Free Primary Inversion (Saga of the Skolian Empire) Paperback by Catherine Asaro

the Rhon
bloodline was that important to the Imperial family.”
    I wanted to kick myself. I had become too comfortable with
him, had assumed he knew me better than he had reason to. Why would he be aware
of something so private? My family never advertised our weaknesses. We were
almost obsessive about our privacy, and we had the power to make sure it wasn’t
violated no matter how much our personal lives fascinated the rest of the galaxy.
    Block Moroto and Bjorstad, I thought. As my awareness
of Helda and Taas receded, I tried to reach Rex. But he blocked me.
    So I spoke out loud. “It isn’t the bloodline that we care about.
We need to widen our gene pool.” The words Incest destroys us waited
on my tongue. Instead I said, “If we interbreed, the results can be disastrous.
Too many lethal recessives are tied to the Rhon genes.”
    “But if that’s true,” Taas said, “Then why do—”
    Helda interrupted. “I just remember, Taas. We didn’t log off
of our accounts when we check netmail in my room.”
    Taas glanced at her. “Yes we did.”
    “No, I think we forget. We better make sure.”
    He shrugged. “All right.”
    After they left the room, I smiled wanly at Rex. “Subtlety
was never her strong point.”
    “We’ve worked in a psiber link for years,” he said. “It’s
natural she would pick up on tension.”
    “Rex, I’m sorry.” I stood up next to him.
    “I presumed.” His voice was flat, as if he blocked his words
the way he blocked his thoughts. “I aspired to a station above mine.”
    “I can’t think of any man more worthy to be my consort.”
    Anger leaked in his voice, like water escaping a levee. “But
our children aren’t worthy of the Skolia name?”
    I had made a mess of this. “Of course they are. If it were
my choice, they would be in the line of succession. But the Imperial family must be Rhon. We have no choice.”
    His emotions broke through his barriers and washed against
me in waves: anger and shame mixed together. “I hadn’t realized you put
genetics above blood ties.”
    The room felt so quiet, muted by the insulated walls and
thick carpet. “The Skolian Imperialate covers more than a thousand worlds. If
the Assembly and the Rhon don’t protect them from the Traders, who else is
going to do it? The Allieds? Ur Qox would eat them for breakfast. If we ever
lose the ability or the will to operate the Skol-Net, the Traders will douse us
like a bell over a candle.”
    “No, our children won’t be able to power the Net,” Rex said.
“What the hell does that have to do with their ability to lead?”
    “They can join the Assembly.”
    His voice tightened. “That’s not the same.”
    “Without full Rhon access to the psibernet they couldn’t
carry out their duties as members of the Triad.” I spoke more softly. “Our
children won’t be Rhon, but they will be empaths, powerful ones. That’s all the
more reason to make sure the Rhon stays strong.” I swallowed. “If Skolia falls
to Ur Qox, then you, me, any children we have—we’ll all become providers.
Permanently.”
    The muscle under his eye twitched. “That won’t happen. We
won’t let it happen.”
    “No. We won’t.”
    He was still blocking me, though not as much as before. I
didn’t push it. I wanted things to be right with him, for it to work out where
my other two tries at marriage had failed. “Rex. I’m sorry.”
    “I need to think.” He touched my cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    And then he left.

4. Lucifer’s Legacy
    The spectacular sunset had finally cooled into darkness, leaving
Athens and the Arcade lit only by lamps and holos. But I still couldn’t sleep.
The Delos day had no resonance with my internal clock.
    I wondered if Rex was in bed. What he would say to me tomorrow,
in the early hours of darkness when humans here started their day. I lay naked
in my big bed, submerged in its frothy blue blankets and silk sheets. Then I
rolled over. Again. And again. My tossing wound