Camellia sent him a small smile. She knew a gentle interrogation when she heard one. Kaden was doing his best to sound friendly, but no matter how he put things, he was still asking pointed questions. Kyle kept pace beside her, refusing to get checked out by a medic. He claimed he didn’t need one.
Ryland had insisted Jonas go with him to interrogate Crawley. She wouldn’t want to be in Crawley’s shoes when Ryland and Jonas confronted him.
“No, I’m quite content to stay here with Jonas for the moment. I’ve been up for twenty-four hours and I need to rest. When he gets back, he said we’d go to his home and get some sleep. I’ll be very grateful to do that.”
“He didn’t say how the two of you met.”
“I would have thought that was obvious.” She sent Kaden another small smile when he opened the dining room door for her. She glanced at Kyle. He reached over her head and held the door after Kaden opened it.
The dining room had several tables and chairs set up in it. A buffet counter with food warmers separated the kitchen from the dining room. The low pass-through window that spanned the length of the buffet made it easy for the cook to fill the warmers when food was prepared. To the left of the warmers were plates and utensils. To the right were bins to place the dirty dishes in.
“Kyle. You leave and come back with a beautiful woman,” a tall man with reddish-colored hair called out from where he was seated at one of the tables. He shook his head. “Only you.”
“Ian McGillicuddy, this is Camellia Mist, Jonas’s woman,” Kyle said. “Letting you know up front, he’s staking his claim and he’s serious about her.”
Ian raised one eyebrow. “When that man decides to make a move, he doesn’t mess around. Pleased to meet you, ma’am.” He half rose from his seat to give her a little bow.
Up close, Camellia could see he was extremely tall and he had freckles that didn’t make him look boyish, even though they should have. His emerald eyes were gorgeous. They moved over her, not with a man’s interest, but with speculation and judgment, as if he were wondering if she was good enough for his friend. She quite liked him for that appraisal.
“Please call me Camellia.”
The man sitting beside him stood up, sliding his chair back. “I’m Tucker Addison, Camellia. It’s nice to meet the lady who managed to conquer Jonas.”
Tucker Addison was a very imposing man with dark bronze skin, black eyes, military cropped hair and roped muscles that rippled beneath his tight tee when he moved. In spite of being a giant of a man, he had a gentle smile.
“I’m not sure I can actually claim I conquered him,” Camellia denied. “But we do work fairly well together. The man can take down the enemy fast.”
There was one woman in the room. She had unusual platinum and gold hair that she wore long. Her eyes were blue but had a silvery sheen to them. She wore faded jeans, a blue T-shirt and thin gloves. Camellia found her vaguely familiar, as if she should know her. She rarely forgot anyone, and she reached into her memory to find a picture of the woman.
Kaden guided Camellia away from the men and toward the table where the woman waited. Camellia, for some reason, felt a warning in Kyle’s hand on her back.
What is it? They’d established their own connection. She wasn’t worried that Kaden might overhear them, although she could tell he was unusually good at telepathy.
Before Kyle could answer, they were already at the table, and the woman stood, her smile genuine, one of welcome.
“Camellia, this is my wife, Tansy,” Kaden said. “She was with you when she was a child, but Whitney put her up for adoption when she was five.”
Camellia immediately pulled up the memory of that little girl, with her mop of white hair and her inability to be touched or to touch anyone without severe repercussions. She looked happy and healthy.
Be very careful, Camellia, Kyle cautioned. She has the ability to read people’s secrets if she touches you, or anything you’ve handled.
“Tansy.” Camellia smiled at her, a genuine smile of happiness. “It’s so good to know you’re alive and well. I’d love to know how you and Kaden found one another.” She sank into the chair opposite Tansy, across the table from her, well aware that if she ate anything, touching the silverware would leave her vulnerable.
Kaden frowned at her and then Kyle, who seated himself next to Camellia. “Are you two talking together? I don’t actually feel the energy the way I would if GhostWalkers were talking on a private path . . .” He broke off abruptly.
Camellia wanted to know what would tip him off. She’d never once had anyone aware when she communicated telepathically with another. If she did so in a battle situation, she needed to know she could communicate with her team of soldiers without detection every time. If Kaden was aware of the private conversations between Kyle and her, then she had to fix the problem.
“What are you feeling?” She didn’t have to push curiosity into her voice.
“Neither of you answered the question,” Kaden said.
Kyle frowned at him. “What’s going on, Kaden? I thought we were bringing Camellia here to meet Tansy and grab something to eat. Neither of us has had anything to eat all day. We’re both tired and hungry, and I’m out of sorts. I used enhanced vision for prolonged amounts of time, and if it wasn’t for Camellia, I don’t think I would have made it down the mountain.”
Tansy leaned into her husband when he put his hand on her thigh beneath the table. “Are you feeling better now, Kyle?”
“I don’t even have a headache, Tansy,” Kyle admitted.
Tansy flashed a smile at Camellia. “Do you have healing abilities?”
“Some. I’m not great at it. Not trained. I’d like to learn more. I dabble a bit in the use of plants, and I’m getting better at using them. I know a bit about pressure points. I just don’t have enough experience and it can be frustrating. I see someone hurting and I want to help them, but I’m just not certain how,” Camellia admitted. “Sometimes it comes naturally, but often I just feel helpless.”
Tansy nodded. “I know how that can feel, at least I used to. I have so many more resources now. You will too, now that you’re here with us. I found that asking questions or just reading books helps me. There are so many of us here that have experienced similar things. Out in the world, our problems are very rare, but here, in this closed environment, many of us suffer the same kinds of complications. We can talk about the issues and usually find a way to resolve them.”
Camellia didn’t have the heart to tell her she hadn’t made up her mind if she was going to live there with Jonas. Hopefully, Jonas would want to live apart from the others. With her. In her little garden of paradise. They would know if he was needed.