Page 17 of I Dated the Lost Song

“Not as a lover. Not yet. She has had emotional damage and has been punished for her harmonics her whole life. They have cost her family, friends, and coworkers.”

“She didn’t get training?”

“She did not. She activated in a different country, and until recently, Aksalla did not reexamine their incoming actives. So, they know she is an active but think it is sonic and under her control. I just moved her here today.”

He rubbed a hand over his face. “And I pulsed to wake up the moment she set foot on the property.”

Im-bar grinned. “And I am so happy about it. It just proves that she’s the right one.”

“Her song is powerful and very happy right now.” He rubbed his head. “I am going to get some proper rest, and I will take up your offer to be her personal trainer and her photographer. What is the schedule for the photographs?”

“Once a week. She isn’t showing yet. She’s only eleven days in.”

“Are you sure she’s the right one?”

Im-bar chuckled. “You should have seen what your sperm did when they met the egg.” She got her tablet and showed him the image, and Raek blinked and laughed. “Oh, well, if I wasn’t sure, that is very convincing. Are they building a fort?”

His sister laughed and showed him the image of the drops moving up her thigh, seeking the egg.

“They were exceptionally determined.” She blanked the screen.

He grinned. “Way to go, boys.”

Im-bar laughed. “Right. Go and get some rest. I will share the image of the blessed speck when you wake. You are going to be a father.”

He beamed. “Maybe we aren’t going extinct after all.”

“She’s coming. Shoo. I don’t want her meeting you until dinner.” She hugged him again and sent him on his way with a glass of water, just like she had when he was a child. She inhaled deeply and got control of her emotions.

From the moment she saw Cadence, she remembered her brother flinching away from others and fighting his clothing. Their family had worked with him, and he turned into an amazing defender. He saved lives all around the globe and evacuated their island just before the volcano destroyed and sank it, leaving a smouldering heap where their home had been. Aksalla had offered them refuge, but Raek had included a price for his work. He wanted an heir, and he had been looking across the globe. The problem with the Aksallan government was that they had been looking for Toulan DNA. They didn’t need the DNA; she needed to have harmonics as her activation. Cadence was the strongest they had found and the only successful pregnancy. When Im-bar saw her discomfort with the world, her memories of her brother had surged, and now a smiling Cadence walked toward the house, looking her actual age instead of a woman twenty years older.

Cadence came in and smiled. “You said to come in if I was thirsty.”

“That I did. Co-ver is our housekeeper, and she would normally be accessible, but there was a sudden occurrence that she had to attend.”

“Oh. Was it me? I can go somewhere for a few hours. I know my signal upsets people.”

Im-bar smiled. “It wasn’t you. We just had a mechanical failure, and she had to go clean up the mess. Something melted.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Im-bar walked around the kitchen and got her a glass of water and then got her a sports bottle, adding some electrolytes to it.

“Dr. Amber, have you always been a doctor?”

“No. I was a cook and baker for a number of years. I grew up on a small island, and we didn’t need much. We produced some of the most powerful actives in the world at the time. For decades, different countries were courting our best and brightest. Our population got down to just a few families. Then, one day, the volcano that our island perched on erupted. We evacuated and now had to find somewhere to take us in.”

Cadence sipped at her water and clutched the bottle. “That’s horrible.”

“You were chased from your home as well but with far less hopeful circumstances.”

Cadence blinked. “I suppose.”

“How did you get from the capitol to Aksalla?”

“I walked and swam and walked again. I was shot coming into the country, and in the hospital, I explained my family, and fortunately, they were on public forums with their hate and contempt. That was enough to get me a hearing and asylum. I went into foster care and got community college paid for.”

Im-bar saw a small crystal in the corner, and she snorted. Raek was listening. He had always been nosey.

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