Viper's Kiss - Lisa Smedman [44]
"Please," Glisena gasped, clutching at Dmetrio and trying to draw him back down to her. "I'd do anything for you. Please."
"That's a good start," Dmetrio said, a look of triumph in his slit eyes. His feet were visible now, protruding out of the bedding. They were rounded and scaly and looked like snake tails; each foot ended in a single large, blunt toe. Dmetrio wrenched himself free of Glisena and sat up in a kneeling position, then twined his fingers in Glisena's hair and yanked her forward. Dmetrio, like many yuan-ti males, had a slit at the groin, inside which his reproductive organs rested. Arvin, staring, was horrified to see emerging out of it not one, but two…
With a shudder, Arvin yanked his fingers away from the pillow. He felt sullied by what he'd seen. If he did manage to find the baron's daughter, it would be hard to look her in the eye.
"Well?" the baron asked. "What did you see?"
Arvin hesitated. The baron had closed the gate long after the horse had bolted from the stable-or rather, into the stable, in this case. The wardings on the palace had been in vain, but how to tell the baron that diplomatically?
"Your daughter was quite… passionate about Dmetrio, wasn't she?" Arvin began.
The baron's face purpled as he realized what Arvin was implying. "Here? In this room?"
Marasa glanced sharply at the baron.
"I saw Glisena and Dmetrio kissing," Arvin said. "The vision must have been more than a month old- from before the wards were set. It wasn't the one I was hoping for. I'll try again."
Before the baron could reply, Arvin retreated into a second manifestation. As the droning of his secondary display filled the air once more, he looked around the room, this time trying to pick up general impressions. As he glanced at the baron, he once again saw a double image-a ghostly baron standing just behind the first, his face also twisted with rage. He was shouting something. Curious, Arvin extended his hand in that direction, willing the vision to come into focus.
It did, with a volume that startled him.
"You will never see him again!" the ghostly image roared.
Arvin heard the sound of weeping behind him. He turned and saw Glisena-fully clothed, this time, and sitting on a neatly made bed-wringing a lace-trimmed handkerchief in her hands. Tears were sliding down her cheeks and a strand of her dark hair had fallen out of the pearl-studded net that held her hair in a bun at the nape of her neck. "But we're in love," she sobbed.
The baron snorted. "You're in love. That… snake is as cold-hearted as any of his race. He cares nothing for you, girl. Nothing."
Glisena shook her head fiercely. "That's not true. You'll see. When I tell him about-"
"You'll tell him nothing." The baron strode forward and loomed over Glisena. "Nor will you tell anyone else what's happened. We're going to take care of this… quietly."
Anger blazed in Glisena's eyes and flushed her cheeks. "You only care about your stupid alliances. If Dmetrio marries me-"
"He won't."
"Yes, he will," Glisena shrilled. "And when he does, your hopes of an alliance with Turmish are over. You can't force me to marry Lord Herengar's son. He's as stupid as he is ugly."
"At least he's human," the baron spat back.
"What do you think I am?" Glisena wailed. "A child? I'm a grown woman. You can't do this to me."
The baron's voice dropped dangerously low. "You did this to yourself," he growled. "And now you'll face the consequences." Turning on his heel, he wrenched open the door, startling the guard who stood in the hallway outside. "Make sure she doesn't