Visions of Heat (Psy-Changeling 2)

"I've seen him twice a year since his birth, per the clause I inserted into the reproduction contract. He has your bone structure, but of course, it is Marine whom he favors most."

Faith wanted to believe it was nothing more than a clever ploy to win her heart and make her malleable to his requests, but somehow knew it wasn't. "Why?" Why go against Psy Protocol, against everything he'd ever taught her?

"Loyalty is not guaranteed by birth. You were such a perfect Psy."

And he'd believed she might see his choices as flaws.

Without giving her a chance to answer, he stood. "Never forget that half your genetic material came from me. Perhaps even the part that gave you your conscience."

Picking up the organizer on the table, he turned to business again. "I'll await your decision - try not to take too long. If you're not going to accept, the clan needs to take other measures to forestall further loss, and you need to find another way to keep yourself safe from the Council in the long term."

Faith watched him walk to the door. "Wait!" Getting up, she made her way to him and then, for the first time in her adult life, she touched her father, hugging him quickly. He didn't return the gesture, but neither did he push her away. When she let him go, she searched his face and found the same blank slate she'd always seen. "Don't you want to break free?"

It seemed as if he wouldn't answer, but then he said, "If all the strong ones leave, then the Council will be completely without limits. I am precisely where I need to be."

"To do what?" Vaughn asked from behind her.

Anthony looked over her head to the jaguar who was her life. "That, Mr. D'Angelo, is not something you've earned the right to know." He left without another word, escorted out by Clay, who'd been standing watch outside the door.

"Your father is a very interesting man."

Faith turned. "Why do you say that?"

"Psy are hard to judge, but what I can say is that your father doesn't give off the stink most Psy do."

"Me?"

"You smell like my kind of sugar, Red." He grinned at her blush. "I want to lick you up from head to toe."

"We were talking about my father." She scowled, but there was lightning in her bloodstream.

"Your father doesn't stink. You and Sascha don't either." He scowled. "Come to think of it, neither does that damn Psy."

She didn't have to ask him to clarify. There was only one Psy who seemed to make him react so badly. "And?"

Scowl fading, he ran his fingers down her spine. "I have very little evidence to back it up, but I think the bad scent is a marker of complete immersion in Silence. Those who have some conscience left, some spark, some ability to break conditioning, don't smell."

She thought that over and whispered a single, shocking word, "Rebellion?"

"From within? It wouldn't surprise me - your Council's created the perfect environment for it. History paints them as a strong body, but one that had checks and balances. These days they're crossing line after line. Maybe they've crossed too far for some of their own."

"It'll take a long time even if it is happening." Though the commercial world had stayed its hand in regard to Faith, the Council wasn't something to be taken down without taking down Silence. And as Vaughn had pointed out, there were thousands, millions, who were completely conditioned and would die that way.

"It's a start."

She nodded, feeling hope for her people, her race. "Maybe that was why Marine died. Because she was somehow part of a rebellion and they found out." If that was true, then her sister's death hadn't been senseless. Her life had been lost in a battle no one knew was taking place. And she would honor that.

"I want to do the forecasts. As well as generating income for DarkRiver, it'll let me use skills I've spent a lifetime developing. More importantly, it'll allow me to keep in touch with Father." She looked to see how he was taking the news.

"I'm not going to stop you, Red. You're out of the Net. That's what matters."

"Maybe I can help change things from the outside as Father works on the inside." She believed in Anthony, this father she'd never known. Now she had the time and the opportunity. Without monitors, he might begin to trust her and they could speak about many things, perhaps even whispers of rebellion.

Two weeks later, Faith was glad to be alive and with Vaughn. Glad? That didn't begin to describe her utter and complete joy, her feeling of belonging, her delight in being with him. But... "I don't know how to be in this world," she whispered in the sultry darkness of their bed.

He turned to lie on his side, one arm under his head, the other stroking her hip almost absently. "I know, Red." He dropped a kiss on her nose, the gesture bringing a smile to her face. Only with her was he so tender. "I know what it's like to not quite fit. But you're strong. You'll find a way."

She hadn't expected him to say that, to lay the responsibility for her happiness in her own hands. "I've developed the ability to venture out sometimes, but I don't think I can ever live in a populated area."

"Baby, do I look like a city slicker to you?"

Her laugh was startled out of her. "Right. So that isn't going to be a problem?"

"No." The hand on her hip curved over her buttock and slid back.

Her heart kicked against her ribs. "But I want to be able to go into the city for longer periods if necessary. I want to have those shields. I'm working with Sascha and Tamsyn on them." The DarkRiver healer was psychic in a way that neither Psy had ever encountered. She understood the concepts of the Psy, but was not Psy, was utterly changeling, her ability to heal coming from the heart and soul.