Dear Diary,

  Y'know, if ever I get to give feedback on, y'know, life, like if I really am the one leaving the yelp review for the existence at the end of time, I'm definitely gonna maybe make some pointed comments about giving ultimate cosmic power to a dumbass with terminal severe untreated ADHD and expecting her not to fuck shit up by forgetting half of what she intended to do most of the time.

  I mean, if I remember. Which I probably won't. Which might explain why this happened, since there's no negative feedback going to whoever it is responsible for building universes and shit. Not that I really think there is, but even if there is, they're clearly thinking shit like "ever since we took away deliberate conscious recall of important information from our universe reviewers, actionable feedback is down by a bajillion percent! Such a good idea!"

  I wonder if there is somebody I'll get the opportunity to taint punch them. Just for funzies.

  So yesterday, not long before dinner time, I lay next to a once again unconscious Siobhan, watching in the mirrored ceiling as I ran a finger down her sternum, amused at how the sweat dripped back into the temporary channel I made. In case it's not obvious, I'm easily amused. Just to be clear, she'd passed out after the second time, then begged for a third time, then got real creative with bribing my desire to remain a responsible adult partner away to get a fourth. Honestly, I think part of why I found it so fascinating is because while I've had my own consciousness deliberately stolen away by my ladies, frequently at my own request, I'd never really done it on purpose to one of them before. Definitely not without the assistance of one or more of them.

  Right as her eyes fluttered open, I remembered something. "You awake yet?"

  "I'm not certain. Did I die?"

  I smirked at her. "Like I wouldn't Revive you if you did."

  She pouted. "But this is supposed to be my afterlife. My eternal reward. My place of endless rest."

  I snorted. "Yeah, um, I've been told that's not technically resting."

  "Oh, what are you going to do, Co-Locate one of you here for all eternity to put me to endless use as your personal pleasure slave?"

  It took me a little bit to get my worst Dark Fatass impulses under control. "Do not tempt me, Ice Pop."

  She batted her eyelashes at me. "But... that's exactly what I was trying to do."

  I took a deep breath. "Okay. Fine. If you die and for whatever reason I can't Revive you, this is your place."

  "Forever?"

  "Yeah, forever. As long as you want to stay here, anyway."

  "With you?"

  I smiled. "Sure. Can't promise I'll be here twenty four by seven, because I still need to sleep, can't stay Co-Located while I'm sleeping, and I may have kids who need nursing and shit."

  "Bring them here."

  I rolled my eyes. "Fine. As long as it's, like, not unsafe for them."

  She pursed her lips into a cute little pout. "I can't argue with that. Fine." Then she looked longingly up at me. "Please don't forget about me and leave me alone, though?"

  "I won't do that, Siobhan. Darling. I promise." Then I remembered what I'd been thinking about before she woke up. "Oh, hey, Siobhan, you know Cadets Ryan and Chloros?"

  She paused in thought for a few moments. "Not personally. I've heard them mentioned in Staff Meetings."

  "Yeah, just remembered, the two of them were sharing a tent during our Recon mission."

  She tilted her head. "And?"

  I ran my finger down her front until her eyes got wide. She gasped as I said, "I mean like this kind of sharing a tent."

  "Yes. Yes, yes. That's why they came up in the Staff Meeting. Known thing. Please don't stop."

  I paused, leaning in close enough to feel her hot breath against my lips. "I dunno. I'm feeling a little anxious myself."

  Her lips curved against mine as she whispered, "I am at your disposal, Champion."

  "I dunno. I'm feelin' awful tired after this afternoon. All that work. Kinda feelin' lazy."

  "What would you have me do?"

  I rubbed my nose against hers, just to enjoy the feel of her skin on mine. "I think you doing Marie's little trick would be adorable."

  "I'm not sure I'm strong enough for that."

  "I'm not sure you need to be." She hesitated, and I said, "not gonna tell you to do it, but I'd really like it if you try."

  "What if I fail?"

  "Oh, I'll probably get all frustrated and show you the proper technique."

  In the perfect kohai voice she kinda squeaked out, "as many times as I need to get it right?"

  "Glutton."

  "I'm sorry!"

  "Not a complaint. Roll me over whenever you're ready." She raised one tentative hand to my shoulder, pushed, and I rolled, pulling her with me as I did. Turns out Marie's shears (because they're like scissors, only bigger) don't require strength so much as persistence and precision.

  Also, turns out we wound up late to dinner, as our sudden audience of Mittens and Kitten taunted us about as they gave Siobhan a round of polite applause.

  As I spooned fish stew into Siobhan, enjoying the pleasant aroma of onions, garlic, and lemon as I did, I got a little pouty and said, "why don't I ever get applause?"

  Saffron stopped Marie from putting another spoonful into her mouth long enough to say, "because you, my love, are confident enough in your own abilities that you don't need it. Much like Marie here. I concede, Marie, when done properly fish and onion pair beautifully." Then she put her mouth where her money was and opened wide for another spoonful. That got me, and after putting another spoon into Siobhan, I tasted some myself while she savored.

  Oh, holy crap this is good. Thank you, Mittens.

  Welcome.

  I didn't want to waste mouth time that could be savoring Marie's fish stew on speaking, so I thought, I think I've managed to fool you all, though. Probably Blend or something like that. I really could use some positive feedback now and then?

  Even Siobhan's mental voice slurred just a little with her absolute enjoyment of the stew. You mean loss of consciousness and repeated requests to make it happen again weren't enough?

  As I kinda pouted, Saffron took a momentary break from stew appreciation to say, "Don't worry, love. We'll see to that after your meeting with Lord Lancaster on Thorsday."

  Oh, hey, should I call him 'Leonard' or 'Lenny', do you think? I don't want to dunk on him, but I don't want him getting full of himself either.

  This time Saffron didn't bother to empty her mouth. Leonard would be right and proper. Also, I will reward you with anything your heart, mind, and body desire, up to and including things all four of us would decry as depraved, if you call him nothing but Lenny.

  I might have kinda whined at that. Marie? Siobhan? What do you guys think?

  Marie, a twinkle in her eye as she spooned more stew into Saffron, said, "Lenny."

  Meanwhile Siobhan murmured, will you be intending insult by calling him by a nickname?

  I shrugged. Nah. I call his son Larry all the time, because he's my buddy. Intending to deflate him a little, maybe. Intending to insult him? Fuck, I'd just call him Shitstain McGee or something like that, like I did with Gregor.

  Then Lenny isn't entirely inappropriate. There are some benefits to being in a position of power.

  I grinned at her as I booped her nose with the spoon after delivering another load of fishy goodness. Didn't I just get those?

  Saffron chuckled and said, "I rather thought you'd put her in the position of power." Then her eyes narrowed, and she said, "wait, you did the same with me, only on a much grander scale." Then she turned to Marie and said, "Marie?"

  I nearly did a spit take with my soup when my Murder Mittens Mimicked my own mental voice and thought at us, Do whatever the fuck you want. Just get. Me. Clean. Understood?

  Saffron just lifted an eyebrow and murmured, "Hmm?" Then again, her mouth was full of soup again.

  Hey, I trust my ladies with whatever power they want or need, especially over me.

  "Oh, really?" Saffron punctuated that with mental images of Tallulah and Karen.

  Not what I, the images got a lot less clothed, not to mention a lot more animated. Oh, fuck.

  She smiled at me, the expression mirrored by Murder Mittens. Siobhan just kept savoring her soup. The images merged into a single three person scene, and I almost didn't recognize myself in Saffron's little mental vignette.

  Wait, no, didn't mean... I trailed off, kinda weirded out by Saffron's mental image of me. I didn't exactly have fewer scars, but they weren't such a big focal point for her. I didn't look nearly as cut as I did every time I looked in the mirror. I didn't look soft, but I looked maybe lightly padded. Well, lightly padded everywhere except my ass and tits. The former had a complete lack of padding, and the latter were, as always, inexplicably full and round. But the rest of me looked way more feminine than I saw myself in the mirror, and I had no idea what to do with that.

  The mental vignette had also blown past PG-13, straight through R, and left NC-17 in the mirror. "Gah."

  The picture of demure, mindful grace, my Kitten appeared in the vignette and said, I'm sorry, love, is this not to your liking?

  "Little overwhelming."

  Only a little? That won't do at all. So she joined in.

  I realized right then that my blonde beauties had the same vignette playing in their heads as both of them snickered in unison. Then I absolutely did spit take when Tallulah murmured, "not my preference, but it wouldn't do to turn down an invitation from my Goddess." She sat over between Ria and Menace, her daughter leaning into her, which prompted a weird but not displeased look on her face. She nodded to Marie. "My compliments, though. This is excellent."

  Saffron didn't miss her cue, which left me gaping a little as they managed to completely lob the very adult conversation ball right over the heads of the kiddos. "Yes, Marie is more than capable of allowing anyone to enjoy that which they might not otherwise."

  "That's kinda the understatement of the year." My head snapped around to see Karen sitting opposite Tallulah, right between Alex and Lindsey. "Good soup, by the way. Never thought I was missing out giving fish a pass before, but here we are."

  I might have whimpered a little then, because along with losing mouthfuls of fishy deliciousness, my tiny tyrant still hadn't stopped with the increasingly graphic mental images. At a loss for anything coherent to say, i shoved a replacement spoon full of soup into my mouth, only to have Siobhan steal it away via liplock. What did you expect? I've been waiting here with my mouth open for minutes, dear Champion.

  Didn't help at all when all four of my other ladies snickered at that. Okay, Karen giggled, Tallulah chuckled, and the other two snickered, but still. When Siobhan pulled away, an absolute mess of soup down her front from my earlier spit take, I kinda whined. "I was enjoying that soup."

  "Oh! Apologies, Mistress!" Then she picked up the bowl, emptied the rest of it into her mouth, and proceeded to reverse the liplock soup transfer process. Is that better?

  Overwhelmed by soup and kissing and ever more explicit mental imagery, I think I thought something like, you're all ganging up on me!

  My Kitten, the real one and the one in my head both at the same time, purred out, "do you really mind so much?"

  I couldn't help the pout in my mental voice when I said, no.

  "Well then. I think everyone will need a thorough shower before the Bath tonight."

  My in-flight refueling done, I lifted my head enough to look around and realize that all of our kids had taken Siobhan's impromptu bowl emptying as permission and encouragement to do the same. Ria and Maze both needed a visit from a napkin. Same with Lindsey and David. Daya and Alex both had dribbles all down their front, and Menace... "Isnomi Aetos-Diaz, did you pour your soup over your head?"

  She looked up at me, maybe slightly panicked, and said, "now I tayth good too?"

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  "You, young lady, do not need anyone tasting you. That's it! Showers for everyone!" I stepped Siobhan and I straight to the showers, trying to remain mostly unsurprised when my ladies brought the kids up the same way. I also realized that for the first time in my life, a shower disappointed me by starting out piping hot instead of letting me dunk my head in cold water for just a moment.

  When I reached to adjust the temperature of the water, Siobhan lay her hand atop mine. "Please don't?"

  I stopped, sighed, and set her on her feet, banishing her robes and my uniform as I did, trying to ignore her absolutely ogling as I bent over to pick up the cloth and soap where someone, probably Menace, had dropped it rather than putting it back on the shelf. "Fine. But you've got to tell me why."

  She T-posed for me to soap and scrub her, and before I got to her face said, "because the cold water is terribly unpleasant. I know it's not what causes colds, but I can't help but shy away from it anyhow." I scrubbed both of her arms, one with the cloth and the other with the soap, while I gave her a mock glare from about six inches. "Oh! That!" She leaned in, letting me scrub her back without moving around her, and whispered in my ear. "You're adorable when you're flustered." Her voice dropped a fuckin' octave and got way huskier when she breathed out, "and we all do so love adoring you."

  Full frontal Worship from that kinda range is definitely a sensation that's impossible to ignore or mistake. Weirdest part is that it didn't stop when I scrubbed her face, which desperately needed it after all the messy soup exchange. When I'd finished and rinsed her off, she smirked and said, "Now you."

  I sighed, T-posed, and closed my eyes. "Be gentle?"

  "Of course, Mistress. If that's what you really want?"

  "Lemme guess. I'm just as messy as you were."

  She clucked her tongue. "Messier."

  "Fine. Do with me as you will, just get me clean." I didn't think the Worship could ramp up by an order of magnitude, but holy fucking shit could it ever. Also, amusing fact, if I'm tryna not be moved by Siobhan, I don't move, which let her put her everything into scrubbing me. Definitely clean at the end. Also definitely not a Marie Happy Ending shower, although I've no idea if that was due to Siobhan not being as sneaky, Siobhan not being as Skilled, or Siobhan having some sense of common decency with the kids watching. Probably all three. For which I'm grateful, because my sadistic Kitten hadn't stopped or slowed the ongoing vignette inside my head in the slightest.

  I think I kinda melted when we hit the Bath. Just lost any and all volition to do anything but float there with Siobhan and Saffron snuggled up to me while Karen, Marie, and Tallulah played tub games with the kids.

  Tallulah and Karen did not, in fact, stay the night. Or even join us in the Bedroom. Because none of us went there. I fell asleep floating on an absolute ocean of horny; surprisingly pleasant, really. Dreamt of... Well... Okay, look, I don't know how my Kitten arranged that whole scene, but I learned that the Maw can, in fact, drool. Which I became aware of when Soup Dumpling Saffron managed to gasp out, good thing... You're hot enough... To make that hot... Too.

  Woke up to Saffron tracing circles on my abs with her finger; with no one else around I reached for her, but she held me back with a palm on my sternum. "Ah, ah, ah, I have some work to do, then we have our meeting."

  I might have gotten a little bit little kid pouty. "Okay."

  She smiled at me. "I take it you'd rather be doing something else?"

  "Yeah."

  "Someone else?"

  "Nope."

  "Good. So will it be better or worse if I ask you to spend the day at my side, to remind the Grand Council that you are, in fact, by my side at all times, whenever I should need you?"

  "You gonna be in Glowing Midnight?"

  Her Grin should have qualified as assault at that point. I mean, if I weren't likely to consent to whatever she wanted to do anyway. "Without the dress whenever no one but you can see."

  I whimpered. "Why?"

  She snuggled up to me, still grinning. "Because it's been far too long since I got you to myself for a whole night, so I will absolutely be working you up to a fever pitch."

  "Didn't we... last weekend?"

  "Far too short, and far too long since then. Besides, we didn't have an audience then."

  "Buh?"

  She smirked at me, and a moment later both of us were dressed, me in The Dress, her in Glowing Midnight. She frowned at me. "Will you be embarrassed if everyone on the Grand Council knows exactly how, ah, anxious you are?"

  I thought about it for a second. "Yeah? Kinda? Which is weird?"

  She sighed. "Nothing for it, then." My Phileo uniform replaced The Dress. "There we go. Now, off we go." She gave me a peck on the cheek, and as she pulled away we stood at the center of the Grand Council Chamber.

  She was as good as her word. She worked through the morning, both one on one with individual Council members sorting out plans, and then working with those Council members to get those plans approved by the Council as a whole. I pretty much kept my eyes on her, because I... I just couldn't not. Yeah, Glowing Midnight is a lot classier than the Yandere Shobitch Wedding Gown. But it's still walking sex. Just classy walking sex. Of course, I might be biased by my knowledge of what's under the dress, and I'm definitely fuckin' biased by what's under what's under the dress.

  Of course, she was also even better than her word when it came to no one looking. I'm not sure how she managed it, other than being absolutely aware of everyone in the room, what they were doing, and where they were looking, but every time she had nobody but me looking at her, her dress disappeared, then reappeared a moment later before someone looked up.

  I may have stopped time just a tiny bit when she disappeared the corsetry as well.

  "Daughter?"

  "Ma?"

  "Yes, Daughter?"

  "Go play with your High Priest or something."

  The issues of the day included some work with Cailyn on the plans for the Naval Academy, some with Mrs. Driver regarding the current state of the agricultural and food portion of the economy, which apparently was still getting somehow subsidized by the Alliance as a whole to make sure nobody starved, period, and oddly enough some work with Olivia Orange about inter-City Heroic authority, rights, and duties. When she finished up with all that, she nodded to everyone, said, "I'll be updating the Champion regarding our progress in various matters for the afternoon. Please let Marie know if you absolutely require my attention."

  Holy shit the way she said that made me realize that any 'attention' they got was gonna wind up with somebody missing body parts. Maybe the Councilor who summoned her, maybe whoever fucked up so bad that a Grand Councilor needed to summon the Imperator, but still.

  The next thing I knew we sat at that little bistro on the river down in Phileo. "You remembered!"

  She smiled sadly. "Siobhan reminded me. But this is a sweet memory, love. I hope I won't spoil it by talking of business."

  I reached out and touched her cheek with my fingertips. As she leaned into the caress, I said, "if I'm with you, nothing could spoil it."

  The Grin reappeared. "Even knowing my corset is missing?"

  "That's just spicy, and we both know I love me some spicy."

  She nodded. "So, what did you want to know?"

  I thought about that for a minute, then said, "What's up with duBois, what's up with Adrienne, how are the folks at the bottom doing in the Alliance, how are we getting money to pay for shit, what are we spending most of it on... um, how are we doing on making sure everyone has food, shelter, medical care, and education?" She smiled at me, nodding as I made my list. As an afterthought, but an important one, I said, "also, what do you think I should know that I don't?"

  "Quite a list." She held up one finger as I almost literally felt her mind racing, then she said, "very well. Please stop me if you need clarification." I nodded, and she started. "Marshall duBois is, as of our last communication via Scrying Portal..."

  "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait up. Scrying Portal?"

  She smirked at me. "Like the ones you used at the Battle of the Bay, love. They're something of an open secret; everyone saw them at the Battle, and every crew member on our Alliance ships knows we have them, but very few people know precisely how they work or their limitations. Which are mainly that few other than you have the power to allow for actual transit of human sized or larger objects, let alone ships."

  I looked around. "Should we be talking about this here?"

  "Filtration Ward."

  "Nice. Go on?"

  "Are you staring at my tits?"

  "No!"

  She pouted. "Why not?" Before I could respond, she took my hand, lay her other arm across the table in front of her, and leaned over toward me. Cleavage. Magnificent. Wow. "That's better. Now, as I said, as of our last communication, the government of Saint Boltophsburg, which is much more involved with their Pantheon of Gods than anywhere you've been before, what with the founder of the City and their ruling House being a Demigod himself, is being... obstructionist."

  "You need me to pay a visit?"

  She made a little moue. "No. I rather think that's what they want. They're not being rude, or aggressive, or in any way doing anything that requires a military or otherwise violent response. Should they do so, the Black Dragon is on standby. Near the limit of her range, but she is, after all, highly mobile. No, love, I think we let them stew until they specifically request your presence, and do so in a diplomatic enough fashion that you feel invited rather than threatened."

  "Not really feeling threatened with Black Dragon as backup."

  "Were you even feeling threatened facing the Dire Bear?"

  "Maybe?"

  "I rest my case. Anyhow, they're treating him as an honored diplomat, or were at last communication. Which brings me to the first of the things I think you should know. We've redirected all of our Divination assets to discovering the source of those Dire Bears. If whatever it is produces another, larger one, we may not be able to stop it short of the Alliance border."

  "It gets in reach of my big tentacles, I'll stop it cold."

  She just smiled at me fondly. "What do you think is the defining feature of the 'Alliance Borders', love?" I blushed as much at not realizing that as anything else, and she continued. "Prior to that, we'd been using all Divination and Intelligence assets to determine the current location of Adrienne Crow. She's protected by multiple layers of powerful anti-Divination Shaping; I'm almost ready to ask Conrad for assistance, honestly. But we have managed to narrow her location to 'the base of a peninsula in Atlantis'."

  "So, Jackville?"

  She shook her head. "Possibly, but that could also refer to Compton or even Saint Boltophsberg. I've asked the Marshall to keep an eye out there, but Compton and Jackville will require their own diplomatic missions if we want to be less subtle about things."

  I nodded. "Okay. Really want to at least find out where she is and how she's doing, maybe get her an invite to Ria's birthday party."

  Saffron just smiled warmly at me and continued. "As for the least fortunate in the Alliance, that overlaps with your question of food, shelter, medical care, and even education." I nodded, and she explained. "In every City where it's needed, the Alliance has moved to set up simple shared housing for any who cannot afford their own. Those same buildings house free kitchens and clinics, the former organized by Mrs. Driver, the latter staffed with Heroes with knowledge of Healing Shapes, supported by the University doctors."

  I'd latched on to one thing, so I asked, "where it's needed?"

  "Yes. In Camden Yards, Mayor William Driver has already built on his parents' legacy of making sure no one in the City starved. Working in conjunction with local farmers and the Heir Consort of Lancaster House, they've not only expanded that aspect of Drivers' a bit, they've also built free housing into their Town Hall and Academy, with access to the Dining Hall and Infirmary. As for their Academy's Kitchen, I suspect Mr. Driver is competing with the Maenads of Phileo as to who has the finer food for its Cadets." She shrugged. "Those living at the Camden Yards Academy are expected to assist with Academy maintenance as they can, but thus far my operative's reports indicate they're very lenient as regards to 'as they can'."

  "Operatives? We're spying on our own people now?"

  She sighed. "One of the unavoidable things I've asked for Penance for. I don't think Bill would willingly oppress his own people, or even immigrants from elsewhere, but that doesn't mean everyone he trusts, and everyone they trust, is as upstanding as he is."

  "Y'know, I kinda thought you'd had people killed or something, the way you were jonesing for Penance. She stayed silent, and I sighed. "How many?"

  "To date? Twelve or nineteen."

  "Or?"

  "Twelve killed directly. Seven took their own lives rather than live without the power and luxury they'd become accustomed to stealing from others."

  I sucked my teeth. "Threats to the Alliance? More importantly, threats to its people?" She nodded. "I... I want to hear more, at some point, but I'm not sure I can right now."

  "Whenever you're ready. Or whenever you wish to chastise me for doing what I must."

  "Any since our last discussion?"

  She nodded. "Two. Both of whom took their own lives when divested of property and power."

  I sighed. "I guess that's not something we're directly responsible for." I held up a hand when she opened her mouth to argue. "Responsible for, yes. Directly, no. We'll figure something out. Their families taken care of?"

  "Of course!"

  "In the 'housed, fed, cared for' sense?"

  She rolled her eyes. "I'll not be hiding that from you when you ask about it, love. Of those nineteen, six families are now in public shelters. the other thirteen have... altered their practices sufficiently that I no longer deem them a threat to the Alliance or our people."

  I nodded. "Other exceptions?"

  "Newark is following Camden Yards' example. Calverton even more so, with the addition of the construction of seven new temples very much in the style of your Temple of Love." At my raised eyebrow, she explained, "they are as much shelters and community centers as Temples. As for Norfolk, Jarl Johnson's Jarldom has grown to twice its previous size, and its prosperity by an even greater multiple. Other Jarls have had to follow his practices or see their own former Thralls move to Jarldoms that do so. Education there is... Mostly technical rather than Academic, but still education. I'd like Olga to sponsor a proper University at her capital, but she's being oddly reluctant."

  "Want me to talk to her?"

  "If you would."

  "You got it, Kitten. That just leaves Rich Man's Port, New Amsterdam, and Phileo..."

  She nodded. "Rich Man's Port has surprisingly little poverty, at least as I would think of it. The City itself isn't wealthy, and I've discovered that much of the opulence of the Overlord's Court is, in fact, Fae trickery combined with direct access to goods which are only available via specialty traders or the black market elsewhere."

  "Such as?"

  "Chocolate?"

  That made something itch in the back of my mind, but I knew Tallulah liked her chocolate syrup drank already, and I couldn't exactly see Chocolate as some kind of horrible influence like cocaine or mushrooms or shit like that. Hell, I think both of those were used for religious purposes back in the day before people appropriated them, so if they weren't being abused, I couldn't get myself worked up about it. Shit, I even indulged in Fae Grain. For medicinal purposes, sure, but still. "Okay. so are we doing anything there? Do we need to?"

  "We'll be including the same type of free access to shelter, food, and medical care at the Naval Academy as Camden Yards is doing, although the Alliance will be paying for it."

  "Where are we getting all this cash?"

  She smiled at me. "Much of what we're doing is being done by people working directly for and supported by the Alliance itself, like Heroes and active Volunteers. However, as for actual money and goods, I've co-opted an old Athenian idea. Taxes are exclusively paid by the hundred wealthiest Houses in the Alliance."

  "Dafuq? Why are they going along with that?"

  "Because I've created a special military honor for those who do; they are declared 'Pillars of the Alliance', and their head of House and designated Heir each have a Hero, a Volunteer Unit, or both as personal guards. With that direct connection they also can of course report any crimes against their Houses directly to the Alliance, and since they're providing such support, we can consider those crimes as attacks on the Alliance if need be."

  "That shit could go very bad very fast." She cocked her head, and I said, "rich folks using Heroes and Volunteers as their own personal army. Telling the Heroes shit like 'I pay your salary'."

  Almost too quietly for me to hear, she said, "seven families have tried. All seven heads of House are among the nineteen I mentioned. Those Heroes and Volunteers are hand picked for loyalty first and foremost to the Alliance. Or to you."

  "To me?"

  "Yes, to you, love. The Champion. The Patron Goddess. The Attack Dog. The protector and defender and avenger. But I digress. I mentioned 'intelligence assets' before. Each and every one of those assigned Heroes is one of them."

  I snorted a little. "When do we get one?"

  Just as quietly as earlier, she said, "as soon as some Phileo Heroes emigrate to other Cities, opening up Heroic positions for one or more of your Senior Cadet proteges."

  I chuckled, then stopped. "Wait, you're serious?" She nodded. "Whoa. Uh. Fuck. Can I pick which ones we keep? Oh, shit, that sounds terrible."

  She just Grinned at me. "Looking to expand our family horizontally yet again, as well as vertically via our fiancée's womb?"

  "No! Gah! Just happened!"

  She laughed. "I know, love. I know. Just know that should you wish to, you've only to ask. I suppose if one or more of us found your choice distasteful, we might need to discuss matters, but so far I've nothing but good things to say for your taste."

  "You just like blondes."

  "I lust after blondes. I love you."

  "You love them too."

  "Yes, Yes, I do."

  "So you don't lust after me?"

  Her whole fuckin' outfit disappeared for just long enough for me to see nipples hard enough to cut diamond. "What do you think."

  "I think you need to finish this briefing, pronto. New Amsterdam and Phileo?"

  "The Alliance is subsidizing your Temples in both Cities, all of which will provide food, shelter, medical care, and education to all who need it. Not to mention all the children we can convince to sit still long enough."

  "Still weirded out a little by the idea of brothels that are also child care centers."

  She smiled at me. "You don't think the employees of one need the other on a regular basis?"

  "Oh. Yeah. Good point. Uh, anything else I should know?"

  At that point Saffron looked around, and I realized that traffic had slowed, mostly because the sun was closing on the horizon. "Yes. Oh, definitely yes."

  "Uh, okay?"

  "We'll need to reimburse the owner of the restaurant for me ruining this chair. Also probably for yours."

  "Uh..." That's when she hit me with a mental replay of everything from last night's dream, plus everything from the evening's mental vignette, followed by holy shit the mother of all detailed plans to scour me absolutely virtue free, just in case I still had any.

  "So, love. Shall we be going?"

  Heroically fighting a delaying action long enough to get out a single sentence, I said, "the boots, stockings, and garters stay on."

  Yeah, I didn't say it was much of a sentence.

  Saffron batted her eyelashes at me, took my hand, and said, "as my Goddess wishes," right before everything else evaporated like mist. "Shall we adjourn to the Bedroom?"

  My chick do things your chick wish she could.