by Raine Thomas
His hand stroked her hair and back as she calmed herself. He dimly became aware that her thoughts had turned from humor to something else. Her head lifted, revealing an impish smile.
Think you could make love to me without bringing the place down or alerting all of the Mynders in the megai with this squeaky bed?
He lifted an eyebrow. That sounds like a challenge.
By the time they fell asleep, she declared that he succeeded.
Chapter 19
They spent the next three days traversing the Luja megai. At first, Kyr and Ty hesitated to take so much time before continuing their journey. But then their efforts to help the Lujas became more successful than they had envisioned. They couldn’t in good conscience stop helping the Lujas just to pursue their own course, especially since their ultimate goal was to help their people.
The transportation that Sill and Deny had mentioned were called wizzers, and Kyr was enamored with them. The winged gliders were operated with large fans powered by foot pedals, so they didn’t count as motorized land vessels and fell outside of Vycor’s dictate. That reason alone made Kyr love using them. The fact that they moved swiftly and covered great distances with ease just added to her appreciation of them.
Ty had been skeptical when they first emerged from their shelter to find the two wizzers waiting on the forest floor. In truth, the gliders had both seen better days. The pink wings were a little tattered, the frames were bent in a few places, and the pedals tended to stick. Deny assured them they were completely safe, though, and that was enough for Kyr.
Each of the wizzers housed two riders, so Kyr rode with Ty. They had to secure themselves to the wizzer’s frame with safety harnesses. Their bodies were supported by the harness and a lightweight hand-bar. Their feet slid into mechanisms that allowed them to maneuver the pedals.
Due to the color of the wings and flight suits they had to wear, the wizzers were quite effective at managing clandestine flight. If someone looked up, it was hard to make out the pink suits and wings against the pink sky. Anyone who noticed the shadows on the ground generally assumed it was a passing bird, as the wings were shaped to cause that effect.
Kyr found flying on the wizzers an exhilarating experience. She and Ty worked with Avana and Deny, plotting a course each day across the megai. Bana and Sill stayed behind with the rest of the group to spread the word about their plans to everyone they could trust.
By midday on day three of their efforts, they had rounded up close to one hundred Mynders. Those Mynders had been scattered throughout the megai, some of them gathering Divyners, some of them searching for Ty and Kyr, and some of them guarding the borders. Kyr, Ty, Avana, and Deny scouted them out, then Kyr and Ty landed within the cover of the forest, hunted them down, and used their abilities to eradicate Vycor’s influence and impose their own.
They had discovered that their abilities only worked effectively at close range and one-on-one or two-on-two. It took a combination of both of their efforts, so they couldn’t split up—not that Ty would have even considered it, Kyr knew.
By the end of the day every day, they were utterly depleted of energy…but they both found it worth it. They knew they were saving some of the Divyners from a tortuous existence by sending them Mynders to conduct Ruvex Rites. They had also sent a few of the Mynders to neighboring megais, warning them of Vycor’s evil and instructing them to infiltrate his forces to protect as many Alametrians as they could. Most of them were so infuriated to learn what Vycor had done to them that they didn’t need any influencing. They just needed their minds protected against it happening again.
So Kyr and Ty took care of that, too.
This would be the last day they spent in the Luja megai. They had converted as many Mynders as they could without entering the Dane megai or approaching its border. That was a whole other concern weighing on Kyr. Just as in the other megais, they had no way of knowing who amongst the Danes would be under Vycor’s influence. There would also be Mynders who were obeying orders from the palace because that’s what they were trained to do. With only the Guardians to look to for leadership, they had no real choice. Their allegiance would be hard to predict.
Just how would the people of her planet respond to learning that she was alive and Ty was the Faire-Amanti? Would they rejoice that the prediction about their rise to power had come true? Or would they resist changing from the leadership they’d had since well before she and Ty were even born?
There would be some, she knew, who would argue that they weren’t leaders simply because some prophecy declared it. And they would be right, she thought. She and Ty would have to prove themselves. If nothing else, she had learned the responsibilities of leadership from Shaya.
The day before, she had approached Avana about her questions. “Can we ask anyone whether they’ve foreseen what kind of leaders we’ll be? Will people accept us?”
Avana had smiled and said, “No, Ma’jah. The future is too uncertain. Anything you learned from a Divyner could influence you to make a choice with devastating consequences. But it doesn’t take a premonition for me to know that you and Ra’jah are wonderful leaders…leaders I’m proud to follow.”
Her words had touched Kyr deeply. Even Ty was unexpectedly humbled. They were both hugely aware of the fact that Avana had referenced them as her leaders…in the present tense. All this time, she and Ty had been thinking of a future when they ousted Vycor and Shaya and claimed their rightful places. Never did they consider that they were already there.
In the eyes of some, at least, Ty mused from beside her.
She smiled as they steered the wizzer into a wind current. Some is enough for now.
Indeed. All right…time to focus. We’re nearing the place Avana said she remembered spotting a stray Mynder yesterday. Let’s see if we can take him down.
No sooner did that thought finish than Kyr heard a high-pitched whistling sound followed by a thud. The hand-bar shuddered beneath her grip. Ty cursed.
Kyr’s stomach lurched as the wizzer pitched crazily to the right. The hand-bar ripped from her fingers. Her feet lost their grip on the pedals. She dangled uselessly hundreds of feet above the ground in nothing more than her safety harness. There wasn’t even breath left in her lungs for a scream. In seconds, the wizzer flipped and began spiraling straight towards the ground.
Get ready to use your chute! Ty flung at her with his mind.
She barely grasped his thought before she was suddenly free of her harness and airborne. She caught a brief glimpse of the wizzer’s wings as it plummeted towards some tall trees. Her body spun like a rag doll in the air.
She quickly lost sight of the wizzer. Her hand fumbled along the left lapel of her flight suit as the ground rushed closer. She finally found the ripcord of her parachute and yanked it with all of her strength. She heard the pop of her chute exiting its compartment on her back. An instant later, she lost her breath again as the chute abruptly stopped her fall.
By the time she recovered her senses enough to look around, she couldn’t find the wizzer. She didn’t see Ty’s parachute, either. Why had he released her and not himself?
Panicked, she sent out thoughts trying to connect with him. All she got was an indecipherable jumble and hazy confusion. She couldn’t even get a read on his location so she could try to land near him.
Even with the wind racing past her ears, she heard the second whistling sound. She didn’t see the projectile that hit her chute, though. She just felt the jolt it caused as it tore a wide hole through the fabric.
Someone was trying to kill her.
Her heart did its best to ram itself through her sternum. Her palms were slick with sweat as she attempted to steer herself away from what she thought had been the source of the whistling sound. Even though the ground was approaching so quickly she thought she’d splatter upon impact, she felt like a slow-moving blimp now that she knew she was in someone’s sights.
She spotted a clearing and headed for it. This time, she saw
the projectile as it launched into the air from the trees. It was coming right at her.
Screaming, she wrenched herself sideways. The projectile passed so close to her that her flight suit pulled taut against her body due to the wind the weapon generated. She flailed back into place once it had passed, but she knew she had pulled herself off-course. Rather than landing in the middle of the clearing, she was headed for the trees along the edge of it.
There was nothing she could do. She gritted her teeth and braced for impact.
Despite her prediction, she almost made it into the clearing. When she was less than ten feet from the ground, her chute caught on a tree branch. The angle and momentum behind the snag launched her out, then sent her careening back towards the tree’s trunk. Instinct had her lifting her legs to avoid slamming into the trunk with her entire body. Pain shot up her calves into her hips when her boots collided with the tree. She would have cried out if she could catch her breath.
Dazed, she hung limply in her harness once she was finally still. Her head spun. Blood pounded in her ears, propelled by her racing heart. Breathing felt like an impossibility.
Get out of your harness, her mind railed at her. Get out of the open and find Ty!
Before she could move, a voice came from behind her. “I wouldn’t normally do this to a female, but in your case…”
As her head whipped around, she caught the flash of a fist before everything went black.
Chapter 20
Two fingers pried one of Kyr’s eyelids open. She remained immobile as a device waved in front of her face. There was a flash and pain. Her eyelid was closed, the other one opened. Another flash and more pain.
Her body was moved. Lifted, lowered, disrobed. She felt wet and buoyant, then wet and cold. So cold.
She was aware, but unaware. The hands touching and moving her registered within her senses, but she couldn’t stop them. Her muscles were entirely outside of her control.
One wrist was lifted and secured. Then the second one.
The weight of her body pulled at her slender wrists in the hard restraints. More pain. Bright pain.
Head fell forward. Hard to breathe.
So very cold.
Clothes, please. A blanket.
Please.
Cold. Don’t like it.
Chains rattling.
Dull rumbles like voices. Nonsense. All of it.
Nonsense.
Nonsense and cold.
Two snaps beside her ear. A sharp pain in her face. More cold water.
Stop the cold already!
“Then wake up!”
Eyes opened to slits. View of feet. Bare feet. Cold feet.
So cold.
“Don’t you go back under!”
Head yanked back. New face…nebulous face. Familiar eyes. Light brown.
Like Sem’s.
But angry eyes. Full of hate. Craving her death.
Not like Sem’s.
“We should begin before the drugs run their course. I understand there’s no telling how long they’ll last with you.”
Drugs? Drugs. No drugs!
Somehow, her tongue formed the word, “Baby.”
Eyebrows lifted over angry eyes. “Baby? I don’t think we’re on close enough terms for Earth-based pet names, do you?”
Earth? Pet name? No…
“Now try to pay attention. What you’ve been given is a suppressant and truth serum developed by the V’larians. They do a lot of experimentation with mental abilities. I understand it cost us dearly, so it had better work.”
Head released, flopped forward. Pain in the neck. Pain in the wrists.
Male cursing.
Body against hers. Arm around her waist. Chains rattling.
One wrist falls. Second wrist falls.
Body dumped on the ground. Hard ground.
Cold ground.
Round ceiling, high above. Stone walls. Dim lighting.
Male face. More distinct.
Familiar, but not.
Sem’s eyes, but not.
“This is how this is going to work. I ask a question, you answer it. You have no choice, and you will tell me the truth. Then, I’ll kill you.”
Fear. Heart hurting.
Tears. Hot and painful.
Male voice. “What’s your name?”
“Ma’jah KyrVawn, the Ascendant of Alametria.”
Tongue working now. Traitorous tongue.
“What were you doing in the Luja megai?”
“Protecting Lujas.”
“No. You were with Dem-Shyr TaeDane, correct?”
“No.”
Slap. More pain. More tears.
“Don’t lie to me, you treacherous bitch. TaeDane is an Outcast, and you’ve broken the law by aiding him. He may be in disguise, but that was him, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Ra’jah TaeDane, the Faire-Amanti of Alametria. Not Dem-Shyr.”
Surprise. More anger.
More pain. Unbearable pain. Screaming.
“Impossible. What are you really doing in the Luja megai?”
“Protecting Lujas.”
More than a slap. Closed fist.
Fading.
“No, you don’t!”
Water. Freezing water. White-hot agony.
Screaming. Weeping. Pleading.
“If you don’t want more, then tell me the truth, goddamn it!”
Trembling. Jaw chattering. “P-protecting my p-people from Vycor.”
“Why would you have to protect them from the Advisor?”
“Forced T-ty to kill me. Forced p-people to k-kill those they love. Forced them t-to work in the m-mine.”
“What mine?”
“Tajeria. D-dark Lands.”
Hand wrapped around her throat. Yanked from the ground.
Dangling. Choking.
“Stop lying! Advisor Vycor is trying to protect this planet after your supposed death and the betrayal by the Dem-Shyr.”
Fading.
“No, goddamn it!”
Back on the ground. Breathing.
Slap. Another slap. More pain. More begging.
Angry footsteps. Pacing footsteps. Mumbling.
The face again. “Are you afraid?”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever lied before?”
“Yes.”
“Are you lying now?”
“No.”
“Tell me your greatest fear.”
“Losing Ty.”
Silence.
More pacing. More mumbling. More questioning.
“Give me the details about what you’ve done and experienced since leaving the palace.”
More talking. More pain. Giving answers she shouldn’t give.
Betraying her friends. Betraying her family. Putting all she loved at risk.
Can’t stop. Can’t control it.
Tears. Hot, painful tears.
The face again. “Everything you’ve just told me amounts to treason.”
“No. Saving my people. Rightful leaders.”
A snort. “Rightful?”
“Fated.”
“Bullshit.”
“We’re the rightful leaders. We’ll save our people. Won’t harm them. Not like Vycor. Protect them.”
“You’re a damn liar.”
“Can’t lie.”
“You’re defeating the serum somehow.”
“Can’t lie.”
“You are, damn it!”
“Can’t lie. You. Been influenced. Vycor.”
Startled look. Quickly contained. “Shut up. You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Can’t lie. Who sent you for me?”
Face pale. Sweat beading on forehead. No response.
“Can’t lie. Can’t move. Cold. Pain. Want Ty.”
Hands running through hair. More mumbling.
More shivering. More tears.
Loud noise. Voices calling out. Male cursing. Rummaging sounds.
Pressure syringe.
F
ear.
“No! Baby.”
Light brown eyes, tinged with desperation. “I’m still not your baby, and you’re still a liar.”
Sharp pain.
Darkness.
Chapter 21
Something warm and wet dripped across Ty’s mouth, rousing him. When he opened his eyes, all he saw was pink. There was something so celestial about it that he figured he must have died and gone on to the Great Beyond.
Then a red dot appeared in the pink. It made a light plopping sound as it struck. Another one soon joined it.
Remembering the substance touching his lips, he shook his head and sputtered. A fine mist of red covered the pink like a painting. The tang of fresh blood settled on his tongue, making him reach up to wipe it away.
His head throbbed with a dull ache. He had aches and pains over the bulk of his body. What the hell had happened?
Kyr?
The thought went nowhere. That instilled the sense of alarm and alertness that had initially escaped him. Glancing around, he realized he was still secured in the wizzer’s safety harness. Everything came back to him at once.
The whistling sound. The projectile hammering the left wing, causing the wizzer to veer right. The sickening nose-dive. The realization that they were going to crash. Releasing Kyr from her harness and telling her to use her chute. Trying to get free from his own harness.
Failing.
Doing what he could to level out the wizzer. Losing all sense of direction. Entering the forest. Crashing.
By some miracle, he had survived. But if any of the Mynders who happened to be nearby had witnessed the crash, they were probably already on their way.
He fumbled again with the straps of his safety harness and tried to connect with Kyr. Each passing second filled him with more unease. It wasn’t just like she was sleeping or unconscious. It was like she was…
It was like the connection with Sem. Like she wasn’t even there.
Anxiety blossomed in his chest, making him clumsy and inefficient. He couldn’t get the fastenings undone. Giving up, he reached for the dagger he wore strapped to his thigh and cut himself free.
