Balm

Quinn’s own life after death comes as a bit of a shock, and taking on a new life with the one man she thought forever gone leaves her in need of some handson consoling. His hands.

Quinn went from Enforcer to Balm of Death in a matter of years. With her life locked into taking the pain of death from those entering the void, she had no choice in where or when. As death claims Quinn after a sudden attack, arms she has dreamed of for the last two years lift her and take her Home. Iskanu has been waiting for the moment that Quinn breathed her last, while mourning the pain she would be in before she released her energy and ties to her universe. He sweeps her Home to bring her back to him and then has to explain the hardest thing in his life. Two of her years ago, Quinn held his hand and comforted him while he died. He was now holding her hand as she woke with the power of the Orb inside her. How would she take the reversal of their positions and would she agree to her post as his partner and Sentinel of Time?

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Balm Copyright © 2012 Viola Grace ISBN: 978-1-77111-303-8 Cover art by Martine Jardin All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. Published by eXtasy Books Look for us online at: www.eXtasybooks.com

Balm A Terran Times Tale By Viola Grace

Chapter One

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uinn Lios made her way out of the medical bay and sat in one of the few gardens left untouched on Recodan IV. Her soul was numb, and she buried her head in her hands as she ran through the final thoughts of those she had just eased into death. Ninety percent of the population of Recodan IV had died immediately from the pathogen dropped on their world by the U’kadi, five percent were immune, and the other five percent were dying at a slow and painful pace. The U’kadi were being interdicted while the Sector Guard tried to help the population of Recodan IV deal with the bodies of their loved ones. Scorchers were taking care of the dead, counselors were helping the living, and then, there were balms, or easers, like Quinn. She could take the pain, ease the panic, but not stop the inevitable march to death once a living being was headed that way. Tears crept through her fingers as the pain-filled sighs of her patients echoed in her thoughts. Three years as an Enforcer had put her on the active side of disasters, and when her talent for helping the dying had 1

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surfaced, it meant training in a job she had no interest in pursuing. “You have helped many today.” Quinn jumped and pulled her fist back in a reflex from her battle-ready days. A tall figure in swirling robes was standing a few feet from her bench. “Helped them? There is nothing left of them. I took their consciousness and let it drift into the afterlife. How is that helping?” She sniffled. “If they have any surviving family, their family members will know that they did not die in pain and fear. It means a lot to know that.” His tone was low, but the shadowed interior of his hood kept her from seeing his features. She analyzed what she could of his clothing, but she had no idea where his robes were from. “Are you with the Sector Guard?” “No. I am with an observational body.” He shifted and took a seat next to her. “If it hurts you, why do you do it?” Quinn snorted. “I wasn’t given any choice. Besides, if I don’t help them, their last thoughts on this world will be of pain. It isn’t something that I would wish on anyone.” “Why don’t you have a choice?” She looked at him in surprise. His curiosity was not something she had run across before. Most folks called her a reaper and gave her a wide berth. She didn’t know if it were the sympathetic tone or simply that he had asked the question, but she told him how she had ended up in her peculiar assignment. “I was an Enforcer sent to Wallu during the height of 2

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terrorist acts. We were guarding a disarmament team when a blast sent us flipping through the air, crushing three of the men in my unit. The captain was dead and the second in command was lying next to me, breathing more blood than air. He asked me to hold his hand, to help him keep calm while we waited for help. We both knew that he was not going to make it, and my mind reached for his and his for mine. I wanted to keep him calm, so I put that into my thoughts. “His features straightened, his body relaxed and a light filled his mind. I felt him go, and the moment he did, hands pulled me from him as a pair of beings lifted him and disappeared.” She snorted. “Everyone attributed my memory of the disappearance to shock, but I know what I saw.” He leaned close. “What did you see?” “A woman similar to a Terran, if she wasn’t actually one of us, and a Hirn. I looked it up. There is only one race that looked like that.” Quinn sighed. “Anyway, whatever happened at the moment that he died changed my mind. Literally. After that point, I could see who was about to die and if they wished it, I could ease them into the next world. The Citadel worked to train me and sent me out under the description of being the Balm of Death. Not a very attractive job title.” Her companion cocked his head. “Do you bring death?” She shook her head. “No. It will come on its own. I only see the end of the physical shape and let the soul free without trauma. I don’t keep the consciousness, just sooth the body, so the mind isn’t held by instinct 3

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and panic.” His voice was calming. “You would not have chosen it?” “No. I liked being an Enforcer. I liked helping the living to live.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “I apologize. I didn’t introduce myself. I am Quinn Lios.” She extended her hand in formal greeting. His hand struck her with its familiarity. There was a scar across the silken black velvet skin. She knew that hand, but when she looked up into the depths of his hood, a scream claimed her attention. “Murdering bitch!” Quinn jumped back and put herself between the charging woman and the stranger. Tears tracked down the woman’s face as she lunged at Quinn with a blade. Sobs punctuated every sharp motion as the stranger tried to kill her. Quinn disarmed her and held her as the woman snuffled out that she had struggled to make her way to the medical centre, and she had arrived too late. Her mother had been one of those who surrendered to death that morning. A shudder ran through the woman. “What were her last words?” Quinn looked at her, “I don’t know.” Where the woman got the second knife, Quinn didn’t know, but she gasped. It was buried in her throat. “When you kill someone, you should remember it, bitch.” Quinn’s vision was fading, but she felt arms holding her and voices calling out. Her attacker was being questioned, and she snapped out, “She didn’t remember 4

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my mother’s last words.” One of the medics that Quinn had met with in the morning spoke softly. “Your mother died before she arrived. She could not have known the last words of a woman already gone.” A low wail thrummed through the air, but Quinn was busy staring at the shadowy face above her. She choked on her own blood as her heart stuttered. With the last of her energy, she spoke one word. “Dahl.” The figure nodded and a bright flash of light embraced them. **** Iskanu Dahl held Quinn in his arms. He fought to keep the urgency out of his tone. “New arrival. Stabbing victim.” The medical staff of Home sprang into action, taking Iskanu’s officer into their arms and taking her into a repair room. The knife still stuck out of her neck, causing rising nausea every time he looked at her. The medical staff prepared themselves and withdrew the knife, working swiftly to repair her flesh. He walked toward the head of the table, placing his hands next to her head and waiting. The repair specialists worked quickly, and when they backed away and nodded, Iskanu poured power into Quinn’s body, bringing her back to him. The circle of the situation didn’t escape him. She had held him while he breathed his last, and now, he returned the favour. 5

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Quinn’s body bucked, and with a loud cry, her bright blue eyes opened, staring up into his. “Hello, Officer Lios.” She coughed up blood and turned to her side to clear her lungs. Wearily, she looked up at him. “Commander Dahl. You look better.” He cracked a grin and dropped his hood. “So do you.”

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Chapter Two

H

e was alive. The most traumatic moment of her life was watching him die and holding him while he breathed his last, and he was alive. Quinn swung her arm and slugged him in the chest. “You couldn’t have told me earlier?” He grunted obligingly and bent over. “It was not the right time.” She sat up, wincing at the blood covering her neckline and cleavage. “Where are we, and can I get a change of clothing? This is a little…bloody, for me.” “We are in an inter-dimensional space called Home. You are a candidate to become a Sentinel of Time.” She looked at him with her head cocked. “Are you insane?” “No. This is where I was taken and where the repairs to my body were enacted. The Avatar of the Orb woke me, and I have been acting as an agent of the Orb for the last four years.” Quinn frowned. “It has only been two.” “For you, but here, we are outside of time. I have been on dozens of assignments to watch pivotal moments in history on worlds I didn’t know existed.” 7

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He offered his hand. She took it. “You are going to explain all this?” “Of course. It is my duty as your senior officer.” His smile was blinding white in the darkness of his Selna features. Quinn chuckled. “You haven’t been my senior anything since your untimely death.” She slipped off the medical bed, and he caught her as her knees gave way. “Take it easy, Lios. Dying is tiring.” She inhaled deeply, and her body hummed happily. Two years after he had left her forever, she was in his arms. It was a chance she never thought she would have. It took Herculean effort on her part, but she straightened and smiled brightly. “Thanks for the catch.” His lips twisted in a frown as she stepped out of his grip. She turned up the wattage on her smile and brushed the front of his robes. “I think you got some of my blood on you.” The small contact relaxed him. “Then, we should obtain a change of clothing for both of us. Come with me to the acquisitions department, and I will give you a full briefing.” He gestured for her to come with him, and she really had no choice. He was her commanding officer after all. “Before this universe was born, there was another. When it came time for the old universe to beat its last, it 8

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took part of its consciousness and hid it outside time and space. The old universe died, and the new one took its place, but the Orb survived.” They were walking slowly along one of the arched pedestrian bridges, and she was getting a briefing from the very beginning of the history of this most peculiar place. A chunk of land was floating in the centre of outer space, strange stellar patterns spun through the sky, mountains edged the landscape and trees in the most bizarre configurations that she had ever seen were in the distance. She had to ask. “So, there is a core of a dead universe running the show?” “We call it the Orb of Time. Well, that is the name it has chosen for itself. It seeded itself within the population of dozens of worlds, and in several of those worlds, it integrated itself within certain bloodlines. Those bloodlines call to it when a person dies, and if the saturation is strong enough, the call is heard across time and space.” “I was one of those?” “As was I. Our deaths are immutable. We have to die to be given an option to take on life as one of the Nameless.” She chuckled. “The Nameless?” “We no longer belong to our worlds, we belong to the Orb. This world is ours to come home to, a fragment of a universe lost, and so, we are Nameless.” He inclined his head. “You are okay with this?” “It beats the alternative. My death was not 9

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something I had ever planned for, but I am content with the way things are working out.” Surprised, she looked up at him, and his glowing stellar eyes had a warm cast. It took her a few seconds to realize that she was part of his things working out. “That isn’t exactly flattering. I am still wearing the blood from my untimely death.” He winced. “True, but your death was not untimely. It occurred exactly when it was supposed to occur. The moment that I came here and the Orb transformed me, I became privy to my own future. You were part of it.” She blinked. “Part of your future, so you knew I would die?” He sighed heavily. “I knew. I didn’t know how you would end up here, but I knew you would. When the Orb sent me to Recodan IV and I saw you emotionally drained and crushed in the garden, I couldn’t just watch and not speak to you before it happened.” She thought about those moments when she was reeling from the death she had dealt with. His presence had been a relief and a balm to her shattered nerves. “How did your eyes change? They used to be a lovely bronze.” She bit her lip after she spoke. “The Orb becomes part of you and allows you to travel in time and space with just a little bit of practice. It changes your eyes to give anyone looking into them a view of another universe.” “Mine, too?” “I will miss those bright blue eyes of yours, but yes, yours too.” He paused, gripped her arm, and with the wind blowing through their robes, he stared into her eyes and caressed her cheek. “I will always remember 10

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these eyes.” She thought about the last time she had watched bright bronze looking at her instead of the midnight sky. She had watched the light dim in his gaze until there was nothing left. It was a memory that she relived every time she touched the dying. “I will always remember yours, Dahl.” He leaned in and brushed his lips across hers. She shivered and touched his robes, the smell of blood in the air between them. She went up on her toes and increased the contact. For three years, she had worked with him, and this had been her fantasy every day of those three years. Selna were one of the most seductive of the Alliance races. Their skin was a sensory delight. Their bodies produced pheromones to seduce the most resistant of species. Terrans had no resistance to that sort of seduction, not that Quinn wanted to resist. She shivered in his grip, the warmth of the palm against her cheek a solid link to the reality around her. When the heat seeped through her entire body and began to multiply, she pulled away. Quinn would have stepped back, but she was on the edge of a bridge covering a chasm that ended in open space. She turned her head from his and whispered, “I think I need to get this blood off.” He nodded and pressed his head to her shoulder, breathing deeply. “Right. First things first.” She nodded and threaded one hand through his thick, dark hair. He breathed her in for a few moments, and they 11

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returned to their slow walk to the clothing repository with his arm around her waist and hers around his. It seemed the most natural thing in the world, which made Quinn smile because the world was precisely where she was not.

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Chapter Three

“I

s this really appropriate?” Quinn turned from side to side, staring at her reflection. The purple, strapless gown was quite pretty but nothing that she had worn in service to the Alliance. “I think you should dress like that all the time.” He was wearing his own change of clothing—a tight smoke grey leather vest with a pair of charcoal trousers and black boots. “Not fair that you are still prettier than me.” His grin would have done justice to a six-year-old boy. He was practically preening when he offered her his hand. She noted a belt and dagger that blended with his outfit. “What is that?” “The mark of the Nameless. It is our only weapon.” He stroked his fingers down her throat. The pain of the remembered impact sent her stumbling back. She held her hand up to fend him off. “What is it?” He went from seductive to concerned in a heartbeat. “I just felt…” She didn’t know how to explain that the pain of the final attack was still fresh. 13

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“What?” She reached up and touched his shoulder to calm him. He was agitated. “When you touched my neck, I felt the knife strike all over again.” He frowned. “That isn’t supposed to happen after healing. Would you like to see someone?” Quinn shook her head. “No. I am fine for now. If it happens again, I will let you know.” He kept the look of concern on his face but accepted her touch. “You had better. The pain of death is usually one of the first things to fade.” “I guess it is just being difficult.” “You always had to do things the hard way, Lios.” He gestured for her to leave the changing room. The requisition station was bustling when they left. A short walk up a bridge and they approached an elegant building that looked precisely in place in the peculiar assembly of structures that made up their city. “How does this work?” “We walk into the council hall, and you meet the seven. The speaker will talk for the gathering, and you will be walked into the hall of the Orb where you will stand on the centre of the spiral and you meet the Orb of Time.” She snorted. “It sounds simple.” “It will be. I will be with you the entire time. Just like the plains of Argethor. We will meet this together.” She laughed. “If I recall, you were fighting off the women of the opposing army and their peculiar tactic of charging at you nude, and I was with the rest of our unit, blasting at the incoming horde.” He shrugged. “Did you see those women? They were 14

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horrifying.” She winced at the memory. “I seem to recall that. I still have nightmares.” He laughed as they entered the building, and she braced herself to have her body and life changed forever. When the light surged up to meet her, Quinn held her breath. It didn’t work. The light still wrapped around her and seeped into her skin, pouring into her eyes. Welcome Home, Quinn. Um, thank you? A bright laugh rippled through her mind. It is strange at first to have me within you, but having Iskanu with you will ease your transition. Quinn wasn’t sure that her mind could blush, but she thought it was doing a good job of it. Really? We can stay together? Of course, it will make your assignments easier, and you will have him to lean on when you need it. What kind of assignments? I know it pains you, but you will be easing those in pain. I am to deliver people into death in my afterlife? No. I am giving you the ability to ease those who live in psychic agony back into a more productive reality. Is that something you can work with? Delight spiraled through her thoughts, and the Orb ceased to speak. Quinn walked the spiral path back to Iskanu and smiled. “How do my eyes look now?” 15

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He grinned and inclined his head. “They have a striking beauty.” Unable to resist, she made a fist and punched him in the gut. He bent over satisfactorily, and she snickered as she swept past him and up the stairway to get her new knife. Laughter spilled out of her as she sprinted back to the main hall. Quinn felt lighter from the inside out. Ravikka was right behind Iskanu, and she was laughing at him as she came up the stairs. The woman giggled her way right through the minute ceremony of giving Quinn the knife. Iskanu was not smiling as he approached her. He gruffly announced, “Hold tight.” The light surrounded them again, and when it faded, they were in an apartment that was decorated in soothing blues and soft yellows. Quinn blinked. “Where are we?” “If I answer, will you punch me again?” She sighed and patted his cheek. “You said my eyes were striking, so I struck you. Cause and effect.” It wasn’t a convincing argument but he narrowed his eyes at her. “You always were very literal.” Amusement crossed his features. “I do try. So, where are we?” A new voice sounded behind them. “You are in the tower of the Sentinels. Welcome, Quinn, Iskanu.” Commander Dahl put his arm around her, turned her and smiled at the couple who were standing in the living room. “Kali, Odin. Thank you for coming.” “It is my job as Avatar to the Orb to greet all new 16

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Sentinels. That includes you and your new companion.” To Quinn’s shock, the woman was definitely a Terran. “You are…” The woman with the long red hair and black eyes grinned. “I am. Call me Kali.” Inspired by the smile on the woman’s face, Quinn stepped forward, and they hugged. Immediately, Quinn felt the power nestled within the other woman, and she recognized it. “You are the Avatar.” The woman retreated to arms length and smiled. “I am. Iskanu has been waiting eagerly for you.” Quinn looked to her commander, and as she stared at him, memories flashed in her mind involving strange adventures and long nights with their bodies connected in a variety of poses. Her cheeks felt hot, and she quickly turned back to Kali. Kali’s expression was lightly pitying and amused at the same time. “You will get used to it, Quinn. You will now see things that have not yet happened as well as things you are not comfortable with. You will learn to use what you have seen to your advantage and know a moment to act when it is upon you.” “Will I be acting alone?” Her words were as quiet as she could make them. “You will never be alone again. The Orb will be inside you until you cease to walk these worlds, and Iskanu will be at your side.” There was certainty in Kali’s tone. Quinn paused at the look in Kali’s eyes with their dark universe spinning within. “How much do you see?” 17

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Kali’s lips quirked up on one side. “I see too much. The beginning of all things and the end of others. When I pass, there will be another Avatar and another after that. The Orb will not be alone and that is what matters. For now, let me tell you about our war.” Odin brought them tea while Kali briefed Quinn on the situation with the Vorwings, the first attempt at Nameless and the regret of the Orb. “So, since the Vorwings and the other Firsts of the Orb decided to breed as quickly as they could, we need to find and remove all traces of the Orb of Time from the worlds. Since the descendants tend to run to madness, it makes them easier to spot. Those are the missions that the Orb has chosen for you, because your talent helps you spot the unusual.” “My talent lets me see the dying.” “The premise is the same, and the Orb has refined your talent to look out for signs of its energy. The person carrying it will be either a Vorwing or a dangerously insane Vorwing descendant or both.” Quinn nodded. “What is a Vorwing?” Kali sipped at her tea with concentration and a rueful smile. “A giant fairy, usually in the lavender range of skin tone.” An image slipped into her mind, a tall, strong male with huge fluttering wings and a cruel expression on his face. “Ah. Thank you.” As Quinn watched, Kali shifted colour. Her skin took on the same colour that her eyes had worn and her eyes resumed a more human shade. The voice rumbled in her throat. “They are my greatest disappointment. 18

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My only creation.” “I understand and am pleased to greet you in person, Orb.” Quinn inclined her head. “I will do as you wish when you send me on a mission. I will remove traces of your power from their bodies, but where do you wish me to keep it?” The Orb cocked her head. “Keep it within you until you return and release it once you get here. Home will absorb it.” “I see. Do you know when I will be sent on my first assignment?” The Orb smiled, “It will happen when it is time and not before. You still need to learn how to move between universes, and Iskanu will show you how to do that.” Before Quinn could ask something else, Kali changed colour and resumed her redheaded complexion. Kali smiled, “We will be on our way now. There is an intercom that leads to the other apartments of the Sentinels. You can ask any of us anything at any time. We will answer what we can, but Iskanu should be able to help you with the day-to-day.” Quinn traced her fingers over her forehead. “How will I learn to use the upgrade?” Kali chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. “Like we all do. On the job.”

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Chapter Four

O

din and Kali disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Quinn alone with Iskanu. “Well, that was interesting.” Quinn cleared up the tea set that was ubiquitous throughout the Alliance. “How are you feeling about this whole thing, Officer Lios?” She snickered. “I think you can call me Quinn now, Commander.” “Iskanu.” Quinn smiled and carried the dishes to the kitchen area. It was quite a charming setup. She had a chiller, a cooking surface and enough food for two people. The cleaner was loaded in under a minute and it hummed happily as it worked to scrub the dishes. Quinn turned, and Iskanu was very close. “Um. Hello.” “Hello. I believe we have a few things we need to discuss.” She licked her lips, and his eyes narrowed as he watched her tongue. “Like what?” He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Her eyes crossed as he got closer, then she closed them. 20

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The kiss touched only her lips, but her body warmed dramatically, a wave of sensation that started at her lips and ended at her fingers and toes swam through her. Quinn sighed and went up on her toes, seeking more contact and bracing herself on the counter behind her. Tears slipped from under her lids, and she began to cry. Iskanu threaded his hands through her hair and cupped her head. He broke the initial contact and trailed kisses down her cheeks. She shivered but could not stop her tears. Sobs started deep in her chest. He stopped kissing her, drawing her close and holding her while she broke down. He rubbed her back and arms until she stopped wailing in his grasp. She was sure that her skin was a horrible shade and her eyes were bloodshot, but when he slipped his hand under her chin to raise her face to his, she didn’t see anything but a slight smile in his dark galaxy eyes. “What was that about?” She sniffed. “You were dead. I saw you die. I held your hand and felt your mind slip away, and now, you are here, and I don’t know how to cross the two things in my mind.” “You will learn how to do it. Just as I had to hold myself back when I learned I had to watch you die. These are things we have to adjust to as Sentinels.” He stroked her hair away from her face. “You knew that I would return in fairly short time. I thought you were gone forever.” “Did you miss me?” She balled up her fist and smacked him in the ribs. 21

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He caught her hand and flattened it out against his chest. “Answer me, Quinn.” She didn’t bother struggling. “I did. I thought about that last moment of your mind touching mine every single day. The light dying in your eyes, your body crushed by the explosion, those are my memories.” Quinn put the pain of those memories front and centre on her face. Iskanu stroked her cheek. “I am sorry for the memories, but can we begin again? Now?” Quinn chuckled softly. “I suppose. How do the Selna begin a courtship?” Iskanu smiled, “We males are normally sold or traded to a woman of high family. Our responsibility is to mate as often and frequently as we can with her and members of her immediate family. Those children will be assessed and traded as necessary.” “What happened to you?” “A most extraordinary woman came to the Weeshkan settlement, and she negotiated for my sale to the Citadel. My sister parted with me, and I began my tenure with the Citadel as an assessment specialist. I grew up with Citadel personnel training me, and when it was time, I entered the Enforcers.” She blinked at the tale of his origin. For years, she had wondered how a Selna had ended up in the Alliance Enforcer department. “I always wondered about that. Who picked you up and took you away?” He smiled and stepped away from her. “That is a story for another time. For now, how do your folk come together?” Quinn blinked. “Well, we usually stumble around 22

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and try and become familiar with a person of interest. Once we have their attention, we go out on social outings. We gradually increase the intimacy between us and the person we wish to mate with, sometimes using intoxication as a medium to further the contact. After we decide that we cannot do without the other person, we choose to pair bond for life, or as long as it is convenient.” He extended his hand, “Now, for a more personal question. How would you like to pair bond?” She sighed and followed him into the living room, tugged by his grip on her hand. “I have never given it a thought.” “Never?” Iskanu chuckled. He sat on the couch and pulled her into his lap. His grin was contagious. “Never?” She leaned against his chest and settled in, ignoring the pressure under her thigh. “When I was a teenager, I dreamed of feeling love, but I was never quite sure what it actually was. My first sexual partner was nice enough, but I didn’t love him, and he didn’t love me. We parted soon after.” She leaned against him and breathed him in. “What do you dream of now?” His voice was low and warm. “I don’t dream, I wish. I wish for love, I wish for comfort, I wish for laughter.” She inhaled again, letting her body relax completely. “I wish to be safe for just a little while.” “That I can help you with. Just sit here and relax. I will watch over you while you sleep.” She nestled against him and sighed softly. “That 23

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would be nice, I haven’t felt this relaxed since Eckhari Common.” **** Iskanu fought a tear as she slept in his arms. Eckhari Common was a tense fight, plenty of wounded on both sides of the battle. They were pinned down by blasts overhead and a meteor shower that kept them behind shielding. She had curled next to him that night, and he had watched over her as she slept. If it had been three years since she was able to relax, there was no wonder that she was brittle when it came to keeping her emotions under wraps. Her cracking control had shown when he first came across her in the garden outside the medical facility. The Quinn that he knew from their previous lives together would never have confided weakness to a stranger. What happened to her after I was gone?

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Chapter Five

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uinn stirred restlessly, kicking herself awake. “Why am I flat?” She remembered falling asleep sitting up, and right now, she was definitely not sitting. “Because I was getting a cramp.” Iskanu murmured next to her. He was flat on his stomach, but his tilted head made his starry gaze point toward her. She grumbled and shifted to lie on her side, facing him. He did the same. “So, how do we tell if we have an assignment?” Quinn blinked and stretched, keeping the sheet over her otherwise naked form. “We glow. The Orb gives us the hint and will start feeding us details, flickers of scenes that we have no reason to know. We will understand them in context but usually not before.” His tone was low and lazy. “Was there a reason for the nudity?” She deliberately kept her gaze on his face. The rest of him was far too tempting. He chuckled and reached out to caress the curve of her hip. “The best reason of all. I wanted us to speak with no barriers.” 25

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“I thought that is what we did before I slept.” Iskanu shifted closer, giving her plenty of time to object. Quinn kept her mouth shut and watched him approach, his velvety skin growing closer with every small shift. “We did not discuss one very important matter.” He dropped small kisses against her shoulder and down to her elbow. She shivered as he took his time with the tiny caresses. “What matter was that?” He rolled her to her back and nipped at her lower lip with his teeth. “The matter of my no longer being your commanding officer and you being in my bed.” Quinn blinked and stretched under him, her body arching a centimetre away from him, his body heat making it through the light sheet. “Oh, that. I am up for a discussion.” He brought his body weight down on her, and she enjoyed the feel of his skin where it touched her own. Iskanu delved between her lips with his tongue. Despite their just waking, he tasted like mint, and when she analyzed the coolness of her own mouth, she tried not to smile that he had cheated. Breath tabs were commonly used on Enforcer assignments when they were overnighting it. Sneaking them into the most offensive mouth in the squad while they slept was a bit of a sport. She returned the caress of his tongue with her own, taking in the slick slide with enjoyment. Iskanu stroked the side of her face as they kissed. She slid her fingers through his hair and mentally 26

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sighed at the cool feel of his locks against her hand. He rolled her to her back and pinned her arms over her head. “I have wanted to do this since you were first assigned to my unit.” Quinn grinned as he slowly stroked her skin with his own in a catlike arch of his torso. “Tell me more about your unit.” He narrowed his eyes and chuckled at her turn of phrase, repeating the stroke that sent shivers through her. “I have heard that our skin texture is pleasing to your species.” She bit her lip and nodded. “It is wonderful, hot, soft and hard all in one package. Velvet wrapped around steel.” Her hands clenched, but he was still restraining her, and she couldn’t stroke her hands down his chest and back the way she wanted to. “Why the restraint?” Quinn closed her eyes as Iskanu licked and tasted his way from her throat to her collarbone. She could feel him smile against her skin. “If I remind myself that you are helpless, I will keep track of my actions. If you start to touch me, I may lose control and that would end this first time too soon.” She shivered as his words were spoken between her breasts. Iskanu’s tongue had catlike qualities and the light rasping against the undersides of her breasts made her squirm. Her body dissolved into a confusion of tension and pleasure as he slowly and carefully built a fire in her senses. When she inhaled, his own arousal amplified 27

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hers with the scent he was producing. She would have been seduced with a simple kiss, but this was far more than she needed to get her motor running. Quinn closed her eyes and let his touches drive her slowly to the edge of release or madness. She didn’t care which. With her eyes closed, she concentrated on each small touch, a lick here, a puff of air there and each brought her closer to ending the tension inside her. He released her wrists, and she immediately threaded her fingers through his hair, holding on for dear life. She heard his chuckle when he parted her thighs and moved between them. Her wet heat was obvious, even to her, the interior of her thighs slick with her honey. His tongue lapped up all traces of her arousal before parting her lips with a slow stroke. When the stroke caressed the aching bud of her clit, she let out her breath on a low moan. Her limbs shivered, and her inner muscles flexed, desperate to hold him inside her and coming up empty. Iskanu continued to lap at her slowly, keeping her in the wave of pleasure. When she relaxed against the sheets, he moved forward and pressed his mouth to her, sliding his tongue inside her with a slow undulation that stroked her from the inside out. She released his head and clutched at the bedding to either side of her hips as the wave that had subsided roared to life. Quinn arched her hips, tilting to allow him full access. She didn’t even care that he laughed softly, she wanted more, and he was going to give it to her or she would take it. He moved his mouth from her wet opening and 28

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concentrated on nibbling and sucking at her clit. Two fingers slid into her and began a hard and fast rhythm with the fingers curved slightly upward that struck a spot within her. She bucked against his hand and mouth, but he continued to rub against the area, giving her conflicting signals of irritation and bolts of fire. The fire won. She screamed, but this time, he didn’t continue to press into her with his hand. He withdrew his digits and slid up her body, his cock working into her, the width forcing her inner walls open until she was stuffed full of him and biting her own lip. He feathered a kiss across her lips, and she tasted herself on his mouth. She opened her eyes and stared into his. The dark universe inside him expanded until it was all she could see, and he started to move. She leaned up, and her mouth met his as he rocked inside her, slowly at first and then with long, grinding strokes that lit her up from within. Fire ran through her blood, and he had both brought it and could end it, that she was sure of. Quinn wrapped her legs around his waist, and she stroked the sweaty muscles of his back, her hands endlessly caressing the velvet of his skin. When his thrusts took on a hard rhythm, she shivered and held tight. Her body was trembling on the edge of release, and when it struck her, she screamed out in a low, wordless vocalization. “Thank the stars,” was Iskanu’s whisper as he threw his head back and groaned as his body bucked against hers. She held him close until his weight slowly dropped 29

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onto her. If he wanted to roll away, she wasn’t going to hold him. He lifted his head and grinned. “That went rather well for a first time.” She chuckled and caressed his cheek. “I would say so.” Inside her, his cock lengthened and widened again. “Now that the dreaded first time is done away with, how about a second?” She arched her hips against him. “Why not, we have all the time in several worlds.” He reared back and slid forward, oh, so slowly. He repeated the sensual undulation over and over until they were once again shaking together as their bodies harmonized. Lying in his arms after the rush to release, it was almost poetic that her skin and his lit from within. “Honey, it’s time to go to work.”

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Chapter Six

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quick shower, a selection of appropriate clothing from the unit near the kitchen and Quinn was ready for her first job, if a little sore. “This seems really complicated. Are you sure we can do this?” Quinn frowned at Iskanu. She absently appreciated the leathers that he was wearing. The vest barely contained his massive chest, the bulging biceps were left bare and the muscled plate of his abdomen was just visible. The leather pants were a tease of another variety, because every time he looked at her, his cock swelled. Their unit had not gone under cover, but they had been involved in covert activities, so this was not completely out of her wheelhouse. Her costume was more of a cheap Companion set, but considering what she had to do, it was ideal. Strips of fabric in a variety of colours wrapped behind her neck, down over her breasts and tied into links on a tight belt around her waist. Long streamers went from the belt to the ground and fluttered as she moved. Iskanu’s eyes heated every time he looked at her, 31

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and she was having trouble fending him off. The largest problem was that she didn’t want to. “I am sure that we can do this. Are you confident that you will be able to pull the power when the time comes?” She tilted her head and did a status assessment. “I think so. How do I get back here again?” It was important to check on her ability to return on her own, because if this went well, she would not be with him when she had completed her assignment. “You call the Orb and concentrate on this apartment. It will bring you back.” “And you will be?” “Waiting for you.” He didn’t look happy about it. She patted him on the arm. “Just sell me to the temple as the sacrifice, and all will be well.” “Those words don’t belong together. I wish the Orb could have given us something a little less deadly to start your new career.” Iskanu wasn’t pleased. “You are adorable when you are worried.” Quinn rose on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He moved his head to meet her lips with his and wrapped his arms around her. She felt the power surrounding her, and she countered it with energy from her own body. Together, they crossed time and space to their destination. Bare feet on hot sand was not her idea of comfortable, but they arrived in the shadows of the city where she would find the man who wanted to kill her. She just hoped that she was quicker with her talent than he was with the knife. 32

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“Ready?” Iskanu draped a piece of leather around his shoulders and over his head, making a makeshift hood and shadowing his eyes. When he was done, he looked exceedingly forbidding, and she had to admit that the dark and dangerous appearance suited him. Quinn nodded. “I am ready. Do it.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and lifted one of the strands from her skirt, tying it across her eyes. Another strand wrapped around her wrists once she was blinded and just like that, she was helpless. Quinn opened her mind to give her sensory input as to living things, and Iskanu tugged at her wrists with a grunt, hauling her into the light. She heard the marketplace around her as she was escorted through the streets. The idea was to have her sold as a sacrifice to the palace and that meant putting her up for sale in the living market. Every type of living creature was sold on the steps of the palace proper, and sentient beings were no exception. The purchaser for the king was in attendance as he was every day if the Orb’s images were accurate. Iskanu was moving slowly, but Quinn still stumbled against him now and then. He spoke to an organizer and waited for his turn to auction off his wares. Quinn listened to the sobbing of women and the snarling of the men who were taken up the steps one by one and sold. When Iskanu tugged her forward, she knew better than to expect calming words. She stood with her head high and as much dignity as she could manage while he described her body, tugging her clothing until it all hung from the chain at her waist. 33

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The crowd was excited. Quinn could feel it. A masculine voice asked, “Why are her eyes covered? Is she blind?” “She is marked by the gods.” Iskanu’s tone was embarrassed. It was precisely what it should be to draw in the acquisitions specialist for the palace. “Show me.” A few tugs and light beat at her lids. “Open your eyes.” Iskanu put a hand under her chin, and as she opened her eyes, an eight-foot male with deep mahogany skin was staring at her. He gasped, calmed his expression and nodded. “You have no objection to her being used as a sacrifice?” “I am done with her. You may do with her as you will.” Iskanu’s voice was cold. “Good. Thank you for your cooperation.” The tall male removed a pouch from his waist. “This sale is concluded. She will be sacrifice on the next quarter.” Quinn didn’t flinch, didn’t show any expression. The wrap around her wrists was removed and her new owner gripped her left forearm as he hauled her into the palace proper. Iskanu was left behind, and Quinn did not look back. If he were truly an unconcerned owner, she would not beg him for a favour. “You aren’t very attached to your owner.” “A quick death is a blessing when compared to a life with him.” The man frowned. “Did he damage you?” “Betrayal of trust is not damage. I was a free woman in my home until he came.” The man nodded in relief. “That is understandable. 34

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We are going to the groomers. They will prepare you to attend this evening’s sacrifice.” She blinked. “I thought I was not to be sacrificed until the next quarter.” “The next sacrifice is always present to assist the current one to the altar. It is tradition.” They had passed guard after guard as they walked deeply into the palace itself. “Will they tell me what to do?” “You will be given enough instruction to get you through and to the altar itself.” She licked her lips nervously and kept silent. After half an hour from front gate to the huge door within the palace, her escort stopped. “Here I leave you. Be beautiful, die well.” There was no option. A smaller door within the huge one swung open and a woman in plain grey clothing stepped out. “Come with me.” Quinn had no choice. She followed the woman into what appeared to be the women’s quarters and was immediately surrounded by a gaggle of women in the same sombre grey. The groomers did their work quickly and efficiently. She was stripped, scrubbed, dipped, scrubbed again, waxed and her hair was divided and braided with a series of gems and metal links. The moment that she looked at herself in the mirror, she knew that she had never looked better. Her skin was set off by a silvery gauze and completely visible through the gossamer fabric. When she was dressed and fit for company, she was taken to the current sacrifice and introduced. 35

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“I am pleased to meet you, newcomer.” The young woman could not have been more than nineteen. Her voice trembled a little, but she didn’t look up from her stitchery. “My name is Quinn.” “We have no need of names. I am First. You are Next. That is all you need to know.” First finally looked up and blinked in surprise at the colour of Quinn’s eyes. “The gods will truly be happy with your sacrifice. My eyes are not nearly as dark as yours.” Quinn blinked as the navy blue gaze looked her over. She had never seen eyes that colour. Her own blue eyes had more of a cornflower tint. “I hope so. There is little left in my life but pleasing the gods who marked me.” First nodded and gave her a trembling smile, “As it should be.” Quinn sat where she was told to and began her own stitchery. She would have twelve weeks to complete it, and it was going to take all of her concentration to pretend that she was still going to be here when the time was up. “First, it is time.” The woman who spoke was in formal robes. Quinn’s quiet companion dragged in a deep breath and got to her feet. “Come, Next. It is time.” Quinn rose and followed her to the exit. Her gaze was on high alert, and when she saw her chance to remove a victim from the mix, she took it. A servant was walking the hall with an ewer, and it 36

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took no effort for Quinn to lightly brush her mind and make her stumble. The ewer spilled, First fell and the crack of her breaking wrist filled the marble hall. Everyone froze. “First, are you all right?” Quinn was down on her knees. Relief and pain were warring in First’s eyes. “My arm is broken. I am not a whole sacrifice.” The woman escorting them knelt next to First and looked at her dangling wrist. “You must return to your quarters, First. Siloa will take you.” First got to her feet with tears rolling down her cheeks. She turned to the assistant and cradled her arm as she was led back to her quarters. The escort frowned at Quinn. “Next, you are now First. Listen closely, because we don’t have much time.” Quinn got to her feet and the escort straightened the gossamer gown before resuming their journey toward a growing roar. “The king will allow you to kiss his hands, and you will be taken to the altar board where you will be strapped into place for the sacrifice. He will rip your soul from your body as he drives the knife into your throat. For honour and a good harvest, you must keep your eyes open during the entire procedure. Normally, you would help the First through her death, but now, you will be there alone. I cannot come with you.” Quinn nodded. “I will do my best.” The escort let out a low breath. “I hope so.” They walked to another ornate door, and as it swung open, Quinn lifted her head and stepped out into a huge 37

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arena glistening with lights. The king sitting on the throne was the man in the Orb’s images. She walked barefoot down the path worn smooth by countless women before her. As she moved, the crowd gradually went quiet, her eyes visible to those near her. It took her five minutes of walking down the path to reach the dais of the king. He sat in his throne and waited for her to arrive. When she was next to him, she knelt at his side. He extended his hand to her, and she noted the light lavender tinge to his skin. She raised one hand to his and pressed her lips to his knuckles, inhaling the Orb’s energy as she straightened. Quinn looked up into his eyes, and to her surprise, dark energy faded from his eyes, leaving light green orbs in its place. The power continued to flow from him to her, and the darkness inside him reared up, his knife hand raised over his head to kill her where she knelt.

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Chapter Seven

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nforcer training kicked in, and she stopped the knife in its descent with her hand rearing up to strike his inner wrist. The knife clattered to one side and gleamed in the bright light of the arena. She drained the power as quickly as she could using the grip on his forearm to increase the strength of the draw, rising as the power of the Orb filled her. He knelt before her in a perverse parody of their earlier positions. When his body was empty of Orb energy, she walked to the edge of the platform, throwing her arms wide and disappearing in a burst of light. Arms and the familiar scent of Iskanu surrounded her. “Let it out, Quinn.” She stared at the open vault of whatever force held the atmosphere in and exhaled the extra energy that she had just stolen. It swirled around her head for a moment before making a beeline for Kali. With a smile, the woman raised her hand and accepted the energy. “That went well, Quinn.” Iskanu was stroking her hair, and she was holding 39

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onto him for dear life. Quinn muttered, “Oh, yeah. Fabulous. He was going to gut me.” Kali grinned. “Don’t be so dramatic. You could have gotten out of there at any time.” Quinn blinked. Aside from her physical and psychic fatigue, she actually was fine. “Fine. You have a point. What are you doing here, by the way?” Kali blinked innocently. “Simply retrieving the power was only the first part of your assignment. Recognizing this as home was the true purpose of the challenge.” Iskanu growled. Quinn blinked. It was not a noise she had ever heard him make before. It sent a warm wave through her heart. He was angry on her behalf. “Down boy.” Kali snickered. “Let him be angry. It was a bastardy move on the part of the Orb. He was the worst of the independent descendants if that makes you feel any better.” “Do they all go mad like that?” “Let me show you.” Kali walked down the hall, past the bedroom and into the casual area where a large mirror took up space on one wall. With the most delicate brush of her fingers, the mirror came to life. The first image was that of a child playing with a doll. Another child said something that the focus didn’t like, and the doll burst into flames. “What you are seeing is Naska. She is a normal girl aside from her ability to cause fires. The energy has begun to work on her moral centre, and soon, she will use it to manipulate those around her, because there is no one to keep her in check.” 40

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Images flicked across the screen of the girl growing into a woman, and every scenario was more violent than the last. Kali sighed. “Those born to that universe were never meant to carry that much power from the universe long dead. It cannot help but drive them insane, they are reaching for a universe that is no longer there.” Quinn blinked. “That is very complicated, but how does it work with the rest of us? Will we all go nuts?” Kali shifted into her stellar skin pattern, and the Orb spoke. “There is a reason that I only claim those who have been tuned to me after their deaths. Your bond with the universe you were born to is severed, and so, I am free to take you as my own.” Iskanu stood behind Quinn and wrapped his arms around her. “I beg to differ, she is mine.” Kali resumed her normal appearance of a redheaded Terran and laughed. Mist coiled around her. “We all belong to someone, but we also belong to the Orb.” The mist slid under Kali’s clothing, and with a low throaty chuckle, Kali and the mist disappeared. Quinn looked up at Iskanu. “Was that mist…” “Odin. He is a multi-form.” Iskanu ran his hands over her torso in a slow exploration, part seduction, part verification that she was in one piece. Quinn turned in his arms. “Were you worried?” “I was petrified.” His hands slowly caressed her back. “Good. You matched me emotion for emotion then. I had to break a woman’s arm to get me into the arena. I hope she is all right.” “Did you want to check on her?” 41

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Quinn closed her eyes and shook her head, pressing her forehead to his chest. “I don’t want to look yet. If something happened to her, it is my fault. She was destined for a horrible death, but I didn’t rescue her from it. I simply took power away from an insane ruler. That could have made him more dangerous than ever.” “The Orb would not have sent us if we couldn’t make a difference.” There was absolute certainty in his tone, and she looked up into his expression of concern. She went up on her toes and brushed her lips against his. “I am glad you think so. What do you think of my new outfit?” He chuckled at her obvious manipulation of his attention. “It is lovely, but I believe that there is something missing.” He cupped her sex through her clothing and slowly rubbed her bare flesh. “Oh, that. Right. They shaved me, only left my eyebrows and the hair on my head.” Her skin heated as the fabric pressed against her, and she rapidly became damp as his caress increased in pressure and speed. Iskanu hooked his fingers upward as he continued to flex them. Her clit throbbed with tension, and wet heat coated his hand. Quinn moaned low and widened her stance. Iskanu knelt in front of her and sucked one hard nipple into his mouth before switching to the other. He used his free hand to plump up the mound of flesh as he ravenously suckled and slurped while his fingers rocked her clit into a pulsing beat that left her inches from a screaming culmination of the frustrated riot that he was conducting with masterful strokes. 42

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Just as her knees were ready to collapse, he stopped. She wanted to scream, but she waited. Iskanu grinned, showing sharp white teeth that she hadn’t seen before. He stood, flipped her over his shoulder and walked with her into the bedroom, one hand smacking her ass with every step. “Ow. Ow. Ow.” She kicked at him, but he wasn’t in danger. Her hands on his back were busy trying to brace her with his steps. He was not in the least bit susceptible to her off-balance attacks. He bent and she flipped, bouncing on the bed, the gems in her hair clashing together as she thudded backward. Iskanu didn’t give her time to reassemble her clothing or dignity. He parted her thighs, lifted the damp fabric of her skirt and pressed his mouth to the naked mound of her pussy. A high whine of pleasure broke from her throat. Dignity be damned, she widened her thighs in welcome and lifted her hips to the educated tongue lapping at her before wiggling inside. She could feel the press of sharp teeth against her skin. It was a light scrape of pain that added to the sensory overload she was experiencing. Her lips released an endless stream of, “Oh, oh, yes.” It choked off as her orgasm approached in a rush, and with a low scream, she arched, pressing her sex to his face as she shuddered and bucked. He devilishly continued his ministrations while she writhed against him. His hands gripped her thighs tightly and held her to him. Quinn’s reflexes tried to pull her away from him. The sensitivity of her body made each of his strokes 43

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almost painful as her channel fluttered around his invading tongue. Iskanu maintained his grip, and as her struggles relaxed, she felt the flares of arousal lapping at her, borne into her body on his tongue. She let her gasps turn to moans and gave her body free rein to move as it would. The sensuous undulations got Iskanu’s attention away from her pussy, and he reared back from her, ripping at his leathers in an effort to get his cock out. “I want you naked, Iskanu. I want to feel all of that lovely skin against me.” He froze, the fire in his eyes flaring higher at her throaty command. The leathers dropped to the ground as quickly as he could manage it. When he was naked and the deep, dark velvet head of his cock seeped pearly drops of precum, he lifted her up, shredded the gossamer gown in one tear and left her wearing nothing but the gems in her hair. He knelt on the bed and pulled her to his lap. With a few swift motions, he arranged her to straddle him and cupped her ass as he lowered her onto the head of his cock. She looked into his eyes, and he bent to take her mouth in a kiss as the flared head of his erection pushed through the resistance at her opening and slid deep into her. He lifted and dropped her as his tongue mimicked the slow fucking that she was getting below. Quinn gripped his shoulders and held on as he lifted and dropped her in a slow, deep rhythm. She locked her ankles behind his back and let him do 44

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all the work while she rubbed her taut nipples against his chest with every stroke. She flattened a palm against his chest, rubbing and stroking his skin, gaining a sensory enjoyment through her hand simply by touching him. Quinn could feel her blood rising and her clit throbbing as he moved her with deliberate focus to stroking her g-spot with every thrust. Iskanu’s breath was coming out on a groan with each deep penetration. She did her part and rocked her hips every time he pressed against her to the hilt. A shivering orgasm that began as an electric shock within her and spread to her limbs froze her in place. Iskanu snarled, “Thank the stars.” He shifted his head and bit down on her shoulder, his teeth slicing through her skin and into her body. Pain sent a riot of mixed signals, but her channel clutched tightly at the invading flesh that jetted cum inside her. Iskanu groaned and released her shoulder, licking at the wound he had made. Her body ached in the most pleasant of ways, though she was still tired. She snuggled against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her to hold her tight. Quinn sighed, memorizing the sated feeling as Iskanu once again stroked her spine. “I am glad you made it home, Quinn.” Against his skin, she smiled. “I would never have guessed.” He shifted until they lay on their sides, his cock still inside her thanks to his death grip on her hips. 45

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“What was the bite for? It isn’t on your species specs.” She pressed her lips to his neck and licked gently at his skin. “Selna don’t pair bond in general, but when we wish to, the bite locks our bodies to our mate.” Quinn blinked and looked into his face. He was serious. “You are stuck with me now?” He nodded. “No other female will be able to cause a reaction within me. This will mean that you might be a little busier than you would be with a normal male. Do you mind?” She shivered at the thought of spending all of her idle moments with Iskanu inside her, behind her, around her or licking her. She cleared her throat and wrapped an arm around his back while she pressed her breasts to his chest. “I will manage, I am sure.”

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Chapter Eight

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uinn groaned and stretched happily. Their bathing chamber was large enough to accommodate the massage table that Iskanu had brought in, and she was loving the feel of his hands smoothing out all the knots under her skin that he had helped her create. “You do realize that the noises you are making are similar to intense sex.” Iskanu’s voice was low and husky. She could feel the tension in his hands. “One winds me up, the other rubs me down. They are flip sides of the same coin, Iskanu. Do you want me to keep quiet?” She went up on her elbows and looked up at him through her lashes. He grinned, “Don’t you dare. I love the sounds. Music to my ears.” He was standing in front of her, and she lifted herself just a little to slide the stalk of his cock into her mouth. She sucked slowly and flicked the opening with her tongue until his hands gripped her shoulders and pushed her back down. She giggled and lay flat. She was already leading him by three blowjobs. Apparently, a male Selna prided himself on his ability to please his partner with his 47

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mouth alone, and she was far too distracting when she changed position into a sixty-nine. He wanted to be dominant when they had sex, and she could wreck his concentration with a flick of her tongue. It was a bit of power that she was going to use to distract him at every opportunity. She resumed her groans and sighs as he poured more oil on her and worked the tension from every major muscle group and several small ones. She grunted as he worked out a particularly stubborn knot of tension on the upper right side of her ass. “Where did you learn to do this?” “I spent two years in Companion training as part of my education in the Citadel. Soothing an aching partner was one of the courses.” She almost sat up and stared at him, but he had moved on to her thighs. “Companion training?” “I am a Selna. If I was to get my body under control, I needed to know what it was meant to do. I spent two years learning movement, details of the sexual needs of a variety of species and control over my pheromones.” She went up on one elbow and faced him. “Control over your pheromones? I haven’t noted that much control. Even in the Enforcers, I always knew exactly where you were by scent.” He nodded and used her angle to flip her over, pouring more oil on her. It was a shimmering blue river between her breasts and down each leg, a small pool between her thighs. Quinn licked her lips as he smoothed the oil over her ribs with a slow, strong stroke before wrapping his hands around her breasts and kneading them in that 48

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same rhythm. “I have never had much control where you are concerned, Quinn. It is how I knew that I had to have you, and since your scent heated up whenever I was near, I knew it was mutual.” She blushed, and he moved his massage to her shoulders, pressing back and relaxing the muscles that had tensed when she had been on her hands and knees with him slapping relentlessly into her from behind. Her back tingled where the oil was seeping into her skin. The warmth was welcome, and she bit her lip as the expert digging of his fingertips returned to her breasts before moving to her ribs. “I want the sounds, Quinn.” She blushed, “But I am facing you now.” “I don’t care. If you don’t sigh and moan, I will stop.” She exhaled in a gust. “Fine. It’s embarrassing, but if it is what you want…” “Oh, it is.” He slid his oiled hands up to her breasts again, and she didn’t bite back the moan this time. His gaze narrowed, and he gave her torso his full attention, rubbing, squeezing and stroking her as he went. He rubbed the sore tendons that connected thighs to hips, and she groaned and arched at the throbbing ache. Her moans, grunts and groans filled the room as he worked her thighs, calves and feet in turn. Finally, he worked his way back up both thighs and slid his fingers between her thighs. Quinn opened her eyes wide in shock as he discovered the liquid heat that had been gathering with 49

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each touch and slide. He laughed, “I was fairly sure that this would be the result, but one can never be certain when dealing with a new species.” Her blush crept down her throat, across her chest and continued to her navel, inches from his hand. He crooked his fingers into her, and a surge of her honey coated his digits. She raised her hands and covered her face. He laughed and pulled her hands away with one of his, the other had two fingers slowly thrusting and retreating inside her while his thumb stroked her clit. He kissed her chin, nipping gently. “Don’t be silly, Quinn.” She moaned, and her back arched as her skin warmed in the extreme. The fingers inside her sex were coated with the same oil, and she blinked rapidly. “You knew that I was going to cum just from a back rub?” He grinned, “No, but it was a possibility, and you haven’t cum, not yet.” Iskanu crooked his fingers and rubbed back and forth quickly, drawing a squeak followed by a gasp, trailed by a wail as her mind flew apart and shattered in a burst of energy. She felt him lift her, and when her thoughts circled back into something that made sense, they were back in the bedroom, wrapped together in a huge towel in one of the large chairs. She sighed and stroked his chest. “You are going to have to let me reciprocate one day, you know.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then her lips. “Possibly, but for now, humour me. I have had nothing 50

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to do for the last four years but imagine you at my mercy, and now that you are here, I am going to take full advantage.” She sighed and stretched, her muscles warm and relaxed after his massage. “My skin is sensitive, what is in that oil?” “A little of this, a little of that. I had acquisitions get it for me. It is supposed to be safe to use on your species.” He smiled and stroked a hand down her hip. The light touch acted on her as if he had just slid three fingers into her. She snuggled against him, trying to burrow through his chest while getting away from his hand. When he pursued her, caressing her buttocks with that same persistent hand, she flipped the covering away and straddled him. “If you are trying to use my own skin to seduce me, I may as well participate a little more actively.” She rubbed against him like a cat, her thighs against his thighs, her breasts and belly against the delineated muscles of his torso. She stroked her forearms against his biceps and shuddered as her body rapidly approached orgasm with the rhythmic stroking of her body against his. When she rubbed the swollen, hot and slick lips of her sex against his cock, he groaned and crushed her to him with the arms that snapped around her. “Don’t torture me.” Iskanu narrowed his eyes. Narrowing her own gaze, she lifted her hips and slipped the tip of his cock inside her. “It isn’t torture. It is fair play. Get used to it.” She used her hands to pull herself up and braced herself as she took him into her 51

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inch by inch. It took her a few minutes to get into a rhythm that she could maintain, and the moment that she did, Iskanu bent her back and applied his tongue to her breasts. Slow, relaxed and in harmony, they moved together until she shuddered, and he bucked inside her. “I believe I like fair play.” He nuzzled her temple with his lips. She chuckled, flinching at the feel of him shifting inside her. She wished she was up for more, but her body was just tired. “I enjoyed it, and now, I need a nap.” He laughed, got to his feet and walked with her to the shower. Once she was clean, dry and detached from him, she waddled back to bed where the woman from acquisitions was finishing making the bed, and she passed out on the clean sheets, dimly recognizing the feel of her partner and mate as he wrapped himself around her. A good night’s sleep before they faced whatever tomorrow would bring was just what Quinn needed.

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Chapter Nine

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aking aching and glowing was enough of a clue to Quinn that it was time to go to work. Iskanu’s glow just confirmed it. “Iskanu, it’s time to go to work.” He grunted and squeezed her tightly against him. She chuckled and elbowed her partner. “Wake up, Dahl!” He snapped away from her, on alert. Whistling happily, she fought her way out of the sheets and walked into the dining room where the acquisitions terminal was. The clothing she needed was rather covering. “Morning, Kali, Odin.” At ease with her nudity, Quinn passed them by. Odin spoke, “I have a breakfast for you.” Iskanu came in, skidded to a halt and snarled at Odin while stepping into his eye line when it came to Quinn. “Don’t worry about it, Iskanu, they have seen us in the future, in the present and possibly in the past. There is nothing to hide.” Quinn looked at Kali’s face and the other woman was keeping her gaze involved with eye contact only. 53

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Iskanu growled. “I still don’t like it.” Quinn patted his cheek. “I ordered your clothing. And you don’t have to like it. It is just the way it is. The Orb could send the entire set of Sentinels here in a moment, and we would still be naked. As mated pairs, I don’t think they will do more than absent comparisons.” He huffed, but by the time he worked up another argument, the clothing had arrived and Quinn was slithering into tight black trousers, a breast band and a dark shirt. The boots pinched a little, but it was the style, not the size. Iskanu’s clothing matched hers, and she knew he would be invisible in darkness if he kept his mouth shut. She snickered at the unlikelihood of that. He was irritated, and there was nothing to be done about it but fasten her shirt. Quinn sat next to Kali in the living room and took the tea that Odin handed her. He gave her a wink, and she snorted. Iskanu sat next to her on her other side and glowered at Odin. Odin merely lifted his brows in amusement and handed Iskanu a cup of tea. Kali was fighting a grin. “Now, the Orb has an assignment for you that is slightly unusual.” Quinn snickered and sipped at her tea. “That seems like a common affliction.” Iskanu placed his hand on her thigh. “What is the assignment?” “Removing power from a mother and child without letting anyone know what you are doing. Your last 54

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assignment ended well, but now, a woman with starlight hair and black eyes is being worshipped by the king you returned to sanity.” Quinn had a cold feeling in her stomach. “He isn’t killing them is he?” Kali put her hand on Quinn’s arm. “No. He has taken the pale woman with dark eyes as his queen, and he is fucking a blonde woman in the arena on the anniversary of your arrival. So far, it’s his wife.” “It won’t always be his wife, will it?” “For his lifetime, yes, but a pattern has been established that other kings will follow. It will morph until lives are once again at stake.” “I want to stop it.” “You can’t. It is part of the history of this universe. Some parts are set.” Kali pursed her lips. “They are set once we have already been involved. If a Sentinel has changed a timeline, it alters and sets it. They are the only ones who can go back and change it, but by this point, the ripple has run its course.” Quinn was sick. “How long did it go on?” “Five hundred years, one hundred and twenty women. It eventually became a type of royal divorce. The old queen was defiled and murdered in public and the new one crowned. That had nothing to do with you, it was just an excuse for it.” Quinn shuddered, and Iskanu put his arm around her shoulders. The comfort was needed. She wished she had the nerve to actually look at what had happened. “That will not be the issue this time. The mother has been holding onto her sanity by heroic efforts, but her daughter is about to have her first flickers, and she 55

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needs to be drained. If they are not both taken at the same time, the mother will crack, and she will transfer her power to her daughter. If you get the mother first, the daughter will completely activate.” Kali was calm as she explained the issue. Quinn had to ask. “Does everyone else get this sort of briefing?” “No, but they are not returning parts of the Orb to Home.” Kali handed Iskanu a plate with two breakfast sandwiches on it. Iskanu handed Quinn one and ate the other. Quinn numbly put the food in her mouth and chewed mechanically, one bite at a time. “What happens to these beings if they simply die of natural causes?” “Their power transfers to the next in their bloodline and barring that, it simply forms a wormhole.” “Simply.” Quinn nodded. One of the more complex special events around the universe was being described as simple. Huh. Another round of sandwiches was presented, and she choked down a second while Iskanu had two more. “Thank you.” Odin smiled, “It is a pleasure to cook for more than just Kali. She is a picky eater.” Kali set down her cup. “Well, we should be going and so should you.” Knowing when she had been dismissed, Quinn got to her feet, and the men rose as well. Iskanu cleared the crumbs off his shirt. “Are you ready?” “No, but that isn’t unusual.” She closed her eyes and 56

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saw the young woman with her daughter playing in a park. An idea came to her, and she winced as she imagined the leap of faith she was engaging in. “Let’s go.” Iskanu watched Quinn walk across the park, and he kept a safe distance. His partner spoke to the mother, and the woman jerked back as if stung. Quinn kept speaking, and the woman knelt next to her daughter, putting the child’s hand in her own. His mate extended her hand and put her palm down on their hands, the power flared around her and then absorbed into her skin. The child sucked her lip in confusion, and her mother swayed before a brilliant smile crossed her features. Quinn was right. A woman who had fought the power her whole life would easily give it up if she knew that her daughter was going to suffer the same fate that she had. Quinn swayed, and he moved to intercept her on her way back to him. The woman stared at him for a moment before gathering up her child and walking swiftly down the path. “Oh, that one hurt.” Quinn groaned. “That little girl packed a wallop.” Iskanu wrapped an arm around her waist and held her close as they walked toward the tree line. “Will you make it to the trees?” He could feel the tension vibrate through her, and she gritted out, “I will, but the second we are behind that shrub, we are out of here.” He knew that tone, she had grunted that same way 57

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when a spike had speared her thigh on Cadoo III. She had been grimly determined then, and she was making the same noises now. Whatever the power of the Orb did to others, when Quinn took in the extra power, it hurt. The moment they were out of standard view, he flashed them back Home. Kali was on their balcony in seconds, running to Quinn to help relieve her of her burden. Odin misted in, and Iskanu fought a scowl. The fact that the shifter had seen his mate naked still rankled. It didn’t matter that Selna were not monogamous, it still filled Iskanu with a deep irritation that was not going to fade anytime soon. Quinn groaned, and the energy poured out of her eyes and mouth directly into Kali. When the exchange was over, Iskanu quickly lifted Quinn in his arms. She was pale, very pale. Kali was sombre. “I am sorry. She had to take the two at once. There was no other way.” He nodded grimly. “Fine. Get out.” Kali walked to Odin, and together, they disappeared in a flare of light while he went to the bedroom to care for his mate.

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Chapter Ten

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verything hurt. There was no doubt about it, her body was not happy. “You are awake, good. First a massage, then you eat.” Iskanu didn’t ask her, he simply lifted her and carried her into the bathing room where the table was covered with a sheet and waiting for her. “Why not food first?” “I am going to be squeezing a lot of muscles. I don’t want you puking.” His voice was no nonsense. She shivered as he warmed oil between his palms and started working on her. There was nothing sensual about his exploration, he was working to help her ease the aches of her body. “How did you know that everything hurt?” He snorted, “Because you were lying next to me, stiff as a board, for the last sixteen hours. That has to be tension, because I am all warm and cuddly.” She laughed and felt a relieved pop under her shoulder blade. “I would not call you cuddly, but I do enjoy curling up so most of me is touching you.” Quinn could feel satisfaction radiating from him. He worked at her back and legs until she was warm and 59

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limp. He then flipped her over and treated her to the same thorough mauling on her front. She had no idea that she could hold that much tension at the top of her breasts, but when the muscle released, she shuddered with relief. She was limp but relaxed, and her body’s pain was fading when he was finished. He took a fluffy robe off a warming hanger and wrapped her from neck to ankle. “This way.” He led her out into the kitchen, and she noticed that the temperature had been increased. “Is it warmer in here?” She was toasty but a distinct gleam of sweat was forming between his shoulders. “I don’t want you knotting up again before you have a chance to relax your muscles.” “I don’t want you passing out from overheating.” “I will be fine. Sit, eat and drink plenty of water.” Iskanu pulled her chair out for her, and she took a seat in front of a huge expanse of food from a dozen different worlds. Blinking, she reached for the first item she recognized and tore the bread into pieces. Once she had the bread, she used it to pick up bits and pieces of the other items as she figured out which flavour matched which item. It took her nearly an hour to eat enough to satisfy her mate, but when she had downed her third half litre of water, he finally relaxed. She reached out and took his hand. “What happened while I was out, Iskanu?” “The two doses of power almost killed you…again.” He frowned. “I am sure that it was necessary.” 60

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“I am not sure that there wasn’t a better way. Perhaps taking the mother’s power first?” “Hara would not leave her powerful daughter undefended. It was definite that it had to be both or none.” Quinn sat back and folded her hands over her full belly. He grumbled. “This is why we were brought back to life, Iskanu. It is the reason we are here, to work for the Orb. If it asks me to bear a little pain to be with you, then that is what I will do.” He turned his hand in hers and gripped her hand tightly. “I don’t want you to feel pain.” She smiled and reached out, caressing his cheek and pulling his head toward hers. “Pain is part of life. If I can feel anything, then there is a chance that pleasure can follow. Why do you think I invited you to fuck me for three days straight when I could feel the Orb scrabbling at my mind?” He blinked as their foreheads met and his mind touched hers. Quinn knew what he was feeling. This was the same position that they had been in the day that he died. His mind had touched hers, holding on while his body died. She saw the dawning understanding in his eyes as she let him feel her emotions toward him for the first time. Love was not something she wanted to say, but it was what she felt. She gave it to him without holding anything back. “You held back the Orb?” “We needed our time together, and I didn’t know when or if we would get another chance. I will never 61

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leave you for the call of duty. You will always be with me, and if you are called, I will come with you if I can and wait for you if I can’t.” She rubbed his cheek with her hand and stroked her fingers down his neck. “You are too sore for anything energetic.” He moved his head and nuzzled at her neck, drawing a sigh from her. “Then let it be slow. I am not going anywhere.” Quinn smiled and kissed him softly. He leaned forward and caressed her lips with his, nibbling at her lower lip before licking the upper. She sighed happily and giggled when he swung her up and into his arms. Their kiss continued to start a slow fire in her belly that flared when he placed her gently on the bed and lay down on top of her, covering her robe-swathed form from head to toe. The kiss continued, slow and sweet. He worked her robe open so that her skin was exposed to his. In a slow undulation, he rubbed his velvet and steel body against her softer, yielding flesh. She gasped and moaned when he repeated the peculiar push-up motion that gave her so much sensory overload. He continued the caress, and her body went from a low idle to revving wildly out of her control. “That isn’t fair.” Her low moan made him smile. “Fair has nothing to do with it.” He lowered his body onto hers completely, and she blushed at the hot honey seeping out of her sex. He reached between them, and his cock nestled in the slick invitation. He didn’t do anything, simply rested his considerable weight against her and waited. Quinn looked into his amused, dark eyes and 62

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wondered what was going on when she felt his cock against her and his body wasn’t moving. She lay under him, her eyes wide in surprise as his cock worked its way into her without him moving any other portion of his anatomy. She trembled as it began a slow undulation within her and moaned low when her first climax struck. Iskanu had an expression of concentration on his features, but he cracked a smug smile when she shuddered and her channel clasped him rhythmically. His cock paused, and he waited until her palpitations stopped. The moment her body relaxed under his again, the wave of hard flesh inside her started again. She moaned, “This wasn’t in the files either.” He laughed. “Not enough male Selna’s in the Alliance. We share this trait with the Wyorans.” She groaned as he struck a sensitive spot inside her, working around, past and over it in a heady beat. “This also only works with a woman who is capable of excessive and delightful personal lubrication.” She was trying to follow the conversation, but her pulse was sounding everywhere in her body but her heart. “What?” “The tasty honey that you produce makes it easier for my cock to move freely. If you were drier, it would be uncomfortable for both of us, but you are not, so once again, you are my match in every way.” He kissed her, and his tongue mimicked the thrust and twist of the cock inside her. She moaned as her body rocketed back to the edge of release, and he caught her cries in his mouth when the second wave struck her and carried her under. 63

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Quinn slumped back in the embrace of the fluffy robe and looked up at Iskanu with tired eyes. “Please, take your turn, I need another nap after that.” He laughed and slid free of her. “I came with you the first time.” She snorted and gladly let him spoon around her as he held her for her nap. The air smelled of sex, her body gleamed pink and his was shining with sweat. All in all, it was a good result for something that she didn’t need to move for. “Sleep, love. I will guard you until you wake.” She smiled and enjoyed the feeling of being wrapped in his arms. It was total security for her. He would be with her as long as he could be, and if he ever died in duty, she would follow him. There was no doubt in her mind that she did not want to live if he was gone. She had done it once and never again.

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Chapter Eleven

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inding time to get away from Iskanu for this private project was harder than she thought. Finally, Quinn had to resort to asking Kali to send him on a standard observation. “Is this the moment you were referring to?” Kali was watching the mirror with her. In the mirror, a harried young woman was looking from side to side with a small boy at her side. Another woman stepped forward, her hair covered by a hood and her hands folded tightly to her waist. A bag of coin was exchanged and the child was sold and taken, just like that. Quinn nodded. “So, it was me. How do I get him into the Alliance?” “Watch more, and it will make sense.” The woman took the child in her arms and they disappeared. The image spun and they ended up standing near the iconic Citadel structure. The woman spoke to the organizers, handed them the documents and another pouch of coin, she knelt next to the boy, pressed a kiss to his cheek and disappeared. 65

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Quinn whistled. “Can I do this?” “You have to. It is an immutable point in time now. You brought him to the Citadel education centre, and he joined the Enforcers. You did what you had to do to bring your mate to you.” “It still feels really weird.” “I know. Do you want to do it?” Quinn nodded. “I will. Let me go order the clothing.” Making the arrangements to purchase a Selna boy was difficult, but after Quinn had the connection to Iskira, the woman was relieved at the option for her brother. Iskira and Quinn met first at a public café. “Are you sure my brother will be safe?” Iskira looked into Quinn’s hood, but she was in full Hooded One garb. “I am sure that he will make it to adulthood and have his choice for the rest of his life. He will not be forced to mate over and over again.” Quinn inclined her head. Iskira blinked, “You know about that? It is a closely guarded secret.” “I heard it from another escaped Selna male. He warned me that it was the destiny for many young men, and Iskanu is of an age to slip away before anyone locks him away as a stud.” “Come with me now. Do you have the money?” “I do. Do you have the paperwork?” “I do.” Iskira led her back through the shops and to a tiny, pokey house on the edge of the city. It must take everything she had to keep body and soul together. 66

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Quinn waited at the spot that she had seen in the mirror. It was out of the way of prying eyes but allowed her to brace for Iskira having a change of heart. Iskanu was small, two-thirds the height of his sister. “Are you the woman taking me?” “I am taking you to a Citadel training centre where your psychic talent can be put to practical use.” Iskira stopped in place. “You know about that?” “I do. I also know you have been using him to thieve. That is fine. I do not care. I simply want to get him out of here before he becomes trapped. Will you help me?” Iskira nodded and handed Quinn a roll of paper. Quinn flicked it open and read it. It was indeed title to Iskanu. Quinn removed the payment pouch and handed it over. Iskira had tears running down her onyx face as she looked at the gems held within. “It is more than I asked for.” “He is more than you think. Iskanu, bid farewell to your sister. You may be able to correspond, but I am not sure.” He did as he was told, hugging the sister who had raised him. Quinn tilted her head. He had never mentioned his parents, only the sister that had raised him until the strange woman came to call. She extended her hand to Iskanu, and he took it. With care and propriety, she wrapped her arm around him and jumped to the Citadel school. Iskanu looked up at her. “What are you, madam?” 67

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“A friend.” They started walking up the path, and he popped out another guess, “You don’t seem like a friend. Are you my mate?” She froze in place. “Why would you ask that?” “Because there is something in your expression that says that you love me, but you don’t love me yet. It is very confusing.” She groaned. “Come along, Iskanu. The teachers here will be helpful in figuring out how to best use that lovely analytical skill of yours.” She knocked on the door, spoke with the admissions organizer and showed her proof of ownership as well as the money needed to raise him to adulthood without incurring Citadel debt. Iskanu stood for the whole thing, silent and listening to every word spoken. When she was ready to leave, Quinn knelt and straightened his little shirt, smiling sadly as she realized that she had to let him go. “You are my mate, aren’t you?” He frowned. “Not for many, many years, Iskanu. I will meet you decades from now, and I will not know you. My eyes will be different, and I will be surprised by everything that I see. You will help me adjust and eventually love will grow.” He nodded. “I knew it. You feel like my mate. Should I go with the admissions officer now?” Her lips quirked to one side. “You run along. We will see each other soon enough.” His small feet pattered off, and when he was gone, she straightened and transported Home in full view of 68

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the organizers who were watching the stranger in their midst. Quinn was sniffling when she arrived Home, and the moment that he saw her, Iskanu paused and then rushed forward to embrace her. “It was a good thing that you did. I never would have met you any other way.” She looked up at him with watery eyes. “Isn’t it cheating to introduce yourself to your mate when that mate is still a child?” “Not when you did anything untoward. You gave me comfort when I was taken from my home, and you confirmed that I could listen to my body and my mind at the same time.” She leaned against him, listening to his heartbeat. “It is still weird to think you knew me the moment you saw me.” “It was weird to me that you didn’t recognize me, but then, you said you wouldn’t, so it made a certain sense.” She chuckled and yawned. “I think I need some more actual sleep. Care to join me?” Iskanu grinned and lifted her in his arms. “I have had the fantasy of stripping you out of this particular outfit for four decades. I think we may need to explore some possibilities before you sleep.” Quinn laughed and let her mate lead her into pleasure. Sleep could wait, there was always tomorrow.

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About the Author Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there. She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time. In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included crossstitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales. Viola’s fetishes include boots and corsetry, and her greatest weakness is her uncontrollable blush. Her writing actively pursues the Happily Ever After that so rarely occurs in nature. It is an admirable thing and something that we should all strive for. To find one that we truly like, as well as love.