***
“Where are we going?” Madeline demanded.
Lore had her blindfolded, and was leading her by the hand. She’d told him she didn’t like surprises, but she was smiling.
In the two weeks since they’d rescued Blaine and the other women, Madeline smiled a lot more. She was more relaxed, and was now an integral part of Galen’s team, who looked after the smooth running of the House of Galen.
She’d started to make a life for herself at the House of Galen. With Lore.
The same couldn’t be said for the others, yet.
Dayna, Mia, and Winter were trying hard to adjust, but were still dealing with the fact that there was no way back to Earth. Blaine was having withdrawal problems from the drugs the Srinar had used on him—he was moody and sticking to himself. Harper and Madeline were trying to help him, but it would take patience.
The tattooed beast was having the hardest time of all. The healers speculated he’d been placed in the fight rings as a young child. He’d been subjected to torture, fighting, and the drugs for years.
He was wild, and let no one close without lashing out. Galen wasn’t letting anybody near him. Lore knew it broke Madeline’s heart that the beast had to be locked up.
Lore knew time would help each of them, but sometimes, waiting and doing nothing was the hardest thing of all.
He led her into a building, and into an elevator. He pressed a button, and they whizzed upward. He was almost sorry that he’d blindfolded her, because he knew she’d enjoy the view out of the glass elevator at the city below.
“Tell me where?” she pleaded.
“You’ll see.”
The elevator stopped, and the doors opened. He led her out and took the blindfold off.
She blinked, her eyes focusing on the smiling man in front of them.
“Welcome to my domain,” Zhim said.
She frowned at the information merchant, looking around the wide balcony of his penthouse apartment, and then to the dizzying view he had of Kor Magna, and the desert beyond.
“What’s going on?” she demanded.
“You’ll see.” Lore tangled his fingers with hers. Zhim waved them inside.
His penthouse was all glass, clean lines, lovely arches, and sparse furniture. But then he led them deeper and into a windowless room that was covered in comp screens.
This was Zhim’s real domain.
He pushed a chair out and invited Madeline to sit. She did so gingerly.
“The gladiator here paid me a visit not long back and gave me a lot of money for your surprise,” Zhim said.
She shot Lore a glance before frowning back at Zhim. “Why?”
“He became my investor a few weeks back. He sank a lot of money into my micro-wormhole technology.” Zhim smiled and it was wide and pleased. “I’m happy to say that his investment is paying off. My early tests have been very successful.”
Lore watched Madeline blink, confusion on her face. Then Zhim reached over to touch a screen. “I successfully sent some short, audio-only messages through a wormhole. And today, I received a response.”
“Mom? I hope you’re getting this?”
A young man’s voice filtered through the speakers. Madeline stilled, her face turning white. She gasped, her fingers squeezing Lore’s. His heart clenched for her.
“The message made it through telling us what happened and that you were okay. I was so happy to hear that you’re alive. I can’t believe you got abducted by aliens.”
“Jack,” she murmured.
Lore bit back a smile. The young man almost sounded excited.
“I miss you so much. Dad was pretty upset when he heard your space station had been attacked. But I just knew you weren’t dead. Not sure how.” Now he sounded a bit sheepish. “Anyway, it is so solar that you’re getting to see the other side of the galaxy. I’ve been telling all my friends.”
The young man paused to take a breath. Madeline pressed a fist to her mouth, unshed tears in her eyes.
“They’re telling me I can’t talk much longer. Take care. I miss you and I love you. I can’t wait to hear your next message. Tell me everything about where you are. And next time, I’ll tell you all about this girl.” Jack’s voice changed, turning a little shy. “Her name is Skye and I met her at school. Mom…I love you. Make sure you have fun where you are. You forget to do that sometimes. Okay, love you. Bye!”
Zhim shut off the message. Lore looked down at the tears streaming down Madeline’s face.
“Thank you.” She leaped to her feet and threw her arms around Lore. She buried her face against his chest. “I love you.”
He hugged her tight.
Then she pulled back and moved to Zhim, pressing a kiss to the man’s cheek. “Thank you, Zhim.”