He wished to hell she’d come back to the observation deck. For maybe the first time in his life, despite how desperately attracted to her he was, he just wanted to talk to a woman.
With the hidden colonies secured and a new layer of powerful mist over the land, Grace returned to Diallo’s house to wait for Leto to finish his duties. She felt a strong need to be near her breh as much as possible right now.
The corpses were long gone, and all the colonists had been accounted for—either those few in the morgue or the rest at the Portland Colony.
She reclined in one of the chaise longues in the lush courtyard. The temperature in the garden was very comfortable, and because of the thick shrubs, flowers, and trees, a wonderful humidity eased the dryness of the mountain environment.
Leto was in the lane below Diallo’s house finishing up with the Militia Warrior Section Leaders and going over the numbers one last time. At least a dozen squads were still doing a house-to-house search just to be sure.
She had long since started blocking Leto’s external physical sensations. She had learned from chatting with both Fiona and Marguerite that blocking those sensations became a critical survival skill for the breh-bonded couples. It was a very doable skill, and she was learning fast.
Even though the colony had been secured, Grace had begun to feel uneasy, but she didn’t know why. She half expected her obsidian power to rise, but the earth remained quiet beneath her.
A chill went down her neck, and she rubbed her arms. She looked around. Something had disturbed her, but what? All the shrubbery remained still, unmoving. She had the jitters, but then why wouldn’t she after all that she’d been through?
She looked up at the dome of mist that once more covered the colony. Endelle had created it as a temporary solution until Diallo could recover and repair the damage. She had even worked to add her own moss to help with the disguise. But if the colony had been mapped, and if Greaves had enough power to burn the mossy mist away, then in what manner could the colony ever be secure again?
She wrapped her arms around her stomach and held herself. She wanted to crawl into bed and forget everything at least for a little while, but which bed? Where? She couldn’t go back to the cabin, Leto’s wonderful cabin, not for some time at least. On the other hand, if either she or Leto could cloak the cabin in an additional layer of mist, the combination might just work.
She thought the thought and instantly, because of the breh-hedden, she was in Leto’s mind. I’d like to sleep in your cabin tonight, she sent.
Hey, sweetheart, he responded instantly. I’d like nothing better as well, but I’m not sure it’s safe.
Are you almost done?
Just a few more minutes. I just sent the Section Leaders to bring in their teams, then we’ll head out. So give me a few minutes … that is … He fell silent.
Grace waited but that uneasy feeling returned.
Oh, shit. His voice was suddenly loud in her head. More Third Earth death vampires just arrived. Casimir’s with me.
Because she was completely open to all his external physical sensations, she could feel him turn in a complete circle, and within a split second he had his sword in hand. She sensed a vibration all along his skin and knew he was letting his beast-man out.
Grace, you should get back to Second. Now.
Grace sat up. She was in danger. She could feel it.
She lifted her hand to fold, but couldn’t. She didn’t understand. Her heart rate kicked up a few notches.
Then, just as quickly as her fears rose, they retreated. Very odd. Yet she felt sublime waves of peace begin to pour over her. She didn’t need to worry about anything.
She folded her hands over her stomach and closed her eyes. She felt the air move near her, but she was too tired to care who it was. Probably Leto, which would be nice. She wanted to open her eyes and smile at him, but she couldn’t. How heavy her eyelids felt.
Lips touched her cheek several times. As if from a great distance, she heard a stream of words, murmured very softly in a kind of chant. The lips moved and covered her mouth.
Come with me, Grace. The words now flowed through her mind with the most beautiful resonance. We will build a new world together, one without war. Isn’t that what you want above all things?
This wasn’t Leto, but why wasn’t she afraid? Was she being enthralled?
Somehow, she didn’t care.
She felt so at peace, as though she never wanted to be anywhere else in her life than right here with this man’s voice in her head and his lips touching hers.
Tell me you want what I want.
Yes, I want a world without war. Yes. Yes.
Then come with me. Say you will join me. I will make you my empress, and you will have the power to order the world exactly how you desire it to be.