Delivered by the Defender (Kindred Tales)

The Major Domo looked at Selena, who was standing silently to one side, her eyes wide and uncertain, and then back to Valen. He took a deep breath and shook his head.

“No—absolutely not,” he said firmly.

Valen clenched his jaw.

“Major Domo, if you would only reconsider,” he began.

“No—I am afraid I cannot.” The Major Domo raised one hand to cut him off. “You have argued most eloquently, Councilor, and I’m certain that if I were a Magistrate of the High Court, you would have swayed me. But I am not in charge of a courtroom—I am in charge of the palace. I must make certain, above all things, that proper decorum is kept in these hallowed halls and so I cannot grant Independent status to a Dependent Female. However,” he continued, holding up one finger. “Since Ms. Bates is a guest of both the Kindred Ambassador and his Majesty, the Emperor, I will not expel her from the palace grounds. She may remain for the gala, thought it would be much better if she had a male to act as her Master.”

He gave Valen a pointed look, which Valen returned with a blank one. He was not prepared to act as the little Elite’s Master again. Pretending he was her Master at the spaceport was one thing—claiming such a role in the palace was something else entirely.

At that moment, the scrolled, white door to the Major Domo’s office opened a crack and one of the under-servants poked his head in.

“Excuse me, Major Domo, there’s an urgent message for you,” he murmured discretely. “It’s about the matter of Empress the Third’s fourth maid? The one she sent to the dungeons to be whipped for pulling her hair while she brushed it?”

“Ah yes—I must tend to this. Excuse me for just a moment,” the Major Domo said, nodding at them.

He stepped out of the room, but no sooner was he gone, than Selena turned to Valen with a pleading look in her big, brown eyes.

“Valen,” she began in that soft, musical voice he found entirely too appealing. “Please, you’ve already done so much for me, but do you think you could pretend to be my ‘Master’? Just a little while longer?”

“No.” Valen shook his head. “I’m sorry, but no, I can’t, little one.”

Her face fell.

“But why not? Is it because of your court duties? You think being my Master would interfere with your case?”

“To be honest, I doubt that would be a problem,” Valen said bluntly. “It’s just that there’s much more to being a female’s Master here at the palace than there is at the spaceport.”

She shook her head.

“I don’t understand.”

“I know you don’t,” Valen said grimly. “Let me just say this: back in the spaceport, I could pretend to be your Master well enough because there was no one to challenge that claim and we didn’t have to do anything to prove it. Here at the palace, no pretense is allowed—only complete Mastery is acceptable.”

He still didn’t think she understood, though he was being as plain as he could, and her next words confirmed it.

“Look, maybe we can make a deal,” she said quickly. “You said that you need blood and I need someone to act as my Master. The gala is two days from now. What about if I let you, uh, bite me once a night and…and drink from me? Would that be a fair exchange for your time and trouble?”

The thought of sinking his fangs into the tender flesh of her throat and tasting that golden blood of hers once more was almost more than Valen could bear. The very idea made his shaft hard and woke the Blood Hunger inside him so strongly he could hardly stand it.

Which was exactly why he knew he had to say no.

Remember Ka’leesa, he told himself fiercely. Remember your vow!

“No,” he said again. “I’m sorry, little one, but I’m simply not prepared to act as your Master here at the palace.”

“Oh, all right.” Her face fell. “I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have asked. You’ve already been so kind.”

“I only acted as any Kindred warrior would,” Valen said, though he couldn’t help a surge of guilt at her crestfallen face. Still, what was he to do? She had no idea what Mastery meant here at the palace and he wasn’t about to be the one to show her. She’d probably be better off on her own—well, as long as the Major Domo assigned her a guard to keep any unwanted males off.

The thought of that—of her being accosted by another male—made him clench his jaw. She was too damn tempting for her own good, with her large, luscious breasts and stiff pink nipples on display… But he reminded himself again that she ought to be safe as long as she had a guard. And she might say she was willing to let him bite her, but he knew what would happen the moment he went to sink his fangs in her tender flesh.