Page 145 of Return of the Nine

S’rin helped her to her feet, and she was able to line herself up until she had the same view that her father did. “That moon shouldn’t be there. I can’t see it through my father’s vision.”

S’rin smiled and expanded the view of the moon. It was green, lush and heavily armed with bases and turrets visible from space. “Your parents are on this moon. That is why you couldn’t see it. They are standing on it.”

She smiled and took a few steps before she collapsed.

Dr. Meevin shook her head, looming over Vida with a curious look. “You unmated morons. I am shocked how you Gaians fight the bonding. You should have locked in the moment you met.”

Vida sat up and groaned. “What the hell?”

S’rin was next to her in an instant. “You fainted. Your system was in shock.”

Meevin flicked her hand at him. “If you were accurate when you said she had sent her mind across the stars, I have no doubt that she was in shock. She was lucky that her brain wasn’t scrambled.”

“She is sturdier than that, and I was backing her up.”

“And yet, you aren’t linked, so it was not a perfect seal. Idiots.”

Vida rubbed her head and swung her legs off the medical bed. “You have an excellent grasp of the Gaian language, Doctor.”

“It has been growing by leaps and bounds since yourcompatriots have begun arriving. No one gets into odd medical scrapes like a Gaian.”

“We have a talent for it.”

Meevin laughed. “That is what you all say. Now, you are fine, you need to eat and get some sugar in you. Your system is out of balance, oddly enough.”

“I will see that she gets what she needs, Doctor.” S’rin helped her off the table and held her against him for a moment.

“See that you do. I have never seen a Gaian with mating weakness before, but I suppose there is a first time for everything.”

Vida made a face and said, “Thank you, Dr. Meevin.”

S’rin walked out with his arm around her, hauling her along.

“We are going to lunch?”

He made an odd sound. “No, we are going to the mating gardens. Then, we are going to lunch.”

“What?”

“In a woman of the Nine, your little fainting spell is considered a sign that a true mate has been found. The bonding is carried out immediately before your body goes into full revolt.”

“But I am not a lady of the Nine, so what is going on?”

“We don’t know, but if a bonding can solve it, we will not wait. Will you bond with me?”

She snorted. “Yes, S’rin. I will.”

Over lunch, Vida tried to recall the details, but all she knew was that he had bitten her, she had sliced him and their mingled blood was placed into a stone that registered their union.

There had been some vows about sharing everything, but all she remembered was the glow of his soul as he looked at her with his entire being. It had been like being bathed in adoration.

She was hungry enough to devour her meal, but she didn’tremember it either. They were eating in the Balance section of the ship and the meals were carefully prepared and designed to please the eye. All she saw was S’rin.

After the meal, he took her to his quarters and they rivaled Ziggy’s for space. He disrobed and removed the black and white suit that he wore underneath. His skin had the same swirling light all over.

Vida shucked her clothes off and folded them neatly before turning to S’rin and taking his hand. He led her into the bedroom and kept the lights off.

Together, they struck a balance, and when it was over, they did it again.

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