Chapter 13

THIRTEEN

Her ka'qui— she definitely projected ka'qui —was wild.

He'd never experienced anything like it.

And he was beginning to suspect that the extent of her Talent was far greater than what he'd first thought.

Humans were unpredictable.

Look at Ashrael's mate , who'd manifested such immense power even though she was completely untrained.

What if she was the same?

A human shouldn't be able to invade his dreams. In the realm of his kind, such a feat was almost unthinkable. If it were any other being, he would have been on extreme guard. Perhaps he would have killed them already.

But her…

It was obvious that she was utterly guileless. She had no idea of her latent potential. Of how rare and potentially dangerous she was.

Her sheer unawareness was almost comical. She didn't even realize what she'd done.

The mental blast she'd projected had felled every single unguarded mind within a large radius of the mine, including the humans that had just arrived in a primitive flyer—presumably to help their fallen goons.

He'd killed two of them before the others had fallen like stunned insects, and for a moment, even he had been overwhelmed by her psychic power.

Standing in the blazing sunlight in the middle of a dusty wasteland, he'd been momentarily frozen.

By another's psychic power.

Him?

It was unthinkable.

Like a shockwave spreading outwards from an exploding bomb, her terror, agony, and despair had been projected with vicious force.

And swirling in the confusion had been some of his darkness, too.

Surprising him.

Ashrael was right. When he'd taken over her body, he must have imprinted some of his consciousness on her.

That was bad.

Her fragile human mind wasn't equipped to deal with his personal horrors.

Somehow, he'd felt responsible.

So he'd slammed down his defenses and broken free of her all-consuming aura. He'd moved as fast as he possibly could, bypassing the rickety metal ladder and instead dropping down the shaft into the welcome subterranean coolness.

He'd found her leaning against a wall, her broken body on the verge of collapse, a torrent of wild thoughts surging from her unguarded, unfettered mind.

What a fucking mess.

Some of it was his doing, probably.

He'd done the only thing he could think of. He'd come behind her and pressed his hands against a point on her neck where a certain nerve crossed over. Humans and Kordolians were different but also the same in many ways. If they were similar enough to be able to fuck and produce viable offspring, then surely, this part would be the same, too.

Pressure over this area activated a certain part of the nervous system and induced a calming response—that was the theory, anyway.

It worked in Kordolians and some other humanoid species.

He knew. He'd used it on occasion—to calm them before he wrapped his hands around their necks.

But with her…

He wouldn't dream of harming her.

He only wanted to soothe her, to take away her anguish.

She trembled beneath his hands, but at least she didn't recoil in horror or try to fight him. In fact, she seemed to lean toward him, drawing sensation from his fingers.

He didn't move.

He didn't say a word.

He simply waited.

It felt like the right thing to do.

And after a while, she reached out to him with her mindspeech—amazing that she could already use it with such ease—and she sought his reassurance to temper her disbelief.

She was having trouble accepting he was real?

How ridiculous.

But then again, humans knew very little of the Universe outside their small planet, so she couldn't be blamed.

As he spoke to her, doing his best to sound soothing and unthreatening—how in the Nine Hells did one do that?— she accepted his words, and it was the first time he had ever had the experience of providing comfort to anyone, and because of that, he astonished himself.

She shuddered, breathed in deeply, and became less tense. Then she turned to face him.

Her eyes widened, and her lips parted. With his Second Sight, he could make out every last detail of her, right down to the delicate strands of her eyelashes and the gleaming, translucent lenses of her eyes, which turned luminous in the scant light, reminding him of rare gemstones.

And when she spoke, her voice was low and throaty and filled with relief.

What do you really want with me?

She still didn't trust him—understandably—but he sensed a yearning within her, a notion that she wanted to.

That was new, too.

Enough of this. The strangeness was too much for him to deal with.

He needed to get her out of there. The two humans were starting to rouse, and although he didn't have any qualms about killing them, he didn't want to shed blood in front of her.

She was already too jittery.

"I'm going to take you out of here," he informed her. "You can barely walk, let alone stand. I will carry you."

She recoiled a little as if the thought of being held by him was the most terrifying thing in the Universe.

He didn't like that.

How could he get her to lower her guard?

Jade. How can I get you to understand that I'm not a demon?

Well, he was a terror to his enemies, but now that he was free of the Mistress, he would never, ever hurt an innocent like her.

She shook her head slowly, lips parting ever so slightly, revealing a tantalizing hint of smooth, gleaming teeth. "No matter how strong you are, I don't see you dragging me out of here on that rickety ladder. I'm heavy, you know."

He returned her skepticism with a hint of a smile, finding her flustered state slightly amusing. Her innocence was what got him, each and every time. It was so refreshing to interact with a creature that knew so little of his world. Because if she really understood what he was, she would be paralyzed with fear.

He'd seen it all too many times before as he'd moved amidst the Inner Galaxies, even when he was rendered mute.

Almost every civilization throughout the Nine Galaxies knew of his kind. By some insanity, there were even those who mythologized the Silent Ones, believing they were direct descendants of the gods.

"I'm not going to carry you up that thing," he shrugged. "Just wait."

He reached out with his ka'qui and found Ashrael's familiar presence. The Silent One was uncloaked, making him easy to locate.

How could anyone miss that formidable aura?

I need a lift, he said.

A lift? Again, amusement colored the Silent One's mental voice.

A line, at the very least. A way to lift her out of here. She's injured.

Leave it to me.

This time, Ashrael wasn't fucking around. He quickly disappeared, leaving Dragek standing before her, trying to figure out how to gain her acceptance.

"I'll take you to the entrance," he informed Jade. "Our team will send a retrieval apparatus."

"So you aren't going to carry me up the ladder?"

"No," he said flatly. "Even though I could. "

He couldn't help but imagine how he would do it. He'd get her to cling to his side, probably, and command her to wrap her legs around his torso. He would then hold her tightly around her waist with one arm, using the other to pull them up the ladder. His legs would do most of the heavy lifting. Despite her claim of being heavy, he was fairly certain he could lift her with ease.

Kordolians were physically stronger than humans. It was just the way it was.

She returned his look with a wary glance, stiffening slightly. Her features were etched with tension. Although she tried to hide it, it was obvious she was in pain.

Actually, considering all she'd been through, she was somewhat stoic.

Actually, considering she'd just absorbed his terrible psychic imprint, she was doing rather well…

For a human.

"You're in pain," he said softly, not really knowing how to do this sort of thing. "At least allow me to take the weight from your leg."

Jade hesitated. Her tough outer mask slipped ever so slightly. Her shoulders slumped. Suddenly, the prickly exterior was gone, replaced with vulnerability. "I… wouldn't mind that."

"Here." His voice turned hoarse as he gestured for her to give him her arm.

Gingerly, she offered it.

He took her arm and draped it around his neck. Then, he wrapped his arm around her waist. Her heat radiated through the thin material of her long-sleeved shirt. He caught a tendril of her scent: rich, earthy fragrance.

He didn't mind the feeling of her leaning against him. He tilted his body slightly until he was supporting most of her weight.

Together, they made their way toward the exit.

He was well aware of the humans in the background. Extending his ka'qui, he sensed their movements, their breathing, their heartbeat, even the confusion radiating from them as the tremendous force of Jade's psychic projection disappeared, leaving them disoriented and incoherent.

Soon, they would regain their senses.

But he wasn't worried. He wouldn't let them do anything to her.

They reached the ladder. A rush of energy in the sky told him the cruiser was now hovering above.

Moments later, a slender line dropped down. Its delicate appearance was deceptive, for it was made from Callidum and could support the weight of a small flying ship.

There was a smooth, circular handgrip attached to it. Again, he was surprised at Ashrael's thoughtfulness. His minder was rather meticulous. Not even the smallest detail escaped his notice. Perhaps that was why he'd been the best at his craft.

Dragek wasn't far behind in effectiveness, but sometimes, his focus would waver.

It showed up at the most unexpected of times—whenever he sensed something borne of the Universe's randomness. Like an elegant swirl of energy in the galaxies above, the tail of a comet streaking through the skies, or a young face unblemished by even a single trace of darkness—an innocent soul peering out at the fractious world.

Now, he was similarly affected.

For she didn't wish death upon her enemies, and nor did she despise him. And despite all her troubles and suffering, she didn't want to destroy the world.

She was pure in a way he couldn't even fathom.

So he slid his fingers through the handhold and gripped it tightly. One hand was enough. He wouldn't let her fall.

"Come here," he growled. His arm was already around her waist, but now he tightened his grip. "Put both your arms around my neck and hold on tightly. Lean into me."

"H-hold?"

He smiled, baring his fangs. "I won't bite."

"Apparently," she said dryly. "Isn't there a better way to do this?"

"You want to get out of here quickly, don't you?"

"Yes." Her impatience spilled over, bleeding into his consciousness. If he wasn't careful, he could end up affected by her powerful, swirling emotions.

"I won't let anything happen to you now," Dragek murmured, holding her tightly as he yanked on the line.

Take us up, he told Ashrael.

Very well.

The line went up. They ascended into the blazing sunlight.

She gasped and clung to him tightly, her arms clamped around his neck. His arm around her waist was immovable.

There was no way in the Universe he was going to let her fall, but she still radiated fear.

So tense.

Her legs wrapped around him, and he was surprised by her strength.

It wasn't entirely unpleasant, her clinging so tightly to him as if the fate of the Universe depended on it.

This was new to him—being trusted, depended on, not feared.

For the first time in his bleak existence, he felt…

Worthy.