“No,” Nina gasped. For some reason, the prospect of touching that small, black snake frightened her even more than being attacked by a huge alien warrior. A strange thought ran through her brain: If I touch it there’s no going back.
And then the center of her palm made contact with the snake tattoo, and a sharp pain like she’d been stuck with a needle pierced through her.
“Ow! What the hell is wrong with you? You stuck me!” Nina tried to yank away again, but his hold on her was too tight.
“I knew it—you are the one.” He was staring at his wrist, and Nina saw to her horror that the strange tattoo had somehow changed colors. It was red now—blood red. And was it…bigger? How could that be?
“The one what? Let me go!” she demanded, her voice trembling. “Leave now, and I might not call the police.”
“You’re not calling anyone. You’re coming with me.”
Without warning, he lifted her with one arm as though she weighed no more than a kitten and slung her over one broad shoulder.
Then, despite her kicking and screaming, he carried her right out the door.
Chapter Eight
“Reddix? Are you all right?” Saber walked carefully into the dark guest suite, mindful of what had happened the last time he saw his friend. He knew Saber was on edge and didn’t want to overload his system again. Goddess, it was awful how his best friend had gone downhill, but Saber wasn’t surprised if his RTS was getting worse.
“Reddix?” he called again, tensed to see his friend’s silver eyes somewhere in the darkness. But only silence greeted his call.
I shouldn’t even be in here. I should leave him alone like Sylvan said to.
But he hadn’t been able to bear the guilt he was feeling a moment longer. He needed to tell his friend again how sorry he was. And to shoulder the responsibility that should have been his all along.
Saber didn’t want to go back to Tarsia, didn’t want to face the censure his decision to be with Lissa would cause. But he had to. It had been wrong to assume that Reddix could take over as the next Clan Overlord, wrong to put that burden on him without asking how he felt about it.
At least Lissa will be with me, Saber thought. She doesn’t like it any more than I do, but she’s still willing to go. If only my family could look past our kinship status and see what a wonderful female she is.
But they would never do that. All his mother and father and the rest of the clans would see was that he and Lissa were of the same clan and so technically brother and sister, though there was no blood tie between them. They would probably reject Saber as soon as he announced he had married his amalla and had no intention of leaving her. The taboo he and Lissa were breaking was so ingrained in his people that they would no doubt view him with disgust.
But I have to try. And Lissa will have to try with me. It was almost more than he could stand—he loved Lissa with all his heart, and he didn’t want to cause her this kind of pain and anguish. But after what had happened with Reddix, he didn’t see that he had any choice.
Speaking of Reddix, where was he?
“Reddix?” he called again, going into the sleeping chamber. “Reddix, it’s me—we need to talk. I need to tell you…”
But the words died on his lips—the room was empty. The bed looked rumpled as though Reddix had slept on it, and his case with a few changes of clothes was open on the floor, but the male himself was nowhere to be seen.
Swiftly, Saber searched the rest of the suite, but Reddix wasn’t there. Where could he have gone? Sylvan had put him under strict orders to stay in the suite and rest—why would Reddix get up and leave without telling anyone he was going?
Maybe he decided he couldn’t stand it here on the Mother Ship anymore with all the strange emotions. Maybe he left. But Sylvan said he had his ship locked down. So how would he manage? He didn’t have an answer for that, but he didn’t really need one—Reddix had always been a resourceful bastard. If he wanted to do something, he would find a way to do it. Even if it meant going against his doctor’s orders.
Suddenly, the last conversation he’d had with Reddix rang in his head.
“…don’t worry, I’m not running straight back to Tarsia yet. I have some unfinished business right here on that little blue-green ball of rock all our Kindred Brothers seem so fucking taken with.”
“On Earth?” Saber said. “What do you want there?”
“It’s not what—it’s who.”
Saber frowned and headed for the door. It was time to ask if anyone had seen Reddix hanging around the docking bay and check to see if any ships were missing.