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“I mind,” Violet growled.

“Violet!” Clement said. “Ash will stay to tend to Queen Lucienne.”

“No one has consulted me,” Ashburn sighed, “or asked what I want.”

“Well, I want to know what you want,” Lucienne said.

“Then make it quick, Queen Lucienne,” Ashburn said. “After that, I need to get Violet home.”

“I promise it won’t be long,” Lucienne said, turning her head toward the door. “Duncan,” she called.

Duncan hurried in and placed a suitcase on the wooden table before his mistress. Lucienne pushed a button on the handle. The open suitcase revealed Ashburn’s interface. “This belongs to you.” She lifted it from the case.

Ashburn took the interface, examining it.

“She broke it!” said Violet, turning to Lucienne with loathing. “I told you not to take it. Just because you’re the queen doesn’t mean you can take whatever you want.”

“Violet, do you always have to be so rude?” Clement said. “My husband and I wanted Queen Lucienne to have that toy.”

“Learn some manners, peasant girl!” Kian warned. “I can throw you out this moment.”

“No one throws her out. This is my house,” said Ashburn coldly. “And she isn’t just some peasant girl.”

“Ash!” Clement reproached.

Violet grinned. Before she could open her mouth to gloat, Ashburn put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her. “It’s just a game inside,” he said. “If it’s broken, then it’s broken. No big deal. Queen Lucienne’s team took it to try to find me.”

Very smooth,Lucienne thought.

“But Ash—” Violet protested.

“I’m sorry we can’t fix your Picture Box,” Lucienne said. “My team couldn’t access it, but—”

Ashburn moved his fingers across the middle piece of the crystal, and it burst back to life. The diamond and gold city, guarded by a race of half-beast, half-god creatures shimmered on the interface. “It’s fine,” he said. “Your team didn’t break it.”

Lucienne stared at the virtual city with widened eyes. “What is the game about?”

Sending her a cautious glance, Ashburn clicked off the screen. The interface faded to black. “A lost city I found but can’t enter yet.”

He was baiting her. Lucienne felt dust in her mouth. Everything she wanted to find out was at her fingertips, and yet out of her reach. If Ashburn wanted to play games, she needed to be sure to checkmate him first. She pushed a second button on the handle of the suitcase, and another platform slid open, exposing a glass interface. “I have a similar toy for you.” She turned on the interface, opened the World Wide Web, and showed Ashburn a war video game Vladimir liked to play. As his eyes turned dark silver—she’d learned how the color of his eyes shifted according to his mood—she knew he was intrigued.

Lucienne decided to tease him just a little more. Just as Ashburn eagerly engaged himself in the game, she manipulated the screen to switch for a split second to a nude Playboy cover girl. She watched Ashburn’s vampire-pale face go red with embarrassment. The natives didn’t have outsiders’ vice. They didn’t even know what porn was. Fighting a smile, Lucienne then selected a movie channel and let an epic battle scene play on.

Ashburn was unable to pull his eyes away from the screen. For a moment, he seemed to be in a trance, as if his mind were inside the firewalls. More than anything, Lucienne wanted to pry into his mind one more time, despite the horrendous prospect of being assaulted by an army of massive voices. Just then, the redhead cut in between them, incredibly fast for a girl without any training. Ashburn was trembling, his entranced eyes paling to the color of ice.

“Are you all right, Ash?” Violet called. “Is the witch — is the queen’s machine hurting you?”

“Violet!” Clement reprimanded.

“My son’s probably hungry,” Peder said. “Have you eaten since you came home, Ash?”

“Let’s go to the kitchen, Ash.” Violet tried to pull Ashburn away. “I’ll fix you something to eat.”

“I’ll make lamb stew,” Clement said. “Ash will rest here.” She headed to the kitchen.

“Malicious code, Trojan horse,” Ashburn said.

Can he really see through the firewall of the computer?Lucienne watched Ashburn with an amazed look.