The feminine whine droned in her ears. “Please?”

“No.”

The tone grew grating. “Please.”

“No.”

Sill fell to her knees at Teddy’s feet. “Please!”

Sill had been nagging her for three hours and Teddy was wearing down. “Fine. Yes. I will go to dinner at Stavin’s with you to meet the Grand Champion.”

Sillohoran clapped her hands and got to her feet. “Excellent, I will pick out your clothes and you can grab a shower—you have been in that chair for far too long. You stink.”

“Flatterer.” Sighing, Theadora pushed away from the desk to make a face at her friend. As a data researcher, it was nice for her to have her best friend as her agent, but it had the effect of Teddy not being able to claim work-related business without Sill knowing the truth.

The shower took less than five minutes, but when she got out of the shower, it looked like her friend had strewn her entire wardrobe around her bedroom.

“What’s all this?”

Sillohoran sighed and looked at the options. “It’s no good. You will have to borrow something of mine.”

“No, I won’t. I will wear this dress with this jewellery.” Her dress was modestly cut but very flattering, slit to mid-thigh on either side. The jewellery was Arkhage in design, spiralling geometrics in an earring and necklace combination that always warmed her when she wore it. It gave her a quiet confidence.

“Really? That stuff is so boring!”

“I like it. It’s comfortable and I won’t be worried about it shifting to one side and flashing skin.”

“Your race is such prudes.”

“Not my race. Just me. Some of the others are party girls. And boys for that matter.”

“Well, you are one of a kind then. Come on. I want to arrive in time to have drinks before dinner.”

Bounding out of her room, her friend gave her a jaunty wave and tapped her watch as she rounded the corner. Teddy grimaced and put on some nice underwear, the gown and a nice pair of strappy sandals. She brushed her hair over and over until it crackled. Reaching back, she bound it into a long tail and then took the collar-necklace and draped it into place. The heavy weight on her chest made her breathe more deeply, calmly and she felt control rippling through her. The earrings merely completed her look. She could have been quite complete with only the necklace.

Makeup was not her thing, so she merely put on some lip balm to protect her from the spices in Mer-th cooking. She could digest them well enough, but they inflamed her lips to the point of pain. The balm went into her small evening bag with her credit slips and some data sticks so that if the evening went badly, she could slip off to Stavin’s study and get some work done.

“Are you ready yet?” Sill’s voice snaked around the corner.

“Yes. I am ready, but you won’t approve.” Taking a deep breath that flexed the front vee of her gown, she strode out into the living room to face her jury.

“It isn’t as bad as I had anticipated. It looks like Theadora, not Teddy though.” She cocked her head and circled Thea slowly. “Not bad at all.”

“Thanks. Then let’s go before you forget about having drinks before dinner.” Grabbing a wrap from the closet, she waited for Sillohoran to catch up, then made her way out to the sidewalk and the waiting skimmer that Stavin had hired for them. The driver held the door open for them as they entered and all too soon, they were whisking through the skies above the capitol city to the outer reaches inhabited by those who could afford to bring in the utilities and water. The gladiators made up a large part of the neighbourhood.

Teddy smiled as she always did when the car pulled up to Stavin’s home—the palatial expanse giving her memories of the green fields of home. Of course, her home didn’t have a fourteen-foot privacy gate or armed guards at the entrance, but you couldn’t have everything.

“Looks like news of his visitor has gotten out, or they are all here to congratulate the new champion. Either way, I am locking the doors.” Teddy hit the locks and stayed well inside the skimmer, her memory of one of the fans breaking through the vehicle window on an earlier visit was sharp in her mind.

The skimmer stopped for a security check and the surge of glad fans against it rocked it until the guards had their enthusiasm under control. It was common enough for crowds to wait outside their favourites’ homes in hope of catching a glimpse. With a Grand Champion in the house, the crowd was a little more excitable than usual.

A large assortment of breasts pushed up against the windows, trying no doubt, to get the attention of the skimmer’s inhabitants.

Teddy breathed a sigh of relief as the guards waved them through the gate and kept the crowd from rushing in behind them. “I hate that part.”

“Oh, the crowds? Yeah, they are a little much, but it comes with marrying a gladiator.” Sill was enthusiastic about their arrival. Tendrils of her hair were rising and vibrating with enthusiasm. It was the same look as when a lucrative contract came for Theadora. Greed and lust lit her up, making her hair wave wildly. A peculiarity of her race. The ivory skin was paired with hot pink hair and a body made for misdemeanours.

Having such a flamboyant friend was perfect for a woman with Teddy’s talents. She could stay in the shadows while Sillohoran frolicked in the spotlight. It worked very well for them both. Teddy was able to keep her identity hidden from the ruthless educators she collated documents for. She had tendrils in every archive in the Alliance. Give her a data topic and she could have a pack whipped together in two days. Enough information for any dissertation.

When the door to the skimmer opened, Teddy jumped in surprise. As Sill leaned out to take the deep green hand of her fiance, Teddy scooted to be second in line out the door. A deep bronze hand extended into the skimmer the instant that Sill cleared it. That was weird. She usually crawled out by herself. Gratefully, she took the offered hand and then gasped in shock as tremors ran through her mind.

She was pulled, lifted from the skimmer and into the arms of a man she had never met but she knew like the back of her hand. “It’s you.” Her whispered accusation was murmured against a heavily muscled chest covered in a silky black t-shirt.

His voice shook nerves in her body from top to bottom. “It’s me. Nice to meet you, Theadora. I am Hathir. I have waited a very long time for this.”

His hand cupped her head and tilted it up for his kiss and it was wonderful. Kissing him was like drinking hot chocolate while ice skating. The hot and cold contrasts were enough to have her moaning and sighing in seconds and when his tongue came in to play, she fainted.