I’m almost completely convinced I share my protector’s abilities. Not to the same degree, but that’s two examples, three if you consider I have demonstrated strength equal to Maddox when in battle. The only one I haven’t experienced is Dane’s gift of supersight. Is it a coincidence that he’s the one I’m less bonded with? The one boy I’m not as close to. Perhaps there was something to Zorc’s theory after all.
My mind, unhelpfully, conjures up the image of Dane and Alandra in her father’s palace, kissing the shit out of one another in the hallway. Severe pain spears me through the heart, and I squeeze my eyes shut, begging my brain to stop inflicting torture.
“Are you okay?” Tav softly asks, reminding me I’m not alone.
I blink my eyes open. “Fine. Just tired,” I lie.
“I’ll go.” He slides off the bed, and I follow him to the vent. “Sweet dreams, Alinthia.”
“Goodnight, Tav.” I secure the vent in place and head to the bathroom.
After I’ve showered and changed into pajamas, I crawl under the covers with a leaden heart. I’m not sure how much longer I can bear this separation. I need to be with my guys, and I hate the thought that there’s no end in sight yet. Zorc has said he needs to create a distraction to enable us to escape while attention is diverted elsewhere. He told me it’ll take time to set one up. I’m not sure I believe him, and I hate being at his mercy, but there isn’t anything I can do about it. We can’t risk leaving and being captured because then our escape route and our entire plan will be shot to pieces, so we have to trust Zorc even if he’s a slippery snake.
I toss and turn for ages, unable to find peace. My mind is determined to prolong my agony, constantly throwing the image of Alandra and Dane at me, and, no matter how much I try to banish it, it refuses to go away.
Flinging the covers aside, I sit up, cross my legs, and try to meditate. I blank my mind, and the million little threads appear behind my closed eyes, wriggling like tiny, elusive worms. I trawl through the threads, looking for any sign, for any thread that jumps out at me, indicating one of my protectors.
I’m just about to give up when I see it. Adrenaline floods my system, and I can’t help feeling excited.
It forms slowly at first, like a mirage gradually becoming solid. Five faint individual threads at first until the pentagon takes shape. Each side is red with a whitish edge. I’m instantly drawn to my own thread, and I sync with it before floating toward the other lines, latching onto one thread first and then another.
When nothing happens, my excitement starts to fade until one of the threads of the pentagon starts visibly pulsing and the color deepens, almost like it’s beckoning me. I move to it, meshing my thread with it, and my mind contorts, twisting haphazardly, and a strange wind whistles through me. My ears tingle and adrenaline courses through my veins.
Then I sense him. Feel his presence as if we were in the same room. The bond is going crazy, in a good way. My body jolts as my mind connects to his, and I hear his thoughts so I’m aware the instant he realizes what’s happened.
“Cooper!” I hope I’m projecting into his mind. “Can you hear me?”
“Alinthia!” His voice sounds like a soft, breathy exclamation in my mind.
Happy tears cascade down my face when I sense his elation, strong emotion trundling through our bond, infusing me and piecing me back together. “It’s me, Coop. I’m here.”
CHAPTER 13
“Oh my God, Alinthia, baby, are you okay? Are they mistreating you? What’s going on?”
“I’m okay, and I’m not hurt. Zorc is here. He’s training me and it’s working. I think that’s how I finally figured out how to connect telepathically with you.”
“It’s so good to hear you. We’ve been going crazy worrying about you.”
“Me too! Although Zorc showed me some images of you.”
“Hang on a sec, beautiful. I want to try something.” It’s silent for a couple of minutes, but I still feel him there, the telepathic channel buzzing in the background, our bond purring gently. “Damn it,” he says. “I was trying to loop the others into our conversation, but it’s not working. It was a long shot because usually the transmitter has to invite others to the conversation.”
“You mean me, right? Let me try. How do I do it?”
“You need to locate the other’s threads too and pull them in to the conversation.”
I nod until I realize he can’t see me. “I found the pentagon, and I already tried to connect with the others, but it didn’t work.”
“Pentagon?”
“The pentagon shape. That’s how I found you.”
He’s quiet for a bit. “None of us see a pentagon.”
“Weird.”
“Yup. We’ll just add it to the list.”
I cry though my laughter. “Coop, I miss you so much. I wish you were here. I want to hold you so badly.”
“Believe me I know. We’re all suffering without you.”
“Are you okay? You seem to be in better living quarters now.”
“We’re okay. Don’t waste your energy worrying about us.”
As if that’s within the realm of possibility. I can’t help but worry. Sharp pain splinters my chest, and while I don’t want to talk about this, I need to know.
“Alinthia, what is it? I can feel your pain through the bond. I hate that you’re hurting and I can’t be there to make it better.”
“Zorc showed me something, and I need to know the truth.”
The jagged pain in my chest intensifies. “It was …” I pause, struggling to get the words out. “It was Dane and he was with Alandra and … is it true? He’s with her now? He’s turned his back on me?”
Coop cusses. “Fuck that lying piece of shit. No, beautiful. It’s not real, and Zorc shouldn’t have implied it was. I’m so sorry, baby. You shouldn’t have witnessed that! Dane will be upset when he finds out. He was devastated when you overheard what went down with him and Alandra in the school corridor that day. That was all an act too. Part of an agreed plan to try and convince Alandra that he was siding with her. We should’ve told you, but it was more real when you were reacting naturally to it. He hated himself for hurting you like that, and he only went to Kylie’s house because he needed to find you to explain.”
“She betrayed me, Coop.”
“What. The. Fuck?”
“It was Kylie who turned me over to the authorities.”
“Why the hell would she do that?”
“It’s connected to her brother. That’s all I know. I haven’t seen her since that day.”
“Holy fucking shit. This is such a mess. Your situation. Ours. What Dane is being forced to do. It all turns my stomach.”
I’m sniffling as we continue talking through our minds. “How is he being forced, Coop?” Because it didn’t look like he was being forced into much. “Why is he with her?”
“It was our only option, Alinthia, and you know who Dane is. He protected us by agreeing to willingly submit to her as a concubine on condition we are well treated and left alone. He’s part of her inner harem now. He’s also using the opportunity to map the castle and see if he can find a way to escape. Every time he’s on the move, he projects to Beck, so Beck can track it all and try to find a route out of here. Whatever you’ve seen is a lie. He hates it, but he’s doing it for us.”
My mind whirls in a thousand different directions, and my stomach is in knots. Yes, it’s good to know he’s not with her for the reasons it seemed, but that does little to reassure me. “That’s even worse.” My heart hurts again, but this time for Dane. He’s forcing himself to do that with her because it’s the only way of potentially escaping? “Tell him not to do this. You don’t need to escape. I’ll come and get you. All you need to do is stay alive in the meantime.”
I could throttle Zorc for his blatant lies. And I wish I could call him out for reneging on our deal. He promised me the guys would come to no harm, so Dane shouldn’t be in this position. But I can�
��t force the issue, because if I tell him I know the truth, he’ll realize I’m in telepathic communication with them, and I think it works more to our advantage to keep him in the dark about that. Besides, I don’t trust Zorc to extract Dane from the situation, so telling him would achieve nothing.
Doesn’t help alleviate my guilt though.
“We don’t want you coming here, Alinthia,” Coop says, drawing me out of my mind. “It’s far too dangerous, and you know it’s a trap.”
“I do, which is why I’ll only come when I’m ready. When I’m fully prepared and I know I can defend myself and get you safely out of there. It will kill me to wait, but I won’t risk it until I know I can bust in there and kick Arantu and Jentarr’s asses.”
“You’ve no idea how much of a turn-on it is to hear you talk like that.”
I giggle. “Trust you to lower the tone.”
“My need for you is at an all-time high.”
“As mine is for you. I love you, Coop. I love you so much.”
“Love you too, beautiful. Always have. Always will.”
“And I love Dane too, Coop, too much to let him prostitute himself like that. It’s not right, and it’s going to fuck with his head.”
“I know, but Dane’s the only one that can do this and not let his emotions get to him. He’s a master at keeping himself protected.”
That may well be the truth, but everyone has their limits, and I’m betting Dane’s not as closed off as he likes to make out. “She’s a sick bitch, Coop, and I can’t stand the thought of it. What must it be like for him? There’s got to be another way.”
“I wish there was. We all do. It’s killing all of us that he has to do this, but he can’t back out now.”
“Can’t Zorc do anything? And aren’t they an item or fuck buddies or something?”
“I think that ship has sailed, and he won’t do anything unless it serves his interests. Don’t believe a word that bastard tells you. He’s still playing the game. He thinks we’re cooperating, but we’re only doing it because he said he’d get you out and he has access to the real prophecy which is what you need to fully tap into your gifts and to unlock the knowledge in your mind.”
“That lying dirtbag.” I fist my hands in my lap. “He is working on getting me out, but he doesn’t have access to the real prophecy. He needs me for that.” I proceed to fill him in on everything Tav told me about the secret society and the real prophecy and about our plans to ditch Zorc once we are free of this place.
“Who’s this Tav guy?” Jealousy filters through the bond, and I roll my eyes.
“Seriously, that’s what you got out of all I just said?”
“I just want to ensure you’re safe. Are you sure you can trust him?”
“My instinct tells me he’s trustworthy.” And that thought slots another puzzle piece into place. I have experienced all my protector’s unique gifts in some way. So far, I haven’t gleaned any actual supersight abilities, but Dane’s gift also extends to insight, and I’ve definitely felt that at work. I update Coop again, telling him what I suspect.
“Maybe I can master how to teleport, and then I can come get you.”
“This whole place is covered in a blocking shield,” Coop supplies. “No one can teleport in or out of the Imperial City without pre-approved permission and a code which bypasses the shield. Even if you could teleport, you wouldn’t be able to penetrate the city, and any attempt would be tracked. Security is very tight around here according to Dane.”
“What about your gifts?” I guess.
“We can only telepathically communicate. We don’t have access to anything else. We discovered that Zorc added another implant when our translation chips were originally being installed. You know those blackouts we were experiencing?”
“When you temporarily lost use of your unique gifts?”
“Yeah. That was Zorc and Alandra. All they had to do was press a button, and the software he illegally installed on the chip kicked off, neutralizing our abilities.”
Son of a bitch. “I never thought it was possible to hate another living being so strongly, but I hate that man.”
“Join the club. We’ll all be fighting for dibs when the time comes to take him out.”
“We’ll go team gung-ho on his butt.”
He chuckles, and we update one another on everything else we can think of. Every so often, Coop stops to let Maddox and Beck know what’s being discussed. I tell him to convey how much I love and miss them, and he returns the sentiments on their behalf. After a while, I can’t stop yawning, and I’m struggling to keep my eyes open. I’m not surprised—I’ve been up half the night at this stage.
“You need to sleep, beautiful.”
“I don’t want to go. What if I can’t connect to you again?” Panic jumps up and takes a big bite out of me.
“Nah, you’ve got this. We’ve been talking for hours. You will be able to do it again. And maybe next time you might be able to connect with the others. I’d also like you to try it when you’re out in public. To see if you can communicate at any given moment and to do it discreetly.”
“Okay. I’ll test it, but this stays between us. I don’t think we should let Zorc know that we’re in contact. That we know for a fact he’s telling alternate versions of the same story to both of us.”
“Agreed. We might be able to manipulate him for a change.”
“I love that plan.”
He chuckles. “Me too.”
“Stay with me?” I slink back under the covers, turning on my side and closing my eyes. “Stay with me until I fall asleep?”
“There is nothing else I would rather do. I love you, Alinthia. We all love you. Never forget that.”
“Love you too, Coop. All of you. So, so much. Don’t forget to remind them of that, especially Dane. I have a feeling he needs to hear it the most right now. Let him know I know what he’s doing, I understand, and I love him even more for it.”
CHAPTER 14
The blaring of the communal alarm wakes me a few hours later, and I roll over on my side, groaning. Until I remember last night, and I jerk upright in the bed, a wide grin spreading over my mouth. I blank my mind, and this time, the pentagon-shaped thread is ready and waiting. I latch onto Cooper’s line, and huge relief surges through me when we instantly connect.
“Good morning, beautiful. Did you sleep well?”
“Almost as well as if I was sleeping in your arms.” Truth. Coop staying with me while I fell asleep was comforting.
“I miss waking up with you beside me.”
“I know.” I sigh.
“Can you feel it?”
“What?”
“Me kissing you, because that’s exactly what I’m imagining right now.”
I trace my fingers over my lips and remember how amazing his lips feel moving against mine. “Me too, and it only makes me miss you even more.”
Asshole guard raps on my door. “Evac in fifteen minutes, Princess.”
“Ugh.”
“What?”
“I have to go shower before the dickhead guard comes back to get me.”
“If he’s laid a finger on you—”
“Coop, he hasn’t,” I say, walking into the bathroom and turning on the shower. “No one has like that. Chill.” I test the water with my hand, and it’s warming up nicely. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll chat with you later.”
“Or I can stay connected while you shower.” His emotions trickle through our bond, and it’s like a switch being flicked. My body tingles all over as desire crashes through me. “I don’t mind in the slightest,” he continues, as if his suggestion isn’t perverted. “I could use a nice imaginary visual instead of these four walls.”
“Coop.”
“What? Can’t help a guy for trying.”
I strip my pajamas off and step under the water. “Is that like the alien equivalent of phone sex?” I tease.
“If we weren’t being monitored, and I could somehow make Be
ck and Maddox disappear, I would so be up for that.”
“I’m betting that’s not the only thing that’s up.”
He curses. “You don’t play fair, beautiful.”
“Anyone ever tell you life isn’t fair?”
“Think I might have heard that a time or two.”
“Maybe we could try it another time, when shit isn’t so real,” I suggest, arching my neck and letting the water stream down my face.
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“I look forward to it, stud.”
His laughter floods my ears, and it’s amazing how much more relaxed I am just from speaking with him. Obviously, it’s not the same as being with him or my other boys, but I don’t feel so alone anymore knowing Cooper is always on hand. “It feels so incredibly good to talk to you, Coop.”
“It’s the same for me. For us. The guys are pissed they can’t connect to you, and, believe me, they spent half the night last night trying to locate your thread, but us having a way to communicate has reassured everyone.”
“Why do you think I’ve only been able to connect with you?” In my mind’s eye, I can see him puffing out his chest, and a smile ghosts over my lips.
“Because I’m da bomb, baby.”
I burst out laughing. “I can’t wait to see you again, Coop. I’ve missed your cocky confidence. I’m warning you now, I’m gonna kiss the shit out of you.”
“You won’t ever hear me complaining about that.”
God, this guy. Seriously. He always turns my heart to mush. “Bye, baby. Chat with you later.”
“I’m blowing kisses now,” he says, and my heart swoons again. “Laters, beautiful.”
Then the connection retracts, and I feel instantly cold despite the hot water cascading over my body.
I subtly connect with Cooper later on while Zorc is distracted arguing with Director Tanner over something petty, proving that I’ve mastered the ability to telepathically communicate with him at will.
The Warrior Princess: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Alinthia Book 3) Page 10