‘Diana. How clever of you, to have me come here instead.’ The moment he was in the lounge room, Cassius grabbed her and hauled her against him. He was wearing the most pungent musky perfume and Diana sneezed.
‘Darling. You’re not sick, are you?’
‘No,’ Diana said, rubbing her nose which felt like it had been hyper-sensitised. ‘Just allergies, I think.’
Cassius nodded. ‘That’s from living here on Rica. Once you’re living in Tatryn, you’ll never have a day of sickness again. Look at me. Would you believe I’m nearly sixty?’
Actually, she’d thought him older than that. ‘You look very well, Cassius.’
‘As will you. Oh, my darling, I’m so happy we’ll have this time together, for our love to grow.’
‘I’m glad you want to do that, Cassius, because I have a favour to ask. I know you don’t always think highly of Rica, but there’s a special ceremony here that bonds a to-be wed couple and I’d like us to take part in it.’
‘Tell me more.’ He sat down, pulling her to sit beside him. Whether it was his Tatryn clothing, or excitement, he was starting to sweat, and his hand on hers felt clammy.
‘It’s called mentatnet,’ Diana said. ‘The mentatnet enables a smooth mental bond between a couple that allows each to think of and care for the other even when not together.’
‘How long does it take?’ Cassius said.
‘A couple of days.’
‘Tell me more. How does the ceremony work?’
‘It’s overseen by trained counsellors,’ Diana said. ‘You and I will both be naked —’
‘Naked!’ Lascivious delight spread across Cassius’s face.
Diana shuddered. ‘Yes, to enable us to be vulnerable and open to each other. But there will be no contact. Nothing sexual.’
‘I’m sure there will be,’ Cassius said. ‘Love is meant to be physically celebrated, my darling.’ He squeezed her hand.
The strong musk of his perfume was starting to be underlain by something more earthy and sharp smelling. His own natural scent, perhaps. Whatever it was, it was foul.
‘A delightful idea.’ Cassius smiled. ‘Shall we begin immediately?’
‘The mentatnet cannot start until tomorrow morning, and it’s best we spend little time together before, so I’m afraid you’ll have to return to the Tatryn embassy until then.’
Cassius sighed. ‘You are such a tease, Diana, to promise me a glimpse of heaven and then send me away.’
‘Tomorrow,’ Diana said. ‘I swear.’
Cassius kissed her and it was disgusting, but at least this time Diana was prepared and so she didn’t need to vomit after he left.
‘He’s vile,’ Cassandra said as she came in. ‘Almost as vile as Grendon.’
‘This better work,’ Diana said. ‘I do not want to be married to that.’
‘It will.’ Cassandra patted her hand. ‘Keep your cool. You’re a million times smarter than him. You can do it.’
***
By the next morning, Cassandra had pulled together what looked like a reasonable ceremony.
A large tent was built on the rooftop, the insides of which were lined with balcite. Over that was hung swathes of grey silk. The colour was known to increase mental acuity and made the perfect surrounds for such an exercise.
In one corner of the tent was a fountain, surrounded by greenery — the rhythmic tinkling of the water would heighten the trance. Incense burned in the air and Diana recognised the scent as one that had often burned in the house while she and Cassandra were learning to speak with their minds.
In the middle of the tent were two low lounges, end on end, with pillows so that she and Cassius would lie with their heads near each other but be unable to see or touch each other.
There were two women there, dressed in white robes. They bowed to Diana and smiled.
‘Greetings, Diana Wiltmore. Come, sit with us and meditate while we await your betrothed.’
They sat there for some time, Diana taking the opportunity to calm her mind and her body and prepare for what was to come.
Cassius bustled in and stopped halfway down the tent. ‘I thought you’d already be naked,’ he said.
Creep, Diana thought.
‘First, we must begin with meditation and prayer,’ one of the counsellors said. Were they really counsellors, or actors with a script? Diana had left those details to Cassandra, who was much better at planning things.
So they sat and meditated and the counsellors droned on about the importance of being mentally open to each other, so that they could be truly joined. Cassius didn’t relax at all, his hands constantly moving, his legs jiggering. Diana thought it was excitement over seeing her naked.
Then it was time. Cassius waved his hand. ‘You first, my darling.’
Diana stood and leisurely removed her clothes. She didn’t rush, but nor did she take her time, removing each piece slowly as she would if she were enticing a lover.
She was suddenly struck with the image of one night in Angonia when she’d stripped for Gareth, slowly, caressing her own skin as it was revealed, her hips swaying to a silent music, the beat of her own heart as she became aroused.
Gareth had been aroused as well and when she was finally naked, he’d taken hold of her, thrown her on the bed and only managed to undo his trousers before he entered her.
She’d loved that she could make a man so used to rule like Gareth lose control.
She came back to the present to find she was standing in the middle of the tent, fully undressed and not the least bit embarrassed.
‘Beautiful,’ Cassius murmured. He reached out, even though she was out of reach.
One of the counsellors took hold of his hand. ‘There can be no touching, Your Highness. Otherwise the entire ceremony will be ruined, and the closeness of your match with Miss Wiltmore will be forever tainted.’
Shuddering, Cassius nodded and was released. Then he stood and undressed. The body he revealed was unsurprisingly pasty and out of shape, his belly paunch and his buttocks flat. The erection he revealed was above average in Diana’s experience — unfortunately size wasn’t always a precursor to actually being good in bed.
On his arm was a strange tattoo — two thick lines that twirled around each other and in between and around them eyes. Diana quite liked tattoos — she had one herself, a small image of the Rican mineshaft on her right hip. But this one disturbed her. Somehow, it felt like the inked-on eyes were watching her.
‘Now, both of you, close your eyes and picture each other. Relax with that image, until the physical shell is nothing but a container for the mind.’
At first, it was depressingly easy for Diana to see Cassius in her mind’s eye. But slowly, the image washed away.
‘Now, lie down on the couch, and we shall anoint you,’ the counsellors said.
Diana opened her eyes to see Cassius run for the lounge, his erection bobbing against his stomach. He lay down and winked at one of the counsellors. ‘I’m ready.’
Wow, Diana thought as she walked over and lay down on her couch. So much for him wanting only her.
The counsellor who anointed her did so with long strokes that made her feel cherished and comforted. Judging by the moans from the other couch, Cassius’s anointing was having a different effect on him.
‘Now, lie in peace,’ one counsellor said and Diana heard the edge in her voice and bit back a grin. She guessed that they were both pretty disgusted with Cassius now. ‘Do your exercises, disconnect from your body and free your mind.’
Diana followed the instructions. She loved meditating — the sense of oneness and apartness, the peace and the energy that came from it.
She could hear Cassius shuffling on the couch and guessed he wasn’t reaching the same level of relaxed nirvana she was.
‘Now, reach out with your mind.’ The counsellor’s voice slid softly to mingle with Diana’s thoughts. ‘Softly, gently, find your partner’s mind and caress them.’
Diana knew what a strong, active mind felt like. The first person she’d ever connected with had been Cassandra and they’d fought many battles to penetrate each other’s shields before their parents had banned them from connecting.
Diana was surprised to find Cassius’s mind was a smooth dome, with no way to enter it. So, no mental acuity training. She searched around. Not even the talent for it, she decided. She’d thought everyone with a royal lineage on Jorda had some ability to mentally communicate.
This was going to make Gareth’s life really difficult when Cassius became Pontifex.
Right now, it made her life difficult as well, because the only thing she’d found to open up a closed mind was the release of an orgasm.
Knowing she was safe from being overheard by Cassius, Diana connected with Cassandra. ‘Cass, he can’t do it. No ability at all.’
‘That just makes it more difficult, not impossible,’ Cassandra said. ‘We were taught at college how to break into people’s minds.’
‘Well, good for you,’ Diana said. Cassandra had been allowed to train as a security officer, just not take the final steps to be one. Whereas Diana hadn’t been interested in future study beyond school and had found the easiest degree she could at the university so she could satisfy her parents.
‘Shut up and listen,’ Cassandra said. ‘When you have your first break, spend some time alone with him. You need to implant a suggestion in his mind that you can trigger to open it to you. It’s got to be a specific word, one that you can harness. But he can’t know the word is in there, so you’ll need to hypnotise him.’
‘Oh, this just gets better and better.’
‘You know how to do that, Di. Remember when we used to wait until Telamon was asleep and then insert things into his head?’
‘I’d forgotten about that.’ Another Cassandra idea. ‘You were actually must nastier as a child then I give you credit for.’
‘Thank you. You just need him to really relax, talk to him until he’s basically comatose, then implant the word. Then, when you’re next meditating, use it to get into his head.’
‘What if the suggestion doesn’t take?’
‘Get in touch. In the meantime, I’ll see what else I can think of.’
So, that was it, Diana thought as she disconnected from her sister. She’d have to spend at least the afternoon in this tent naked with Cassius again.
‘And now part.’ The counsellor touched Diana’s face, rousing her from the trance.
‘You have completed the first step of mentatnet,’ the counsellor said. ‘Rise, dress, and eat together.’
Diana sat, then wished she hadn’t as Cassius appeared by the side of her lounge. It put his erection at face height.
‘Can we make love?’ he groaned out.
‘No,’ the counsellors said and Diana almost shouted out her thanks. ‘This is about a connection of the mind, not the body.’
‘Damn,’ Cassius said.
Diana was surprised to find they’d been meditating and connecting for several hours and it was now lunchtime. They ate simply — fruit and vegetables, to keep the body and palate clean, the counsellors said. Diana rolled her eyes. Cassandra really had thought of everything.
The counsellors left Diana and Cassius alone. He tried to creep closer and Diana held up her hand.
‘I want this to work,’ she said. ‘I want us to be close, but if we make love now…’
‘You tempt me so much, Diana.’ Cassius reached down and stroked his erection.
That gave Diana an idea. ‘Then let me soothe you,’ she said. ‘Lie down. Listen to my voice. Touch yourself.’
Cassius did so with an eagerness that showed he was more concerned with his own pleasure than experiencing anything with her. He opened his trousers and reached in, taking hold of his hard erection.
‘Touch yourself, and think of me,’ Diana said softly. ‘Think of me surrounding you, squeezing you, moving on you. Your body within mine, the two of us joined. Think of the pleasure building, taking over your body, expanding.’
Cassius was gasping and his fist pumped up and down on his erection. His hips lurched as he moved toward the blessed plateau.
‘Then come for me. Come for me, Cassius.’
He cried out and jism shot from the head of his penis, coating his shirt. It smelt sour and Diana winced. If they did get married, no way would she ever take that in her mouth.
‘That’s it, my sweet.’ She kept crooning to him. ‘Relax. Take a deep breath. Another. Feel the pleasure soak through your bones and wash away, leaving you blessedly soft. Feel your body, sinking into the pillows, your mind drifting. Every cell in your body is sinking, relaxing, feeling soft and drowsy. You’re tired, sleepy, so relaxed.’
His chest was barely moving and his hands lay open against his sides. He was ready.
‘The word for you is ‘aching’. When I say “aching”, your mind will open to me and I will be able to see everything you are thinking.’
There, she thought, letting him lie there. It was done.
The counsellors came back in and Cassius sat up. He looked at Diana and winked and she looked away, hating that she’d created a memory with him.
After lunch it was back to meditating and connecting, once again naked.
Diana waited until they were both relaxed and all was still. She reached out and wrapped her mind around Cassius’s, and then she softly said the word.
‘Aching.’
His mind unfurled before her and she slipped inside. She stayed on the edge, aware of the basest of his emotions — arousal, hunger, boredom. Past the impulses of his body was the first line of his thoughts and all she could see was a movie of the two of them together. Her lying on her back, legs spread wide, while Cassius pumped into her body. She could feel his arousal building and shuddered. She went past to the next line of thoughts. This would be about the tensions of his life — the things that bothered him, the things that were important to him, the things that kept him awake at night.
This was about Angonia, and his hatred. Cassius felt that the existence of the King of Angonia, and his beauty, were a personal insult. He was delighted the Pontifex had finally chosen him as her heir, and he was anticipating the death of the old woman so he could join the planetarium and make Gareth’s life hell.
He saw himself making Gareth cry. Making Gareth beg. Being smarter and more powerful and ruling not just Tatryn but all of Jorda.
Diana laughed. There was no way that Cassius could overcome the King of Angonia the way he thought. Gareth would have him for a snack.
The counsellors called a halt before she could search any further and again, they ate simply for the evening meal, although it was supplemented with broiled meat. Then after the meal, more of the meditation and connection.
This time, they were clothed — thank Peace — but that didn’t stop the relentless roll of Cassius’s imagination of the two of them making love. Although Diana noted the counsellor that had anointed him was also making an appearance.
He really did think he was a stud.
She found the thoughts about he overcoming Gareth and then kept searching. Cassius had always believed he should be the heir and he had harboured resentment against his aunt for keeping him at arm’s length for so long. Then Diana was a silent witness as he remembered the moment he had become heir.
He faced the Pontifex in her office. In his memory, the ruler’s age was more apparent than in real life, with deep crags around her face, drooping skin and limp, thin hair that hung in greasy strings around her face.
‘You will tell me the truth.’ The Pontifex’s voice here was weak and scratchy with age. Cassius really didn’t have much truck with reality, Diana thought.
‘I am your servant, always,’ Cassius had replied and in his mind, he’d called her name after name.
‘Do you know Crag Zimmer?’
The man’s face came to prominence in Cassius’s mind. ‘Not that I recall.’
‘He’s an accountant here. You are my chief financial advisor, the one who helps me run the country’s budget. He works here in the palace. This is he.’ The Pontifex held out a tablet.
Cassius took it and looked at his co-conspirator’s face. In his memories, panic began to rise. ‘Perhaps I do. He looks familiar.’
‘He had best be no more than that,’ the Pontifex snapped. ‘Because right now he is on his way to Angonia and he will be mind scanned.’
Cassius stared, slack-jawed at his aunt, as panic overwhelmed him. It was like his memories went hazy white, and his mind buzzed with electricity. It took time for him to control it. ‘You know.’ He handed the tablet back.
No, she doesn’t, Diana thought. She’s just scared you do.
‘Tell me,’ the Pontifex said.
‘Zimmer came to me with a plan he and his friends had devised. They know someone who has perfected the process of enriching balcite. Zimmer and his friends intend to use it to threaten Angonia and blackmail them into a huge payout. Enough to beggar the country and allow Tatryn to take its rightful place as the power of Jorda. They needed money to help make it all happen, and I supplied it. They are warriors for Tatryn and will make us great.’
‘Fools,’ the Pontifex said. Cassius’s back stiffened. ‘Innocent people could have been killed.’
‘Angonians. No such thing as innocence there.’
‘Our problem is with the King of Angonia, not his subjects. Why did they not target him?’
Shock ran through Diana’s system. The Pontifex was prepared to go much further than Diana would have thought.
‘I don’t know,’ Cassius said. ‘Too hard to get to him, I guess.’
‘If you’d come to me, spoken to me, I could have directed you,’ the Pontifex said. ‘Well, no matter. It is done, the threat is made, Angonia is terrified. We must protect you. You will be named my heir. They can’t arrest you then. Next, you need to ensure there is no track between you and the money. Did you meet with all of them, or just Zimmer?’
‘Just Zimmer.’
‘So, one man’s memory. We can argue it is not you. When was the last time you met him?’
‘Two days before the bombing. I was told everything was in place.’
The Pontifex shook her head. ‘Idiot. That means it was you that Diana overheard.’
Diana’s body chilled.
‘Zimmer told me he suspected she had overheard, but I spent time with Diana that night, and she showed no sign of having heard a threat against Angonia.’
‘Then she is a better actress than I’ve given her credit for, because she did hear and she did warn Angonia, and that’s why no one was hurt or killed in the bombing.’
Diana was surprised to feel betrayal move through Cassius’s system. He was hurt by what she’d done.
‘Then it is over with her,’ he said.
‘No,’ the Pontifex said. ‘I’ve spoken with her. She did what she felt she needed to out of duty. She has a soft heart, but she is still committed to us. She speaks highly of you. She does not know what you’ve done.’ The Pontifex nodded. ‘Yes, she will make you an excellent wife.’
‘I get to marry Diana?’
‘I have no doubt the Prince of Rica will agree. An alliance between our houses will be of great benefit. And once he dies and Cassandra is Prince, then the planetarium will become a much different place, for you will be her brother-in-law. She cannot support Angonia over you.’
‘I get to marry Diana.’ Cassius grinned.
‘But any other overtures made to you to support moves against Angonia, you must bring directly to me.’
‘Come back now,’ the counsellor said.
Diana rushed out of Cassius’s mind. She opened her eyes and stared at the tent above her.
Cassius knew that she had been the one to warn Angonia. If he had any idea of what she was doing now, she’d hate to think what he’d do to her.
She closed her eyes and prayed, as fervently as she ever had, that she wouldn’t have to marry him.