Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 130081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
“We have no Empath Kindred that I know of in my universe,” Davrik said thoughtfully. “Though it’s possible that a trade was done long ago and forgotten about. Anyway, I don’t mind dropping you and Nate off. From what the slaver said, Sonya was bought for the beauty of her voice. Not for…other reasons.”
His face grew dark and Lan’ara felt the protectiveness rising in him. He wanted badly to get to his mate and keep her safe from any who would harm her.
She didn’t blame him and normally she would have waited until he had secured Sonya to ask for a ride to her home world. But she could still feel the rage emanating from Nate and she feared for his emotional and mental well-being. Until she could free him of the stasis field and calm him, she couldn’t begin to heal the wounds in his spirit—of which there were many. She could feel them, each and every one, pecking at him like angry crows.
“Thank you—I promise it won’t take long to drop us off,” she said gratefully. “Come on—let me show you where Careesa Prime is on the star charts and you can put it into the Nav-com along with the coordinates to Yonnie Six.”
“Of course.” Davrik nodded and they walked together to the front of the ship. But Lan’ara couldn’t help throwing a glance over her shoulder at Nate, still frozen in the stasis frame.
Don’t worry, she thought, wishing she could reassure him in some way. I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. I’m going to get you help, Nate—I swear I will!
She just prayed to the Goddess that his pain wasn’t too deep to heal.
ELEVEN
DAVRIK
Davrik nodded a last goodbye as Lan’ara exited the ship and then closed the door and prepared to take the long-range shuttle back into space. Their stop on Careesa Prime had been, as she had promised, extremely brief.
Lan’ara had called ahead, asking for permission to bring Nate to a place called a “Healing Grotto.” Permission had been granted, after she explained the circumstances, and they had landed in the middle of what appeared to be a tropical paradise.
The broad, feathery leaves and flowers were all soft, muted shades of blue and purple and green—and so were the people, to Davrik’s surprise. The Careesans seemed to blend in with their environment and the pervading mood of the whole planet was that of peaceful reflection and healing.
The Careesan males who helped move the stasis frame with Nate inside it weren’t quite as tall as the Kindred of his own universe but they all seemed very fit. They wore long white trousers that billowed around their legs and were gathered at the ankles. They went bare-chested, not needing to wear shirts in the balmy warmth Davrik could feel flooding into the shuttle from the jungle outside.
The females wore long white gowns which flowed down to their feet in the back but were split high in the front. Both males and females were barefoot—Lan’ara had explained that there were no thorns or weeds but only soft grasses on the surface of the planet. They all nodded and made gestures of peace as they murmured a muted welcome.
Davrik had wondered if their calm and peaceful attitudes prevailed over the entire planet or were unique to the Healing Grotto. He supposed on a planet of Empaths, where everyone could feel everyone else’s emotions, it would be especially important to maintain a tranquil atmosphere.
But he couldn’t keep his mind on Careesa Prime for long—he wished Lan’ara and Nate all the best and hoped she could heal the fury festering inside her human mate—but now he had other things to attend to. At last he was headed for Yonnie Six and his beloved Sonya. He just prayed he was in time and nothing horrible had been done to her.
A short jump through a stable wormhole found him in orbit around the small but prosperous planet. If the Yonnie Six of this universe shared any physical characteristics with the Yonnie Six of his own universe, they were heavily into Dream Gas mining and production. It was the only planet where the hallucinogenic gas could be found and it was a much sought after commodity.
If he had been in his own universe, Davrik would have had to pose as the bodyslave of a rich Mistress to land on Yonnie Six. However, in this universe he simply stated that he was a wealthy male interested in visiting the Pleasure District and he was granted immediate entry.
He docked on the outskirts of the Pleasure District and took a luxury hovercoach directly to The House of a Thousand Flowers. His body was tight with coiled tension. Soon he would see Sonya—or at least, this universe’s version of her.
As he waited impatiently for the sleek, navy blue hovercoach to get to the club, he debated for the hundredth time on what he should tell her. He didn’t know if he should try to explain about the other Sonya—his Sonya—from his universe or not. After all, he didn’t want this new Sonya to feel like she was nothing but a replacement. She was going to be a different person—her life experiences and the trauma she’d been through would ensure that.