Kylee indicated the glasses. “You might take a drink. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re, like, the center of attention. Not sharing a drink someone’s bought for you? I’m told it comes across as particularly rude.”

“Now why would I, of all people, have the slightest interest in being polite to a sewer creature like you? And what are you? Some hybrid freak with your too-pointed face? Those bug-big eyes? And Derek called you his sister? Really? Or, as I would guess, is it that my mutant brother can’t find companionship? He’s so desperate he’s warming his cock in your too-willing slit?”

“Nice try.” Kylee set the glass down. “But you really aren’t very smart. You keep making mistakes, even when presented with easily interpreted data. How can I be Dek’s sister? You, Manilla, and Allise are the only sisters he knows about. Unless good old Claudio spread his seed far and wide.” She narrowed an eye. “And Dek’s already landed the most fantastic woman on the planet.”

“Then,” Falise said with a frown, as if struggling, “What are you to my brother?”

“I’m lineage. Lineage is an entirely different thing. Dek, Talina, Tip, Flute, even that pus-sucking Whitey out there. We’re all linked. Can’t say that I’d mind sex with Dek, but he and Talina are remarkably monogamous.”

“Talina Perez? And my brother?” Falise’s eyebrow lifted in distaste.

“Shit on a shoe, woman, you keep making my point. You’ve been on Donovan for a couple of days, and you don’t have the foggiest clue about the simplest of things.” Kylee leaned forward, propping her chin. “Whatever Claudio and Miko sent you to do, how do you expect to do it when you don’t have the first fucking notion about how things work here? For a supposedly superior Taglioni, you come across as a laughingstock.”

Falise put a hand on Ednund as the man started to rise, his teeth grinding, eyes flashing blue hatred. She actually had to struggle to drag him back down.

“Don’t,” Kylee turned quetzal eyes on his. “I know you’re trained. Dek told me all about what you and Clarice do for Falise. Problem is, you’d be up against quetzal reflexes and strength. Doesn’t matter which of us might win, all it would do is further damage good old Falise’s image. It’s a no-win for you, pretty boy. Even if you killed me, Dek, Talina, Tip, or Flute would kill you.”

“Why?” Falise asked.

“You really don’t get this lineage thing, do you?” Kylee sighed. “Now, pick up the whiskey and take a drink. It’s your first step toward repairing your image.”

Falise shot some kind of meaningful look at Ednund and then Clarice. The three of them took glasses, lifted and sipped.