Page 3 of Claiming Sarah

I exhaled a breath. “I want to talk, actually. But I needed a kiss to calm my nerves.”

He carefully backed me up against the wall, a wicked gleam in his hazel eyes. “Then perhaps I should make you nervous, so you need more kisses.”

I couldn’t contain my soft laughter, because that said a lot for an alien race who didn’t normally indulge in that sort of intimacy. “Oh, you’re bad, aren’t you?”

He shrugged and wound a strand of my long, dark hair around one of his fingers. “Seeing you again has made me mischievous. I have missed you.”

Hearing him say that warmed my heart. “I’ve missed you, too, but I really do need to speak to you before you start distracting me withotherthings. Okay?”

He sighed in disappointment and dropped his hand back down to his side. “Very well, then. As you wish.” He walked away and sat on his bed. “Speak, so that we may get to theotherthings faster.”

Gathering my thoughts, I began to pace. “There are so many things I need to know and do and learn about Ladrians and the cultures and the beliefs and—”

“This seems like it will be a very long conversation then,” he said, interrupting me in that formal, classed tone of his. “Perhaps some refreshments?”

“Soon, yes, but Jac…where is he?” I asked of the man who’d originally abducted me, and had become a companion to both myself and Deacon. “I would have thought he would be back from dropping me off on Earth by now.”

“He had returned before you, but, well…” Deacon frowned and hesitated a few second before continuing. “I gave him a new assignment, and I do not know if you will be unhappy about it.”

My body tensed for bad news and I stopped pacing as the unthinkable jumped into my head. “Did you send him off to unite with someone else?”

“No, I—”

“Then I’m not going to be unhappy about it,” I said in a rush of relief.

He took a breath and huffed it out. “I sent him to see your father, Volatile.” When I stared at him in confusion, he went on. “When we found ourselves in need of a conduit prior to your forcible relocation—”

“You mean before you two kidnapped me from Earth?” I asked in a wry tone, then waved a hand in the air between us. “Yeah, go on.”

He winced at my wording, but continued. “Jac and I had discussed visiting Volatile to find out where his other children are, to see if any of the others might be a conduit, like you.”

“Oh, right.” I nodded, remembering when Deacon and Jac had originally told me of this plan. Thank god my sisters Elizabeth and Jenny didn’t fall into that category, despite being Volatile’s daughters, as well. As far as I knew, neither one of them could see or communicate with ghosts like I could.

I placed my hands on my hips and narrowed my gaze on Deacon. “So not only were you replacing me withSilence, but you were also replacing me as a conduit with some of Volatile’s offspring?”

He arched a brow. “Please understand, Sarah. You could never be replaced in our hearts, but you were the one who left us, which meant we still needed a capable conduit to handle the ghost situation here on Halla.”

“I know, and I’m sorry,” I said, calming down. “So, Jac’s with my biological father now?”

“He should be on Volatile’s island by now, yes.”

“Volatile has an island?” I asked, fascinated by the thought.

Deacon nodded. “After the war, your father relocated to an island on the Diamond Sea of Orhon, far from the land. Rumor has it, he wanted nothing more to do with politics. His wish is to live out his years on his island and away from everyone but his servants.”

“I understand the urge,” I murmured. “Can you call Jac back here to Halla?”

“I can try, but if he has already made contact with Volatile, he cannot leave so soon.” Deacon stood and walked to the enormous monitor on the wall. “Allegiant, callSovereign,captain’s quarters,” he said, to touch base with Jac’s ship.

“CallingSovereign,”Allegiant’ssmooth voice responded.

I stopped beside Deacon. “Why wouldn’t Jac be able to leave right after contacting Volatile?”

He glanced down at me and explained. “One of the many things for you to learn about Ladrians. When you are with an elder royal, you do things on their terms.”

After a moment, the monitor screen was filled with a view of Jac’s empty quarters.

Deacon said, “Allegiant, the infirmary.”

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