37
DIVINE PERMISSIONS, LORIAN
The feedfrom Eve's activities streams across my private display, as I lounge in my office. She's been busy this morning. Remarkably busy. She’s sentencrypted messages to Terra Ka with patrol schedules, room assignments, and even the frequency rotation for the neural dampening fields.
My clever little heretic, so thorough in her treason.
I trace my finger along the holographic timeline of her activities. She spent seventeen minutes in the restricted archives last night, pulling schematics for the holding cells. She spent forty-three minutes composing her intelligence report, careful to mask her terminal access through three proxy nodes.
And the best part? She thinks no one notices.
The intelligence she's sending Terra Ka is accurate. Mostly. The patrol schedules are real, but I've arranged for convenient gaps. The transport information is correct, though I've neglected to mention the secondary security protocols. Let Terra Ka make their attempt.
The display shifts to her current location, the reception desk. She'sreviewing arrival manifests for the Grand Championship competitors, no doubt cataloging which humans might be saved.
Time for her daily devotion.
I activate my private communication channel, bypassing the standard hotel systems. The message appears instantly on her terminal.
I watch as her biometrics spike immediately with fear, anticipation, and yes, there it is, arousal. The Venus Lock begins its programmed response to her emotional state, creating that delicious feedback loop of want and denial she's grown accustomed to.
After a second, she smooths out her uniform and then says to Lira, “Sovereign Lorian has requested my presence.”
Lira nods, and Eve leaves her reception desk.
I dismiss the displays and make my own way down, taking the private lift that opens directly into the sacred space.
The shrine welcomes me like a lover. The twelve holographic goddesses turn their faces as I enter, their light casting shadows that dance across the ritual floor.
I'm already kneeling at the altar when Eve arrives, my back to the door. My ceremonial robe falls open to my waist as I complete my preparatory meditation. I let her see the scars across my shoulders from last week's penance and leave her to wonder what sins I've been atoningfor.
"You're late," I say without turning.
"I'm sorry, Sovereign. I was?—"
"Excuses bore me." I rise in one fluid motion, facing her. "Kneel."
She drops to her knees immediately.
I circle her slowly.
Her breathing has picked up.
"Eyes down," I snap. "You haven't earned the privilege of meeting my gaze today."
She obeys, but I catch the flash of curiosity in her expression. Even through her fear, her magnificent mind is working, trying to understand the game.
"Strip."
Her hands shake as she reaches for the fastenings of her uniform. "Sovereign, please, I?—"
"I don't recall asking for explanations. I said strip."
The uniform pools around her knees, her undergarments follow, and then she kneels naked before me on the stone floor.
I retrieve something special from the altar. She doesn't see what until I'm standing directly before her.
"Open your mouth and stick out your tongue."
