Dragon Kin

35

Alicja

"Just so that I understand," I began as I undressed, with Victor laying on the bed, watching with an embarrassing level of interest, "what was the difference between Alexis, the man out there yelling challenges at you, and the man last night?" Then I looked over my shoulder, "You can turn around. Go on." I said, whirling my finger in a circle.

He sighed and tossed his legs over the side of the bed, to sit facing the other way, "Why is it that I can't enjoy you now, after what we have done? Several times?" he returned.

"I asked first," I told him, not sure of the answer, but there was one. Using my arm to cover my breasts, I checked my back but didn't see any folded wings against me. I guessed it was all Mana. Huh. Mana had mass, it wasn't just energy.

"The man last night, Philip was his name, stood up from the table, challenged me after his insult and then reached for his weapon. There was no way I could think of to avoid his attack. Alexis was not threatening me with a weapon nor did he have the ability to reach me. Not through the guards. He wasn't a threat."

"So the man last night was unavoidable. It was him or you." I surmised. "What about the other men at the table?"

"I wasn't king," he said, as if that answered the question.

"And?" I asked, letting him know it didn't answer the question.

"And," he said, looking back to me over his shoulder, "it was a challenge. One to one. They had no reason to stop it, no legal responsibility anyway. They didn't help me or him or get in the way. That was really their only duty."

"But they witnessed."

"They aren't compelled to," he pointed out.

"No?" I asked, looking back at him over my shoulder and shooing him to turn back around.

"The law says they don't have to bear witness even to the council or the judges. But if they do, they are compelled to tell the truth. I'm guessing the five of them have decided to say nothing. Apparently they have talked with the guards they brought as well."

"Can they do that? Keep others from ... bearing witness?" I asked, slipping into a new shirt. This one was blue linen and felt silky. The thread count was so much.

"They aren't supposed to," he said, looking out my window from the bed. "But the way the law is written, there's no punishment if they do. It's not an enforceable law."

I nodded understanding, and turned around, "We have some of those. They are normally taken off the ledgers when they are brought up in court."

"That's an interesting idea," he mused, rubbing his chin.

I jumped up on the bed and climbed over to lay down next to him. "So, what of Ocean?" I said, to him and the fluttering thought that I could feel as it flitted up closer to my awareness. It had made the connection long before. It made it at the dinner table when Uncle Max suggested the arrangement with me — combined with him confessing Victor's father had the madness.

"I'm fairly sure Ocean is the one who killed my father, and I'm also feeling that he may have been brought here to kill my mother."

"Brought here? You mean your father brought him here, not for you, but for her?" I asked. "That's bleak, isn't it?"

He laid down next to me with a grace he shouldn't have. Not with his size. "I made a serious mistake back there," he told me, and kissed my lips.

"What was that? Not too serious, I don't think."