Page 115 of Rescued

The thoughts were bubbling in her head day and night and at the same time, she couldn’t help remembering the way he’d touched her and tasted her at The House of a Thousand Flowers. She missed having his big hands on her and feeling his hot tongue between her legs. She missed being held in his arms and breathing in his warm, spicy scent.

But what could she do to bring him back?

She still hadn’t come up with an answer by the time they flew out of the fold in space and found themselves right back where they had started. Or so Sonya thought.

“Hey—that’s the Mother Ship—we didn’t go anywhere at all,” she protested, pointing to the vast, pearly white ship on the viewscreen.

“That is the Mother Ship, but it isn’t the one we just left,” Davrik told her. “This is the Mother Ship of my own universe. Let me call them for clearance to land and you’ll see.”

He made a call and was answered by a deep male voice, granting them docking privileges. They flew down into what looked like the exact same Docking Bay they had just left.

Waiting for them was a tall Kindred warrior with spiky blond hair and pale blue eyes. He smiled when he saw Davrik’s face and his smile got even wider when he saw Sonya coming out of the ship behind him. With a little shock, she realized that this must be the male version of Commander Sylvania. Davrik had told her that the Kindred of his universe were 95 percent male, but actually seeing the male counterpart of the Kindred Commander shook Sonya up a bit.

“So—it seems you’ve returned with what you were seeking,” the male Sylvania remarked, offering a forearm to Davrik, who took it and squeezed firmly.

“I did. By the grace of the Goddess, I was able to find Sonya and bring her back with me,” he said. Then he reached into an inner pocket and pulled out the black and white Rubik’s Cube thing. “Here—I am returning the Far Box. I no longer need it but I thank you for the use of it with my whole heart.”

“You’re very welcome, Davrik. I’m glad you found her—I know how important Sonya is to you,” the male Sylvania rumbled. He nodded at Sonya and smiled. “Hello—I’m Commander Sylvan, head of the High Council. You’re very welcome here aboard the Mother Ship.”

“Oh, er, thank you.” Sonya nodded and gave him a tentative smile. Seeing the male versions of the Kindred she’d gotten used to being female was going to take some time to get used to, she thought.

“Sonya is looking forward to seeing her family—they live on the peninsula of Florida,” Davrik told Commander Sylvan.

“Oh, well I’m afraid it’s nighttime in Florida and the rest of the continental US right now,” Sylvan said, frowning. “In fact it’s…” He consulted a complicated looking watch on his wrist. “It’s about two in the morning by human time.”

Davrik turned to Sonya.

“I know you want to go see your family, but I’m afraid we’d probably wake them up if we went right now.”

“That’s all right—we can wait until everyone is up. I’m tired anyway,” she said quickly. To tell the truth, she was still nervous about what she was going to say when she saw her mom—or the other Sonya’s mom—again. She couldn’t pretend to be the other Sonya—that wouldn’t be right. But would her mom still accept her, even if she wasn’t the exact daughter she had lost? And how would the rest of the family feel?

Try not to think about it, she told herself uneasily. You don’t have to worry about it this minute anyway—just let it go for now.

Trying to take her own advice, she nodded goodbye to Commander Sylvan and let Davrik lead her through the vast Mother Ship to the suite that he had shared with the other Sonya.

“I would say I hope you like the way it’s decorated, but I don’t think it will be a problem,” he remarked, when they reached their destination and the metal door slid open with a faint hiss.

Sonya stepped inside and took in a breath. Just like the long-range shuttle that Davrik flew, the luxurious suite was decorated exactly to her liking. Clearly she and her doppelganger had the same taste.

“It’s beautiful,” she admitted, looking around the living area which had gorgeous prints on the walls. A quilt that the other Sonya’s grandma must have made had been framed and had pride of place over the mantelpiece of the small fireplace.

“I’m glad you like it. Are you hungry or thirsty?” Davrik asked, striding from the living area to the kitchen—or food-prep area as the Kindred called it. “I find that folding space makes me extremely thirsty sometimes.”

Sonya was feeling a bit parched. She followed him into the kitchen and watched as he opened a strange kind of Kindred fridge. There didn’t seem to be many shelves inside—instead, everything was in some kind of square or round container and all of them were hanging from hooks.

“Hmm, let’s see…” Davrik was rummaging around inside and he pulled several bottles off their hooks and set them on the counter. He opened a few of them and sniffed but it wasn’t until the last one—a clear bottle that seemed to be filled with a peach-colored liquid—that Sonya’s own nose perked up.

“Oh—what’s that one?” she exclaimed, pointing at it. “It smells like passion fruit and strawberries!”

“Oh, this?” Davrik frowned and recapped the bottle hastily. “This is nothing. It’s left over from…from before I lost my Sonya.”

The way he said “my Sonya” made Sonya’s heart ache. She wished the big Kindred would refer to her that way. But so far, he still hadn’t made a move to touch her.

“Oh…okay,” she said in a small voice. She could tell he still missed her doppelganger, who had been his wife, after all. Maybe there was no way she could ever fill her place.

“Sorry about that.” Davrik cleared his throat. “How about some fer’liztzian thirst-quencher? It’s very hydrating and has a pleasant taste my Sonya always loved.”

“Sure—that sounds good.” Sonya nodded and watched as he poured her a cup of bright blue liquid. It did taste good—it had a faint hint of cinnamon and exotic alien spices—but she couldn’t forget the tantalizing aroma of the peach colored juice.

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