Page 143 of Return of the Nine

She was sobbing at having come so close and having it taken away from her the moment that the ship left the atmosphere. “Why can’t I see them?”

He stroked her hair again and smoothed it away from her face. “Because you aren’t looking in the right spot. We will work this out. I have a few ideas as to how to find them. Will you work with me?”

She swallowed and looked into his strange glowing eyes. “I will.”

“Will you have dinner with me?”

Vida smiled. “I will.”

Dinner with a member of the Balance was apparently not something that most women did. The servers fell over themselves to bring the food out and they never had the same one two times in a row.

Vida leaned toward S’rin. “I think this is a little odd.”

“We normally eat our meals in the Balance section of the ship, and courtship is done in the same manner. We separate the women from their communities to see if they can accept our ways.”

“You didn’t think that it was necessary with me?” She laughed and sipped at the strange cool-hot wine that had been served with dinner.

“You are one of the most accepting women I have ever met and the most determined to have your own way at the same time. The balance is incredible.”

“What will you think if I solve my problem by finding my parents and I have to surrender my quest?”

She could hear the smile in his voice.

“You will find another quest to drive you. You cannot remain still.”

Vida cocked her head. “You actually are getting satisfactionfrom that thought.”

“Yes, I am. You have a difference from the women more often chosen by our community, and yet, you fit in perfectly.”

“Do I?”

S’rin took her hand. “Your aura calms when you enter the Balance area. Your mind clears and you smile a little. You already want to be there. With us, with me.”

Vida sighed and placed her hand over his. “I do. I fight every day to keep myself calm, to keep my sight clear. In that one place, it comes to me effortlessly. I haven’t felt anything like that since before the Tokkel attacks.”

“You can feel that every day if you agree to be mine for life.”

She blinked. “Just like that?”

“There is surety in my mind, just as there is in yours.” He kept his hand on hers.

“How is it done?”

“We go to the gardens and exchange blood for blood. We can return to your quarters for the night and make the announcement tomorrow, but we will have to bond on the same day that we mate for the first time.”

She blinked and pulled her hands back. “Too fast. Ask me again tomorrow. I am still getting over having my bones overhauled.”

He reclaimed one hand and pressed a kiss to her fingers. “I will accept that and I will ask you again tomorrow.”

Ziggy escorted her to the Balance section the following morning and left her alone with S’rin.

He ran a detailed exam on her with the scanner that Meevin had brought in. Her transformation was still underway, but she was getting stronger.

Once the exam was over, she found a chair and pulled it over. She stood on it, flipped the hood of his robes back and kissedhim, just to try it on for size.

His arms snapped around her and held her tight to him until he was ready to release her.

When she had finished her exploration and her head was spinning with energy that wasn’t all hers, she lifted her lips from his. He slowly opened his embrace and she braced herself on his shoulders as she stepped to the floor.

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