* * * * *
The conversation with Saber’s parents back on Tarsia did not go well. Saber’s mother wept copiously, and his father, the current Overlord, looked so grim it was a wonder his face didn’t crack into a thousand jagged shards. Reddix felt awful for them and angry at himself for caring. Still, it was true they had lost their son, and he, with his disabling disease, was a poor substitute.
The only thing he could be grateful for was the fact that he couldn’t feel their emotions through the viewscreen. Say what you wanted to about RTS, at least the person had to be physically present for their emotions to affect him.
It made Reddix wish he could lock himself away in a room somewhere and conduct all of his business via viewscreen, but that simply wasn’t possible. The rank of Overlord was a very hands-on, face to face type of position. The people expected to see the male who was leading them—see him, interact with him, look into his eyes, and clasp his hand…
Reddix didn’t even want to think about it.
Don’t think about it then, he told himself sternly. Think about the cure you were promised. About what the witch can do for you.
He didn’t know why he was so certain she could help—maybe because of the tiny pinpoint of pain in his wrist that was the lthss, maybe because of all the things she had known, which she had no business knowing. Or maybe you’re just too stubborn and too scared to give up your last hope, whispered a little voice in his brain. Science and technology had failed him. There was no medicine for RTS, because there was no way to treat the Touch Sense. It was an inherent part of a Touch Kindred’s soul. If the witch couldn’t heal him, Reddix might as well just lie down and die.
Well, I might do that anyway, if that doctor is right, he thought numbly. Better get some rest so I don’t black out and never wake up again.
The draining viewscreen conversation and all the emotions he had to feel as he made his way through the Mother Ship combined to take their toll. Reddix was so tired he could barely walk by the time he got back to his guest suite. He was so exhausted, so drained from feeling everyone’s emotions all the time. It was good to retreat into a dark corner alone and lick his wounds like a hurt animal for a while.
He staggered into the suite’s bathroom and shed his protective hood at last. Looking in the viewer showed a male with a wild mane of black hair and stubble so long it was almost a beard. Reddix contemplated a shave but decided against it. A shower was all he had strength for—he would deal with his ragged appearance after he slept a good eight hours. Or maybe twenty-eight—that would be nice.
After a shower so hot it left him feeling nearly boneless, he stumbled into the bedroom and fell across the bed. Tired, he was so damn tired…
He started dreaming before his head hit the pillow.
Chapter Five
“There you are.” Saber came up behind his bride and put his hands on her shoulders. He was glad to have found her at last—he’d been searching for hours, and now, here she was, back at their suite.
But Lissa pulled away from him.
“Don’t.” She stood up and paced to the other side of the living area. “Please don’t.”
“Don’t what—don’t touch the woman I love?” “The woman I’m bonded to?” he added, through the mental link they shared.
“We shouldn’t be bonded,” Lissa burst out. “We shouldn’t be together at all. You know it, and I do too.”
“What? What are you talking about?” Saber came toward her, trying to take her in his arms. But she moved away from him, putting the couch between them.
“I’m talking about that.” She pointed at the vid screen Reddix had brought, which was lying half unrolled on one of the cushions. “I watched it,” she told Saber, her voice breaking a little. “I knew I shouldn’t but…but I couldn’t help it.”
“What did you see?” Without waiting for an answer, he unrolled the viewscreen and watched as a hologram of his mother appeared above its flexible surface.
“Saber, my son,” the holo said. “I hardly know what to say or where to start. Receiving your message that you intended to stay on the Kindred Mother Ship and bond yourself to a female of your own clan is almost more than your father or I can take…”
Saber watched the message, his thoughts growing grimmer and grimmer. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and turned it off. The flickering blue image of his sobbing mother faded, but somehow the crying didn’t stop. Looking up, he saw that Lissa was staring at him with tears in her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, shaking her head. “So sorry—I never meant for this to happen. I never meant to take you away from your responsibilities, your family.”