“I saw a weaver demonstration a few years ago. It was very cool.”
Delia gave her a quizzical look. “Cool? Cold?”
“Sorry. Earth slang. It can also mean good. Interesting.”
“Ah,” she said, offering a tiny smile. “Cool.”
Kareena grinned. “Exactly.”
Dinner continued. It should have been relaxing and enjoyable but as the meal progressed arousal became a relentless ache. Roarr didn’t help matters. He touched her constantly. He brushed his fingers along her arm, stroked her neck and shoulders. He bumped her knee with his. None of which should make her wish for privacy and the strength to rip his clothes off. Finally it was over and they said goodbye. She moved eagerly back towards her room, but just as they reached it his comm unit beeped. He read the screen before sighing and turning to her outside her door.
“I have to take care of this, baby. Get some rest.”
He was leaving her? In this state? With an impersonal, perfunctory kiss on the cheek? Then he was gone while she gaped after him. Get some rest? Before she could stomp after him in fury, Parker’s door slid open.
“You’re back.” She gave her a shrewd look. “Are you okay? Come in here. We’re getting drunk together.”
Since she wasn’t getting laid, she figured she might as well. She followed, half smiling, wondering why. Zola lounged in one chair and lifted her glass in salute. Kareena helped herself to some of the blue wine the Delroi called gazzi. It was sweet and smooth. She’d already had a couple and probably shouldn’t have more, but what the hell? She sat at the desk chair while Parker took the bed.
“What’s up?”
Parker gave her a shrewd look. For someone planning to get drunk they both sure looked stone cold sober.
“I think we should be asking you that. What did you find out? What do they plan to do with us?”
Her voice was heavy with suspicion and Kareena didn’t blame her, but she had another concern.
“Listening devices?”
“Zola is doing some telekinetic mumbo jumbo just in case,” Parker answered.
“Roarr says we aren’t prisoners. He says we aren’t going to Laney Bradford.” Kareena paused, realized she’d allowed him to distract her and was irritated at her inability to get some simple answers. “He said we’ll be in Saber City tomorrow and a place called the Keep after that.”
“All of us?”
Shit. She hadn’t even got that much out of him. “Of course. Why would they separate us?”
“But you don’t know that for sure,” Parker said. “I’m not sure if I should be happy you’re breaking your dry spell or worried about who it’s with.”
Kareena flushed hot. “Both,” she muttered.
“We need to speak to Janice,” Zola said. “I haven’t been able to get near her.”
The telekinetic assassin sounded more than a bit stunned by that news.
“I haven’t heard any news on her,” Kareena added. “But when they came for us, it was clear Janice and Falkor were together. That bond…”
She let the thought trail off and shivered. A psychic bond. Strong, true, and unbreakable. Kareena had only run across them a few times in her life, but even with her powers offline she’d known it was there.
“We can only hope,” she whispered. “That Janice has influence and is reliable.”
“Well, she’s a hell of an assassin,” Zola said dryly. “I’m sure she’s both. That doesn’t mean we can trust she has our best interests at heart. She’s obviously chosen a side with the Delroi.”
“So what do you want to do?”
“Stick together,” Parker said. “If it becomes necessary, we escape and look for sanctuary.” She gave Kareena a shrewd look. “If you think you can manage that.”
She didn’t take offense, but she did roll her eyes at her old friend. “I know what I’m doing.”
She didn’t admit she’d been having the best sex of her life with Roarr. She didn’t have to. But Parker was right. They didn’t understand the culture or political situation. They didn’t know where they fit in either. She’d be wise to use this time to shore up her defenses against him. It was obvious he’d been assigned their keeper. She wondered if he’d been ordered to sleep with one of them or had taken his own initiative. Had he been promised one of them? Did it matter? Either way she might be sleeping with the enemy and that could become a deadly game real fast.
“My powers are at one hundred percent,” she said. She had to change the subject, had to repress and ignore that twinge of hurt, of self pity, when she realized she might just be a means to an end for Roarr.
“So are mine,” said Parker.
They both turned to Zola, who bit her bottom lip and shook her head.
“I’m about seventy.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not sure if the rest will ever come back.”
“Telepathy?” Kareena asked. They needed it to communicate, but Zola’s main power had always been telekinesis.
Zola shook her head. “It’s gone.”
Kareena did a little mental probing. “Your shields are solid.”
“That’s not connected to telepathy, though. I need that to control my other power.”
“One of us really needs to talk to Janice,” Parker reiterated.
Kareena snorted. “How? She’s in Falkor’s quarters but he’s guarding her like a mama bear.”
Zola and Parker exchanged a look that made Kareena damned nervous. “What have you two concocted?”
Parker’s smile was serene, almost saintly, and Kareena was damned glad they were on the same side. She’d seen that smile before. “Don’t hurt anyone. And for all our sakes, please, don’t kill anyone.”
“No, no, of course not,” Zola said reasonably. Like they weren’t talking about creating an interstellar incident. “We just need a small distraction so you can get in to talk to Janice.”
“Me?” Didn’t that sound fun? She got to play sacrificial lamb. Zola and Parker exchanged a look.
“We figure if one of us got caught, you could explain it away. You know. Curiosity. Since you’re sleeping with one of them,” Parker said with a patently fake innocent smile. Great.
“It’s just sex,” she said. Paused a moment before muttering, “really, really good sex.”
“So no doubt, you do have a question or two for Janice,” Parker said drolly.
Kareena nodded, conceding the point without answering affirmative. Because she wouldn’t be asking Janice anything about Roarr. That required a level of trust she just wasn’t capable of. “Okay. What did you have in mind?”
“I can mess with the computers a little, disrupt the gravity in the storage areas. They’ll scramble everyone to secure their cargo, and send Falkor to make sure it isn’t a security breach.”
“You can do this without getting caught?”
Zola scoffed. “Watch and learn, my friend.”
She closed her eyes and concentrated. Kareena felt her power swell and several seconds later an announcement went out over the comm system. Unfortunately, it was in the Delroi language so she had no idea what it was. Zola stood and led the way to the door.
“Come on,” she said. “You’ll need me to trip the hand plate so you can get in the room.”
They hurried through the corridors, sneaking by warriors hurrying in the opposite direction. Outside Janice’s room, Kareena signaled Zola to wait a minute while she focused on the inhabitants trying to determine if Falkor was inside. She only felt one presence and gave the go ahead. When she stepped inside Janice was sitting up on the bed smiling and shaking her head.
“If I wasn’t certain y’all aren’t up to no good, you’d be in serious trouble.”
“Desperate times and all that.” She could see Janice was still weak and fatigued so she got straight to the point. “We need to know what’s going to happen to us.”
“You’re free. You’ll have to find your own path now, Kareena.”
She had no idea what to make of tha
t statement. It wasn’t exactly the reassurance she was looking for.
“We aren’t being held somewhere? We’ll be free to come and go and not held as some kind of bargaining chip with Earth?”
Janice sighed. “The Delroi would never use a woman as a bargaining chip. You aren’t prisoners. But women don’t have the freedom of movement on Delroi that you’re accustomed to either, especially in the Southern clans.” She held her hand up when Kareena would have argued. “It’s not about freedom. It’s an overprotective, patriarchal society. At least the warrior caste is.”
“And we’re in the custody of the warrior caste,” she said bitterly.
She sensed more than saw Janice smile. “Trust me. It has its advantages.” Then she gave Kareena a shrewd look. “I think you’ve already discovered some of them.”
She blushed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Ah, I see. Well, you could always find another protector, in another caste. Believe me, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to meet people. Barak’s house is like Grand Central. It’s the center of power in the south.”
“So we’ll be in Barak Trace’s custody?”
Anxiety caught her off guard. Roarr certainly didn’t seem to think that was what was going to happen. But…that’s what she wanted, right? To put distance between them?
Janice rolled her eyes. “Not prisoners, remember? But yes, we’ll set you up there. He has room and he’s the southern chief. He’ll want to make sure you’re protected.”
“I can take care of myself.” She tried to say it firmly, but it sounded more defensive. Janice gave her a shrewd look.
“You have no money, no family, no friends, no power. Like it or not, you need a patron.”
The bottom dropped out of her stomach. A mix of fear and rebellion made her tremble. She’d been alone and destitute before. She’d survived then. She’d do it now if she had to.
“Lucky for you,” Janice went on. “Delroi warriors are honorable and loyal. Barak won’t toss you out on the street.”
There was something in her tone that made Kareena wary. “You think he should?”
“Why were you in that prison?”
She barely caught herself from snapping back the answer, recognizing the subtle shift in telepathic power brushing against her mind. “You’re good.”
“Apparently not,” Janice said dryly. “You’re not talking.”
But she didn’t push and she could have. Even depleted her power was substantial. Kareena decided to answer. “I helped people escape Tel. The last time got us caught.”
“You were part of the underground.” There was a hint of respect in her tone now. “All three of you?”
“I don’t know Zola’s story. You’ll have to ask her,” she said, grateful she could answer honestly.
“Fair enough.”
Janice yawned. “Falkor is on his way back, and he’s irritated. Don’t worry, I won’t rat y’all out,” she said, with a laugh in her voice.
“Why do you find this amusing?”
“Ask me again in a few weeks. I’m really tired, Kareena,” she said apologetically.
“Of course.” But she paused before leaving. “Your bond with him…It’s very strong.”
“Yes. It’s something Delroi males can do,” she said softly. “It’s not as frightening as you think.”
Kareena knew some of her fear had bled through her shields and struggled to bottle it up. “Maybe. But it’s not for me.”
“We’ll see,” Janice murmured, as Kareena slid out the door and returned to Parker’s room, somehow managing to avoid Falkor on the way.
Chapter Six
Things were not going her way, but Kareena wasn’t giving up. She didn’t know how to surrender. They’d arrived at Barak Trace’s home and she’d been somewhat relieved to see Britt Anderson there. She didn’t know the woman personally, but she knew her reputation and knew she was a friend of Laney Bradford’s. In clandestine circles, Britt Anderson was a legend. And she was trustworthy.
Roarr on the other hand? Kareena wasn’t so sure of him. Though her powers had returned, she was far from physically recovered, but she didn’t have to be at full strength to know Roarr Idis was a major threat. He’d decided she belonged to him. The one thing she’d go down fighting for was her freedom. She’d never be a prisoner again. Which was a problem, because he was insisting that she move into his house, while Parker and Zola stayed with Barak. She’d like to say her objection was to being separated from the only two people she knew without any doubt were allies, but the truth was she was afraid to be alone with him.
Kareena still wasn’t sure what to make of her conversation with Janice the previous evening, but she was pretty sure it had to do with this mate nonsense Roarr had spoken of. She didn’t want to strengthen the bond she felt growing between them. She didn’t want to be trapped.
“Kareena?” Parker asked. “I think it’s a bad idea for us to separate.”
“I agree. I’ll take care of it.”
She waited until Falkor left, took a deep breath, and waded back into the fray. “Listen,” she said to Barak and Roarr. “We won’t be separated. If space is that big an issue put me in touch with our ambassador.”
That was a seriously calculated risk. All three of them were probably on a wanted poster somewhere.
“Let me talk to Laney Bradford at least,” she tacked on. The former sergeant major was married to one of the Delroi leaders and was known to be a straight shooter. Kareena figured she’d at least hear them out. Before either could respond, a new man joined them.
“She has a point.” He gave her a slight smile, looked over Parker and Zola, and turned to Roarr. “It would be easier to treat them, and probably aid their recovery, if they stay together.” He shrugged. “We have the room.”
Her elation at his defense quickly fizzled out as she watched the look the two men exchanged and the words sank in. They wouldn’t be separated. Great. But she would still be under Roarr’s roof. She held her breath while he thought it over, but she had a sinking feeling she knew what he’d decide and she was right. He nodded.
“We do have the room.”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary,” she said, trying to keep distance between them. “We can share here.”
The last thing she wanted was more alone time with Roarr. It had been hard enough to rebuild her shields and resolve after their last encounter. But the other man shook his head and held his hand out. He seemed okay, so she took it.
“I’m Jarek Idis. Roarr’s brother. I’m also our clan’s chief healer. You and your friends will be under my care until you’re fully recovered,” he said, almost affably for a Delroi warrior. She didn’t believe he was a simple healer for a minute. “That would be much simpler if you were all in our house.”
It sounded so reasonable the way he presented it. The overworked physician who could keep three patients right at hand. The problem was she thought it was a lot more than that. But since she couldn’t say what, she didn’t have any reason to protest did she? They were the ones seeking asylum. The Delroi didn’t have to give it. She sighed.
“Okay. Fine. As long as the three of us stay together.”
“No problem,” Roarr said, but the smile he gave her said it was going to be a very big problem indeed. For her.
Roarr wanted to shout his relief. He finally was getting the cagey woman in his territory. She’d spent the flight to Delroi fighting him or avoiding him. She wouldn’t be able to do that anymore. He was hoping to have everything settled between them before he took her to the Keep tomorrow. There were things he’d expected needed doing in Saber City, but Barak had anticipated them and everything was in place. He was ready to hurry Kareena out, when Britt stepped forward and stopped them. She gave him an amused knowing look as she approached.
“We’re going shopping,” she said, with a sweet smile that hid the assassin Roarr knew her to be. She sidled up to Barak, tucked her hand in his back pock
et, and fluttered her eyelashes. “I know you’re busy, but I’m sure Roarr and his brother can come play guard duty.”
Barak’s eye twitched, but he held back his laugh, which Roarr was damned grateful for. He’d seen his chief’s der’lan in several roles but this one stunned him. Give her a gun and he wouldn’t bat an eye. But acting like a Delroi female? The sun was more likely to explode. He watched her warily.
“We could do that. What are you shopping for?”
“Oh, lots of things,” she said airily. “I’ve seen your house, Roarr. But we’ll start with clothes.”
“What’s wrong with my house?” he asked, insulted.
She just arched an eyebrow. “You’ll see.”
There was nothing wrong with his house, damn it. It had been in his family for a thousand years. Kareena laughed and he was so charmed he almost missed her words. “Maybe that’s the problem?”
He enjoyed her gentle teasing, but that wasn’t why he grinned back at her. That wall she’d put between them, trying to block their bond, crumbled a little more every moment they spent together. She’d read his thoughts without thinking of the consequences. She was beginning to trust him whether she wanted to admit it or not. It wouldn’t be long before she was sharing more of herself. Her secrets, her background, how she’d been captured. He was haunted by those mysteries.
It hadn’t been a full week since they’d rescued her, but every night when he closed his eyes he saw her when she’d come out of that small prison. It still made him want to kill. He knew he’d get over that to some degree. Eventually. He wasn’t so sure she would get over her determination to stay unfettered. And the bond between der’lans didn’t work that way. Once it was completed, neither of them would ever be free.
He hadn’t really believed the stories. Hadn’t believed there was woman who was his perfect match until he’d met her. Convincing her of that was proving a more difficult challenge than he’d anticipated.
“Let’s get this over with then.” He sighed. If he had to shop to get Kareena in his home, fine.
Freedom (Delroi Prophecy) Page 5