'I like that you're so receptive, Ranalee told him as they lay side by side on the lavender-scented sheets. Ranalee, he'd discovered, wasn't the kind of girl who wanted to cuddle afterwards. Candelabras in each corner of the room produced a mild yellow light, enabling him to see the expression of distant satisfaction on her face as she stared up at the bed's embroidered canopy. 'On every level, she added.

'Yes, he said, not quite sure what she was saying.

'1 have a proposition for you. I'm sure Kristiana and others have made it, but I have the contacts and ability to make it work better than they ever could. And in addition, you wouldn't be entirely dependent on Gilmorn money, which for someone like you would be quite important, I imagine.

'Uh, what kind of proposition? Edeard was still reliving the last couple of hours. He'd never been so ferocious before, it was an abandon she had demanded and responded to in kind. The exhilaration had been overwhelming, making him desperate for it never to end.

She turned her head to give him a shrewd stare. 'I marry you, and arrange for rewarding contacts with all those desperate third and fourth daughters.

'Marry? he blurted. They'd known each other for a few weeks.

'Yes. I am a second daughter, you know.

'Er, yes. That's very flattering, Ranalee, but I'm not quite sure, er, what I want.

'Well it's about time you seriously started thinking about it. You have value now, you should capitalize on it.

Edeard wondered if he had misheard something. 'Capitalize?

'Well face it, for all you're popular and interesting, you'll never be Mayor.

'Why not? he asked indignantly.

Ranalee laughed. 'You're not one of us, are you? You don't belong to a Grand Family.

'The Mayor is elected by the city.

'Dear Lady, are you joking?

'I can make it to Chief Constable. As a Grand Council member I'd be eligible to put my name forward.

'With our family backing, you probably could get that far. But when did the Chief Constable ever make Mayor?

'I don't know, he admitted.

'Never.

'Oh.

'So don't be so silly. I'm talking about the future.

'All right. He was stung by the crack about him not being able to achieve much on merit. 'What's the proposition?

'I told you. I'll be your gatekeeper.

'I'm… sorry, I don't get any of this.

She rolled on to her side, and reached down between his legs. 'Exploit your potential. That's what the families truly value. These, to be precise. Long-nailed fingers closed around a very sensitive piece of anatomy.

'Potential?

'Lady, you're ignorant. I just didn't realize how much. How do you think families like mine achieved our position?

'Some of it was luck, being in the right place at the right time in history, some of it was down to hard work, your family especially. Your ancestors took huge risks exploring new markets with their ships.

'Crap. It's breeding.

'Right.

'You doubt me? The one thing the families cherish more than anything is a strong psychic ability. That's what we use to maintain our position; farsight that can see what our rivals are up to inside a seclusion haze, a third hand strong enough to protect ourselves, and a few other useful little talents, too. We prize that trait above all others in a mate. That's what every family bloodline nurtures. And now you've walked out of the wilds and into the city, a simple country boy with more strength than a dozen family sons put together. We want you, Water-walker. We want what these contain. Her fingers closed tighter, nail tips sharp on his scrotum.

Edeard kept very still. His tongue licked round his lips as she held him on the threshold of pain. 'Okay, I get it now.

'Good boy. So I marry you. She smiled and stretched provocatively. Her voice purred, echoing round inside his skull. 'You get this magnificent body whenever you want and in whatever fashion you desire. And you've already discovered how fantastic that will be for you. I'm everything a man dreams of. Aren't I? The way she spoke it was a taunt, a challenge.

'Yes. He couldn't lie to her. That same husky voice had goaded him throughout the night. It spoke directly to some animal deep inside, awaking the most shameful desires. Yet she was the one suggesting them, rejoicing at how bad their bodies could behave. The notion of every night for the rest of his life spent like this one was igniting a fever inside him. He would fight every bandit on Querencia to make it happen.

'I will yield to you, she promised meekly. 'You will father a host of lovely little girls in me. They will run round the mansion and live a life of luxury and make you so unbelievably happy while you clear the scum out of the city and ascend to the Chief Constable's office. That's by day, she vowed tantalizingly.

'And by night?

Ranalee's smile mellowed, she eased her grip a fraction. Her lips were now so close they brushed his ear. 'I will bring a multitude of the city's minor daughters to our bed. Now her hand crept up to hold his stone-hard member. Edeard smiled in utter bliss as she directed his imagination to the satisfaction his masculinity could achieve for him. 'Each of them yearning for you to sire a daughter. They will pay to receive your fulfilment again and again.

'Yes, he groaned ecstatically.

'Beautiful girls. Young girls. Girls like Kristiana married off to equal nonentities out in the merchant classes or the militia — our country cousins. They'll have the daughters who'll go on to marry the next generation of first sons. Every family will be in a fervour for them. She sucked in her cheeks thoughtfully, suddenly playful. 'Maybe I'll be able to negotiate a percentage of the dowry as part of your stud fee.

Edeard was suddenly bedevilled by an image of Mistress Florrel, which he must have allowed to slip out.

Ranalee laughed delightedly. 'Her! Yes, that's why she was so sought after, she is an amazingly strong psychic; I'm four generations down from her myself. And don't forget Rah, either.

'Rah!

'Why do you think every Grand Family claims to be descended from him? We actually are. A third hand strong enough to cut through the city's crystal wall, who wouldn't want that?

'I never knew any of this, he said softly. It all made such perfect sense now she'd laid it out.

'Within three generations your descendants will rule Makkathran. That's less than a hundred years, Waterwalker. And then you will be king in all but name. Think what you can achieve with such power.

'I will break them, he said, eager now she had opened his eyes to so many opportunities. 'I will destroy the gangs. The city will regain all it has lost since Rah's time. The Skylords will come again to carry us off to Odin's Sea.

'I will go there with you.

'Yes, together!

'As it is this night, it will always be for you. I pledge myself to that cause. Your pleasure will never end. She rose above him, face gleaming triumphant in the tranquil candle light. 'Now you will celebrate our union, she told him, her whisper filling the room in a crescendo.

Edeard's mind lost all focus as his flesh obeyed her demands. He was lost between ecstasy and delirium.

'You will give me our first daughter this night, Ranalee decreed.

Edeard laughed ecstatically. 'Let's just hope it is a daughter. Tears of joy were running from his eyes.

'It will be. They all will be. Every girl knows how.

'How?

'How to take care of an inconvenience like that. They must be girls.

'But the boys…

'There can be no boys. They have no value. The families practise primogeniture, apart for the odd embarrassment like the Culverits. So your daughters can marry directly into a family's main lineage.

'What? His thoughts were swirling as panic contaminated his physical delight. 'What?