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FORTY-TWO

SONYA

“So what did he say? Did he agree that you could buy me?” Sonya asked eagerly, as the big Kindred walked into her room.

But her excitement faded as the grim look on Davrik’s face told her everything she needed to know.

“He didn’t, did he? Oh, no!” She sank down on the side of the bed, her face in her hands.

Oh God, what was she going to do? She couldn’t go with that horrible Trollox—she just couldn’t! He wanted to stretch her out until he could put his cock inside her. Then he would fill her full of his burning seed so he could get her pregnant with his hideous baby! The very thought was enough to make her feel like puking and screaming and crying all at the same time. She would go crazy if he touched her again—she was sure she would!

“Sonya…baby girl…” Davrik sat beside her and put a big, warm hand on her back.

Instinctively, Sonya leaned towards him and he cuddled her close to his broad chest. Even with the bad news hanging over her head, the big Kindred still felt like shelter to her—like the only safe port in a storm. She didn’t know why she trusted him so instinctively—maybe it was his warm cedar and spice scent that drew her in and made her crave him and feel safe in his muscular arms. But to her, he felt like home in a way she could barely describe, even to herself. It was like they were meant to be together.

For a long moment, she let herself take comfort in just being held. But she couldn’t stay safe in his arms forever.

“What are we going to do?” she asked at last, looking up at him.

“I’ll tell you what I’m not going to do,” he said grimly. “I’m not going to let you be taken away by that fucking Trollox, baby girl. I don’t care how much he paid for you, you’re mine and I’m never letting you go!”

The light in his pale blue eyes was so fierce it nearly took Sonya’s breath away.

“I believe you,” she said. “But…how can you stop Grox from taking me?”

He sighed and raked a hand through his thick, black hair.

“I have several ideas—several plans but we’re going to have to be careful. I’m afraid that things got heated on my side during the negotiations and we’re going to be watched carefully by the guards from now until the end of our week together.”

“They’re always watching,” Sonya said grimly. “They patrol the halls constantly.”

“But they do change shifts occasionally.” Davrik sounded thoughtful. “I know Thorians—they’re big and extremely strong, but they need a great deal of sleep because they burn energy so quickly. We need to find a time when they’re changing over and everyone is thinking of something else.”

“They change shifts early in the morning—around two or three o’clock—and then again during dinnertime,” Sonya said. She’d made a study of the guards too, back when she’d first come to The House of a Thousand Flowers—before she’d decided trying to escape on her own was a non-starter.

“Good—all right, that’s useful,” Davrik rumbled. “There would probably be less people around in the early hours, but that’s when they’d expect us to try and get away.”

“It’s more crowded at the dinner hour when everyone is going back and forth to the restaurants,” Sonya offered. “Lots of people come into The House of a Thousand flowers just to eat—you know, for a night out on the town.”

“That should be our best bet then,” Davrik said thoughtfully. “We’ll act like we’re going to Last Meal and see if we can slip out the front door while the crowds are coming and going.” He tilted her chin up to look at her. “But I want you to know something, baby girl—even if the plan fails, I’ll still come for you. I’m not leaving you here in this place—I swear I won’t.”

“I believe you,” Sonya whispered, looking up at him. “But I don’t understand—why do you care so much about me? I mean, we haven’t known each other that long.”

“I’ve known you for years, baby girl,” he murmured, stroking her cheek. “I know you don’t understand that now, but I promise I’ll explain everything once we’re safely away from this place.”

Sonya didn’t understand, but she did trust him. For some reason, the big Kindred cared deeply for her—maybe even loved her. Though she found it hard to understand how he could become attached to her in such a short period of time, she believed that he would save her.

She had no idea, though, how wrong their plan would go when the time came…

FORTY-THREE

LAN’ARA

“Kindred Mother Ship, this is Commander Lan’ara calling. Mother Ship, please come in.”

Lan’ara waited impatiently for the answer. Beside her, in the passenger seat, Nate was sitting. His broad shoulders were slumped and he was looking out of the viewscreen, not seeing the swirl of stars against the velvety blackness of space. Instead, all his attention was turned inward.

Lan’ara could feel his self-loathing clearly—it came through the Bond they had started forming from the moment they began Dream-sharing so many solar weeks ago. Most people thought that the only way to achieve a Soul Bond with a Kindred was through Bonding Sex, but what they didn’t understand was that the Bond began forming from the earliest moment of their relationship. Bonding Sex sealed and solidified it, but it was perfectly possible to form a partial Soul Bond which was strengthened with every look, every touch, every act of intimacy or tenderness.

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