“Daughter?”
The sound of her mother’s voice in her head brought Kaspyn up short. She attempted to block it out, lifting her head to smile down at her mate. “Did you like that?”
“Like it?” Thrasher rasped, his breathing coming in gasps. “It was incredible.”
“Daughter? Answer me.”
“I am busy, Mother. I will be with you shortly.”
“If you will give me a few minutes,” Thrasher assured her, “I’ll be good to go.”
Kaspyn smiled down at him. “Rest, my love. I am more than satisfied from your tongue sex.”
Thrasher grinned. “You are a fast learner, Kaspyn. That was unbelievable.”
“Reading your emotions made it easier for me. I could feel what you felt. It was not difficult to figure out what you liked and did not.”
“I love you, my beautiful mate.”
“And I love you.” Kaspyn bent and kissed his lips. “I am going to the bath house. I will be back momentarily.”
Thrasher nodded. “I’m just gonna lie here and nap until you return.”
Smiling, Kaspyn grabbed a robe from the back of a chair and put it on before leaving the apartment. “I am here, Mother.”
“You must return home at once.” Koral’s anxiety could be felt through their connection.
Kaspyn’s steps faltered. She took a deep breath, wondering how she would break the news to Koral that she wouldn’t be returning to Arkadia.
“I am aware of your recent infatuation with the land walker, Kaspyn. Your father is also aware. To say that he is beyond livid would be an understatement. He met with an army of warriors at sunrise, Kaspyn. They are to wage war on Aukrabah.”
Kaspyn’s stomach lurched. “He cannot do that, Mother. It is my decision to stay here with my mate, not anyone else’s.”
Koral’s gasp resounded through Kaspyn’s head. “You have mated with a land walker?”
“Yes, Mother. And I will not leave him.”
“Then he will die.”
Nausea rolled through Kaspyn. “Father would kill his own daughter’s mate? He would sentence me to a life of grief and loneliness?”
“You can mate another, Kaspyn. Land walkers do not mate for eternity. Once he is gone, you will—”
“No!” Kaspyn snapped, cutting off her mother’s rambling. “Thrasher is my mate. I love him, Mother. I cannot leave him.”
There was a brief pause. “Your father is leaving at nightfall. He is bringing three hundred of our best warriors. Many lives will be lost, Kaspyn, including your land walker’s. Now, I suggest you gather the group you went there with and head home at once. The fate of Aukrabah rests on your shoulders.” The connection severed.
Kaspyn stumbled inside the bath house, stunned and more than a little terrified. Her father was planning on attacking Aukrabah if she stayed. She couldn’t leave Thrasher, she just couldn’t.
“I felt your grief from my room, Princess Kaspyn,” Syrina announced, hurrying into the bath house. “What has happened?”
Kaspyn turned to face the beautiful Syrina. “Father knows of my human mate. He has threatened to destroy all of Aukrabah if I do not return home at once.”
Syrina’s eyes grew large. “What are you going to do?”
What was she going to do? Kaspyn wondered, staring into Syrina’s amber-colored eyes. “I do not know.”
“You must tell your mate of this. He is a very intelligent male, he will know what to do.”
Kaspyn shook her head. “I cannot tell him, Syrina. He will demand to fight for me. Father will destroy him. I know that in my heart.”
“If you cannot tell him, then you must leave him before it is too late.”
Tears of denial threatened Kaspyn’s exposure. She met Syrina’s worried gaze. “He will hate me.”
“I know,” Syrina quietly answered. “But it is the only way to ensure that he does not die.”
Kaspyn’s chest hurt so bad she nearly doubled over from the pain of it. “There has to be another way.”
“You know there is not, my friend. Perhaps we will think of something once your father has calmed his ire.”
“Go tell the others to ready themselves. We leave through the Pool of Enlightenment immediately.”
Syrina nodded and turned to go. She stopped when Kaspyn didn’t follow.
Kaspyn wiped at her teary eyes. “I will be along momentarily. There is something that I must do first.”
“Syrina?” Kaspyn called as the other Arkadian female started off down the hall.
“Yes?”
“Be sure that the others tell no one.”
Kaspyn stood in the bath house fighting nausea long after Syrina’s departure. She took several deep breaths, closed her eyes, and sought out Thrasher only to find him asleep. If she planned on going, now would be the time to do it.
Hurrying back to their apartment, Kaspyn snatched up a piece of paper, grabbed a pencil and wrote through her tears: I have made a mistake in coming here. Though I have grown to care for you, I simply cannot live in Aukrabah, especially with a land walker. Father would never approve. Do not come after me as my mind is made up. Take care, Kaspyn.
She laid the note on the kitchen table, her heart breaking with a force that wrenched a moan of pain from her throat.
It took everything Kaspyn had to walk out that door. With tears dripping from her chin, she pushed into Thrasher’s mind. “Sleep.”
Stepping into the hall, she glanced longingly back toward the room, “I love you my mate. I will love you until I die.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Thrasher awoke feeling as if he’d slept for days. He rolled to his side to find the bed empty.
Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, Thrasher stood, swaying on his feet for a moment before gaining his bearings. “Kaspyn?”
When no answer came, he staggered into the bathroom, relieved himself, and then made his way toward the kitchen.
Scratching at his chest, Thrasher poured himself a glass of water and downed it to fight off the hunger pangs clawing at his insides.
Why the hell was he so hungry? he wondered, his gaze falling on a piece of paper on the table. He ambled over and snatched it up.
With his heart in his throat, Thrasher read Kaspyn’s words in a daze of disbelief.
He dropped heavily into a chair, rereading the unbelievable words through tormented eyes.
“This can’t be real,” he repeated again and again.
“Kaspyn?” he sent through their connection, only to come up against a wall.
Dropping the note to the table, Thrasher surged to his feet, his legs shaking with the power of his emotions. Kaspyn had left him. The love of his life was gone as if she’d never existed.
A moan of anguish ripped from his chest. “No…God no.”
“Kaspyn!” he shouted, rushing back to his bedroom to don his shoes, shirt, and Ray-Bans. The last thing he wanted was to have to explain the tears swimming in his eyes. For the first time in Thrasher’s life…he cried.
He jogged down the hall to Zyen’s room, only to find it empty. Same with Pyre, Syrina, and the other Arkadian’s that had arrived in Aukrabah with Kaspyn.
Remembering Syrina’s friendship with Fiona, Thrasher rushed to Gryke’s apartment next. He had to fight the urge to simply barge on in. “Fiona?”
The curtain slid back and Fiona stood there, wearing fatigues and a matching cap. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Have you seen Syrina, today?”
A shadow passed through Fiona’s eyes. “I haven’t seen her since she left a couple days ago.”
Days ago? Had he really been asleep for two days? “Where did she go?” But he knew.
Fiona shrugged. “I’m assuming she went home. I can’t believe she didn’t say goodbye. She just left without telling anyone. Did you ask Kaspyn?”
More unimaginable pain sliced through Thrasher’s chest. “Kaspyn’s gone, too.”
“She didn’t tell you where she
was going or when she’d be back?”
Swallowing around the painful lump in his throat, Thrasher shook his head. “She left me.”
“Left you, as in left you?” Fiona had paled significantly.
Thrasher clenched his teeth in order to fight back the emotion threatening to unman him. “I found a note on the table that said she was returning to Arkadia and for me to move on. She couldn’t be saddled with a land walker.” His voice broke on that last word.
“Oh, my God, Thrasher. I’m so sorry. What can I do?”
Unable to cope with the pity he could see in Fiona’s eyes, Thrasher spun on his heel and strode to the great hall to precure an ATV. He needed a drink; anything that would help dull the pain now taking his breath.
* * * *
Thrasher wasn’t sure how much time had passed since Kaspyn’s departure. He’d gone to the surface, purchased a case of dark labeled whiskey, and hadn’t left his apartment since. He knew he was in need of a bath and some food.
Tony suddenly appeared at the foot of his bed. “Get up.”
“Get out,” Thrasher snapped back.
“I’m not leaving. Naura sent you some food and made me promise I would stay until you ate at least half of it.”
Thrasher’s stomach rebelled at the thought of food. “I’m not hungry.”
“I didn’t ask if you were hungry, shithead. Now, you can either get up, eat some of this food Naura spent so much time preparing, and then wash your ass, or I’ll hold you down and do it for you.”
Thrasher raised his bloodshot eyes to his closest friend. “You would wash my ass?”
“No, but I would hold you down while Leo did.”
Though Tony’s words were meant to be humorous, Thrasher couldn’t find the will to laugh. “How much longer is Leo gonna be locked up in that dungeon?”
“I reckon until Braum is satisfied. After all, it was Braum’s mate that Leo betrayed.”
Hearing the word “mate” spoken aloud, brought on a new round of pain for Thrasher. He got off the bed and shouldered his way past Tony.
The food sitting on the table turned Thrasher’s stomach, but he knew enough to understand he needed to eat.
He sat down and uncovered the tray to find grilled snapper and new potatoes. “Give Naura my thanks.” His voice sounded wooden to his own ears.
“You can thank her yourself. I told her I’d invite you to dinner tonight.”
Thrasher inwardly growled. “You don’t have to babysit me, Vaughn. I’m not a danger to myself.”
“Really?” Tony snapped, moving to take the seat across from him. “Because you sure as hell look like shit to me.”
Tony softened his tone. “Look, I know where you’re at, Escabar. I’ve been there. And it wasn’t that long ago.”
Thrasher glanced up and met Tony’s gaze. “I remember.”
“It’ll get better with time.”
“I don’t want it to get better, Vaughn. I want her back!”
Tony blew out a breath. “I know you do. But you’re gonna have to face the fact that she might not be coming back. You’re a soldier, Thrasher, and you have Bracadyte blood flowing in your veins. Man up, and get a grip before you fall apart.”
Thrasher didn’t need to be told about his Bracadyte blood. Kaspyn’s life force flowed through his veins. He could feel it with every breath he took. He nodded and picked up his fork.
* * * *
Weeks went by with Thrasher attempting to survive. Abbie had given him something to help him sleep at night, which only made things worse for Thrasher. The medication brought on dreams; dreams of Kaspyn in various states of unhappiness.
“Again,” Thrasher growled, demanding the Bracadyte in front of him to come at him once more. “Harder this time.”
Gryke rose from the bench along the wall, tossing his towel down behind him. “Perhaps you should slow down, Thrasher. You have been training for hours. Besides, I think Baulkor has had enough for the day.”
Thrasher blinked, his muscles tense with anxiety. He inhaled deeply, slowly relaxing his shoulders. “Take a break, Baulkor, we’ll resume training tomorrow.”
Baulkor nodded and moved over to the wall to grab a towel, leaving Thrasher and Gryke alone.
“Let us go for a swim,” Gryke suggested, clapping Thrasher on the shoulder. “I believe it will do you some good.”
Fiona stepped into the training room wearing sharkskin shorts and a tank top. She stopped next to her mate, kissed him on the cheek and then shifted her gaze to Thrasher. The pity he saw swimming there, tightened his stomach.
“How are you doing?” Fiona quietly asked.
Thrasher thought about her question for a moment. “I—”
“One of the Arkadians has returned,” Baulkor announced, poking his head back inside the training room.
Thrasher’s entire body tensed up. “What did you say?”
“I heard someone speaking of it in the hall.”
“Is it a male or female?” Thrasher asked, already rushing toward the exit.
Baulkor turned to jog beside him. “It is a female. She is in your apartment waiting for you.”
Thrasher’s heart surged into his throat. He jumped onto the nearest ATV and drove like a bat out of hell to reach his room. He would thank Baulkor later.
Sliding to a stop outside his apartment, Thrasher jumped from the ATV and rushed inside. “Kaspyn?”
Syrina stood next to the table, her hands folded in front of her. “I am sorry to disappoint you, Thrasher. But it is only me.”
Thrasher’s disappointment couldn’t be hidden if he’d tried. “Did she—Is she here?”
Syrina shook her head. “No, and she does not know that I have come. It has taken me three days to return here. I am certain that my presence has been missed in Arkadia.”
Taking a step closer, Thrasher swallowed hard and asked. “Why have you come?”
The pretty Arkadian’s hands fidgeted in front of her. “I—I was not sure if I should come. I only knew that if I did not, and something happened to Kaspyn—”
“What’s wrong with Kaspyn?” Thrasher rushed out, lurching forward to grip Syrina’s arms. “Tell me.”
Syrina’s worried eyes met his. “Kaspyn carries your child.”
The room tilted beneath Thrasher’s feet. “She—Kaspyn is pregnant?”
“Yes,” Syrina whispered. “She needs you, Thrasher.”
Though Syrina’s words penetrated his brain, Thrasher couldn’t seem to wrap his mind around their meaning.
Syrina jerked free of his hold, reached up, and cupped his face. “You carry her blood in your veins. See for yourself.”
Images of Kaspyn suddenly flooded Thrasher’s mind in torturous detail. The tears that lingered in her eyes day after day. The loneliness and heartbreak she’d experienced with every waking hour since leaving him. The joy and fear at discovering she carried his child.
Syrina’s hands slid away and the images left as abruptly as they appeared. “You must help her.”
“She didn’t want to leave me,” Thrasher numbly murmured.
“It was the only choice she had at the time, Thrasher. Her father would have killed you all.”
Thrasher’s lip curled. “He could have tried. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” Syrina called out as Thrasher bolted toward his room to pack a bag.
“To Arkadia to take back what’s mine!”
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Astryd tells me that you are not eating,” Koral gently scolded, stepping into Kaspyn’s temporary prison.
Kaspyn glanced up as her mother stopped before her. “I am eating, Mother. Astryd worries too much.”
Koral took a seat on the bed next to her daughter. “You do not look well. Perhaps you should have the healer check you over.”
“I am fine,” Kaspyn argued, her hand nearly moving to her abdomen. “Maybe if Father would remove the bars and allow me out of this prison, I would do much better.”
Koral’s eyes saddened. “You know he will not do that. You are to stay in here for the remainder of the year. You are fortunate that he did not sentence you to three or more.”
Kaspyn ground her teeth and fought the urge to allow Thrasher into her thoughts. She’d been fighting against his mental invasion since the day he’d awoken from the sleep-induced coma she’d put him in when she’d left. “Leave me.”
Koral laid her palm over her daughter’s. “Come, now.”
“Please leave me, Mother. I wish to be alone.”
Her mother slowly rose to her feet. “I will check in on you later.”
Kaspyn didn’t respond. She simply stared straight ahead, listening to the retreating sound of her mother’s footsteps.
Once the bars clicked shut after Koral’s departure, Kaspyn’s hand immediately moved to cover her unborn child. Thrasher’s child.
Thrasher would have made an amazing father, Kaspyn silently admitted, tears forming in her eyes once more. He would never be allowed to know his son; never have the chance to hold him and teach him the land walker ways as well as the Bracadyte.
A loud commotion sounded from somewhere outside. Kaspyn jumped to her feet, hurrying to the bars to have a look out.
“Move!” she hissed to one of the guards standing outside her prison as she attempted to see down the hall.
The guard stepped to the side, leaning forward as if to gauge what was happening ahead.
Kaspyn strained to see around the bars to no avail. “What is going on out there?”
The guard closest to her shrugged. “I do not—”
“Kaspyn!” Thrasher’s voice rang out through the halls of Arkadia, echoing off the walls of her heart. And then her stomach heaved. Kryten would kill him.
Pulling at the bars as hard as she could, Kaspyn cried, “Get out of here, Thrasher! They will kill you!”
The sounds of fighting suddenly reached her ears and Kaspyn lost her mind.
She reached through the bars, gripped the closest guard to her by the back of his vest, and pressed into his mind.
He stumbled around, pulled the keys from his side, and opened her prison.
Dizziness quickly assailed Kaspyn with the effort it took to control the guard’s movements. She would have never dreamed of disarming the guard before now, but Thrasher was in Arkadia, and he needed her.
Thrasher: Science Fiction Romance (Enigma Series Book 9) Page 13