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© Cyndi Friberg, August 2006
All Rights Reserved
“Did Father send you after me?” She smoothed the heavily embroidered material of her bodice against her ribs, her senses still humming. Strolling to a nearby tree, she leaned against the trunk, needing the stability at her back. Her teasing tastes of passion had never produced the sort of emotions E’Lanna enjoyed with Zane.
Lor moved closer, the wind playing through his curly blond hair. “As a matter of fact, he did. You shouldn’t be out here alone.”
“I’m not alone.” She glanced up at him and offered her best flirtatious smile. “I have you to protect me.”
He placed his hands on either side of her shoulders, his turquoise gaze searching her face. “What makes you think you’re safe with me?”
“You would never do anything to displease Father.” A note of disappointment bled through in her tone.
“Unlike Zane?” He brushed her cheek with his knuckles, then reluctantly stepped back. “Are they out here, or were you entertaining wicked thoughts?”
“I was enjoying the sunset,” she claimed with innocent bravado.
“But you’d rather be enjoying passionate kisses and bold caresses?” A strand of her hair flitted against her check. He tucked it behind her ear, his fingers lingering against her skin. “Will you stop moping if I kiss you?”
“I am not moping!” She averted her gaze. Lor was handsome and experienced, intelligent and kind. She had often wondered what it would feel like to kiss him. With a deep chuckle, he pulled her into his arms and pressed his mouth over hers. She wrapped her arms around his back and parted her lips, waiting for the first brush of his tongue.
He took his time, nibbling at her lips and tracing her mouth with the tip of his tongue. When he finally delved into her mouth, she was panting and restless. His tongue stroked hers, traced her teeth, then stroked hers some more. She waited for the knee-melting heat, the rush of tingling fire E’Lanna felt each time Zane kissed her. Lor’s mouth was warm, his body strong, but the kiss was no more than pleasant.
Some unseen force slammed Lor forward, knocking Echo against the tree. She yelped. He groaned, then sank to his knees. He was jarred sideways and flipped onto his stomach. He went wild, kicking and thrashing as unseen hands restrained him. Echo screamed, reaching out with her mind. Lor bucked and heaved against the ground. Fire erupted around him, triggered by his pyrokinetic gift.
E’Lanna’s mind reflected Echo’s fear. Was the same thing happening to E’Lanna or was she reacting to Echo’s terror? Lor’s hands were trapped beneath him, while the grass around him sizzled. Did the assailants know he could throw fire?
She was dragged away from the tree, her attackers vague distortions against the coming night. Invisible arms wrapped around her, pulling her tight against a tangible body. They were real. She just couldn’t see them.
E’Lanna’s emotions prevented Echo from reaching farther. She screamed again, but they were far from the visitors’ hall.
Sound swelled, building from a distant buzz to a deafening roar as a transport conduit swallowed her whole. Light blinded her, then oppressive darkness closed in, compressing her chest and weighting her limbs. She trembled in her captor’s arms, lacking the breath to speak, much less fight.
The pressure eased, but the darkness remained. She blinked rapidly, struggling to bring anything into focus. Hands pushed her to her knees, and a gruff voice activated a row of firestones set high in the barren walls.
Light flashed again, and E’Lanna appeared, trapped between two burly men. She was forced to her knees beside Echo.
Are you hurt? Echo sent the question directly to E’Lanna’s mind.
No. Are you? E’Lanna covered her mouth with her hand, her shoulders shaking.
Don’t speak out loud, and don’t react to my thoughts.
One of the villains materialized in front of E’Lanna. Tall and lean, with rawboned features and fierce eyes, he took E’Lanna’s chin and forced her to raise her face. “Which one are you?”
Don’t answer him!
His dark head whipped around, and his gaze collided with Echo’s. Pitch black, his pupils and irises were separated by an intense blue ring. Blue strands threaded through his long black hair. Rodyte! They’d been kidnapped by the Rodytes.
“I can sense telepathic communication.” He strolled toward her, his expression insolent. “If you have something to say, say it out loud.”
She raised her chin and looked away, her lips pressed into a mutinous line.
Warm and unexpected, his deep, rumbling laughter rolled across her senses. He curved his fingers around her chin and turned her head until she looked into his eyes.
“Hello, Echo. Silence can’t disguise that fiery temper.” He motioned toward E’Lanna without taking his gaze from Echo’s face. “Take that one to a holding cell.”
“No!” The word burst from Echo before she could stop the impulse.
He arched one dark brow and pulled her to her feet. “Are you volunteering to take her place? I hadn’t expected you to be so eager.”
Echo, don’t. At least I know what to expect. I won’t let this beast be your first.
Before she could correct E’Lanna’s misconception, their captor spoke again. With his hands still encircling Echo’s upper arms, he looked at E’Lanna. “If we hadn’t arrived when we did, some blond Mystic would have been her first. She was all but begging him to take her when we found them in the moonlight.”
Echo gasped. He couldn’t just sense telepathic communication, he could hear every word.
“E’Lanna can’t be mounted until after her next cycle is complete. Pass the word. No one is to touch her.”
Echo felt the blood drain from her face. They wanted to make sure E’Lanna wasn’t pregnant before they “mounted” her? That meant they intended to keep them for weeks, perhaps longer. Echo couldn’t succumb to the terror surging through her mind. She had to think, strategize. Where were they? Why had they been taken? The last question sent a shudder down her spine. Why was pretty damn obvious: They were here to be “mounted.”
E’Lanna was dragged from the room by two of the men who had abducted her. Could all of them create invisibility shields?
“Let’s go.” The leader nodded toward the doorway.
Echo laughed. Let’s not. It was irrational to think she was going to stroll off to his bedchamber to be raped. He didn’t react to her laughter or the accompanying thought. Apparently it was only telepathic transmissions he could intercept.
“You’re going to be a lot more trouble than your sister, aren’t you?”
“You have no idea.”
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