Balastar’s expression turned cold. “Good luck with that,” he said, leaving him behind and heading back up the hill.
“I don’t need luck,” Ian growled. He didn’t waste any time catching up to Balastar.
The intensity of the connection eased off. He didn’t know if it was because the drug was wearing off or simply his connection to Dani wavered. They approached the back of the structure silently. Ian signaled to Balastar. They each went a different way around the sides of the building. They would round the corner to the front at the same time and see what they found. He gripped his laser and another crippling wave of emotion hit him. This time the image was of himself, getting out of his bed after Dani saved his life. Her pain and confusion when he looked at her like she was dirt seared through him. He’d left her there and gone to take a shower. Now it was her shame and humiliation as his father stared at her. Frack. Ian shook his head, then rubbed his face trying to focus. He stepped forward and turned the corner to see a guard’s back to him, a weapon trained on Balastar. He fired and took the man out. Stunned, not killed. Not unless necessary. Balastar stood there, hands out as if to say “what took you so long?”
No other guards were evident. They moved to the center of the building and found two closed double doors.
Ian moved to open the door with his psi, but stopped. Given the open connection between him and Dani, it could injure her. He nodded for Balastar to get it instead. They stood clear as the doors opened and waited. Nothing. They stepped inside to find cells running left and right. Something pulled Ian to the left. Balastar followed after. They found Dani and Ria in the last cell. Their tense bodies curled into balls on the floor.
Balastar blasted the door open with a laser. Ian couldn’t handle touching Dani right now. They were both being affected by the suppressant. He motioned for Balastar to take her and picked up Ria.
Voices came from outside. They rushed back to the door.
“We may have to take our chances with a move,” Ian said, “get your focal point ready.”
Three guards burst through the door, lasers aimed and most likely set to kill.
“Look what we have here,” the shortest guard said. “You just hold still boys.” He spoke into a device on his wrist. “We got ourselves a councilman and another male here, boss. Looks like they’re trying to make off with your catch of the day.”
Gordat Prayda’s voice replied. “The other male, he wouldn’t be tall and blond would he? Boy by the name of Ian Cavacent?”
“You’re out of line, Prayda,” Ian said.
“You’ve made this so much easier,” Prayda’s voice cackled. “Kill the men.”
Ian squeezed the focal point.
Chapter 20
The room blinked out and Ian hit the ground hard. Fortunately, soft purple grass caught their fall as he rolled sideways, trying not to crush Ria. Only it wasn’t Ria next to him. It was Dani.
The movement jarred her awake and she reacted by stumbling unsteadily to her feet, ready for an attack.
“Stay calm, Dani. You’re safe.” Ian scanned the area, hoping he was right. There was no sign of Balastar or Ria.
“What are we doing here?” Dani turned in circles. She held a hand to her head and stared at a spot on the grass.
“Are you okay?” Ian tried to put his arm around her for support.
“Stop!” Dani stumbled backward. “What are we doing here? Why would you do this?”
“Do what?”
“Bring us here. That’s sick.”
“I didn’t bring us here. Gordat ordered us killed. We had to signal Armond to pull us out. Suppressant affects the portals. We had to take a chance on a move. I’ve never been here before. When were you—”
He saw Balastar leaning in to kiss her. Here, in this glen. She was still projecting. Not as strongly as before, but enough.
A primal growl ripped out of him. He spun around and stomped away from her. I did not need to see that. Jealousy and anger filled him. He heard Dani cry out and turned to find her on her knees. She leaned forward till her forehead rested on the grass and cradled her head with her arms.
“I can’t do this,” she said. “I can’t do this, Ian.”
He heard her sobs and her anguish wrenched his heart. Every part of him wanted to go and comfort her, but he was having enough trouble of his own. Every pulse from her psi filled him with random thoughts, memories, and such intense emotion it was as though he’d taken the suppressant himself. He clenched his fists and forced himself to stay calm. Dani was awash in paranoia.
“You’re going to be okay, Dani. It’s going to wear off.”
“No. What if it doesn’t?” Her voice was muffled as she spoke into the grass.
“Suppressant always goes away.”
Her body relaxed as the wave passed. She sat up, tears streaming down her face. “Why are we here? Why you?”
“I can’t answer that. Like I said, it affects the way portals work. We’re lucky we didn’t end up in an ocean. Or orbit.” What he didn’t say was that he suspected she’d done it. Somehow she’d directed them here. Not Balastar. Him.
His com chimed and he answered.
“Thank the Goddess. Are you okay?” Balastar’s concern obvious.
“I’m fine. Do you have Ria?” Ian asked.
“Yes. We’re at the Inn with Armond. You have Dani?”
“Yes. She’s getting better, but slowly.”
“Ria too.” Balastar’s voice had an edge to it. “Ian, after Ria and I got here, Armond decided he had to get your dad out.”
Ian checked the time. It was still three minutes before the hour was up. “That’s five moves under an hour.”
“I know. He’s passed out, but breathing. I don’t know if he’s okay or…if your dad even made it to Earth.”
There was nothing he could do but hope for his safety. Right now, they needed to get to the space port.
“Call the cruiser back, then come and get us.”
“Where are you?”
Ian had to laugh at the absurdity of it all. “You’re not going to like it. Here, I’ll send you the coordinates on my com.”
Balastar coughed on the other end of the line. “What in the Goddess’ name are you doing there?”
“No idea,” Ian said.
“We’ll be there as soon as possible.” Balastar disconnected.
“They’re coming to get us,” he said to Dani.
Dani flinched. “Balastar is a good man.”
“Yes, he is.”
“He’s nice. And funny.” Dani looked at him. “Why are you here?” Her shoulders slumped but she seemed more stable.
“I don’t know. Balastar had you and I had Ria. It must have to do with our…relationship. It’s a good thing we’re together, though. We’d never have found you if you ended up here alone.”
She shook her head, not understanding.
“Armond gave us focal points to track us and to signal if we needed help. A lot has happened since you left. He’s making portals with that box we found at the villa. Portal Masters are helping him.”
“No! Ian, they’re helping Gordat.”
“Not all of them. Some are coming with us to Earth. Already there, actually. We’ll fill you in later. You okay?”
Dani wrapped her arms around herself and rocked back and forth. “It comes and goes now.”
“It’s going to stay gone eventually. Hang in there.” The only reason he didn’t go to her is because he’d been inside her head. She was truly conflicted where he and Balastar were concerned. Which was entirely his fault, given the way he’d treated her. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
Dani just nodded. She looked around the glen, her gaze stopping at a flattened spot.
Her anger and confusion rippled through him. She was ashamed of the way she was dealing with the suppressant.
“You’re handling this as well as anyone could, Dani.”
/>
“How do you know what I’m feeling?” Frustration clear in her voice.
“Our connection. I’m getting hit with your emotions. Comes and goes. I’m a sponge where you’re concerned and I can’t block it very well.”
“You’re getting all of this? Everything?”
Ian nodded. “Images too.”
“Well that’s just great.” She hugged herself harder and put her head back on the ground.
Images of Balastar and himself flashed across his mind. She was trying not to think of them, but it just made it worse. She groaned and tilted slightly side to side.
He spun back around. He needed some space. He headed toward the waterfall, hoping the noise would drown out her anguish and his own emotions.
* * * *
Dani desperately wanted to hold onto the clarity that came more frequently now, but each time, the onslaught of pain and memories washed over her again. Every painful event she relived amplified a hundred times. Even the good stuff with her parents was awash with the pain of their loss. Every time she thought it was over, more surfaced. Finally, after what seemed like days from the time she’d been injected, but probably only hours, the intensity subsided. Each attack had caused her body to tense, and now she sat up, her muscles were sore and stiff.
“It’s getting better,” Ian said from behind her. He came around and crouched a good ten feet away. “I can’t feel much anymore.”
The reminder of how much he probably knew brought a flush of embarrassment. It was surreal sitting in the glen with Ian. She nodded slowly. “Every muscle in my body hurts.”
“Going to be that way for awhile.” Ian picked up a pebble and hurled it across the grass to splash into the stream. “I’m really sorry about your parents, Dani. I know exactly how much you loved them. And I’m sorry about the way I treated you. Sorry I pushed you away. Right into Balastar’s arms.”
Ian grabbed another rock and stood, this time hurling the thing into the waterfall three hundred feet away. He kept his back to her, the muscles on his neck bulged with tension.
Dani watched him throw rocks into the falls. His movements were stiff.
Thank God, Balastar and I didn’t do anything more than kiss. “I’m sorry you had to see that,” Dani said.
“Don’t be. It was my fault.”
“True.” Dani struggled to stand but knew she wasn’t going to make it. “Ian, I need help.”
He hurried to her side and helped her to her feet, wrapping his arm around her waist. Her legs trembled with the effort. She feared she might collapse at any moment, but the warmth of his touch and the support he provided were a little slice of heaven.
“I need to get my legs working again. Don’t let go.”
“Never.” His voice was almost a whisper.
“Over there.” She indicated a boulder next to the water. “I’m seriously thirsty.”
He held her tight as they made their way, step by step. Each step hurt, but it was so good to be moving she didn’t care.
Ian helped her sit on the rock and looked around. He walked over to a large tree with massive purple leaves and pulled down a branch. He pulled off a leaf and returned to the stream. Folding the leathery surface, he bent down and filled it with water.
She took it gratefully. “Nice trick.”
He refilled it when she finished.
“I think I cried every ounce of water out of me.” She set the leaf aside. It uncurled and dripped the last bit of liquid down the rock.
The surface of the pool rippled. The sound of the idyllic waterfall and the stream emptying off to the left was perfect. She thought of her parents, without pain this time. Just the sadness she was used to. She remembered the love they shared, the intensity of their relationship. Losing them had torn her apart, and she’d spent her life avoiding any such entanglements. Until now. She met Ian’s gaze. He searched her face, looking for what, she didn’t know. She took a slow deep breath. “That stuff makes it pretty hard to hide. Even from yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means I found some clarity among all that pain. Once you realized who you were and stopped trying to fight the bond, I fought it harder.” She turned her body to face him, wincing with the ache in her muscles. “I took every nasty thing you did to me and held tight to it. Even after, when I knew why you did it. I held tight to the anger because it protected me.”
“From what?”
“From you. From everything you represent. Being with you isn’t normal.” She tried to run her hand threw her hair but it was a tangled mess. I must be something to look at right now. She started separating the strands. “It’s not normal. Not like—not like being with Balastar.”
Ian shifted his position. “Normal is highly overrated.”
She’d always thought so too. “What happened the other night, in my room—”
Ian started to speak but she waved him off.
“No, don’t. It wasn’t your fault. I was right there with you till…”
“Till the end. What happened at the end?”
“I panicked. I was mad at you for getting close to me again, but I also freaked out. I lose control with you. I feel like I’m sinking underwater and I’ll never find my way back to the surface. Never be me again. I know this bond thing is permanent and it scares the hell out of me.”
Ian inched a little closer. “I get that. Makes sense. I think that feeling was, in fact, the beginning of the last phase of bonding. I can tell you, from what I’ve heard, you do lose control. In a way. It’s more of a focus on our psi and losing touch with our bodies for a while. I can also tell you no one has ever complained.”
Dani couldn’t help but smile. How could anyone complain about that kind of pleasure? Pleasure because of her psi. Her smile slipped. He’d touched her just now and her psi hadn’t responded. “What if it’s gone? My psi. Or damaged. Ria said that could happen.”
“She was right. We won’t know till the suppressant is out of your system, and probably not for hours after that. Don’t even think about using your psi till we know it’s safe. It would be acutely painful and you’d have no control of it.”
Dani toyed with the leaf in her hand. What if her psi was gone? She’d never bond with Ian. The thought of making love to Ian and having normal sex, like any other man, sent fear through her. For the first time, she wanted to finish what they’d started. Her feelings for Balastar were strong, but she couldn’t see her future without Ian. Her emotions were a wild mix of highs and lows. Could she really handle a relationship? Would it work? Another stab of fear. She pictured them lying in bed late on a Sunday morning. Absolute joy washed over her. What if he left her, or died? Her heart pounded with the thought. I am such a mess.
“Easy. Just breath through it. Let it pass. You’ve got a weird mix of emotions here.”
Ian rubbed his hand up and down her back. It was heaven. Pure heaven.
Shit. Now, I’ve gone and fallen in love.
Ian’s hand froze.
She cast a sideways glance at him.
“I got that one,” Ian said. “Do you mean it?” His voice held such hope.
She tore the leaf in half and inhaled the odd citrusy scent. “What if my psi is gone?”
He lifted her chin to face him.
“Don’t care. I love you with or without psi.”
Chapter 21
The trill of a cruiser horn made them both jump. Dani groaned when she saw Balastar at the controls. He looked so happy.
Ian stood and helped her to her feet. He looked happy too, and more than a little smug.
“Be nice,” she said.
“I’ve never been this happy in my life, Dani. I’ll be nice.”
He smiled and her heart melted. She loved that smile. She loved him. Her legs were coming back to life and she easily made it to the cruiser.
Balastar hopped out but remained by the door. He watched them, noting Ian’s possessive hand o
n the small of her back. His jaw clenched when he opened the door for them. “You okay?” he asked.
“Getting there,” Dani said. She reached out and put a hand on his arm. She glanced between the two men. Both of whom she loved on some level, but only one of whom she couldn’t live without. Ian slid into the cruiser, giving them a moment of privacy.
Balastar shifted his weight to the other foot and looked inside the cruiser. Ian sat next to a shaky-looking Ria. They talked quietly. Armond lay sprawled on the rear facing bench seat, looking deathly pale.
“I take it the bond wins, huh?” Balastar asked.
“I never meant to hurt you.”
“I know.” He gave her hand a quick squeeze. “I wouldn’t want to deny anyone their psi-mate, even if I could. Get in. We need to move.”
She climbed in and sat between Ian and Ria. “How you holding up?”
Ria managed a lopsided grin. “Not as good as you from the look of it.” She nodded toward Ian. “’Bout time you stopped fighting it.”
The cruiser lifted off and swung around the way they’d come. Sunlight glinted off the stream that fed the waterfall.
“You were right,” Dani said to Ria. “That really sucked.”
“Yeah. If I ever see Gordat again, he’s a dead man.”
“How’s he doing?” Ian asked, checking Armond for a pulse. It was weak, but steady.
Ria brushed some stray hairs off Armond’s face. “Balastar managed to get some protein concentrate in him, but that’s all. He’s got to be drained. He needs healing and food. I wish I could help him.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Ian said. “Not till you’re clear.”
“I know.”
Ian sat back and put his arm around Dani’s shoulders, pulling her close. She shut her eyes, comforted by his touch and Ria’s presence. Since her parents had died, she hadn’t belonged anywhere. Now, with these people, she was home. It didn’t matter what planet they were on. With Ian by her side and Ria, Jared, Marco, all of them. She was home. Almost.
* * * *
Nearly twenty minutes later they landed outside a dingy-looking warehouse. Ian had explained the plan and it sounded as good as any. A scruffy-looking man who had to be Rucon’s old friend, Trulass, guided them into a hanger bay.
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