“No, Declan, it hasn’t,” Talon said, dropping all pretense. “Our reluctance to make an announcement isn’t due to Ria’s condition, nor is it our choice. If it were up to us, everyone would know she’s our berezi. It’s out of respect for her that we’ve kept silent.”
Declan frowned, but it took only a moment to realize what Talon meant. “Zerua gainetik,” he said, shaking his head. “Those pheromone suppressants are a menace.”
“A menace?” Tee asked warily.
“I only mean that they seem to create more trouble than they’re worth.”
“How did you discover Ria was taking them?” Kai asked.
“Deduction,” Talon replied. “We were in close proximity to her in the cafeteria our second day out of Jasan, but we had no reaction to her. We didn’t recognize her as ours until the day of the explosion.”
“This is none of my business,” Tee said, “but how is it that you knew she was taking them?”
“We didn’t, not until now,” Declan said. “We just recognize the signs.”
“I wonder why you reacted to her in the lab,” Jay said thoughtfully.
“We don’t know,” Tee said. “When we moved her and caught the scent of her blood and fear and pain, our mating fangs descended. That’s the only reaction we had though.”
“Interesting,” Declan said. “That’s not what happened with us.”
“With you?” Talon asked, then nodded when he understood the answer before Declan spoke. “Lady Vari took them as well.”
“She did, but she already knew she was our berezi. She thought to spare us that knowledge because she could not tolerate being touched.”
“Yes, I remember hearing about that,” Talon said. “How is it that she knew she was your berezi, but you did not?”
“She saw us when she was eleven years old, and knew. We didn’t even know she was present at the time, and she was too young for us to react to anyway.” Declan tilted his head. “Do you think she knows she’s your berezi?”
“I don’t see how,” Talon replied with a meaningful glance at Thorn that Declan was beginning to understand. “We’ve spent most of the past twelve years going back and forth from our home in Berria to the Hidden City. We spent some time at the ranch after agreeing to join you on this expedition, but aside from that, we haven’t been near the ranch in well over a decade.”
“You didn’t run into Ria then,” Kai said, reading the tension in Thorn’s posture.
“How can you know that?” Thorn asked stiffly.
“She wasn’t on Jasan,” Kai replied. “She worked the summer on the Leaper as a junior med-tech. The same post she took on the Bihotza for this expedition. She didn’t arrive on Jasan until three days before our departure.”
Talon swallowed hard, suddenly realizing that Ria, their berezi, had been on the Leaper when the Doftles hijacked it. He’d known that of course, since they saw the mission vid. He just hadn’t thought about it in those terms before. He almost wished he hadn’t. He tore his mind away from the horrifying thought and nodded to Declan.
“We thank you for your help,” he said. “We should get back to the Hilgaria now.”
“We have a small problem,” Kai said, stopping them. “Up to now we haven’t known with certainty that Ria is your berezi. Now that you’ve said as much straight out, we can’t keep this secret from Vari.”
Talon’s eyes hardened. “It is against our laws for any to interfere between a male-set and their berezi.”
“We know that, Talon,” Declan said with a sigh. “Vari knows it, too. Since Vari is not your berezi but ours, and since Ria is her sister, and since we have no desire to tempt Vari to detach our heads with her Kunian steel dairi, we will share the truth with her. If you consider that interference, then you may go file a report somewhere.”
“I understand, and I apologize,” Talon said, his shoulders slumping. “That was out of line.”
Declan nodded, accepting this apology as well.
“Please ask Lady Vari, on our behalf, not to say anything to Ria just yet.”
“Why?” Declan asked. “Ria is awake now. I can understand why you’d want to keep it quiet, but why would you not want her to know the truth?”
“We do want her to know the truth,” Talon said. “But we’re honor bound to put her health, safety, and happiness above all things. Therefore, we will wait until she is ready, no matter what our own feelings may be.”
Declan placed his fist over his heart and bowed, silently honoring their adherence to one of the oldest and most sacrosanct laws of their people. He didn’t agree with their interpretation, but he understood it, and would honor it.
***
Talon and Tee noticed how quiet Thorn was after they left the Dracon-Bats and returned to the Hilgaria. Talon was already worried enough about Ria, so he really wasn’t up for an emotional scene with Thorn, but decided it was best to get it over with. He led his brothers toward the nearest conference room and closed the door.
Thorn looked up, noted the expressions on his brothers’ faces and understood what they were thinking. He walked to the viewport at the far end of the room and looked out at the stars while trying to sort through his feelings.
“Contrary to what you both seem to think, I’m not disappointed that Ria Lobo has awakened from her coma,” he said.
“You still think the suppressants are all about you, though, don’t you?” Tee asked coolly.
Thorn turned around to face his brothers. “Yes, actually, I do. Can you think of another reason?”
“Yes,” Talon said, surprising him. “Maybe she simply isn’t ready to be mated. That is why they were created in the first place after all. Don’t forget, she’s only twenty-one.”
Thorn dipped his head slightly, conceding the point.
“Look on the bright side, Thorn,” Tee said, a sharp edge in his tone that had Thorn immediately bracing himself. “She’s blind.”
“Meaning?”
“If she’s never seen you, you can relax in the knowledge that she never will.”
“That’s harsh, Tee,” Talon admonished gently.
“Is it?” Tee demanded, his voice hoarse with the raw emotion that had been building in him for days. “We’ve watched her for months, felt drawn to her, worried about her. I can speak only for myself, but I tell you now that my biggest worry, my deepest confusion, came from knowing I was in love with a woman who wasn’t ours to love. Now that I know that I can love her without guilt, I must also accept that she’s lost her ability to see, perhaps forever. My fear, my worry, my concern is for Ria Lobo whether she wants us as her Rami or not because I love her whether she wants us or not. I have nothing left over for a man who cares for no one but himself, and who thinks of nothing but his blasted scars.” Tee shook his head. “I have duties to tend to.”
Thorn watched Tee leave and sighed. “I guess I had that coming.”
“Yes, I think you did,” Talon said. “Tee’s right. Nobody cares about those scars, Thorn. Nobody but you, and you can’t seem to stop thinking about them.”
“I was fine until she showed up,” Thorn said defensively.
“Yes, of course, it’s all her fault for existing. She forced you to watch her on the security cams day in and day out. It was a deliberate attempt to flaunt herself in front of you just to cause you pain. She probably planned it right from the start.”
Thorn stared at Talon, catching something in his tone that told him there was more there than sarcasm. He just couldn’t see it. He gave his head a little shake.
Talon sighed. “If Ria Lobo knew she was our berezi, and if she knew what you looked like and decided she didn’t want anything to do with us, why did she come on this expedition? It wasn’t a secret that we were commanding the Hilgaria. If she was so determined not to come anywhere near us, then why did she?”
“Why wouldn’t she?” Thorn countered. “She’s taking the suppressants. She’d have no reason to think they wouldn’t work as expected.”
> “Didn’t you listen to what Declan said? They knew Vari was their berezi even while she took them. Do you think she didn’t share that with her sister?”
“I don’t know, and neither do you,” Thorn retorted.
“You’re right, I don’t,” Talon said. “But at least I can see far enough past my own damn reflection to realize that there are other possibilities.”
Thorn watched Talon leave and sighed heavily as he turned back to the viewport. He understood that his brothers loved Ria, and that they were afraid for her. He loved her too, though he hadn’t realized it until the day of the explosion.
But his feelings for her were tied up with guilt, and anger, and resentment. To be rejected for the scars on his face was bad enough. But to see his brothers rejected because of something so superficial, something that was in no one’s control, was painful, unfair, and wrong. He couldn’t help but feel guilty for standing in the way of their happiness, even if he did doubt they’d ever truly be happy with a woman like Ria Lobo.
The worst of it was that she’d fooled him so completely. He’d always been a good judge of people. He made instant impressions and jumped to wrong conclusions, he knew that. But given time, he always managed to get around his own preconceived notions and see the person underneath.
He thought he’d done that with Ria. He thought he’d found a kind, gentle, caring woman that not even her own sister knew or understood. A woman who had suffered some trauma, and who lived in fear, but not anger. Or deceit.
He’d been so wrong, and now he felt like such a fool for falling in love with a woman who was cold, base, and cruel. One who knew how to play a part so well that he’d never even suspected the true nature beneath the mask she wore.
He wouldn’t let her fool him again, though. He’d turned off all feeds beyond the waiting room and triage area of the infirmary. Once she was up and moving around, he was determined to turn off any feed she appeared in, too. Talon and Tee occasionally came in to check the cam for the private room she was in. When they did, he left the room until they were finished.
As far as Thorn was concerned, Ria Lobo had shown her true colors, and they were ugly beyond belief. He never wanted to lay eyes on her again.
Chapter 11
The next time Ria awoke and opened her eyes, it took only a moment to remember why she saw only blackness. She closed her eyes, focused on calming herself, then forced herself to think of something else. Right after she found the bathroom.
She listened carefully to her surroundings, attempting to determine which of the Bihotza’s two private patient rooms she was in. When she was sure she knew where she was, and visualized the room’s layout, she sat up, pushed the blanket away, and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. The movement caused her head to swim a little so she remained still until it passed.
Then she pushed herself off the edge of the bed and lowered her feet to the floor. She curled her toes against the cold tile, then turned in the direction she suspected the bathroom would be in. Moving slowly, slightly bent over with arms stretched out before her, she crossed the room in small steps. When her hands touched the wall she straightened up and relaxed a little. Following the wall, she smiled when she felt the door almost exactly where she’d imagined it to be.
It was more difficult to negotiate the bathroom than it had been to find it. She wondered why, then realized it was because she’d never actually used the bathrooms in the private rooms. She’d only spent time in the rooms themselves while changing bedding and restocking supplies.
A few minutes later she opened the bathroom door and braced herself to cross back to the bed when she sensed that she wasn’t alone. “Who’s there?” she asked, annoyed by the tremor she heard in her own voice.
“It’s me, Ria, Dr. Jula. I apologize, I should have spoken right away.”
“No problem,” Ria said as she stepped away from the wall.
“Here, put your hand on my arm,” Dr. Jula said from right beside her. Ria did as she asked, surprised at how easy it was to follow Dr. Jula back to the bed. She climbed in with a small sigh of relief.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Dr. Jula said. “You managed to get to the bathroom on your own so I’m going to assume you’re feeling better. Any dizziness or nausea?”
“I felt a little dizzy when I first sat up, but it faded quickly. Dr. Jula, do you happen to know what happened to my earrings? I’m sure I was wearing them.”
“Yes, of course,” Dr. Jula said. Ria heard a drawer open next to the bed, then Dr. Jula touched her hand and turned it over before placing the earrings in her palm.
“Thank you,” Ria said. She immediately put the earrings on, discreetly tapping each one to make sure they were working.
“Are you hungry?” Dr. Jula asked.
“Now that you mention it, I am.”
“Appetite is a good sign,” Dr. Jula said. “Tell me what you want, and I’ll call it down to the cafeteria.”
Ria thought a moment, told Dr. Jula what she wanted, then waited for her to place the order. “Thank you, Dr. Jula,” she said when she ended the call.
“You’re welcome Ria.”
“No, I mean thank you for saving my life. And for taking that thing out of my head.”
“I’m sorry I couldn't do more.”
“I know you well enough to know you did what you could, and that's more than most. I’m not complaining.”
“That's very kind of you, Ria.”
“Dr. Jula, I was thinking about…well, first I should ask. Have you got someone who can take my place as junior med-tech?”
“No we don’t, Ria, but don’t worry about it. The others can and will step in.”
“Well, Dr. Kannon had a junior lab-tech she brought along on the expedition. Her name is Lira. I don’t really know her, but I’ve spoken to her a few times. She seems smart, and she was nice and looked to me like she was a hard worker. I know lab tech and med-tech aren’t the same, but she’s probably feeling a little at loose ends right now.”
“I will definitely contact her and see if she’d like to come over to the Bihotza and help us out,” Dr. Jula said. “The differences between junior lab-tech and junior med-tech aren’t that big, and I’d be willing to make allowances.”
“Good,” Ria said, smiling with relief. “I hate so much to leave you hanging and I know the med-techs probably aren’t happy doing my job and their own. I can’t promise Lira will work out, but I think she’ll do okay.”
“If you like her, then I have a feeling she’ll do just fine,” Dr. Jula said as the door whooshed open. “I appreciate you giving this thought at all, everything considered. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“Thanks, Dr. Jula.”
“Hello Vari. I just ordered lunch for Ria. Want anything?”
“No thank you, Niri.”
“Well then, why don't you keep Ria company until it gets here.”
“With pleasure,” Vari replied, smiling her thanks for the privacy Dr. Jula was granting without being asked.
“How are you feeling?” Vari asked when Dr. Jula was gone.
“Better. I’m ready to hear what happened now.”
“What do you remember?”
“Most of it, I think. Dr. Kannon collected debris from the destruction of the Doftle ship. She had about a liter of liquid metal that she wanted to hit with a small EMP to determine if it was raw ore, or Controller nano-bots. She set it up and I hit the button when she told me to.” Ria paused. “Did Dr. Kannon suffer, Vari?”
“No, she didn’t,” Vari replied, squeezing her hand. “Her face was right beside the container when it exploded. She died instantly.”
“I should have told her to use more protective gear.”
“You did,” Vari said. “We saw it on the security vid.”
“I knew that mask wasn’t enough. I should have said so.”
“You were the student, Ria. You did what you could. This is not your fault.”
&nb
sp; Ria nodded as though she agreed, but Vari wasn’t fooled. “How is Captain Chou doing?”
“Captain Chou?” Vari asked blankly.
“She and Dr. Kannon are…were bonded,” Ria said. “You didn’t know?”
“No, I didn’t. I’ll be sure to check on her as soon as I can.”
“Thank you,” Ria said. “Dr. Kannon was a nice woman, and I liked her. I’m sorry she died, but I’m glad she didn’t suffer.”
“She was a nice woman,” Vari agreed.
Ria caught the sudden tension in her sister’s voice. “What aren’t you saying?”
“Ria, you don’t want to hear this.”
“Yes, I do. Please, Vari. I need to know what happened. All of what happened.”
“Are you sure? Be sure, because it’s not a pretty story.”
“Of course I’m sure,” Ria replied, surprised that Vari would even ask her that.
“That lab is a module, Ria. Do you know what that means?”
“No, I don’t.”
“It’s designed so that, if a hazardous material gets out of control, it can be ejected from the ship.”
“Oh,” Ria said softly. “That makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it does,” Vari agreed. “Of the eleven safety protocols required prior to experimentation in that lab, Dr. Kannon activated four, and deliberately bypassed a few that should have automatically kicked in.
“If the safety shields and the air system hadn’t both been activated, the explosion would have immediately raised the shields and ejected the module. If that had happened, you would have died in moments. As horrible as that would have been, it could have been even worse.”
“How so?”
“No one has more inventive ways of keeping their technology out of other people’s hands than the Doftles. The laboratory instrument recorders show that the explosion produced its own magnetic pulse--one specifically designed to negate for a second or two any plasma control fields within a radius of several thousand miles. The main reactors on all three ships in the task force were active at the time, full of fusion plasma as hot as the interior of an average star. So, if the laboratory containment field had not been activated, blocking the pulse and protecting those reactors, the control fields would have failed, let the plasma expand explosively in the heart of each ship, and destroyed all three ships in an instant.”
Ria's Visions (Hearts of ICARUS Book 6) Page 15