* * * * *
Throbbing pain penetrated the darkness. Hurried, male voices spoke in a language Echo didn’t understand. Something brushed against the side of her face. She tried to raise her hand to escape the irritant, but she couldn’t move her arm. Panic surged through the pain, clearing her head. She opened her eyes and felt a second rush of adrenaline.
She was strapped to an examination table. A burly Rodyte glared at the man standing on the other side of the table. The second man had gray-tinted skin and a faintly reptilian appearance. Was he Linusian? The Rodytes often interacted with the people of Linusia.
The Rodyte made an angry gesture toward her, and the other man rested his hand on her forearm. Neither glanced down or sensed her wakefulness. She closed her eyes just to be safe and reached into the Linusian’s mind. Not wanting him to feel her presence, she kept her telepathic touch light and focused. She found the communications center of his brain and absorbed the three languages he was able to speak.
“Do you understand my dilemma?” the Rodyte was saying. The harsh, guttural language made him sound angry. “Stirate Quentin is expecting fifty-eight men. If I present him with the two females, he might be thrilled with the bonus, or he might kill me. There’s no way to anticipate his reaction. If I turn over the men and keep the women, I run the risk of his finding out and—”
“You’re dead for sure,” the other man replied. Echo moved deeper into his mind. His mother was Linusian, but his father was Rodyte. He snatched his hand back. “Sir, she’s awake.”
The Rodyte grabbed her chin and turned her head toward him. No longer needing to be subtle, she established a link and dove through his memories. Starting with the present, she sank no farther than was absolutely necessary. She couldn’t pick and choose which memories she viewed, so she’d learned early on to limit her contact. Varrik and the other men were locked in the hold. Elder South was on board! What did the Rodytes want with Elder South? The Rodyte captain didn’t know why Stirate Quentin wanted any of the men. It hadn’t been his place to ask.
“What did you just do to me?” His fingers dug into her face, nails making her skin sting.
“Why have you brought me here? What do you want?” She cried in Ontarian, making her voice sound as pathetic as possible. She retreated from his mind and opened a link to Saebin. No reply. Saebin was in a cell across from the men, still senseless from the teleportation pulse. Echo had never intentionally linked with Varrik before. Would he hear her if she sent out a seeker pulse, or would she only reveal her abilities to the Rodytes?
Her heart pounded and her lips trembled. She did nothing to conceal her fear, wanting the brute beside her to believe she was helpless and terrified—which wasn’t far from true.
The Rodyte eased his hurtful grip, keeping his fingers against her face. “Who are you? Why were you in the Shadow Maze?” He switched to Ontarian.
Opening her eyes, she concentrated on the painful throbbing in her head. Tears pooled behind her lashes and her vision blurred, distorting his face. “I was taken there against my will. Haven’t you heard what they do to women?”
“She looks familiar, sir,” the Linusian said in Rodyte. “I know I’ve seen her face before.”
The Rodyte acknowledged the warning with a subtle nod. “What did you do to me?”
“I’m mildly empathic. It was a reflex, nothing more. I won’t do it again.”
“Who is the other woman?”
“She’s my bodyguard. When the Shadow Assassins realized she would die before she allowed them to take me, they captured her, too.” That would account for Saebin’s body armor. She needed to keep the Rodyte distracted until Saebin regained consciousness. The ship was small, the crew minimal. Taking control would be no problem, unless the Rodytes signaled for reinforcements.
“Why do you need a bodyguard, and why did you choose a female for the position?”
“Not much time for entertainment vids?” She tinged the question with affront and looked away. “My studio will only ransom me if I’m treated with respect.”
The blue rings in the Rodyte’s eyes ignited as his gaze swept up and down her body. “It will have to be one hell of a ransom to keep me from enjoying you.”
“Name your price, and I’ll arrange it.”
The Rodyte reached for the fastenings at the front of his pants, his gaze focused on Echo’s mouth. “I have a better idea.”
Royal Obsession (Shadow Assassins 1) Page 31