“Where are Kozav and Rendan,” Jarek asked.
“On their way. Grace has only a month to go. It’s getting close now. He wants her near the medbay. Carla has about two months to go and Rendan won’t let her go too far, either.”
All the talk of women being near their time rang inside of Tyff, but he did his best to shake it off. Surely this couldn’t be jealousy he was feeling? It had to be impatience with the lack of order.
Before they could continue, Rendan and Kozav entered. For a few minutes, greetings and handshakes went around the table before everyone sat down again.
“Only Zadri unaccounted for,” stated Tyff. He had been looking forward to seeing his old mentor.
“Yes,” Brukr said. “He has his hands full with the baby and Delaney is quite heavy for being six months into the pregnancy. She needs a lot of rest and he won’t leave her side.”
“Then surely, all of you can see the importance of this meeting,” Tyff said with a steady eye. “From what I’m hearing, we have no one at all to oversee the positions of the masters.” He knew he was speaking with too much insistence, but he couldn’t help it. Even if they were all distracted, he had to keep his wits about him.
“I understand, Tyff,” Jarek said. “That’s exactly why we’re here. I think the fact that Whelon and Radoo have so recently left their posts to follow their mates should illustrate the difficulty of duty we are experiencing right now.”
Tyff looked around the table, hoping to see some certainty in the faces around him. All he could discern was defeat.
“We are in a holding pattern for the moment,” Taulan said. “Yes, attacks by the resistance is still a danger, but we see no signs of all-out war—at least, not yet. I think it is fair to let us go to our mates and focus on our families, at least for now.”
Nods went around the circle and Tyff grew even more firm.
“Don’t you think safeguarding is the best way to take care of your families?”
“Of course we do,” Jarek answered. A quiet murmur rose around the table, but Tyff folded his arms, as if safeguarding himself against it.
Jarek looked into Tyff’s face, almost imploringly. “You don’t understand what it’s like to feel your mate lying beside you, to smell her and hold her. You don’t know the magic of feeling your dragonlet move inside her body.” His eyes took on a wistful look. “You feel like you would give anything to live in that moment forever, even give up your heritage.”
Tyff thought of his family, the proud line of warriors he had come from. Surely, Syh would see fit to grant him a mate who would honor and respect that? How could Syh drag Preor from their cause like this?
“Tyff,” Kozav said, gently. “I can see the conflict in your face. There is more to this than worrying about issues on the ship. Why don’t you tell us what you are feeling?”
Tyff made to speak but felt a lancing pain in his temples. Again, his thoughts blurred, and he saw books and open fields. He didn’t recognize the place, but it impressed itself on him with the weight of memory.
He put cool fingertips to his hot temples. He felt the urge to fly. His dragon writhed inside him as if it were trying to tell him something important.
I have to fly… I have to fly until I find her, until I hold her in my arms… He shook his head, forcefully, literally shoving the images from his mind and the feelings from his heart.
“I will not leave my post,” he said, grinding his teeth together. “I was working toward being defense master and I will fill the position if needed. I am ready to step up. I have no conflict.”
The others didn’t look like they believed him, but it didn’t matter. Taulan even reached out to touch his shoulder but thought better of it at the last moment.
“We are here for you, brother. The purpose of this meeting is to officially relinquish our control on the ship.” He looked away. “As much as it is a great honor to be war master, I did not realize how taxing it was to have dragonlets to chase after.”
“You will be in charge when you return, Tyff,” Jarek said, with finality. “You and Vende will finish what Radoo started. All of the Preor on the ship are dedicated to their positions and they should be awarded with rank. You’ll decide this, Tyff.”
“But only the war master can make such decisions,” he said warily. “Are you giving me your rank, Taulan?”
“Not officially.” He smiled. “Not yet. We’ll have more meetings before everything is settled. We recognize there have been errors, and this is our first step toward correcting them.”
“You will leave soon, Tyff,” Jarek said. “To begin the reassignment process. We want you on the ship and in charge by tomorrow. You’ll need to meet with us daily and keep us involved in operations.”
Tyff was being given everything he wanted—a return to disciplined routine and power over the chain of command. He expected to feel relieved or excited.
Instead, a nagging pull inside him chilled his core—as if leaving the planet was the worst possible thing he could do.
“I look forward to it,” he said, looking around the table with certainty. Once he got back on the ship, everything would make sense again.
Chapter Ten
In the darkness, soft wings whispered nearby. They brushed her cheek and gave her goosebumps. When she reached out, she could feel them—the silky membranes and the hard edges of the spines. It was as if the tips of her fingers had become ten times more sensitive and she could feel every inch as a separate texture.
When she ran her hands up and down the spines, she heard her lover gasp. She knew what she was doing to him. She laughed as she treated him to even more pleasure, stroking him with the soft palms of her hands. She tried to open her eyes so she could see his face, but only darkness surrounded her.
She was confused. She could still feel him, so why couldn’t she see him? All she wanted was to unlock the mystery of his face and look into his eyes.
The harder she tried to see him, the further away he was. The satin feel of his wings slipped away from her touch. She stumbled in the dark.
“Shaa kouvi,” she whispered, reaching out. Where was he? Surely, he wouldn’t leave her alone in the dark. He had been so close!
She lunged, reaching out with both hands and searching for the feel of him. Someone grabbed her hand and gripped it, but it wasn’t her mate. She drew back sharply and as her hands struck the edges of the hospital, waking her up.
“Shh.” Jenny patted her forehead gently, holding her hand. “It was just a bad dream.”
“A bad dream?” Renay shook her head as she collapsed back down on the pillow. “Hardly.” She was wide awake now, and the dim light of the hospital chased away the warm glow of her true world.
“I dreamed about him again, Jenny.”
Her sister just shushed her, patting her hand lightly. Any other time, it might have been soothing, but after so much of that, the patronizing air of it was becoming too much.
“He’s real, Jenny,” she said, stubbornly. “I’m not making this up.”
“I want to believe you,” her sister said gently. She pulled her chair closer to the bed and looked Renay full in the face. “But the doctor says it’s just a fantasy and he’s a Preor doctor.”