“My ship?” Xairn frowned. “What the hell does he want with a Kindred Outrider? The damn thing is fifty cycles old if it’s a day—surely he could see that.”
“He doesn’t…doesn’t want the ship itself.” The light in the pale purple eyes was dying and the splicer’s voice was growing faint. “He wants…what’s inside it.” He coughed again. “Treasure…”
“Treasure? I don’t have any fucking…” Xairn’s voice trailed off and his eyes widened. “Gods, Lauren!”
He shook the splicer hard. “What was he going to do to her? Where was he taking her?”
But the light in the splicer’s pale purple eyes had gone out—he was talking to a corpse.
Dropping the lifeless body, Xairn leapt to his feet and took off down the warren of smudged, plasti-glass tunnels at a dead run. If he didn’t get back to Lauren soon, there would be nothing to get back to. And if he was too late to save her…
Xairn didn’t let himself think about that. Didn’t allow himself to explore the new emotions exploding inside him. Rage…possession…desperation…
Please, he prayed, not knowing who he was praying to. Please don’t let me be too late. Oh Lauren…
Chapter Two
Sophie was nervous.
“Of course you’re nervous.” Liv adjusted her veil and smiled at her. “It’s your wedding day—everyone’s nervous on their wedding day.”
“You weren’t,” Sophie accused, looking at herself in the 3-D viewer. Like Olivia before her, she was wearing their mother’s wedding dress and she had to admit it looked beautiful. “You were so happy you were completely blissed out,” she continued, pointing at her twin. “So happy you didn’t even think twice about making me do the luck kiss with Sylvan.”
Liv snorted. “Don’t tell me you’re going to complain about that? You wouldn’t be getting married today if it wasn’t for that luck kiss.”
“She’s right, you know.” Kat bustled into the small tent-like changing area just outside the sacred grove. Once more she was playing the mother of the bride roll and making sure everything went perfectly. Of course, she had a lot less to do than she had for Olivia’s wedding because Sophie and Sylvan had decided to keep their bonding ceremony a small, intimate affair.
“I know.” Sophie smiled at her sister and her best friend. “And believe me, I’m not complaining. I’m just saying you weren’t as nervous on your wedding day as I am, Liv.”
“What are you nervous about?” Kat asked, frowning. “Believe me, there’s nothing to worry you. The guests are all seated, Sylvan’s waiting at the altar—or in front of the priestess, I guess. And I have to say he looks pretty amazing in that native Tranq Prime costume—you didn’t tell me they dressed like cavemen. I love the fur skirt and boots look.”
Sophie laughed. “I have to agree with you there—Sylvan looks really good in his native outfit. But I assure you not all men look as good in that ‘fur skirt’ as you call it.”
“I don’t know.” Liv smiled. “I saw Baird wearing his own furry kilt just before the ceremony and he looked pretty hot in it too.”
“That’s because he and Sylvan both have such nice muscular chests,” Kat said. “I’d be jealous if I didn’t have a pair of hot guys of my own to admire.” She smirked. “Though I don’t know why the guys get to wear boots in the sacred grove while the rest of us go barefoot.”
“I wondered about that too,” Sophie said. “It’s something to do with the boots being made of the fur of a consecrated animal. Apparently the Tranq Prime warriors pray over the vranna before they kill it.”
“If that’s the huge abominable snowman thing they have to kill to prove they’re a man, I’d think they’d be praying pretty much every minute they were hunting it,” Liv said dryly. “Praying the damn thing doesn’t rip their heads off.”
“Well, I have a really cute pair of heels that exactly match this dress.” Kat nodded at the beautiful blue-green silk sheath she was wearing. “I’d be happy to say a quick prayer over them if I could put them on.”
Sophie shook her head. “You know it doesn’t work that way. No shoes allowed in the sacred grove.”
“I know, I know…” Kat sighed. “But as I was saying before we got onto the subject of religious shoes, everything is good to go and the refreshments for the reception are all laid out. Everything looks fabulous. Well, except for that weird brown mush from Sylvan’s home world. That looks like dog crap on a plate, unfortunately.”