Kindara knew she should resist him, pull away before he kissed her yet again. Hadn’t her easily giving him what he wanted caused this situation in the first place.
He had lied to her, manipulated her into giving him what he wanted from her physically. Now he was as caught in the consequences as she. How she dealt with him now would set the map for all of their interactions in the future. And she had no doubt he would try to be a part of her future—he would want the babe that badly. Yet she wanted his lips on hers, wanted some sort of escape from the world she found herself in.
And when he touched her that was exactly what happened. She forgot all that had shaped her, all that she had lost and all that she feared. And she so wanted to forget again.
That desire shamed her and had her pushing him away. “No. Do not! I must go!”
Chapter Fifteen
Rathan allowed her to step away from him, sensing that she needed the space. Her face was tormented and her slight body shook. He ran a soothing hand down her arm and stepped back. “Of course, my love. I will be with Rand.”
He slipped his ring off his finger, the ring given to him by his father. He placed it in her hand and wrapped her fingers around it. “If you have need of me, touch this and say my name. It will bring me to you instantly.”
She nodded, staring down at the ring. “From anywhere?”
“Anywhere in this world. I must be in the same world as the wearer for it to work.”
****
He popped into the room where Rand sat staring at the Dardaptoans surrounding him. Mallory sat on her twin’s left and only she didn’t start with his appearance. “Hey, Rath, Kindara kick you to the curb?”
“She was called to a meeting. What is this? Everyone glare at Rand time?”
“How could you guys do it? And why did you keep all of...what you are secret? Didn’t we have a right to know?” Mallory’s temper sparked in her green eyes. “We get that grandfather was a great bastard to these people. Hell, we know he wasn’t that great of a guy to us. But you took innocent people in retaliation. Not smart, there, boys.”
“Back off, Mal,” Rand said. “We did what we had to do.”
“Did you, then?” Mal’s words hissed between her newly acquired fangs. Rathan had to admit she made a beautiful Dardaptoan female. Fangs suited her. “Just as the king here thought they were doing what they were supposed to, as well.”
“So all is not what you would have it?” Rathan knelt beside her. Took her hands in his. “Do you wish to leave this place, then? Are you not happy with your Rajni? Mickey? Are you not?”
“I’m very happy with Theo!” Rand’s younger sister shook her head. “That’s not what Mal is saying. We just want to know if this is the end of all of it. We need to focus on the future. Apparently, it’s going to be a lot longer than we first thought.”
Mal didn’t answer Rathan’s questions, and he did not overlook that. Was the girl still troubled by her past? She was at ease with her large Dardaptoan protector, though he was not in the room with her now. Rathan had had no trouble seeing that earlier. And for Mallory that was truly remarkable; after the events of her twenty-first year several years ago all had feared she would never let a male touch her again. Had she told her Rajni about that bastard who had attacked her as revenge against her...grandfather.
The sick horror of it settled into Rathan’s mind. Mallory had been raped as revenge against her grandfather when the older man had fired one of his inventors, causing the man to lose everything he’d had. Mallory had paid the price when the man caught her walking through the parking lot alone the next evening. Rathan could only hope her Rajni had been gentle with her.
“It does end for me, here. I must focus on other things.” He hesitated. “I must eventually return to my realm. I have unfinished business I must attend to.”
“Other realms? Come on, Rath. This isn’t exactly Sci-Fi.” Mallory challenged him openly. She always had; it was one of the things he loved about the girl.
“Is it not? Your brother and uncle are werewolves. And you are a vampire, my fiery brat.” Rathan smiled, flashing fangs before throwing his head back to expose the horns his hair normally covered. “And I am demon. Head demon, king of all Kinds. I have whiled away so much time among your family, but it is getting closer to the hour when I—and my family—must return.”
“You have a family? There are more of you?” Mickey asked.
“I have several siblings—half siblings, mostly. My father is gone—I think. And he left me the throne, to assume when the time was right.”
“Why would the timing not be right?” Mallory asked, suspicion on her face. She at least realized his story had a few holes.
“Politics made it impossible for me to take over in 1900. Yet I have people who are working to rectify that. I also have a half-brother bent on taking my place; he has the backing of a faction of my people, yet not enough to do it. My world is as complex as this one, pet. With kingdoms and factions and even different species vying for control of it all. That control is currently in the hands of my court, but that could change so easily. It is time I returned as leader of my peoples.”
“And where does my mother fit into this?” A feminine voice asked him from the door. Rathan caught the tightening of Rand’s features out of the corner of his eye. Rand’s mate stood trembling in the door, though she looked not at the wolf.
“That is between us, do you not suppose? I will tell you this; I will see to it that she is happy.” Rathan kept his words gentle. Did the girl know of the sibling growing within her mother?
“Will you? How can you? Taking away choices makes no one happy. If you’ll excuse me. I’m going to my rooms. Mickey? You wanted to talk?” There was pleading in the girl’s eyes when she looked at the younger of Rand’s sister. They were close, then, as the girl’s mother had indicated.
“Of course, Ji. Rand...” Mickey stood and stared at her brother for a moment. “Well...never mind. Let’s go, Ji. Good-bye Rathan.”
Mallory followed her sister out moments later, with the information that she was to find Emily and discuss some matters with her and Josey. That left Rathan with the wolf.
“I see the girl wants nothing to do with you. I fare little better.” Rathan was now free to voice the concerns he held. Rand, he knew, would hold his counsel and could offer sound advice. It was why they were friends—they trusted one another with everything of import.
“Fair enough.” Rand’s words held derision. “I’m not sure I want anything to do with a woman like her, either.”
Both men knew he lied. Lupoiux wanted their mates from the moment they first laid eyes upon them. “Still. You are mated. She’s yours.”
“So what’s the next step in your plan?” Rand leaned forward, his expression dark. “Take her? Go where?”
“I am considering it, but I am not sure the results and the time it would take her to get past it are worth that action. She is the type of woman, I think, who requires a man to finesse her. She is determined. This quest of hers is one she feels passionately about. Her womankind do need medical care. You know as well as I do how fragile they are. And now that your sisters and cousins are Dardaptoan, they will need the same. How can I deny her from doing what she must? It may mean life or death for her, your mate or sisters or cousins.”
Both men were silent for a moment, until Rand spoke. “What must be done?”
“That is something I must discuss with my woman. I suggest you speak to your own to find out what they were doing on that road in the first place. I will send a message to my peoples’ head healer, I suggest you do the same.”
****
Kindara accepted the hug from Aureliana and clung. They’d been friends for more than four hundred years.
“You ok?” Auri asked.
“I don’t know.” Kindara shook her head. There would be things she’d discuss with the other woman after her brother Aodhan was gone. “We’ll talk later. We have other things to discuss.”
>
“Security on your project from now on.” Aodhan sat at the desk that the king often occupied. As one of his top advisers Aodhan helped Rydere manage the Dardaptoan people. He had volunteered a few years ago to help Kindara find what she needed to help their people, after he and Aureliana had lost a sister during childbirth. He had argued against her and Jierra going without an escort, but Kindara hadn’t wanted to wait for him to free some of his men from their tasks hunting the Lupoiux who had attacked Josey. Had he sent his guard ahead, the demon and Lupoiux would no doubt have been unsuccessful in taking them. “You choose, but no less than two guards at all times.”
“I’m not arguing. I want Aureliana and Belnus.” She named the male Dardaptoan who often accompanied Barlaam on research trips. Belnus was young—only around a hundred—but he had a keen understanding of sciences and medicine though he was not a healer. He was also strong and foreboding with dark features and an attitude much like her brother’s.
“Done. Although I wish you would take someone besides Auri.”
Kindara fought the urge to snap at him. Dardaptoan males would never believe that the females were as strong as they—and in most cases they would be right, but Aureliana was an exception. She was of the Adrastos house, same as her brother, and that house was renowned for their warrior spirit. Aureliana exhibited that spirit and had trained herself to be as fierce as any of her male relatives. “It’s Auri and Belnus or no one, Aod. I will need people with me who understand what we are doing, who can pull double duty if needed. Auri and Bel can both pitch in with the experiments in the field. I’m also taking Bronwen. She is young but so skilled.”
“Consider them yours for the duration. Provided Theo will let his sister go.” Aodhan frowned. “We were lucky with Cormac’s Rajni—we all know that.”
“But we gained something else from the attack.” Kindara thought back to the hours of research she’d spent while studying her sister-in-law’s newly changed blood. “Josey carried some strong antibodies. That’s what helped her. If we could duplicate those antibodies in a form older Dardaptoans could use, we may actually have a start. Mal gave me a sample a few days before I left. She’s got them, too. I’m assuming Emily and Mickey do, as well. I was planning to see, but we got a lead on that witch in Hot Springs.”
“Mallory mentioned it. She wants to help as much as she can.” Aodhan’s face darkened. “Are they worse off as Dardaptoan than they were as humans? Would human women have more medical options, you suppose?”
Kindara hesitated. Every Dardaptoan male she had ever known obsessed over the health of their Rajnis. “I don’t know, Aod. But I’m going to do all that I can to answer this. We are so far behind the other Kinds medically. I will change that. Somehow.”
“Any resources you need, we will get it, Kinney. One way or another.” Aodhan’s vow was more potent for the quiet sincerity behind it.
“Dahn Emily has pledged all the resources of Taniss Industries as well.” The sick irony was not wasted on Kindara. “They’ve years of research in medicines.”
“We’ll use it, no matter how distasteful.” Aodhan’s disgust was as deep as Kindara’s and evident on his face. “We’ll do what we must.”
“Yes, we will. Whatever we must.”
****
Kindara would need to do more studies and more experiments on the Dardaptoan women. Compare their results to those of the newly turned Taniss women. It would be nice if she could also get some non-turned Taniss samples somehow, as well. That was something she would have to discuss with Dahn Emily. Jade, perhaps. Then Kindara would be able to study the closest biological relative of Josey. See if there were possible DNA markers for the antibody Josey and her cousins possessed.
Her mind was filled with various tasks as she walked back to her chambers. The demon featured little in her thoughts; by focusing on her people’s plight maybe she could forget him.
Until she entered her rooms and found the very creature asleep in the bed she’d once shared with Iavius. She stared down at him for a moment. Has she ever met anyone as arrogant as he? How had he entered her rooms? Each wing of the hotel was guarded, kept private for the inhabitants. Even the demon should not have been able to enter without permission. That he had told her one thing—she could not avoid him, he would find her wherever she went.
She shook him awake. “Get out of my rooms.”
“But they expected me to stay among the humans on the fourth floor. That was unacceptable.” The demon sat, moving with a lazy grace that did little to hide the dangerous nature of his soul. “Did your meeting go well? You look stressed.”
Was that how the demon thought it would be? Him pretending to be a solicitous and caring mate? Asking her how her day had been as if nothing had happened between them? “Of course I’m stressed! I’ve been kidnapped, seduced, impregnated, and on top of that I am charged with saving my race!”
Why did she spend every moment with him wanting to scream? Not even Iavius had heated her the way the demon did. With Iavius life had been laughter. With this demon every moment was fire.
“Tell me what you are searching for? Is it drugs? Medications? My people have a complex medical system. I have sent word to one of my siblings to begin compiling the information for you. We have lands rich with herbs that do not grow here. We already know that no race or species is immune to the power of my horns. Even yours. Your child mentioned pain killers; does your head still pain you? Maybe you can reproduce the Mesmus. Reproduce some of our other offerings.”
Kindara hesitated. Her people had no pain killers. Yet, his ability to subdue her mind had freed her from any pain. Could she afford to overlook his offer of assistance? “What will you gain from helping me?”
“Besides helping ensure you survive birthing our spawn? Besides aiding the Taniss family; protecting Mallory and the others? I think you underestimate my desire to protect them. It’s almost as great as my desire to protect you.” His hands slipped around her waist and he pulled her toward him. The smell of him had her lungs clenching. Heat and male mixed with a spice of some sort. He cuddled her head against his chest. Long male fingers began parting her hair. He rubbed her scalp slowly, the movements designed to lull her. He whispered the words above her. “Let me help you, pet. This does not have to be your burden alone.”
Kindara found herself nodding before she really thought about it. How did he do that? Get her to agree to things without thought? Was he doing something with powers she had yet to identify? “I’m to leave tomorrow. Finish the journey I started.”
“I will accompany you.”
“I already have a guard, thank you. Two of them.”
“Still, you go nowhere without me. Inside this building is one thing, but out there...I am a king, pet. You carry the next one. You are far too great a prize for me to risk you.”
“I am no prize.” She pulled away and dropped into the chair in front of her writing desk. Why did she spend so much time with him telling him what she felt and what she was? Why did she expend so much energy on the demon at all? Was it just because of the babe?
She did not think so. Something about the demon met something in her. Something she couldn’t explain and wasn’t sure she wanted to. She tried to pull her mate’s face up in her mind, and for once the laughing citrine eyes were replaced by fire dark ones that were filled with a sexual heat like no other.
“Show me what you need. And I will get it for you.”
“I need to know what is so different about Josey and her cousins. I need to know why we can’t create medications that work. I need ways around this. What I don’t need is to be kidnapped while in the middle of my search.”
His grin was unrepentant. “But I can help you with all of those things.”
“Don’t you have to return to wherever it is you came from? Hell, perhaps?”
“Eventually, I must return to my court. But in my lands we may be able to find what it is you seek. My people have a rich history of medicine, including herbs tha
t do not grow on this world. Wouldn’t you like to study them, to see if they hold the answers that you seek?” It wasn’t hard for her to miss the cajoling purpose behind his words. Should she believe him? Could she afford not to? What if he spoke the truth? His damned demon horns had made her body do things she hadn’t wanted it to. Had he not been able to render her unconscious with just one touch?
Perhaps he could help her, at least in developing an anesthetic for her people. “What types of medications?”
“Everything. We even have things that can knit bones back together overnight. Admitted, they have side-effects, but we’ve been doing this a long time. Have your people ever studied our ways?”
“No. We were told to avoid you all. Only the Predatoi dealt with demons.” Had that been a mistake? Could the demons have helped prevent some of the losses over the years?
“Well, that will change starting tomorrow.” He stretched out over her bed. “I’m very hungry, pet.”
“So order a damned pizza.” Kindara felt her eyes widen. Did he honestly expect to stay here? “And get the hell out of here. And don’t come back.”
Chapter Sixteen
She had not ordered him out of her room on sight, though their exchange had not been exactly as he had planned. Dare he hope she was warming to him? Rathan flashed to the room the Dardaptoans had given him. It was nothing like the suite that his woman occupied. Not that it mattered; he would be flashing to her in an hour or so anyway. He would not ever spend another night without her in his bed. She was his, and he belonged beside her.
Before, though, he needed to contact his people to check the status of his own world. His hands heated and his eyes shut, he began to mutter the words that would bring him into contact with the only ally he could fully trust. Soon the painting on the far wall was replaced by a film of iridescent light. His younger sister—barely seventy—appeared.
He smiled. This child was one dear to him, as he’d had the raising of her for most of her life. Their parents had been unwilling allies when he was conceived. Danae was their last ditch effort to reconcile centuries later. When that had not improved their relationship, their mother had retreated to her home lands and taken the babe with her. Rathan had fought long and hard for mere visitation with the girl; once she had come of age at fifteen, Danae had moved to his home. They had been close the last fifty years and there was no woman he trusted as much as her. “Sweetling! You look as beautiful as ever.”
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