“You’re right about that,” Liv agreed. “But for whatever reason he’s staying, I wish he’d back off a little. He’s making the rest of the staff at the med station nervous.”
“Maybe if she had family to look after her he’d leave,” Baird suggested. “Does she have anyone on Earth looking for her?”
Liv frowned. “We didn’t think so at first but I got a call tonight from Detective Barnes tonight—he used to be Rast’s partner back when they were on the police force together. He told me he’d located her mother and step father living in Oregon. Apparently Elise hasn’t spoken to them in years but her mother was still upset to hear what had happened to her. She asked to be notified the moment Elise woke up.”
“Hmm.” Baird frowned. “Most parents would have been rushing to get up to the Mother Ship, demanding to see their child right away.”
“I thought it was weird too,” Liv admitted. “But I guess they’re estranged for some reason—why else would Elise have moved across the country and stopped talking to them?” She stroked her belly protectively. “You don’t think that could ever happen between us and our little guy, do you, Baird?”
“Of course not, Lilenta.” He smiled and put his own hand over hers. “We’re going to love and protect our son and raise him to be a strong warrior. He’ll be the best of both of us.” He kissed her cheek. “But I hope he has your eyes.”
“Why?” Liv smiled and kissed him back. “Yours are much more striking. I still remember how I felt back when we were dream sharing and I saw you watching me with those molten gold eyes. It scared me to death but it excited me too.”
“All of you excites me,” Baird murmured. The sleepy look had left his eyes to be replaced by a glow of desire. Pulling her close, he kissed her gently but firmly on the mouth. “I wanna taste you,” he growled softly, looking her in the eyes. “What do you say, Lilenta?”
“Baird!” Even though they’d been together for a good while now, his direct way of saying how much he desired her still made her blush a little.
“Come on, Lilenta,” he murmured, still holding her eyes with his. “I want to lay you on the bed, spread your legs and lick your pussy until you come for me.”
“You’re such a pervert,” she accused him, half laughing, half blushing. “Wanting to have sex with a pregnant lady.”
“I can’t help it,” Baird protested. “That pregnant lady just happens to be my incredibly sexy mate. Besides…” He pulled her even closer. “How can I help wanting you now? You’re so beautiful like this—all rounded and glowing. I swear if I’d know how damn gorgeous you’d be carrying our son, I would have made you pregnant sooner.”
“Well it wasn’t for lack of trying,” Liv murmured, smiling. “You’ve certainly done your duty in that regard.”
“Not nearly as much as I should.” Baird kissed her cheek and stroked one hand over her full belly to cup her sensitive mound. “Let me taste you tonight, Lilenta. The book I was reading says a pregnant female should have lots of orgasms to be healthy.”
“What?” Liv gave him a look. “You’re making that up.”
“No, I’m not,” Baird promised. “I’ll show you the exact page—as soon as we finish.”
“Well…” Liv drew it out, making him wait. It wasn’t likes she was going to turn him down and they both knew it. His mating scent and the warm, familiar way he caressed her body made her eager to spread her legs for him. It was fun to tease him, though. Fun to—
“Excuse me, Commander Baird?” A voice from the holo-unit interrupted them, much to Liv’s surprise and annoyance.
“Who can it be at this hour?” she demanded. But as soon as the words left her lips, she had a new thought. “Is it Sophia? Are she and Sylvan all right? Do you think they had trouble on First World?’
“Only one way to find out.” Reaching down, Baird snapped on the holo and a tiny blue dot hovering above the base quickly expanded to show the head of a Blood Kindred Liv recognized. He was one of the other nurses who worked in the med station with her and Sylvan on a regular basis.
“Glevan,” she said, surprised. “What’s going on? Is there a problem?”
“I’m sorry, Olivia,” he said, nodding at her respectfully. “But Elise Darden is showing signs of waking up. The staff knows what to do, of course, but I thought you’d like to be informed. And…” He hesitated for a moment. “Commander Sylvan’s, er, friend is growing agitated. I thought maybe if you spoke to him…”
“I’ll be right there,” Liv promised, glad she hadn’t taken off her clothes yet. “Tell him to take it easy—everything is going to be all right.”
“I hope so.” Glevan looked worried. “Please hurry.” He nodded again and the blue holo of his head winked out of existence.
Liv sighed and reached for her lab jacket. “Well, I guess your midnight snack will have to wait until later. Sorry, hon.”
“Sorry, nothing.” Baird was already pulling on a shirt. “I’m coming with you.”
* * * * *
Hands clasped behind his back and a scowl on his face, Merrick paced beside the cot containing the stasis chamber. Not that there was much room to pace for legs as long as his—still he did his best. He had an idea that his restless movements, or possibly the look on his face was upsetting the med station staff, but he couldn’t help it. As strange as it seemed, he literally could not sit still.
Will she be all right? Will she recognize me? he thought, staring down at the delicate features which were now contorted, as though in pain. Or will she forget our first meeting and scream when she sees me? Merrick pushed the thought away. After all, what did he care if the human girl didn’t remember him from their brief first encounter? Why should it matter to him if his appearance frightened her or not?
It doesn’t matter, he told himself fiercely. Why should I care? I don’t even know her. I don’t give a damn what she thinks. Just need to be sure she’s okay for the sake of my honor. Once she was awake and ready to be claimed by her kin, his obligation was done. And then I’m out of here, he promised himself.
The lights on the side of the stasis chamber were glowing fiercely, and inside it Elise Darden was thrashing as though in slow motion. The opaque top of the chamber had melted away again, revealing her frail beauty and Merrick thought it was like watching someone move underwater—the stasis field was letting her go but slowly, oh so slowly.
He had an urge to touch her, to hold her again as he had when he first found her—but he had been forbidden from doing so. According to Sylvan and the rest of the med station staff, touching Elise while she came out of the enforced hibernation of stasis could be dangerous—both to her and to himself. He wished Sylvan would have explained why before he left, but his friend had been understandably distracted by other matters. All Merrick knew was that he must not touch her. So instead of taking action he watched, his huge hands curled into fists at his sides as she thrashed and moaned.
“Merrick, is she all right? I got here as soon as I could.” Olivia was suddenly there behind him, a worried frown on her face. “What’s going on? How long as she been like this?”
“Only the past quarter of an hour,” Merrick gritted out. “She was moaning some before that but nothing like this.”
As if on cue, Elise moaned and moved her head from side to side. Her long, black hair swirled around her pale face like a dark cloud.
“Oh dear.” Olivia frowned and checked the lights on the side of the stasis chamber. “I wish Sylvan was here but everything seems to be normal. He did say there might be some agitation when she came out of it.”
“Agitation?” Merrick snapped. “Look at her—she’s fucking upset! Do something for her.”
“She’s doing everything she can, buddy.” The low growl came from Baird, Olivia’s Beast Kindred mate. “So why don’t you calm down and—”
“Her vitals are dropping.” Olivia sounded close to panic. “Baird, get Glevan and tell him I need a crash kit STAT.”
The Beast Kindre
d left without a word and Olivia continued to work on the stasis chamber while being careful not to touch the thrashing girl inside. Merrick watched, every muscle in his big body tight. Was she dying? What was happening? And why the hell should he care so much?
Again he had the urge to reach for her—the feeling that if he could just touch her, skin-to-skin, everything would be all right. Instinctively he put out a hand but Olivia slapped it away.
“You know what Sylvan said—no touching,” she said curtly.
“She needs me,” Merrick grated out. He didn’t know how he knew this but he did. The little Earth female’s life was hanging by a threat but if he could just touch her—
“She needs you to leave her alone, you mean.” Olivia’s silvery grey eyes flashed. “Don’t make me kick you out of here, Merrick. I don’t care how big you are, the patient’s safety comes first.”
Merrick nodded curtly and stepped to one side, giving her more room to work. He took deep breaths, trying to hold the cold rage at bay, to keep the curtain of anger from dropping over his vision. He normally only felt like this when he himself was threatened. In fact, the last time he’d felt the rage for any female was when he’d been defending his mother from…He clamped down on the thought. No point thinking about that now. Got to concentrate on Elise. What’s happening to her? Why the fuck do I want to touch her so much?
Elise’s movements were weaker now but her moans had turned into words. “Please,” she begged, her voice so soft Merrick could barely hear it. “Please don’t hurt me anymore.”
Must be remembering the Scourge…what the AllFather did to her. Merrick ground his teeth together at the thought. Sick bastard is fucking lucky he’s already dead. Then Elise spoke again.
“Please,” she whispered. “Don’t…it hurts. I…I’ll tell Mom…”
Merrick frowned. Mom? As in her mother? What the hell was that all about? He wondered what memory was surfacing in her confused brain. Was it somehow responsible for her rapid deterioration now that she was coming out of stasis?
Sylvan had said it might take her mind weeks, even months before it wanted to try and come forward to sort everything out. She’d been tortured and hurt so badly it was amazing that her body had decided to come out of the stasis now rather than taking more time to process the devastating experience. But maybe this memory, whatever it was, was too much to process.
Then Elise stopped talking and went still. The room was filled with a high, buzzing hum.
“Crap.” Olivia sounded panicked. “She’s flatlining. Where the hell is that crash kit?”
“Fuck this.” Merrick shouldered his way past her, and scooped Elise from the cot. Pulling open his shirt with one hand, he pressed her naked body against his chest and held her there, willing her to live. He didn’t know how he knew it, but he knew this was the right thing to do. The only thing that might save her.
“Merrick, no! Put her d—” Olivia stopped talking abruptly as the high buzzing hum, the alarm that warned of imminent death, cut off. “What the hell?” she whispered softly, staring up at Merrick. “What did you do?”
“Just touched her.” Merrick cradled her small frame close, trying to give her his warmth, willing her to hold on, to live. “I told you,” he growled. “It’s what she needed.”
A look of surprise and uncertainty crossed Olivia’s face. “I don’t understand it, but she does seem to be doing better.”
“She’s breathing, anyway,” Merrick muttered, feeling the soft rise and fall of Elise’s chest against his own. “That’s a fucking improvement right there.”
Just then, Baird and a Blood Kindred Merrick recognized as one of the nurses rushed into the small room. “Here’s the kit, Olivia,” the Blood Kindred said. “Is she—”
“She’s not flatlining anymore.” Olivia looked at Merrick with a mixture of wonder and worry on her face. “I don’t know why but she came back when he picked her up.”
“What the hell?” Baird demanded. “I thought you said Sylvan said nobody should touch her while she came out of stasis.”
Olivia nodded. “That’s what he said, all right.”
The Blood Kindred nurse frowned. “Could he have been mistaken somehow?”
“I don’t think so,” Olivia said. “Sylvan knows his stuff.”
“Then why—?”
“Shut up, the lot of you,” Merrick growled, glaring at them. “Can’t you see she’s coming to?”
Indeed, Elise’s big, brown eyes were open and she was staring up at him in awe. She seemed to be trying to say something but Merrick couldn’t quite make it out.
“Tell me,” he said softly, leaning down to put his ear next to her lips. “Say it again, baby. It’s all right.”
“He’s coming,” she whispered, her voice barely a breath in his ear. “He’s coming back and this time he’ll bring others. We’ll all die. They’ll eat the stars…all the stars.”
“What?” Merrick frowned. “Who’s coming back?”
Her eyes widened with fear and she looked past him, as though seeing something he couldn’t. “Don’t let him touch me again. He hurt me. I tried to tell but she won’t believe me…She doesn’t care. Only…only Buck cares. He tries to keep me safe. But he can’t…not always.”
“What is she talking about?” Baird said.
Olivia shook her head. “She’s delirious—her mind is wandering.” She looked up at Merrick. “Any chance you’ll put her down so I can examine her?”
Grudgingly, he nodded. “All right but if she flatlines again, I’m picking her back up. Got it?”
“Sounds fine to me,” Olivia said. “Come on, Merrick, she’s out of stasis now so we’ll move the tube. You can put her on the cot.”
At her words, Baird and Glevan shifted the stasis tube out of the way, leaving a clear space on the small bed.
Slowly, carefully, Merrick laid her down. He couldn’t bear to stop touching her completely, though. Crouching by the head of the cot, he kept one of her small, cool hands clasped firmly in his much larger one. Only because I’m her protector, he told himself. I’m responsible for her, that’s all. Just trying to do what’s best. “Okay,” he told Olivia. “Examine her.”
Silently, Olivia did as he asked. When she was finished, Merrick looked at her expectantly.
“Well? What’s wrong?”
Olivia shook her head, a worried look on her face. “Nothing…nothing at all.”
Chapter Thirty
“What the hell did you just say to me?” Rast demanded, staring at the High Priestess of the Empty Throne.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Is it really so difficult to understand? You can only heal your little female by proving yourself to be the true Counselor we have been waiting for these last thousand years. And if you prove that you are said Counselor , you will never leave First World again—you will be bound to your home planet.”
Nadiah felt her heart leap into her throat. As cruel as the words of the high priestess were, she could feel the truth of them. It was exactly as she had foreseen—Rast was going to be forced to make a choice. And if he chose to stay, he would never leave.
“It’s true,” Sylvan said, echoing her thoughts. “According to tradition, the Counselor is bound to First World, sworn to protect it and unable to leave it so long as he lives.”
“Now hold on, back up a minute.” Rast put up his hands. “I never signed on for any of this. I didn’t notice any big flashing sign in your landing area that said ‘No exit, ever.’”
“Very well, leave.” The high priestess made a dismissive gesture. “It doesn’t matter if your little female dies. She isn’t right for you anyway—if she was, your wings would already have manifested.”
“What are you talking about?” Rast’s deep voice was a roar of frustration. “I don’t have wings.”
“No, but you should!” The high priestess’s emerald eyes flashed.
“Excuse me,” Sophia said timidly, stepping forward. “I, uh, don’t want to start a fi
ght but if the Counselor always has wings, why didn’t we see any on the vid scene you showed us of Rast’s father?”
“Normally the wings only manifest in times of great trouble—they come when they are needed and fold back into the Counselor ’s body when they are not,” the priestess explained in a stern voice. She looked at Rast. “By giving your female a life threatening illness, I had hoped to force your wings to come out, Adam Rast. But though they are clearly there, her plight has not yet caused them to burst forth. And until they do, you cannot claim the Empty Throne.”
“Right,” Rast said sarcastically. “Because obviously making the woman I love terminally ill is going to cause me to sprout wings.”
“It had better.” The priestess gave him a severe look. “If it does not, she will surely die. The only cure for her is to be found in the waters of the Goddess’s fountain in the Healing Garden, high on the side of the holy mountain. And the only way to reach the garden is to fly.”
Nadiah saw the stricken look on his face as his dilemma became perfectly clear. If his wings manifested in time, he could fly her to the Healing Gardens and save her life. But then he would be trapped—bound to First World by the very wings that saved her. If, on the other hand, his wings didn’t manifest, she would die of the fever the high priestess had cursed her with. Rast would be able to leave, but he would do it alone for Nadiah would be dead.
“So,” Rast said heavily. “The choice is stay here forever and cure Nadiah or leave and let her die.”
“That is it, exactly.” The high priestess smiled a cruel smile. “The choice is yours. You may have tonight to think about it and I will hear your formal oath tomorrow at sunrise on the high mesa.” She glowered at him. “There your wings will surely manifest…or your female will die.”