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say honestly that we are looking forward to your first harvest.”
    She wrinkled her nose. “So, after Leko, who gets to have at my eggs?”
    “The strongest genetic partners. If I can take some samples now, we can begin creating a roster of the most likely candidates. The elders will have final say, but I believe that your sister included a clause in the new contract for that. You may have a vote on who gets to start with one of your eggs.”
    She rubbed her forehead. “That sounds so weird. Where are the babies... um... grown?”
    Leko answered. “In the same building as the council of elders. Why?”
    “I would like to see what the future of my eggs holds.”
    He nodded. “We can go there next. You have the clearance.”
    Alveck blinked. “She does?”
    Leko nodded. “She does. Actually, instead of going there next, I will show her to her quarters and change, and then, I will take her to the gestation hall.”
    Alveck blinked. “Right. Well, I will just take the blood and tissue samples, and she can be on her way.”
    “Excellent. We have an agenda to take care of. She needs to greet her new world.”
    Alveck nodded, and he got the equipment he needed, drawing the blood and taking a scraping from the inside of her cheek.
    When he was done, Lynni smirked. “Now, do the other side.”
    He blinked. “What?”
    “Two different genomes, remember?”
    Alveck appeared very out of sorts. “Oh. Right. Of course.”
    Lynni tapped him on the arm and waited until he made eye contact. “Are you all right?”
    “Yes. I mean. I have never met a splice before, and it is so fascinating that I am terrified they will remove you from my care before I have even begun to learn how such a thing is not only possible, but how you are so very... normal. We have been told that the splices were mad.”
    “I get irritated now and then, but I have never been insane if that is what you are getting at.”
    Alveck blinked. “How do you know?”
    She kept her voice dry. “I am fairly sure that my sister would tell me, she doesn’t hold much back.”
    Alveck paused for a moment, and then, he grinned. “I am sure you are correct. Lady Tyanni is definitely a woman who will speak her mind.”
    “Right. So draw the blood, scrape the cheek and let me go visit my new quarters.”
    He quickly got the second set of vials and labelled them for the second side. When he had what he needed, she was dismissed with a smile.
    She slid her hand around Leko’s metal bicep as they left. “So, you knew he would think I was crazy?”
    “It was a possibility. To balance the two genetic patterns in not only your body but your brain takes a tremendous amount of luck.”
    “I feel that luck every time I look at my sister. She is all the luck that I need.”
    There had been months, weeks, when she was unbalanced, when her mind was split in two and two impulses had fought for supremacy, but Tyanni had gotten her through it. No puberty had ever been as dramatic in her entire family line.
    “Damn. I forgot to get my bag from the ship.”
    “The security team will have brought it to your quarters. They had to go through it anyway.”
    “Right. Well, I need to see where I am going to be living. Shall we?”
    “Yes, Bride Lynni.” He inclined his head.
    She snorted and got on the runner, waiting for him to take her to her new home.
     

Chapter Five
     
     
    While she looked around her new quarters, Leko set himself in the charging unit.
    She opened her bag and unpacked her few garments. The bodysuits were all the same. Sleeveless and form fitting, she looked like a superhero with built-in makeup. She just didn’t have the powers.
    In the silence, a yawn snuck up on her. Looking over at Leko in his charging station, she headed to bed for a quick nap.
    It usually took him over an hour to charge, so she had time to recover from the stresses of the day.
    Tyanni was fine. Lynni’s expression was a smile as she curled into a ball on the huge bed.
    It was the