Jarek jumped onto the phone straight away, calling the Choosing station and asking about the women who had attended and how to locate them. Soon a heavily pregnant Melissa appeared before Whelon, wiping his face gently with a warm, damp towel.
“I thought… You are supposed to be resting with a nurse monitoring you,” he murmured with difficulty.
She nodded with a small smile. “I was, but then a big scary dragon began terrorizing the skies and my mate thought being on the top floor of a tall tower was not the place for me.”
He turned his eyes away from her, embarrassed by his actions. He was touched by her kindness, the simple gesture of wiping cold sweat from his brow. She was suffering from her pregnancy and tired with the dragonlet heavy in her womb, but still she had the strength to comfort him.
“You will make a wonderful dam,” he spoke softly and she smiled in return.
“And you’ll be an excellent father. Just as soon as we track down your mate.”
From her lips to Syh’s winds.
Whelon sat back in the chair, wings squished by the human couch, but he did not care if he was uncomfortable. He already felt as if his body falling apart. He fixed his gaze on the TV screen in the corner of the room, and he could not look anywhere else once his attention was caught.
The display was full of Sasha. Smiling. Laughing. Dancing. Making funny faces while she played with disabled children or solemnly visiting homeless shelters. For a few moments he thought he might be hallucinating until Jarek entered the area and turned up the volume.
“Beloved local celebrity Sasha Dane will not be with us tonight as scheduled,” the news reporter intoned. “She attended a Choosing at Preor Choosing Station Tau and, after being afflicted with the Knowing, was taken swiftly from the venue by her security team. Her mother has released a statement that Sasha must remain hidden to keep her from the Preor aliens. Allegedly, she was unwilling to become a mate and there is some evidence that the Preor attempted to force her cooperation.”
The news reader looked gravely into the screen, pausing for effect. “If these claims are true and some form of duress is being used by the Preor, the entire treaty will need to be re-examined. We will have more updates as they occur.”
Silence filled the room, a palpable depth where all sound was muted. The few in the room looked around at each other, but no one had anything to say. The Preor’s position on the planet was in danger.
Chapter Nine
An orange glow illuminated Sasha’s eyelids, and for a moment, she thought it was fire… Cleansing, beautiful fire. A torrent that would billow from the throat of her beloved mate and warm her to her bones until she glowed as brightly as him.
She struggled to open her eyes, to search out the flames, but it was obvious she wasn’t standing in an inferno. No, in truth, it was dark out and the glow behind her eyes was simply the sun making its morning rise. It was a mere few seconds above the horizon and the strong color held little of the warmth she needed.
Her mother was nearby, screaming at someone yet again. Sasha tried to move, but pain streaked through her joints, arresting her movements and making her shudder with the agony. The effort made her chest ache, as if breath and blood and life itself were not welcome within her body.
She blinked at the brightening window, noticing for the first time how dark the rest of the room remained. They were in a cheap motel—no, a motor inn—dilapidated and dirty.
Why would Mother bring me to this place? she thought, panic rising in her once more. She wouldn’t even look at a motel like this, let alone stay here!
Sasha struggled to rise and waved her arm, hoping her mother would see that she’d woken. Yet the steady stream of her mother’s stern voice as she spoke into the phone didn’t slow for a second. If she had seen her daughter wave for help, she wasn’t going to interrupt her conversation to give aid.
A gentle touch to Sasha’s hair surprised her, and she blinked hard to clear her vision, wetting her lips before speaking. The room remained a mess of shadow and blurred light. “Who’s there?”
“It’s Dave again, sweetheart.” Sasha turned her head and caught a hint of his face before it swam out of focus once more. “You’ve been here for a while. Here, have some water.”
He helped her sit up and sip cool liquid from the small cup. She almost choked on the small amount and refused any more, even if her lips were dry and blistered—desperate for liquid.
Dave tossed a narrow-eyed glance over his shoulder at Jenna and then turned back to Sasha, his features softening once more. “I don’t know what she’s doing to you, but all the money in the world couldn’t keep me in her employ. The only reason I’m here is because I fear what she would do if no one was around to watch out for you.”
Tears stung Sasha’s eyes as she realized this utter stranger had more compassion and caring for her than her own mother.
Dave continued. “She’s had doctors here to examine you, but they can’t help you. Do you know what’s wrong?”
“The Preor,” Sasha whispered, fearful her mother would overhear her answer. “I need my mate.”
His eyes hardened, just a hint. “I’m afraid I can’t get him.” He sounded truly regretful. “Your mother recruited us at a meeting for people against the Preor. If you’ve been infected with their poison, you’ll have to work through it.” He stroked her hair, his touch gentle but not the one she needed. “I’ll be here for you.”
Across the room, her mother slammed the phone down with a hard slap. “Get away from my daughter! You are far too touchy feely, asshole.”
Dave raised his hands and backed away slowly, doing as her mother demanded. Meanwhile Sasha stared at the ceiling, idly wondering if this was what dying felt like. She was disconnected from most of the sensations racking her body, but when she dared move, all she experienced was pain.
She blinked slowly and behind her eyes, she found a flawless sky. Clouds tinted all colors of the spectrum swept by in a flurry of gossamer puffs. In the shifting vapor she spied massive, dark wings cutting through the various shades. Against their depth, every color split and reflected back in prisms, and she gasped at the beauty.
“My love,” she whispered, her heart thudding hard.
From those endless skies she turned her gaze down and found mighty towers reaching toward them. Other Preor were in the sky, so many occupying the space and dancing in the air. She knew this was an ancestral memory—part of the Knowing.
She could feel it, smell it, taste it… As she breathed in, she sensed the history of the years flowing through her. She could recall great battles and tragedies. Could experience the joy at every midsummer festival. And among it all came a very clear memory of Whelon standing on the edge of his aerie as his father gave him the confidence to jump and… fly.
She released a moan that was half pain, half longing. Her throat hurt and her lips were split and cracked, the expression of torment only creating more pain within her.
“I’ve had enough!” Her mother’s voice cracked above her and Sasha’s eyes snapped open, focusing on her only parent. “Get up, Sasha! Get up right now!”
Sasha didn’t bother to respond. She couldn’t get up—couldn’t move—and that should be obvious to anyone.