Page 67 of Warrior
The healer.
I hadn’t paid much attention when the cat-aliens shoved me inside. Then, it was all pain and screaming, with little attention paid to the structure itself. Now I noticed every rivet as Daicon's body slowly slid inside.
A series of glyphs and lines appeared on the screens in flashes of yellow and red. The Vaktaire version of McDreamy—Toovis—someone called him, plotted the information on what looked like a large iPad. At the same time, George's long, pale blue fingers flew over the console. Every so often, they glanced at each other, a nod or long drawn-out 'hmmm'causing a fissure of anxiety to cleave my heart.
Please, God, save him.
Khaion left his station by the end of the bed, standing beside Emmy, who held my hand with such fierceness that my knuckles throbbed.
When the characters flashing on the screen turned green in color, George, and Toovis issued a concerted gasp, eyes widening.
Please, God!
“What is it?” I stepped forward, wincing as Emmy’s hand tightened on mine.
Toovis glanced back at us, amazement painted on his handsome face.
“He’s tethered.”
Behind me, Khaion drew a sharp breath.
“What does that mean?” I demanded, steeling myself to hear words that marked the end of my burgeoning hope.
Toovis swallowed hard, as though he didn’t quite believe what he said next. “It means his life force remains in his body, held there by something more powerful than death.”
George turned from the screen, smiling broadly. "It's you, kida."
“Me?”
A low chuckle broke from Khaion’s lips. "When Vaktaire mate, our hearts and those of our mates beat in unison. It forms a connection that we call a teether—a link between mates that even death cannot break. When one mate dies, the one remaining either has the strength to call him back, or she follows."
“Daisy?” Emmy gaped at me.
There was nothing else to say. “I love him.”
Emmy's arms flung around my shoulders. "Oh honey, I get it. Trust me."
The look Khaion gave her sopped with adoration.
“Look kida.”
George’s voice drew me to his side. A line of green light pulsed across the bottom of both screens. Growing thicker and stronger with each beat. It didn’t look quite like the monitors I’d seen on Gray’s Anatomy, but I knew it was Daicon’s heartbeat.
My chest warmed with the knowledge. I laid one hand atop the screen, fingertips caressing the green line, while my other hand settled between my breasts. The pulse of green on the screen matched the hurried beat of my heart.
“You didn’t realize you’d mated?’ Khaion asked.
Mated? My mind flashed over the times we'd made love, my body flooding with warmth. Khaion's eyes narrowed slightly, which made me wonder if the acute sense of smell was common to all Vaktaire. The way Toovis and the other two looked at me, that answer was a hard yes. My whole body flushed.
"I didn't realize… I mean, we were kind of busy trying to escape with twenty children. How would I know?”
“Well, I thought I was having a heart attack,” Emmy snorted, glancing up at Khaion.
The affection between them was so palpable I melted a little. Happiness for my friend surged through my spirit. Her ex-husband was such a turd—if anyone deserved happiness with a hot alien, it was Emmy.
“Nothing like that happened to me.” I rubbed the spot over my heart. A memory played at the corner of my mind—Daicon and I in the stolen moments before we mounted our escape. We'd confessed our feelings, and it felt like my heart would explode—I thought from happiness, but maybe it was something more.
“What does it mean to be mated?”
