Page 97 of Rescued

I wish I could be her—I wish I had her life. But I can’t and I don’t. I’m just me and apparently that’s not enough. I’m not her and I never will be.

Desolation filled her and she broke down and sobbed.

FIFTY-FOUR

DAVRIK

Davrik felt like shit, as the humans said. Of all the times he’d pictured this in his mind, all the times he’d tried to plan it, he had never envisioned it going this badly. He’d never imagined letting her go.

I came so far to find her! I can’t lose her again! I can’t give her up! argued a little voice in his head.

But he loved Sonya too much to keep her against her will. He wanted her happiness more than his own—he always had.

Maybe I can find some way to change her mind—some way to make her see that she’s not just a substitute. She’s Sonya—the one that I want! The only one for me in this or any other universe!

But there was no way to make her see that now. At the moment, she was feeling hurt and betrayed and she was in no mood to listen to him reason with her. He knew her well enough to understand that pushing would only make things worse.

Davrik decided the best thing to do would be to just call the Kindred Mother Ship and ask them to fold space. Maybe once Sonya had a little time to cool down and think things through, she’d be willing to consider a relationship between the two of them again. Until then, he would give her some space.

He couldn’t think of anything else to do.

FIFTY-FIVE

LAN’ARA

“Nate? Oh my Goddess, Nate? Are you okay? Please—wake up!”

Lan’ara patted his cheeks, which were as pale as paper and then took him by the shoulders and shook him—which wasn’t easy since he was so much bigger than her.

I’ve killed him! Oh my Goddess, we ignored the priest’s warning and now I’ve killed him! she thought as Nate remained limp and unresponsive.

But then, just as she was about to run for help—even though she was completely naked—she heard a faint voice in her head.

“Easy, sweetheart,” it murmured, so softly that Lan’ara could barely hear it.

“Nate?” She looked down again and saw that his eyelids were just barely cracked open. “Are you all right? Talk to me!” she demanded.

“Can’t. At least, not with my mouth,” he sent through their new link. “So weak I can’t…can’t even move my lips.”

“Oh, Goddess—I’m so sorry!” Lan’ara felt her eyes sting with guilty tears. “I never should have asked you to fill me! We never should have ignored the priest’s orders!”

“Not your fault, sweetheart—I wanted it too,” he sent. “But right now, just want to rest.”

“Oh, of course. Let’s get you settled and then I’ll call for Commander Sylvania—she’s a doctor too, you know. The best on the ship!”

At first Lan’ara thought about trying to get him to the sleeping chamber so she could tuck him into bed, but she soon realized that was going to be impossible. If he was so weak he couldn’t even move his lips, he would be complete dead weight and there was no way she could drag his muscular bulk to the bed all on her own—he was simply too big for her to move.

The best she could do was to lower him down and raise his legs so that he was lying full length on the couch. She fastened his trousers and covered him with a blanket and put a pillow under his head. Then, panting from the effort of shifting him even that much, she looked down at him anxiously.

“Will you be all right while I go for help?”

“I’ll be fine,” he sent back to her. “Just going to…take a nap.”

“All right then—I’ll call for help.”

Lan’ara went quickly to her desk and pulled out a thin golden wire which she settled firmly around her temples. This was a device called a “Think-me” which the Kindred could use to communicate telepathically with each other even if they didn’t have a Bonding link, like the one she now had with Nate.

Lan’ara concentrated hard, sending out a call to her commanding officer and after a moment, she heard Sylvania’s thoughts in her head.

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