“We just mated, Liam. Take me with you. I’ll heal on the ship,” Ania demanded.
“I can’t put a high-level Peace Alliance ambassador at so much risk,” Synar said, stroking her cheek, wanting nothing more than to do just as she demanded. “Heal while I am gone. Let your family care for you. Serve your planet until I return.”
Synar bent to brush her lips with his. “I know you don’t like kissing, but I need to reassure myself that you live.”
“I must be getting used to it,” Ania said, struggling to return the pressure of his mouth. “I didn’t mind that kiss at all.”
“Help is coming shortly. Let them repair your body. You will be weak for a while, but soon this will be nothing more than a bad memory,” Synar said.
When she didn’t answer, Synar realized that she had fallen into the healing sleep of the demon. Malachi was already working on her. Now Synar had other things to do to make Malachi’s efforts count.
Dorian came back shortly and found Liam and Ania still on the floor. “Help is on its way. They were afraid to come back inside. How is she?”
Ignoring Dorian’s concerned question, Synar raised his gaze to his friend’s face.
“We are taking the bodies of Jonas and the Pleiadian male Malachi went into earlier with us. Put both on the shuttle and take them to the ship before you come back for me. I will explain later. I will register the body we are stealing as host to my demon now. Then we are going to release the killer we captured and send him back to warn Conor that I’m going to be actively searching for him. If we check, I bet we discover Conor is no longer confined to the planet he was exiled to,” Synar said stiffly.
“Is the Pleiadian male joining our crew once the demon reanimates him?” Dorian said, the words distasteful, but the truth often was.
“No—the Pleiadian male will not be reanimated,” Synar said quietly. “The body is a ruse to fool Conor. I have given Malachi a more noble assignment.”
Dorian looked at Ania’s body then, seeing the energy signature but not wanting to believe it. “She was dying, Liam. Ania was prepared for that. Why did you stop her death? Do you know how much she would disapprove of what you have done?”
“Ania might have been ready for her death, but I wasn’t,” Synar said tightly. “It is done and I will not be changing it. I chose to tell you only because I need your help.”
Dorian saw Ania’s lashes flutter open at the same moment he heard help finally running in to their aid.
“Dorian—I forget sometimes how tall you are. It’s like looking at a mountain to see you from the floor. This sure hasn’t happened in a very long time,” Ania teased.
Despite his beliefs and his sense of foreboding about what Liam had done, Dorian smiled at his teacher and friend with great relief. She remained herself so far. He hoped that would always be true.
“I have never forgotten a single moment of my training at your hands,” Dorian said, smiling down at her.
Ania laughed, but it hurt to do so. Then she felt her eyes closing again. With a tired sigh, she entered the blackness calling to her.
Several healers rushed to them, and Synar slipped out of their way. He stood and looked up at Dorian. “Well?”
“I will help you,” Dorian said at last, thinking that he didn’t want Ania to die either. No matter how much the demon clashed with his beliefs, her death didn’t feel destined in that moment either. “May the creators forgive us both.”
“Pray all you want for forgiveness, but I don’t need any,” Synar said firmly. “I have no regrets.”
“Let’s hope that remains true,” Dorian said. “You go with Ania and see to her. I will take care of the rest.”
Synar nodded and followed the medical transport bed out of the building.
*** *** ***
After they were gone, Dorian walked over to the dead Pleiadian Liam had indicated, lifting him easily despite the dead male’s bulk. He cringed knowing his uniform would be ruined after this and need to be replaced. He didn’t want to even think about how messed up his energy was going to be.
Why had he promised to go along with something he knew Ania would be appalled to know was happening? Yes, he would have missed her if she had passed on, but all creatures returned to the source eventually.
Dorian couldn’t remember ever being so torn by an ethical decision before. Knowing his own motivations eluded him. Liam’s actions had a reason, but his were just as illogical. Unlike Liam, Dorian was sure he was going to live to regret his agreement to the deceit. He just hoped Liam was right about it deceiving his brother as well as his mate.
Evidently Conor Synar was more than Liam’s brother. They had learned today he also a formidable enemy. Dorian doubted Liam would ever underestimate his brother again because the price for doing so even once had been extremely high.
As he focused on the task of moving the bodies, Dorian realized it would take him a second trip back to collect the body of the first mate, Commander Jonas Tangier. Though Dorian was next in line and a logical choice to serve as first mate, he didn’t want the responsibility of leading.
Instead, Dorian much preferred serving as spiritual counselor and remaining third in the command chain. As spiritual counselor, he gave energy readings, cleared chakras, and helped crew members make decisions that would most greatly benefit them. Part of his gift was the ability to see a person’s most likely future, but when he tried to use his intuitive abilities to see what the future held for them now after their actions today, nothing would show itself to him.
At his age and advancement in his skills, Dorian knew there were only two reasons the future ever got blocked from his sight. One was when he had done something wrong and was being punished by the creators, which usually took the form of his gifts waning for a period of time. The other was because the creators of all didn’t want him to be cognizant of their plans.
As Dorian finished what he had committed to do, he pondered which one was most relevant to the current situation.
Chaper 1
The two men sat across the table from each other both frowning over their next mission. It was bringing up an old argument they had both been avoiding for over a year now. Dorian clamped his jaw tight and glared.
“What other choice is there? Stop being resistant to your destiny and set a course for Pleiades. You have to go tell the investigating counsel the whole truth,” he said, glaring at Liam Synar who was looking at the com station with murder in his eyes. “You know you can’t let Ania be punished for something out of her control. Besides which, your demon might kill more people because of her.”
“Malachi is not my demon, and don’t you think I realize the risks?” Synar asked stiffly. “I fear my brother was behind the recent attack on her and her parents. When Conor discovers the group he sent has been killed, he’ll know Malachi is nearby. I just wish I could rescue Ania without her planet announcing she’s a demon host to every other bloody planet in the Alliance. The Pleiadians believe in making things public. The day after I go there, Conor is going to know exactly where Malachi resides.”
Dorian nodded. “How can you face conflict after conflict on planets full of creatures who kill without thought and yet hesitate over this? Do you really fear your brother that much?” he asked.
“Yes, because no matter how much time has passed, my death is still his goal. More I fear what Conor would do if he actually gains control of Malachi. I can’t let that happen,” Synar said. “I’m caught between the past and the present, and I curse my father every day for that fact.”
Using his Siren intuition that he’d spent centuries perfecting, Dorian scanned his friend’s energy and saw that fear of his treacherous sibling was not Liam’s largest concern. The worst thing Liam feared at the moment was facing the wrong he had done to his mate for the past two years.
“Are you also worried about seeing Ania again after all this time?” Dorian asked, bringing up the touchy subject in the gentlest manner he could.
Synar took a moment and then answered with a question of his own. “Did you know Jonas before he hosted Malachi?”
Dorian shook his head slowly. “Just barely. Why?”
“Jonas dreamed of having a family and was trying to convince his favorite bonding female to formally mate him. When I put Malachi into Jonas to save his life, the female severed her relationship with him almost immediately. She said there was something different about Jonas and she couldn’t bring herself to bond with him anymore,” Synar said sadly. “I never felt that aversion with Ania, but I also never bonded with her before I left. She wasn’t healed enough. In our last discussion, she accused me of no longer wanting her. I let her believe it.”
“I still say that all your concerns would have fixed themselves over time if you’d just taken her with us. Do you really still think the answer was to abandon her completely?” Dorian asked.
“Regretting the past will not change what I did,” Liam said, frowning.
“Yes that is true Liam, but avoiding it won’t make it go away either,” Dorian said.
Dorian hoped the familiarity of hearing his first name would help the message get through his friend’s strong mind. Honor and duty had stifled Liam’s personal growth.
“I didn’t abandon her,” Synar said, the question bitter on his tongue even after all this time. “I believed if I left Conor would chase me and leave her alone. It’s mostly worked for the last two years. That proves I was right to leave her and the demon where they were both safe from Conor.”
“Maybe from your perspective your plan worked. What do you think the cost has been to your mate?” Dorian asked. “What do you think Ania feels about it?”
“Do you think I did this randomly? Without thought to the pain for us both? Well, I didn’t. I knew it would hurt us.” Synar drummed his fingers on the table. “Though I haven’t finished the third training book, I can tell you there’s nothing about demons being hosted in mates in the first two books of training. My father would be sorely disappointed in the demon master I’ve turned out to be. Yet I would do the same again to save Ania’s life. The decision is as horrendous to me now as it was when I made it, yet I would repeat it. I’ve all but gone mad dwelling on it.”
“I’ve known Ania a lot longer than you have, Liam. Her spirit is resilient and truer than any creature I have ever known. She bears the mark of the creators inside her. I believe she remains much more than a demon host body. In fact, she is a more complex being than you ever took the time to discover, which is why you underestimate her. You have always been blinded from seeing the whole person by focusing only on the physical desire you feel for her,” Dorian said.
“It was never the physical, Dorian. She was always small and fragile looking, and the lack of heat in her was vexing to me. I had to always be careful when we bonded. So no, it was not the physical. It was the spirit inside her, the way she had of seeing and dealing with things. I’ve always liked older females who were very settled in themselves,” Synar said. “Ania is unique. She can’t be replaced. It’s why I haven’t dissolved our mating agreement.”
Dorian’s spirit leapt to know that Liam Synar still had a great affection for his teacher and friend. Though he hadn’t been the catalyst for their meeting, he had counseled Ania to give his friend a chance. He had teased Liam in the beginning, but Dorian had seen they were meant for each other in a way few mated couples ever were. It was not the kind of gift from the creators that anyone should set aside—for any length of time.
“Indeed—unique is a good word for Ania Looren. She deserves more than you have given her, Liam. Don’t make me choose between the two of you again. I will choose very differently next time,” Dorian warned.
Synar nodded as Dorian stood and walked to the door.
“As a celibate Siren, you are a male quite adept at avoiding his own destiny. How can you claim to know so much about mine? Are you ever going to claim your own mate, Dorian? I’m not the only one who’s been avoiding things for two years,” Synar reminded him.
“Have I killed the other males in her life yet? No I have not. I know precisely what I am rejecting, and yet I would not stand in the way of her finding happiness with other males. Can you say the same? What if Ania Looren one day finds another male who will not walk away from her in times of trouble?” Dorian asked, shrugging as he walked out of the room.
Synar frowned at his friend’s back. It had honestly never occurred to him that his Pleiadian mate might one day replace him. He assumed Ania’s fidelity was bred into her in a similar way as his. His body didn’t even long for another female. In fact, his desire was dormant until he thought of her.
Now Dorian’s words made him wonder if hosting Malachi could have changed Ania’s nature. Had she perhaps already found someone else?
Synar rose from the conference table and headed to his room to study the books of training again. His mind was now filled with dark thoughts about the only female that he’d ever wanted badly enough to bind her to him.
Chapter 2
“So what’s the plan, Synar? Are we slowing them down or just killing them outright?” Gwen asked calmly, rolling the power pack on her weapon until the charge indicator turned green.
“I don’t expect any problems, but if there are some, we just need to stop them temporarily. Some of them hold high offices in the Peace Alliance. This is not a population who would kill us without strong provocation,” Synar answered, adjusting all three of his weapons to the same setting.
After two years of helping rescue high-level Peace Alliance officials from their sticky planetary situations, Commander Gwen Jet had already known what her captain’s answer would be from the stance of his body. She was merely entertaining herself with forcing her non-communicative leader into polite conversation while she adjusted her weapons.
“You haven’t said much about this mission. Who are we saving today?” Gwen asked, keeping her voice as light as possible as she adjusted her other weapons.
In the two years she had served as Captain Liam Synar’s first mate, Gwen had never seen him so anxious for a recovery to get started. Nor had Gwen personally seen the Norblade warrior’s eyes glowing gold like a tiger’s until now either, even though the rest of the crew often reminisced about a past when Synar’s eyes were that color every day.
When Synar continued to ignore her question about the prisoner’s identity though, Gwen stopped her preparations.
“Captain, if I’m going to die today, I’d at least like to know why,” she said dryly. “Is the female Pleiadian someone special?”
“You will not die today, Commander Jet,” Synar said with laugh at his first mate’s dramatics. “Though Ambassador Looren’s detainers might not be so lucky. They should never have placed her in a situation where she is being threatened in any way.”
Gwen could hear how much it mattered to him in his voice. It only made the situation stranger and her more curious.
“You know the hostage personally?” she asked, figuring if true it might explain the strange vibes rolling off Synar.
Though she kept her human side on a tight rein in most ways, the natural curiosity in that part of her ruled her thoughts and tongue, making her question nearly everything. She had an insatiable desire to know the “why” of circumstances involving her. All those years of living with her mother on Earth had done that to her.
But even if the Earthling side of her hadn’t been curious, her Thelorian side could see Synar’s apprehension manifesting in his jagged energy waves. To say his nervousness alarmed her was putting it mildly. The normally stoic, unemotional male was suddenly vibrating with all kinds of emotions today.
“Yes, I know the hostage personally,” Synar reluctantly admitted, stopping his preparations to meet the probing gaze of his second in command but keeping his face as expressionless as he could make it. “In human terms, Ambassador Looren is my wife.”
“Wife,” Gwen exclaimed, fumbling with the news as she completed her weapon assembly. �
��That’s quite a revelation, Synar. You have a life mate that doesn’t travel with you? Nothing in the service contract bars her from coming along, or at least mine didn’t contain any anti-mate clauses.”
“There are good reasons Ambassador Looren does not travel with me,” Synar said flatly, turning away to make sure Gwen knew he was not willing to elaborate.
“I suppose that explains why you don’t indulge in recreational relationships like the rest of us,” Gwen grumbled softly, not really realizing she had spoken her thoughts aloud until Synar glared at her rudeness. “Sorry. My apologies, Captain. It’s none of my business, but I’ve always wondered why you kept to yourself so much.”
“How very human of you to assume all that from my revelation, Commander. Now if you’re satisfied with the explanation of risk for our mission, could we leave?” Synar asked coldly, walking away without waiting for her reply or acknowledging her comment about his personal choices.
“Sure. I’m ready when you are. You know I’ve always got your back,” Gwen said, purposely using the Earth slang she knew Synar hated to hear from crew members.
Gwen admitted to herself that she was trying to goad him into opening up a little more. Synar had just revealed that he had a secret wife. It made her wonder what else she didn’t know about him.
“Commander, make a note to remind me to schedule language protocol classes when we return,” Synar said, grinning at her over his shoulder as he stormed away.
Gwen bent her head and hid her smile.
The spoken English language had survived many millennia on Earth and found its way out into the universe as other planets were settled with humans and human hybrids. Since there were humans routinely now on most every ship in every galaxy, it was often the common work language, though Gwen conceded that many sentient beings hated using it. Even time was counted in Earth measurements among the crew, though the ship’s computer also logged time in the standard increments of the planet that programmed it.
Commissioned In White (Art of Love Series) Page 18