“I’m all right.” Nadiah smiled at her. “Although…if you want to stay a little while I don’t mind.”
“I’ll stay.” Sophia looked up at her mate. “You go back to bed, hon. I’ll be there in a bit.”
“All right.” He looked at Nadiah. “Sleep well, my kin. We’re just in the next room if you have another vision.”
Nadiah shivered. “I hope I won’t. But thank you, Sylvan. And thanks for the song.”
“Anytime.” He grinned. “As long as you don’t tell Baird and Deep and Lock about it.”
“I’ll keep it to myself,” Nadiah vowed solemnly. “After all, if they knew what a sweet voice you have, they’d all be wanting a lullaby before bedtime.”
Sophia burst out laughing. “Sorry, I just had this mental image of all three of those huge Kindred warriors tucked into one bed with Sylvan serenading them.”
Nadiah laughed too. “That would be a sight.”
“And on that note, I am leaving.” Sylvan smiled. “No pun intended.”
After he left, Nadiah squeezed Sophia’s hand. “Thank you so much for letting me stay here in your suite. I was afraid I’d get in your way at first but now I’m really glad I took your offer.”
“You’re never in the way,” Sophia said. “And just think, if you hadn’t stayed with us I never would have found out what a gorgeous voice Sylvan has.”
“Yes you would have,” Nadiah protested. “As soon as you have children he’ll be singing them to sleep just like he sang to me when I was young.”
Sophia looked troubled. “I hope you’re right. I really do.”
“Did I say something wrong?” Nadiah asked worriedly. “I’m sorry.”
“No, hon, there’s nothing to be sorry for.” Sophia gave her hand a squeeze. “It’s just that Sylvan and I have been trying for awhile and I still haven’t gotten pregnant. I mean, it’s probably not a big deal. I just wish I was going to have a little boy like Liv is.”
“Of course you do.” Nadiah sat up in bed and looked at her earnestly. “Then they can play together and be like brothers.”
“Exactly.” Sophia smiled. “You understand.”
“I want sons too,” Nadiah said. “Not right away, of course. And certainly not with that horrible Yo-dah my parents picked out for me.” She shivered. “I want my first sex to be special and perfect. And if I wind up with him…Ugh, it would be like making love with a skinny, obnoxious tree.”
Sophia laughed. “Nadiah, you crack me up.”
Nadiah looked at her anxiously. “Are there cracks in your skin? Did I put them there?”
Sophia shook her head. “No, silly—I meant you’re funny. You make me laugh. Sorry—I guess the translation bacteria doesn’t cover everything, huh?”
Nadiah shook her head. “Not everything but I usually manage to get what you mean from the context.” She sighed. “I’m just tired right now.”
“Well go to sleep.” Sophia pushed Nadiah’s hair away from her forehead. Her hand felt cool and soothing. “And try to have good dreams this time.”
“I don’t try to have the visions—they just come to me,” Nadiah said fretfully. “I wish the Goddess had not chosen me for the Sight.”
“She must have done it for a reason,” Sophia said reasonably. She looked troubled. “Maybe…maybe you can stop him before he takes another girl.”
“If I can get anyone to listen to me.” Nadiah shook her head. “But from Detective Rast’s reaction I get the feeling that your law enforcement personal aren’t likely to believe anything I say.”
“Unfortunately not.” Sophia frowned. “But I promise you, Nadiah, if you have another one of these…these visions and it shows someone being taken, we’ll do everything we can to stop it. With or without help from the police or Rast or anybody else.”
“All right.” The idea put Nadiah’s mind at ease. “Thank you, Sophie,” she said, smiling up at the mate of her kin. “You’re going to make a wonderful mother someday. And don’t worry too much about it not happening yet—sometimes it takes awhile with Blood Kindred.”
Sophia smiled. “You would know. You’re the expert on them, right?”
“I’ve done a little research,” Nadiah admitted, smiling. It had been her ambition to be mated to a Kindred warrior—especially a Blood Kindred—from the time she was a little girl. Of course, her parents would be horrified at the thought of her polluting her pure blood lines by joining with a Kindred but Nadiah didn’t care. The huge, virile warriors were her ideal and even if they hadn’t been, anyone would have been better than the skinny, sniveling Yo-dah her parents had promised her to.