Lethal Heritage

Victor's blond head came up and his smile broadened as his roommate stepped into and nearly filled the doorway leading from the Kommandant's garden. Victor raised his hand and waved. "Over here, Re

Tall and broad-shouldered, Renard Sanderlin acknowledged Victor's greeting with a smile and a nod. He turned back and led three more people into the room, then ate up the distance between himself and Victor with long-legged strides. Engulfing Victor's hand with his own massive paw, he pumped Victor's arm warmly. "Hey, Vic, glad to see you still here. There was a line at the restaurant ..."

Victor waved off the excuse and grabbed Re

The embarrassed flush that began with Victor's enthusiastic response deepened as Re

Victor released their son and extended his hand to each in turn. "I am most pleased to meet you." Albert Sanderlin wore a dark business suit, which Davion knew was brand new, both from the stylish cut and the uneasy way Re

Victor then smiled at the beautiful young woman who completed the group. "And you are Rebecca Waldeck. I recognize you from the holograph Re

Re

Re

Victor saw Nadine Sanderlin stiffen, then begin to drop into a curtsey. He leaned forward, gently catching her by the shoulders. "Please don't," he said, color rising to his cheeks. He pointed to a gold cord looped around Re

Nadine Sanderlin pressed a hand to her mouth. "Forgive me, Highness. I should have recognized you from the news holovids ... It's just that you seem so much, I mean, in the holovids, you're ..." She stopped, embarrassed again.

Victor reassured her with a smile. "I know. I think the holovids make me look taller, too." He laughed easily. "I feel sorry for the camera operators, most of whom are your son's size. Their directors have them shoot from impossibly low angles to make me seem taller. At 1.6 meters, that means the angles are verylow, indeed."

Victor glanced at Re

A grin brought life to Albert Sanderlin's angular face. "You have to understand, Highness ..."

Davion held up his hand. "Victor ... please."

Sanderlin nodded briefly. "Victor, we weren't quite sure if Renard was stretching the truth a bit when he sent us a holodisc saying he'd become your roommate his last year at the Nagelring." He held up his calloused hands as though to ward off a protest. "Not that we'd expect Re

"I understand, Mr. Sanderlin." Victor smiled warmly. "As I hear it, if someone in the cadet corps hasn't reported himself to be my roommate, he's at least claiming to be in the same company." He turned to Re

Re

Victor shrugged. "I just told Morgan he'd be missing the hottest graduate of the Nagelring since Katrina Steiner herself. If you hadn't measured up, you'd not have been made a Lion." The Prince of the Federated Suns and the Lyran Commonwealth turned his attention back to Re

The girl, her long blond hair just a shade darker than Victor's, nodded shyly. "When Mr. Sanderlin offered to bring me to Tharkad to see Renard graduate, I couldn't say no." She twisted a simple silver band on the ring finger of her left hand. "We haven't seen each other since Ren left for the Academy."

Albert smiled proudly. "The quillar crop was very good the past two years. Nadine and I promised ourselves a trip off Rijeka before we died, so we decided to do it now and see Re

Albert Sanderlin's voice trailed off as another cadet and his family expanded the intimate group. "Mother, Father, I wish to present to you Duke Victor Ian Steiner-Davion. Victor, these are my parents, Don Fernando Oquendo y Ramirez and his wife, Lenore."