The force shield tightened to just over one and half square meters of area. Unperturbed, Alex took out a flask and doused his handkerchief to cool his burned face. As water droplets steamed off the force shield, his eyes turned distant and calculating. Raina remained fixated on Sebastian.

She made no effort to struggle against her bonds. Miles doubted she could even move; she was spreadeagled flat across the window frame, each limb at its fullest extension. In Miles's experience, it was an extremely uncomfortable position.

Sebastian was visibly calmer now that his prey had been located. What's going on in his head? I suppose only Raina knows.

"Sophia, relieve her of her weapons," he said.

Felice pulled out a long knife. Miles recognized the distinctive dagger which had been confiscated from Raina, just yesterday. Ages ago. With quick cuts, she began to strip off Raina's dress, effectively uncovering her entire personal arsenal, piece by piece.

Just like Bothari, thought Miles. Though Betan customs had more decorum. "Beats a Vorfemme knife," said Ekaterin, blinking. Sebastian examined the pile of weapons on his side of the force shield. He held up a carving knife from the breakfast table.

"Hm," rumbled Aral. There goes the extra knife.

When Felice tore through the skintight jumpsuit, Miles looked away.

"Don't let it get to you," said Alex, for Miles and Ekaterin's ears. "Raina will grow more agitated if you act disturbed. Just remember, when our mother and father saw us for the first time, we were naked. All right? This is very delicate."

Miles exchanged a glance with Ekaterin. Then he turned around, very slowly.

Looking at Raina, bare, sent a shock through him. The fine network of scars on her face ended below her neck. The rest of her skin was like alabaster, hardly blemished save a few recent bruises and an ugly brown slash on one of her arms. The Cetagandans had likely erased all the battle wounds of her teen years, though they had not touched her face. Her beautiful, upturned face, so suffused with checked fury, was like an amalgam of... all the women in my life.

"Move closer, Miles," Cora said, breaking his reverie. He hopped aside as the force shield shifted towards him.

Raina caught the movement, and said, "You can't kill them, and expect to deal with me."

"What, harping on that little temporal paradox?" Sebastian sneered, from behind his force shield. "It's a little known fact that visitors from downstream can survive the death of their parents. If they are not protected, they cease to exist on the date of their conception. With protection, and a little manipulation, the timeline can split off completely, and they can live out their days in a universe where they were never born."

"It would also warp the whole nexus out of recognition," said Cora, though they couldn't hear it.

Miles found he was shivering with rage. Damn it, get control of the conversation! Raina was allowing him to bait her, plain and simple. Anything Sebastian said could be a lie. She's still got her voice, if she were any daughter of mine she'd take advantage of that---

"He's dead, Raina. Empress Admiral," said Sebastian, mockingly. "Did you think I would come all this way for nothing? I got confirmation just now. From a distinguished ImpSec officer whose name is familiar to you."

Raina barked a laugh. "More fool you, then. The low level Palace Guards don't have a complete fast-penta allergy, but anyone who works in ImpSec HQ does."

"Pentacrine is not the only drug at my disposal," Sebastian replied smoothly. "Shall I show you the body? It's not very large. Your Imperial husband. At the time, I was amused that your stormy homecoming did not dampen your taste for royalty. But now, that doesn't exist, eh? It never happened. None of it ever happened. We can start all over again."

Lips curling, Raina said, "What, Sebastian? Are you courting me, at this late date?"

Alex shook his head, hiding a fell smile.

Sebastian opened his hands, without irony. "You can live for a very long time, Raina. And so may your grown children, in the other future, if the Guardians return Leo to stasis in time. But you know full well: you cannot return to that future, not without damaging it irrevocably."

"Only if you kill my parents," muttered Raina.

"It will be a lonely life here, in a universe where you don't even exist. But I know where you came from. You can hunt me down for the pleasure of my death, but then you will be utterly alone."

Silkily, "Why would I want to spend the rest of my life with a degenerate pile of flesh and bones like you?"

Sebastian's glassy reserve broke. "You made me what I am!" he roared.

"Your own people did that to you. Because you crossed the line, broke your own rules. But why should you care about justice? The first casualty of the Imperial War was our son."

"He was not haut. He had no right to exist," Sebastian said dismissively.

Raina snarled, "He had a right to make his own future. If not as a person then as a Giaja." She shook her head. Softly, "Or failing that, a Vorkosigan."

"We can still have a son."

Raina laughed weakly. "I am old, Sebastian. I daresay you could cook up as many 'children' as you want, on your own, but they wouldn't be family to me."

"You bluff badly," he said. "I know exactly what kind of alterations the Star Crèche gave you. It's a good thing that second uterine implant of yours is still holding. When was the last time you checked it, hmm? The percentage of failure is close to nil, but then, you never know."

Every muscle on Raina's body slackened. She stared up at Sebastian like a trapped animal. Alex looked stricken. Cordelia reached out and grasped his shoulder in sympathy.

Is he talking about body birth? Surely not rape--- "Cora, would a child upset temporal stability?"

She blinked. "More than that... yes. It would bind Raina to this timeline," she added as an afterthought.

Sebastian said savagely, "Do you think your brother ever forgave you for choosing to keep your somatic cells? For everything that happened afterwards? Of course not. I always understood why you did it. I still understand. We may desire revenge of each other, but you always said: revenge is a dead thing. Power is better. Do you realize the possibilities? I can immunize you, Raina; you can live in this universe, with me."

As a slave. Good God, woman, they're empty promises! Ekaterin's grip tightened on his arm.

"I can spare your family, Raina."

At that, she looked up. Tears dribbled down her face. No, no! Keep fighting. Please. Miles stepped forward, only to be yanked back by Cora. Their little bubble had shrunk again.

"Is he... really dead?" Raina's voice was small.

"The Guardian xenophobes had to be appeased," shrugged Sebastian. As though it hadn't been his idea in the first place.

She looked beyond Sebastian, at Alex. There was steel in her twin's eyes. Miles saw the reason, his heart sinking: she had made her choice.

"Then take off his ring. With your own hands. If you really mean it."

Sebastian did not hesitate. He had the victory at the tips of his fingers. He switched off his personal force shield, and stepped towards Raina.

It happened very quickly.

Alex moved forward to the boundary of the force shield, fists clenched. Raina was still staring at him.

Felice had tied Raina's arms at a high angle; Sebastian had to lean forward to reach her hand. He paused before her face, perhaps to gauge the feeling in her eyes.

His other hand reached down towards her hips.

At that moment, Alex's body suddenly relaxed, as though drained of all energy. But he said one word, clearly: "Kill."

At that, Raina's eyes shifted away from her brother's lips. Her whole body tensed as Alex's had gone limp, and eyes blazing, her neck snapped forward---

Miles caught the flash of teeth just before he shut his eyes.

Sebastian didn't have time to scream.

Blood gushed out of the open wound in his neck, pooling on the floor, and soaking Raina. His body collapsed against hers in a grotesque embrace as his blood pressure dropped to nothing. Then it slid off, and landed with a soft thud.

Cordelia moaned softly. As best he could, Aral turned her away from the scene. Ekaterin was in shock. So, it seemed, was Raina, who was now sobbing uncontrollably. Surreally, Felice was still wandering about in her force bubble, a puppet whose strings had been cut.

In the same calm voice, Alex turned to Cora and said, "Activate Miles and Ekaterin's homing beacons. ImpSec will get here in ten minutes."