look on his face. “You didn’t say anything about taking her against her will. She’s the Potentate.”
“Yes, and soon she’ll be my Potentate—to do with as I wish.” Kikbax’s eyes gleamed greedily in the torchlight, making Ellina feel sick. “Just stay where you are and hold the torch so I can see what I’m doing,” he told Fundreg.
“Stay away from her, Kikbax.” Ty’s voice from the other side of the bars was a low
