The Way Back (Champions of the Crystal Book 4)

Chapter 15.2

The next day passed much like the previous one; Sabrina kept busy receiving visitors and gradually adjusting to the rhythm of her new life. She met with some decorators Therenden recommended and discovered that contemplating a major renovation of her apartments was an excellent way to keep her mind off other things. She also learned to program her comconsole to scan for and record reports about certain subjects, and thus, when she sat down to read that evening, she was able to watch a news vid of the state dinner Ford was hosting for the Telurian delegation at Bathir. She studied Yvalla curiously and was quickly able to see that the Telurians had indeed made a play for Ford's weaknesses. The biography she'd been reading had obviously been sensationalized, she knew, but she had noticed some things in common among the women he'd been linked with: they were all glamorous, intelligent, and independent. No bimbos, Sabrina reflected with approval.

Yvalla appeared to fit those criteria perfectly. According to the vid narrative, she was a rare golden-skinned Telurian; her hair was white except for golden highlights that Sabrina suspected might be artificially added. She wore a form-fitting gown in royal blue that covered but in no way concealed her figure. Since gold and royal blue were the colors of Bathir, her appearance made a definite statement. The way she looked at Ford made another, more ambiguous, statement.

Sabrina shook her head in sympathy for her cousin and wondered, listening to the narrator's sly hints, what it would have been like to be the one on Ford's arm, the subject of all this speculation and comment. On the whole, she was happy to have avoided it. She had too many other things to be worried about.

She doubted he would call that night; he would be occupied with the ongoing negotiations and their attendant social requirements. She was tempted to call and tease him just a little about Yvalla, but that seemed like bad form after all his concern and care for her. Though, she thought with a smile, it was exactly what a little sister would do. She wondered if Mira had perhaps done so already. Marie was too young to pay attention to that sort of thing, but in a few years she would undoubtedly join the sibling chorus of comment on Ford's various relationships. Sabrina had already heard most of the siblings' opinions on Yvalla at dinner, which Mira had attended, fleeing Bathir before she could get drafted into any official occasions. Lira had remained behind to play hostess for her brother.

The comconsole chimed just as she was seriously considering going to bed, and she tried to stifle her sudden hope that it would be Ford. It could easily be any number of other people, she told herself firmly as she answered it. "Yes?"

"So, what's the verdict, Cousin? I've heard the siblings' point of view—oh, and also Aunt Imari's—relayed through my darling sister Mira," Ford announced, his tone conveying that at the moment he considered Mira anything but darling. "You seem to have been strangely quiet at dinner. I can't imagine Mira editing anything out for my benefit!"

Sabrina smiled and shook her head. "I ventured no opinion, not having seen Yvalla then. I saw the vid when I got back from dinner."

"Well?"

She shook her head. "You can't expect me to have formed an opinion just from a vid! I haven't even heard the sound of her voice yet."

"She sounds just like she looks," Ford said. "Nothing subtle about Yvalla. What you see is what you get."

"Dear me. Well, I'd think you could deal with such a straightforward personality."

"The word you were looking for, dear Cousin, is predatory."

"You can't tell me you haven't dealt with her kind before."

"Yes. Usually badly."

"Well, practice makes perfect."