Free of her mother’s direct influence for a while, at least, she made a beeline for the snack table as soon as she was granted entrance by the Preor guards. She poured herself a cup of cold punch, downing it quickly before replacing it with another. Her headache immediately receded, and she took a moment to look around the room for the first time.
Two women next to her held hands and giggled excitedly as they watched the Preor gathered on the other side of the room.
It’s almost like the first junior high school dance, Sasha thought wryly. Everyone standing on opposite sides of the room too scared to go over and dance with the opposite sex.
One of the women nearby looked over her shoulder at Sasha. “Hi,” the woman whispered. “Don’t they seem imposing? I was so excited to come but now I’m just nervous.”
Sasha smiled gently. “I know what you mean. They are much taller—bigger—than I thought.”
“I know!” the other woman gushed. “All of them are drop dead gorgeous, too! I hope one of them picks me!”
Sasha moved into the small group of women and joined the conversation. She didn’t have many friends—her mother and career consuming her life—and it was a good feeling to just stand in the small group and talk.
This could be fun, she thought as she looked around the massive room. There’s some fancy finger food coming out over there. Maybe I’ll just stuff myself, have a few drinks, hang out with the ladies, and then beat it back to Mom.
The longer she looked across the room at the Preor, the more fascinated by them she became. What if her mother was wrong? They didn’t look brutal or dangerous. Capable of violence, yes, but they didn’t look like feral beasts just waiting for a chance to pillage and rape. A few of the women spoke about how gentle and sweet the Preor were, and this unsettled her deeply, her stomach twisting with uncertainty the longer she listened.
Does Mother know what she’s talking about? Sasha wondered. It was very much like her mother to make a judgement and run with the opinion without proof. Sasha was disappointed in herself that she had simply swallowed her mother’s views on this without thinking about it for herself and making her own conclusions.
Taking long, slow steps, she gradually made her way around the room. A couple of the women had made it to the center and shyly introduced themselves to the Preor, and Sasha wondered if she should do the same.
Except…
She was suddenly struck by the strangest sensations. At first her stomach dropped, leaving her shaking and unsteady, and then her mouth went dry and her headache returned in full force, pummeling her with a steady barrage of pain.
And in between those aching pulses, her head was full of dragons—wings and scales, fire and wind. It was in her blood, behind her eyes. The beasts consumed every thought, every motion, every part of her. She tried to breathe, but she could only ride the impossible wave that crashed into her chest and spread outward to encase her body.
She didn’t know how she recognized it, but there was no question in her mind…
This is the Knowing.
Chapter Six
Whelon ducked into a back hallway, intent on leaving the “cattle call.” He had barely taken two steps into the corridor behind the meeting room when he hit what felt like a solid wall. Yet nothing stood in his path to halt his departure… Nothing but his inner dragon. It roared and scraped at him, dark claws scratching against his veins while the beast sought to break free.
His dragon was not allowing him to go further away from the meeting room, that was for sure. He struggled against the beast’s desires, flexing and tensing his two-legged form’s muscles in an attempt to leave, but he failed against the dragon’s desires. With a sigh, he turned back to the cattle call, the beast relaxing some when it realized it’d gotten its way. He was tired from his long day both on the ship and then his travels to Earth followed by arguing with Chashan and Jarek over Melissa’s care. The energy of so many beings crammed together in one space made him feel even worse. He ached to get away from these lonely females and Preor warriors.
His dragon seemed intent on sniffing out the females in the meeting room, but he was sure the beast was simply filled with wishful thinking and loneliness-driven hope. He kept it quiet for the most part, but when that part of him wanted freedom, it was difficult to argue. Healer he may be, gentle and caring to his patients, but he was still a dragon at heart.
I’ll just take another turn around them room, he thought. Then I’ll go for a little fly around the tower to stretch my wings and appease the dragon before I find Chashan.
That seemed like an excellent plan and an easy way to appease the beast.
Yet, as he came through the doorway to the meeting room once more, his dragon seemed to roil and twist beneath his skin. All of a sudden, Whelon felt sick and lightheaded, as if he had inhaled or ingested poison, but he had not touched any of the offerings in the room. Panic set in and he quickly examined himself for any injuries or the cause of his surprising illness.
I don’t know what’s going on, but I feel like I’ve been wounded, he thought, grimly.
His dragon raged and tore at him, begging for release, but he resisted and was gifted with even more illness for his efforts. He staggered, nearly falling to his knees, and he struggled to find the breath to shout for the other healing master.
As he held his temple and attempted to stay on his feet, images flowed through his mind—a delicate girl with incredibly thick black hair petting a snow-white cat. She was young, very young, her smile innocent and free. The images suddenly twisted and he found the same face, grown to an adult and staring into a mirror—so beautiful but with a pair of sorrowful eyes. There seemed to be a dark shadow over her shoulder and Whelon’s dragon roared, the sound echoing through his mind as it sought to destroy anything that might mar this beauty.
And that’s when it struck him…
It can’t be.
It is. The Knowing!
Now that he recognized the truth of what was happening to him, he fought his dragon, wrestling it into submission with brute force and promises to find their mate. The effort cost him—the beast ached for its other half—and he had to hold his temples as if his brain was in danger of falling out of his head. Eventually he managed to stand upright and stare across the room, searching for the face from his vision.
And there she was. So close. His mate.
By all the stars in the heavens, she was lovely. He had never seen another so beautiful as she. She was tall with long, swelling curves and lean limbs. Her face was both delicate and sharp featured, her eyes wide and a dark, glittering blue. The pink dress she wore was nipped tight around her waist, showing off her full breasts with a dipping neckline.
His dragon surged for a moment, unhappy that so many unmated males could look upon her beauty, which was meant only for him. But he pushed the beast down once again, triumphing over the feral desires of his dragon.
“Shaa kouva,” he whispered. He attempted to call out with all his strength, but the moment had stolen his voice. He took a few steps toward her and gazed into her blue eyes, not even realizing at first that she backed away from him.
The images continued to fly through his mind, revealing her world to him with unending visions. He thought he had learned much about the human and Preor worlds on his own, but now that he was connected to her, he realized he was like a babe in the depth of his knowledge. The Knowing provided him with her experiences as well as how she viewed the world she occupied, and it was like being inside her heart and understanding the world from her perspective.