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seen during the battle nagged at him but his head hurt too bad to puzzle it out.
    A shudder ran through her. “I thank the Goddess they did not. ”
    “It would be one less problem for you.”
    Her face blanked , then she frowned as his meaning became clear. “The L’anziano geneticists will never leave me alone. I was foolish to ever think they would.” Her face softened and her posture relaxed. “My brother has always had my welfare at heart. He says you are a ‘good man’ and I should consider you.”
    “Better ‘the devil you know’, eh? ”
    She held his gaze steadily. “ Are you a devil, Commander?”
    “ With certainty, Flight Leader .”
    She stood abruptly. “D rink as much water as you can—and rest. I would like to give you another sleeping draught.” Sophi read Eric’s expression easily. “You’ll refuse it, won’t you?” She shook her head in resignation. “I’ll send Captain Biron later to help you attend to your needs.”
    Her robes swirled around her ankles as she turned and walked away.
    The journey bread almost defeated him . Holding it in his teeth, he pulled with both hands until a ragged chunk remained in his mouth and chewed absently. Exactly what does Segundo DeLorion think “good” about me?
    Reclining against a pad of blankets, Eric nodded to one of his lieutenants having an arm wound rebound.
    “How are you faring, Crawford?”
    “Thanks to Mistress Adonia, I will be fine.” The young cavalryman smiled at his lovely caretaker. “Ready to ride at your command, sir.”
    “Commander DeStroia has a day or so before he’s fit to sit a horse, Lieutenant,” she said. “ Flight Leader DeLorion nursed him non-stop for the better part of twenty-four hours. I would hate for all her efforts to be ruined by his failure to rest properly.” The light of battle gleamed in Adonia’s eyes.
    A smile tickled the corners of his mouth. “Yes, ma’am. ” Eric attempted a mock salute. “I would not dream of disobeying a direct order.”
    “You don’t fool me for a moment,” Adonia said. The bitterness in her tone surprised him. “You will be on your feet as soon as you think you won’t fall face first and be mounted as soon as you can hoist yourself to the saddle.” She shook her head. “You aristos do only as you wish with no regard for the repercussions. To yourself or to others.” Closing her eyes, she visibly calmed herself. “Would you like me to summon Captain Biron?”
    Feeling the urgent press of his bladder, Eric nodded. “Please.”
    Frowning , Eric watched her disappear into the brilliance at the mouth of the cave with young Crawford.
    As t he young lieutenant and Adonia walked out of the cave, Lieutenant Crawford immediately spotted Captain Biron speaking with Eudora. Pointing him out to Adonia, they walked toward him.
    “Commander DeStroia is not a bad sort for an aristo, Lady Adonia.” The sandy-haired young lieutenant smiled at his self-appointed nurse. “You would never guess the exalted position he holds. There is nothing ‘high and lofty’ about him.”
    “ I am not one of your debauched aristos,” Adonia returned sharply. “Just plain ‘Adonia’ works very well. It may be DeStroia has an ‘ordinary touch’ but he is still an aristo.”
    An unhappy grimace flitted across Crawford’s face. “Are you a Mother’s Acolyte, one of those fundamentalists who believe the High Enclave and the House of Lords are to blame for the Haarb war?”
    Adonia stiffened. “ Our service to Mother Verdantia is pure.” She stopped and faced the young soldier. Her expression softened. “I don’t mean to sound harsh, but it is difficult not to think your aristos, their decadent sexual games, and interstellar commerce in sacred cinnagin brought the war upon us. Cinnagin is a precious substance gifted to us by our mother, Verdantia, to be used only in the Rites . Your aristos defile our mother planet when you sell it for monetary gain. The Oshtesh reject the use of