“Research, huh?” Sophia grinned. “Well then, go back to sleep and try to dream about your ‘research’ and the perfect Kindred warrior who’s going to sweep you off your feet.”
“All right.” Nadiah snuggled back into bed and sighed. “Good night, Sophie.”
“Good night, sleep tight.” Sophia smiled as she left the room, closing the door gently behind her.
Nadiah closed her eyes and tried not to dwell on the disturbing vision that had disrupted her sleep. Please Goddess, she prayed silently. Be with that girl. Protect her or at least let her torment be swiftly over. And please help me to prevent this from happening again. If you have given me this gift for a reason, please help me to use it wisely.
She felt a sense of peace after she prayed, as though the Goddess of All Life was listening. But sleep still eluded her. Turning on her side, she tried to picture the perfect Blood Kindred warrior. He would be tall and strong and he would sweep her off her feet and go with her to Tranq Prime to challenge the blood bond between herself and her betrothed. Then he would take her back with him to the Mother ship and they would live happily ever after in mated bliss just like Sophia and Sylvan.
But somehow, no matter how hard she tried to picture her perfect Kindred, he was always wearing the face of that annoying Detective Rast.
Nadiah fell asleep frowning but at least she had no more dreams.
Chapter Twenty-two
“Good morning.” Nadiah smiled as Sylvan came into the dining area. She and Sophia were already up and enjoying a traditional Earth breakfast. Well, traditional to Sophia’s part of Earth, anyway. Apparently different regions of the planet had different cuisines.
Nadiah wasn’t a big fan of the yellow fluffy stuff the mate of her kin had called scrambled eggs—they had a strange texture. But there were thin crispy slices of something called bacon that were salty and delicious. Also, there was a warm, crunchy kind of bread with sweet, sticky berry spread on it that was wonderful.
But best of all, in Nadiah’s opinion, was the bright orange juice squeezed from a fruit—it tasted like liquid sunshine, tart and sweet and utterly delicious. Sophia had offered her white liquid called ‘milk’ as well, but Nadiah had turned it down. She’d already been warned by Baird that it came from a skin bag between a large Earth animal’s legs. Apparently, the bag was squeezed and the white fluid came jetting out. Ugh! It sounded every bit as disgusting as fleeta pudding to Nadiah, who had never been fond of her native dish.
“Good morning.” Sylvan smiled at them both. He kissed Sophia on the cheek and Nadiah on the top of her head before seating himself at the table. “I see you two are finally up.”
“What do you mean ‘finally up?’” Sophia protested. “I’ve been up for ages making you this yummy breakfast. Where were you, anyway?”
“In the viewing room,” Sylvan said, pouring himself a tall glass of the orange juice. “I had a very interesting call to attend to.”
“Oh, was it that annoying Detective Rast?” Sophia asked eagerly. “Did you give him a piece of your mind?”
Nadiah frowned. “How would you do that? With some kind of telepathy?”
“No, it just means to tell someone off,” Sophia explained. She looked at Sylvan. “So did you? Tell him off?”
“I didn’t get a chance,” Sylvan said mildly. “He wasn’t the one who called.” He looked at Nadiah. “It was your parents. And they were very unhappy. Is it true you left your home on the day you and Yo-dah were to be mated?”
“Well…yes.” Suddenly the orange juice tasted sour and flat. Nadiah put down her glass and sighed. “But Sylvan, if you could see him. He’s just so skinny and scrawny and whiny and…and so not Kindred.”
“You have a blood bond with him though.” Sylvan gave her a stern look. “That is not a commitment to be taken lightly.”
“Surely you’re not telling her to go back home and marry a man she doesn’t love?” Sophia scooted closer to Nadiah and put an arm around her shoulders. “I mean, they betrothed her to this guy when she was a little girl—she didn’t even have any choice in the matter.”
“That is how things are done on my planet,” Sylvan said, frowning. “I was betrothed to Feenah. We didn’t have a blood bond but the engagement between us was sacred. If she had not broken it, I would have mated her.”
“And you would have been miserable the rest of your life,” Sophia shot back.
“Sophia’s right,” Nadiah toyed with the strange silver eating utensil Sophia had called a ‘fork.’ “I don’t see why I should go home and be mated to Yo-dah when you didn’t have to mate with Feenah.”