Page 41 of Scales of Time

“Not in a public setting, Lady. My face, my body are mine alone to bestow as I wish.”

Kris blinked. “So, you aren’t celibate?”

“Not when I don’t want to be.”

Kris nodded. “Right. Come with me.”

She grabbed Teddy by the arm and hauled her into the palace, or she tried to. The woman was solid. Kris sighed. “Come on.”

They walked through the halls and ended up in the private garden. Kris brought her to the high-humidity area and smiled. “Right, now, may I see your face, cuz?”

Teddy chuckled, set the staff to the ground, and it remained upright. She touched the edges of her hood and eased it back.

Kris stared at the familiar features and the new additions. A series of ear piercings marched down the edge of both ears. A chevron tattoo crossed the bridge of her nose, and a third eye had also been tattooed on her forehead between her eyes. The lip piercing was anticlimactic.

“Wow. I am guessing that all of that means something.”

Teddy smiled. “It does. The earrings are battles won. The chevron is my mark as a commander, and the third eye means I get drunk in public places.”

Kris paused and then burst into laughter that turned into tears, and they were hugging again.

Teddy stroked her hair. “It’s okay, Kris. You have family again beyond that of Essan. I won’t live as long, but I am here for now, and Essan can contract me for six months at a time.”

“Why only six months?”

“Because I am part of the Abbey. Rath’s Abbey. He is a Hmrain who understands that the greatest horrors we have experienced can be caused by love. That is why the Abbey exists, and that is why we are so competent as guardians. Also assassins. We know both sides of love, and we watch them with equal measure. Both are deadly.”

“Oh, Teddy. What happened?”

Teddy cocked her head. The flat braids along her skull gleamed. “Do you remember Arthur?”

“Yes. Did you lose him?”

“Oh, no. I was five months pregnant when we got the message. We started to move to the pickup point, but a day out, he stabbed me through the belly and chest, leaving me to die so he could go off with his teen girlfriend. I was in shock, but then, the wind woke me, and I got up to stagger to the pickup point. I just made it. My baby was dead. My son was dead, but they kept me alive until the education station. Once there, I was healed, but I went nuts. Rath had a standing order for someone in my situation, so I was sent to the Abbey. When I came back to myself, training started.”

“Holy shit. Artie did that?”

“Yes. He looked me in my eyes and said he wanted a fresh start. Then the pain.” Teddy smiled slightly. “I am looking forward to finding him eventually. I think that will be an entertaining meeting.”

“How did you get so tall?”

“I ate my veggies and other people’s veggies, and I had a genetic overhaul to remove disease and pathogen vectors. There was also some Hmrain splicing that occurred.”

“Wow. Me, too!”

“Maybe we just have the genes for it.” Teddy chuckled.

Kris paused. “Maybe. Wow.” Kris hugged her again. “I am sorry for your baby.”

“I named him Lancelot. They transported him to the Abbey, and he is buried there with a tablet to remember him. I talk to him when I am home.”

Kris was sad. “Is Arthur in the stars?”

“Yes, he and his new partner were in a colonization package before I could get to him. Rath won’t assign me to peacekeeping on their world.”

Kris paused and tilted her head. “I think I could pay a visit if you wouldn’t mind.”

“You think Essan would be on board with that?”