The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure - By Storm Constantine Page 0,128

said in a grumpy tone. Seel noticed his gaze lingered for few moments on the Tigron’s aide, Vaysh.

‘Doesn’t it just!’

Part of the reason Ashmael was, to put it mildly, cautious about Pellaz was because of Vaysh. Pellaz had told Seel that Pell’s aide was another protégé of Thiede’s, one who had been kept completely secret. Vaysh had been an earlier candidate for Tigronship, and had undergone the same traumatic death and rebirth experience that Pellaz had. But Vaysh was one of the less successful attempts that the Hegemony had heard rumours about. Something had gone wrong, and although Vaysh appeared physically perfect on the surface, the resurrection rite had affected his fertility, so he could never produce heirs, either as soume or ouana. This was not desirable to Thiede; his Tigron had to be perfect. Unfortunately, Vaysh had once been Ashmael’s chesnari, and perhaps initially Thiede had beguiled Ash into becoming Gelaming for the same reason he had beguiled Seel. As Cal had with Pellaz, Ash had believed Vaysh to be dead, but their story had not ended with happy reunion. Ashmael had only realised Vaysh was alive when he’d turned up in Immanion with Pellaz. Seel could only imagine what Ashmael must have gone through over the past weeks. He was not a har prone to displays of emotion and as far as Seel knew the only har with whom he’d discussed the matter had been Pellaz himself, which was odd given his feelings for the Tigron. Now, it was clear that in some peculiar way he held Pellaz partly responsible for what had happened to Vaysh.

‘Pell is a good har,’ Seel said. ‘Don’t let your personal feelings cloud the issue.’

Ashmael cast him a sharp glance. ‘Meaning?’

Seel stared at him meaningfully. ‘You know.’ He paused. ‘Why don’t you just go and talk to him? Pell told me everything, Ash.’

‘Charming. That was supposed to have been a private conversation.’

‘He didn’t tell it like gossip. He feels for you. Have you even spoken to Vaysh since he came here?’

‘That’s none of your business, Seel. Back off.’

‘You’re repulsed by him, aren’t you, which must be pretty grim because you still love him too.’

‘Shut the fuck up.’

‘You have the honeyed tongue of a diplomat.’

Ashmael finished his drink. ‘Sorry, that’s a sore spot.’

‘I know how you feel,’ Seel said. ‘Pell spooks me too sometimes. He is possibly the most beautiful har in the whole world, but the thought of touching him makes me shudder.’

Ashmael regarded Seel thoughtfully. ‘That’s the gist of it.’ He helped himself to another glass of wine from a tray carried by a passing househar. ‘You know, I think it must be because we knew them before. For example, even though I can’t help feeling our beloved Tigron is a bit of a dizzy idiot, I could quite easily carry him off for a night of abandoned passion, whereas my flesh crawls at the thought of Vaysh. Just out of interest, what do you feel about him?’

Seel grimaced. ‘Mmm, difficult. He can freeze blood at twenty paces. If he wasn’t so stony, I could probably endure it.’

‘He wasn’t always like that,’ Ashmael said wistfully. ‘He was a creature full of joy and love. I hate this thing that has stolen his face. It’s not right.’

‘It’s not his fault, Ash.’

Ashmael sighed deeply. ‘I know. Still…’ He drained his glass. ‘I’m bored. Fancy coming back to my place for a frolic?’

Seel found he had to glance over at Pellaz to make sure the Tigron didn’t need him. He was annoyed at himself for it, but couldn’t help checking. Pellaz, however, was still in the thick of an adoring throng and clearly had no need for support. ‘Sounds good,’ Seel said. ‘Let’s go.’

Although Pellaz was now Tigron and began to learn quickly how to fulfil his potential, he was also very fragile, because his love for Cal had left a gaping wound in his heart. Seel felt protective towards him, in spite of himself, and never told him the full story of when Cal had returned to Saltrock. There was no need for Pellaz to know. The bare facts were enough to wound him deeply. Still, he was made of sterner stuff than Cal, because he hadn’t gone mad or maudlin. Mostly, he kept his thoughts to himself and maintained a cheery face.

Seel watched Pellaz all the time. He saw how certain members of the Hegemony sought to humiliate their new Tigron, yet Pellaz was always gracious with them. Seel had to admit that