Revealed

  “Together forever,” Rast agreed, kissing her. The soft brush of her lips against his enflamed him all over again. “God, you taste sweet,” he growled. “Everywhere.”

  “I like the way you taste too.” Nadiah’s voice had gone breathy and soft again. “Rast, please, I want you. Let’s make each other come again.”

  They did.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Sylvan waited anxiously for the small ship to dock. Solar flares from the Earth’s sun had made communication patchy at best and he hadn’t been able to get any details about what had happened on Tranq Prime. He did know two things for sure, however: one, Rast had somehow won the challenge because Nadiah was with him. And two, Rast has been true to his word—Nadiah’s eyes were the same dark blue they had always been.

  Sylvan was glad to see that Rast had kept his promise. He hadn’t been greatly impressed with most of the human males he’d met and–No, he told himself, frowning. Have to stop thinking of him like that. After seeing the final results on his blood test—

  “Oh, look, they’ve landed!” Beside him, Sophia was nearly jumping up and down with excitement. Sylvan was glad to see her looking happy for once. Ever since the fertility tests he had run on the both of them had come back with the unhappy verdict of Tander’s Syndrome, she’d been quiet and sad. And the strange, morbid outcome of her visit to the sacred grove hadn’t helped a bit.

  Sylvan wished, as he often had, that the priestesses would speak plain truth instead of couching their prophecies in riddles and enigmas. If he could, he would have gone to the sacred grove himself to demand an explanation. But in this case, it wouldn’t have done any good since the one who had made the prophecy was dead, and all the rest of the priestesses were in mourning and would be for the next solar month.

  They would see no one during this time and everyone else aboard the ship was ordered to avoid seeing them as well, to preserve their modesty. As a sign of their mourning for the high priestess, all of them would shave their hair and wear no clothing at all until the time of sadness had passed. It was a good thing the artificial green sun warmed the sacred grove, Sylvan thought. If they attempted to observe such a custom on Tranq Prime they would have all frozen to death in a matter of minutes.

  “Here they come! Oh, Nadiah!” Sophia couldn’t hold herself back anymore. As the hatch of the little ship opened, she ran forward and wrapped her arms around his kinswoman exuberantly.

  Nadiah hugged her back and seemed to be laughing and crying at the same time. “I’m free,” Sylvan heard her tell Sophia. “I’m free—Rast won my freedom for me.”

  “I knew he would!” Sophia smiled at the tall male who was climbing out of the ship after Nadiah. He smiled back, nodding. “I knew you could do it,” Sophia told him.

  And I know why he could do it, Sylvan thought to himself grimly. What I don’t know is how in the universe he wound up on Earth in the first place.

  Nadiah and Sophia seemed intent on catching up on all the details of the journey and blood challenge but Rast came right up to Sylvan, a determined look on his face.

  “I have something to say to you,” he told Sylvan, his eyes flashing.

  “I have something to tell you as well,” Sylvan said quietly. “And I think you should hear it before you speak further. In fact, I think it would be best if we went someplace private.”

  Rast shook his head. “Sorry to be rude, Sylvan, but I’m going first and what I’ve got to say can be said right out in the open.” He took a deep breath and looked Sylvan in the eyes. “Nadiah and I are deeply in love and we’re going to be married. Now, I know you don’t like me for her because I’m human—”

  “But, you’re not,” Sylvan said.

  “But I went through the blood challenge and I feel I won the right to—excuse me?” Rast frowned. Apparently Sylvan’s words were finally sinking in. “What did you say? I’m not what?”

  “I said, you’re not human,” Sylvan repeated, frowning. “Do you understand?”

  “No.” Rast looked both confused and angry. “Of course I don’t understand. What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Yes, what are you talking about?” Nadiah came up behind them with a worried look on her face. Sophia trailed behind her anxiously.

  Sylvan sighed. “Do you see why I wanted to speak about this in private? Come on, let’s at least leave the docking bay.”

  “No.” Rast planted his feet squarely and crossed his arms over his chest. “No, I want an explanation now. You can’t just come up and tell me something like that and expect me to wait to hear the rest. So come on, Sylvan, spit it out.”

  Sylvan spread his hands. “Very well, if you wish to give up the privilege of confidentiality we can talk here. To be blunt, the deep analysis of your blood test shows that you’re not human. Oh, you have human traits on the surface—it’s almost as if someone engineered your DNA to appear strictly Earth-like to the casual observer. But more in-depth testing proves that your human façade is literally only skin deep.”

  “Only skin deep, huh?” Rast frowned angrily. “Well then what the hell am I?’

  “You’re Kindred,” Sylvan told him, hoping he wouldn’t be upset by the news.

  “Kindred? I knew it!” Nadiah’s eyes were shining. “I felt it from the very first.”

  “It’s true Rast is Kindred,” Sylvan said, trying to choose his words carefully. “But he’s no species of Kindred I’ve ever seen before.”

  “But I thought you said he looked like a First Kindred,” Sophia said. “Isn’t that why everyone mistook him for Merrick at our ceremony? Nobody knew Merrick was a hybrid because Sylvan never thought to tell them so they just assumed because Rast had the truegreen eyes—”

  “Merrick’s hybrid status is a sensitive subject with him,” Sylvan interrupted, frowning. “As for Rast’s heredity, he is closer to the First Kindred than anything else. He is close…but not an exact match.”

  “Well, what the hell am I then?” Rast demanded, repeating his question.

  “I don’t know yet,” Sylvan said evenly. “But I would like a chance to find out before you bond my kinswoman—my cousin, as you say—to you for life.”

  “You’re too late for that—we’re already bonded.” Rast’s eyes flashed like green fire. “I took over the blood bond she has with that Y’dex asshole.”

  “Yes, but the bond is not sealed,” Sylvan said. “I can tell because Nadiah’s eyes are still the same color.”

  Nadiah blushed but lifted her chin defiantly. “I don’t care what you say, Sylvan and I don’t care if Rast is human or Kindred or a Hyperion shadow-caster. I love him. He saved my life—did you know that? You warned him not to touch me, not to bond with me but the bond I had with Y’dex was too strong. If Rast hadn’t taken the severed end of it into his own heart, I would have died. In fact, I did die for a minute—I saw Grandmaman in a dark tunnel with a bright, white light at the end of it.”

  “Wait a minute…” Sophia grabbed her arm. “You actually saw your dead grandmother? What did she say?”

  “Yes, what did she say?” Rast demanded. “And how come you didn’t tell me about it?”

  Nadiah looked down. “I guess I had…other things on my mind.” She glanced at Rast rapidly and blushed. “Anyway, I don’t remember it very clearly. Mostly I think she said it wasn’t my time to go. Oh, and she said she loved me.”

  Sylvan felt his heart clench like a fist. To think that Nadiah had come so close to going to the Goddess! To think she had almost died because of his directions to Rast… “Forgive me, Nadiah,” he said hoarsely. “I knew the blood bond was strong but I thought the chance that breaking it would hurt you was remote. I only spoke of such dangers to warn Rast off.”

  “Well, it nearly worked.” Rast’s eyes were suspiciously bright and he swallowed convulsively. “I’m telling you, when she went limp in my arms and stopped breathing…” He shook his head. “Look, the point is, I fought for her and won her. I hate to sound like a goddamn cave
man but she’s mine.”

  “And I agree with your claim wholeheartedly,” Sylvan said quietly. “I’m only asking for a little more time to run a few more tests on you before you claim her.”

  “But I don’t want to wait!” Nadiah declared. “I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life while I was tied to that stupid Y’dex! I want to join with—uh, marry, Rast now. In fact…” She took Rast by one muscular arm. “We’re going straight to the sacred grove and you can’t stop us.”

  “Oh no, you can’t go there now!” Sophia exclaimed. “Nobody can—the priestesses are all naked and bald.”

  Rast’s eyebrows shot up. “They’re what?”

  “They’re in mourning,” Sylvan explained. “The high priestess has gone to be with the Mother of All Life.”

  “Meaning?” Clearly Rast still didn’t understand.

  “Meaning she’s dead.” Sophia bit her lip and Sylvan felt a flood of sorrow and guilt coming through their mental link. He wished she would stop blaming herself.

  “It’s all right, Talana,” he said softly, putting an arm around her shoulders and drawing her close. “Everything is going to be fine. And for the last time, the death of the high priestess wasn’t your fault.”

  “What?” Nadiah exclaimed. “How could the high priestess dying be Sophia’s fault?”

  Sophia sighed. “Because I…look, Nadiah, do you mind if we talk about this later? Maybe with all the girls together? There’s something very difficult I have to say and I’d rather just say it once.”

  Nadiah’s face was filled with curiosity but she nodded immediately. “Of course. And I won’t say a word to anyone.”

  “I know you won’t.” Sophia smiled at her gratefully. “I’m sorry you have to wait to get married but at least this way we’ll have some time to plan a truly fabulous wedding.” She laughed. “Kat and Liv are going to be so jealous—you’ll be jumping ahead of their joining ceremony and baby shower. Lauren will have to make the next cake for you.”

  “I don’t want to upset anyone,” Nadiah said, sounding anxious. “I’m just, well, I’m extremely eager to be joined to Rast.”

  “Not half as eager as I am,” Rast growled, giving her a possessive look. “Are you sure we can’t just go down to Earth and find a Justice of the Peace?”

  “And be joined without a priestess to officiate?” Nadiah frowned. “We can if you like, Rast, but I have to be honest, I won’t really feel legally joined to you unless we have the ceremony performed by a priestess.”

  He sighed deeply and Sylvan noticed a troubled look on his face. “All right, we’ll wait. I just…don’t want to lose you. And I don’t like the fact that this damn ship is crowded with males—unmarried ones, especially.”

  “I don’t think you have to worry about any unmated males bothering Nadiah,” Sylvan said dryly. “I can smell your scent all over her and I’m sure every other male within a five mile radius can too.”

  “Sylvan!” Nadiah looked absolutely mortified. Her cheeks turned a dark pink and she put a hand to her chest. “Please!”

  He smiled slightly. “I’m only telling the truth, Nadiah. Don’t worry, as I noted earlier, your eyes remain unchanged. So I know your virtue is intact.”

  Sophia laughed. “Mostly intact, anyway. Come on, let’s go find the girls. We have a lot to catch up on.”

  Nadiah looked anxiously at Rast. Not asking for permission, Sylvan thought, but offering reassurance and letting him know she still loved him even though she wanted some time with the other females.

  Rast seemed to understand her perfectly. “Go on, sweetheart,” he said gently. “Have some fun. I think Sylvan and I have some catching up to do, too.”

  Sylvan nodded. “Yes, I think we do.”

  “All right then.” Nadiah kissed Rast lingeringly on the cheek. “I love you,” she murmured. “Come find me in a little while and we’ll get some dinner. Something that doesn’t come from a dehydrated food cube.”

  “Or involve mud worms,” Rast said and they shared a private smile.

  Despite his worry, Sylvan couldn’t help smiling himself at their exchange. The two of them were already in sync with each other—a perfect couple now that Nadiah’s blood bond was broken and Rast had realized and acknowledged his true feelings for her. Yes, they were perfect together and perfectly happy as well. So why did Sylvan’s heart tell him that something wasn’t quite right? He watched Sophia and Nadiah walk away together, their light, feminine voices echoing softly in the vast space of the docking bay and wondered why he couldn’t answer that question…

  “Okay, now you want to tell me how the hell I’m not human when I was born and raised on Earth?” Rast demanded in a low voice, breaking his train of thought.

  Sylvan turned to him. “Were you? Do you have a birth certificate or other proof showing the place of your birth? Of course, such things can be forged…”

  A strange look had come over Rast’s face. “Well now that you mention it, I don’t. I mean, I have a birth certificate but I’m pretty sure it’s a fake.”

  “A fake?” Sylvan frowned. “How so?”

  Rast blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s something my mom told me right before we left for Tranq Prime—when I was saying goodbye to her. She said…she told me I was adopted.”

  “Did she mention your original birth parents?” Sylvan asked. “I can’t imagine how but I suppose a Kindred male and his female might have somehow made their way to Earth.” He frowned. “Although, that was years before we discovered your planet…”

  “She said she didn’t know.” Rast looked unhappy and the tone of his voice seemed to say his adopted mother hadn’t cared either. “She said no one knew—that I was found wandering naked in a field somewhere and no one ever learned who my birth mother was.”

  “And she told you all this right before you left?”

  Rast laughed humorlessly. “Hell of a goodbye, isn’t it? I tell her I’m leaving the planet and she tells me…ah hell, never mind.” He shook his head. “I’m over it now. No big deal.”

  Sylvan remembered how quiet the other male had been on their trip back from Earth to the Mother Ship and thought it was a big deal—a very big deal indeed. Sophia was right, he thought. I should have asked him what was wrong. Aloud he said, “I don’t know how it’s possible that you’re of Kindred origin but what you’re telling me certainly seems to make it more probable.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, I guess it does.” Rast shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong—it’s not that I mind being one of you guys—I’ve always felt strangely at home on the Mother Ship. But it would be nice if you could tell me which one. Or which kind, I guess.”

  Sylvan sighed. “I wish I could. Your DNA almost matches that of a First Kindred but it’s more primitive somehow—more basic and powerful. Also you have an extra gene on your Y chromosome which I have never seen before.”

  Rast’s eyebrows shot up. “An extra gene? Doesn’t that kind of thing usually cause a deformity?”

  “I don’t know what it’s for,” Sylvan admitted. “It appears to be dormant right now but if it should ever become active…” He shook his head. “I don’t know what would happen. What you would become.”

  Rast crossed his arms over his chest. “You think I’m some kind of science experiment? Some kind of freak? Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—the minute that extra gene gets going I’ll turn into some kind of a monster?”

  “No, no—nothing like that!” Sylvan protested. “I don’t think you’d be a danger to yourself or others or I would have taken much stronger steps to keep you away from Nadiah.”

  “Well…all right.” Rast nodded grudgingly. “But you think you can find out what’s going on if we run more tests?”

  Sylvan nodded, relieved that the other male was willing to be reasonable. “I just need a little more blood.”

  Rast sighed. “All right then—no time like the present. Let’s go.”

  Sylvan clapped him on the back as they headed for
the med station. “You’re doing the right thing. You need to know what’s going on before you and Nadiah get joined.”

  “I suppose I do—I owe it to her.” Rast ran a hand through his hair. “I just don’t want to lose her, you know?”

  “You won’t,” Sylvan promised. “I know Nadiah—she has a loyal heart. She’ll never give you up, no matter what.”

  “But what if it turns out we can’t have kids or something?” Rast asked. “Would she still want to stay with me then?”

  Sylvan felt a surge of sadness in his heart. “Even then,” he said quietly. “Even then.”

  Chapter Twenty-three

  “Okay, Nadiah, spill,” Olivia commanded. “Tell us all about the blood challenge and how Rast won your freedom and your heart.”

  They were all sitting around the low structure called a “coffee table” in Sophia and Sylvan’s suite. Olivia, having another one of her cravings, had gotten a small machine which pressed two round, flat pieces of bread called tortillas together with various ingredients in the middle to create what the Earth girls called a quesadilla. The entire oblong table was covered with various foods chopped into tiny pieces, some of which Nadiah recognized and some which were completely foreign to her.

  “Yes, come on,” Kat urged. “And don’t leave out any dirty parts. We love the dirty parts.” She grinned and nudged Lauren who laughed.

  “Kat, you’re bad!”

  Nadiah blushed and put down the triangular wedge of quesadilla. “I’ll tell you everything, of course, but I think Sophia has something to say as well.” She looked at her friend.

  “No, hon, you go ahead.” Sophia shook her head. “Take your time. It’ll give me time to get my thoughts together. And besides…” She pressed Nadiah’s hand and smiled. “I want to hear everything too.”

  Nadiah saw Lauren, Kat, and Olivia exchange glances but then they shrugged and nodded.

  “Go on,” Liv said. “And don’t mind me—I’m just going to make another quesadilla while you talk, okay? I think this time I’ll try a sweet one. Kat, pass the salsa, please”