Page 50 of Hunted

“We are known for our healers,” she suggested then shrugged. Gods, he wished he could see her clearly. “We were also the closest planet to where the battle took place. It could have been no more significant than that.”

He tried to identify his rescuer, but thinking made his head throb. “Who? Is he all right? How many of my crew survived?”

“There is plenty of time for your questions. You need to rest and heal.”

Her evasion made him angry and for a moment his blurry vision cleared. Mistress Air was older than she sounded. Her dark hair was liberally streaked with gray, but shrewd intelligence gleamed in her silvery gaze. “Tell me. I will not be able to rest until I know.”

“It’s always the stubborn ones,” she muttered then met his gaze. “He whispered the name Senarra as he died. He never told us his name.”

Verbet nodded as emotion clogged his throat. “Senarra was my navigator’s mate. I was standing right beside him when the ship exploded.”

“He was very brave toFlowthat far. Most would not have made it.” After a long pause, she said, “If you give me his name, I will notify his family. Is there someone I can notify about your condition? I will need your name as well.”

Mistress Air didn’t know who he was? How disappointing. On Torret he’d grown every bit as notorious as Jevara. Verbet shook his head as emotions tried to drown him. Anger, helplessness, and grief twisted and tore at him, nearly as painful as his damaged flesh. “His family needs to hear it from me.”

“And your family?” she tried again. “Allow me to contact them. I’m sure they are worried about you.”

He ignored her question and asked, “Did I lose my entire crew?”

She sighed, but her voice was steady as she said, “No one else made it here and our scans indicated that there were no survivors in the wreckage. I’m very sorry for your loss. Now, sleep. You are doing well, but your recovery has far to go. You need to sleep.”

What did she mean he was doing well? “How long have I been here?”

“Three weeks.”

“The explosion was threeweeksago?” He tried to sit up but she pushed him back down, her warm hands firmly pressing on his shoulders.

She whispered words he didn’t understand. “You will sleep.” More foreign-sounding words.

Thick, heavy lethargy pulled him down into the darkness.

“And you will stay asleep this time.”

The qualification snapped something inside his mind and he was instantly enveloped in utter blackness.

* * *

Fire blazed from Ansley’s palms and incinerated the target across the room from where she stood.

“Oh, my God, it worked!” She laughed helplessly, thrilled that all the meditation and mental exercises had served a purpose after all. Nadis, Ansley’s mentor, had reserved this private training room hoping that fewer distractions would help Ansley ‘manifest into the physical world.’ Until this moment, the phrase had been a collection of meaningless words.

For the past three weeks Ansley had suffered through hours of boring activities meant to discipline her mind and teach her to focus. She would much rather be tromping around in the woods or climbing up the side of a mountain. But everyone insisted that Nadis was the best mentor at the Citadel, so Ansley tried to learn what each lesson was trying to teach her.

“That was excellent,” Nadis said in her perpetually calm tone. “Now pull it back just a bit and form concentrated balls.”

Ansley took a deep breath and pictured a golf ball in the palm of her hand. She imagined the golf ball catching fire and then created the dense, compact ball she was imagining. The first ball formed and she threw it at the target. Her aim was slightly right, so she formed another ball and threw again. The second ball hit the target squarely and Ansley let out an excited cry. Then she turned to Nadis and pleaded, “Teach me more. Teach me everything.”

Nadis finally smiled, but raised her hands helplessly. “There’s not much more I can teach you until you choose your mates. The more advanced techniques are designed for triads.” With silver hair and an unlined face, it was hard to judge Nadis’ age. She was physically fit and filled with energy, yet a lifetime of experience gazed back from her pale blue eyes. “You have not been my most patient student, but you’re one of the most enthusiastic. Seek me out when you have found your mates and we will continue your training. Until then, practice your skills until each manifestation is automatic.”

“I’ve already found my mates,” Ansley objected, “but Raina wants me to wait the entire thirty days before I let them claim me.”

That seemed to confuse Nadis. “Why is that?”

The question caught Ansley by surprise. She flexed her hands as she turned to face her mentor. “You disagree?”

“I did not offer an opinion. I simply wanted to know Raina’s justification for making you wait thirty days if you are comfortable with your choice.”

Wow, it didn’t take much to read between those lines. “She said that courtships last thirty days for a reason. She doesn’t want me to rush into something permanent when I could end up regretting it later. Forever is a really long time.”

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