IT APPEARED THAT THIS STYLE of gown had been my mother's favourite. The high neck at the back of the dress brushed against the bottom of my ears if I slouched at all and the sweetheart neckline revealed a tad more that I normally liked. It seemed I was better endowed than mother had been. That word still sounded so odd.My Earth mother.Alek's mother, echoed my rational voice.Right, Alek's mother, had been bigger than me in the bust and I'd felt rather silly when I first tried to squeeze into one of these gowns. Normally when I borrowed Mum's clothes they were loose, not tight. Thankfully Ada and her magic touch had seen to all the dresses and now I could breathe while wearing them.I have to admit, as annoying as it was to have to dress up for dinner, having such a selection to choose from was fun. A bright side to Alek having never seen hismymother in them meant he wasn't creeped out by it, because if I paused long enough to think about it, it started to creep me out. Falling in
AT THE END OF THE discussion, everyone headed their separate ways. Rumal arched a brow at Kassie while she regarded him with a stern expression. 'What?''Explain. What is a syren? How do you "survive an encounter" with one? Why don't your siblings or parents have the same eyes?'Her questions came thick and fast. She clambered onto the couch and held him by the shoulders while peering at his eyes. Rumal laughed as she held his face, and took the opportunity to wrap both arms around her and kiss those pouting lips.'NOW, WHICH QUESTION DID YOU want answered first?' Rumal asked as Kassie caught her breath. The sudden urge to drag him to their room almost overcame her curiosity. Almost. The night is still young, she thought. Plenty of time for that later.'What is a syren?''A syren is a sea creature. It comes ashore when it's ready to mate and takes the form of a humanoid creature. Then it mates with the first male it can find. When a syren peaks, it screams, and that usually kill
ALEK SWEATED WHILE WORKING AT linking with the girls. I hate how much effort this requires, he grumbled to himself. The girls make it look so easy.He just needed to relax, but the competitive edge to his nature made it difficult. Taking slow breaths, he ran through Elena's instructions again and worked at relaxing his mind and releasing the tension from his arms. Finally, the energy that had hesitated responded with a jolt and linked to the girls' energy.'LOOKS LIKE HE'S DONE IT.' Sabyn said, pleased to see Alek's gold energy blend in with the others. Rumal and Daron smiled as they watched.'That's fantastic,' Tomiar thought to Sabyn and she padded across the sand to stand beside him. 'Elena will be thrilled.' 'She will be.''It will be invaluable to them.''Can you sense it? Like the girls' energy?''Not as strongly and it registers quite differently. Now that they're linked, it's coming through loud and clear. This will guarantee a win against Jenviet.'The sense of reli
ELENA APPEARED DELIGHTED WHEN WE reported the progress to her in the library after dinner. It had been a productive day for her too, and she announced that the men would drop Leseach at the first village in two days' time. Alek, Rumal and Daron would go this time, so we'd be left to practice with the Lieutenants for possibly three days.'I hope it's only two,' I said to Alek as we climbed into bed.'Me too. Though it'll be interesting to see how she does it. And it's always good to meet more of our subjects.'I nodded against the pillow, feeling that odd anxiety at the words "our subjects"; still such a strange concept. Alek reached out, his large hands clasping my hips and dragged me back against him.THE SENSATION OF HER BARE ass against his thighs tempted him. Such a pity I'm so tired from the day's training, he thought and pulled Cat closer still. Just the thought of leaving her for three days made him want her.Cat gave a satisfied sigh when he gently kissed the back of her
CAT APPEARED IN THE DOORWAY of the kitchen, looking a little frazzled. Alek smiled at her, and she gave a vague nod before her eyes settled on Gredel. 'Gredel! You're wanted.'Gredel, Citaan's father, and brother, all paled visibly at the request. Rumal stood to hoist Gredel out of his seat. 'Go on, you can do this.'The rest stood and walked the three men to the bedchamber, ushering Gredel along in front. When they arrived, everyone stood in the corridor, except for Elena, Leseach and Citaan's mother.Sian opened the door for Gredel, and Daron shoved him in when he hesitated. Everyone laughed as the door closed.'Men.' One of the sisters shook her head, two others nodding with her. 'Always so brave till something like this.''We're just showing the proper respect,' Daron teased.Enclosed in Alek's arms, Cat chuckled and he smiled down at her. 'Agree do you?'She shrugged. 'I guess I have yet to see.'The sudden image of Cat, belly swollen with his child, gave Alek a rush of jo
SIAN GAVE NESHA A FISHY look at his line "in the trees" and Daron winked at his friend.'It'll be fun to surprise her.''Make sure you memorize it well; I'll want to see it on the way back.''You aren't staying to see yourself?'Nesha gave him a small nudge. 'No, you two will want alone time, I know I do. I'm going to hunt in the mountains for three days. I'm tired of the domestic lifestyle.''Fly safe, friend.''Always.'Daron unfastened the saddle, leaving Nesha wearing just the leather harness that crisscrossed his broad back and the man stood back when the griffon launched off the platform, swooping through the forest before disappearing up into the canopy.Sian watched wide-eyed. 'Why is he going?'Daron glanced at her. 'Did he say goodbye?''Yes, but why?''He just wants some alone time. Griffons are more solitary than people realize and living with four others in close quarters can be tiring. They love to hunt in the mountains, and that's what Nesha will do. He'll com
THE AMOROUS INTENTIONS SIAN HAD appeared to have seemed to disappear while she had him explain the creatures. Daron didn't mind too much, they'd have time tonight. He like seeing what caught her attention and rattled off names and descriptions.'Those are leeni,' Daron pointed at the creatures that swung through the branches and clustered on the roof above them, peering down with curious, bright eyes. To his surprise, Sian shrank back, watching them cautiously.'Pixie? What's wrong?''The people at Lothost warned us to watch out for leeni,' she frowned at the animals.Daron laughed. 'Leeni are rather mischievous and good at getting into things.' As he said that, one attempted to swing over the roof edge into their room. Daron caught it by the tail and flicked it off the balcony. The animal gave an excited scream, spreading the skin flaps it used to glide. Others on the roof made the same scream and dived off, whooping through the trees.'Wow, they can glide really far.' Sian watch
FLYING BACK TO THE CASTLE almost felt like going back to work; she hated saying goodbye to the cabin. Daron laughed at her sombre expression when he helped her up onto Nesha's back. 'We'll come back.'She sighed. 'I know. It's just, going back to the castle means going back to the craziness of that life, a life that's still so foreign, as well as a war with a vicious, freaky-eyed blonde.'Daron gave her a hug. 'Sorry Pix, but this is what you were born to.''That doesn't make it any better.''You'll defeat Jenviet and then really be able to live, Sian. I'm not suggesting it will be easy, but you know it will be worth it.' Nesha thought kindly. Contemplating their words still didn't help. Not with Deas and Moright's awful deaths still so fresh in her mind. Tears welled in her eyes and fear swirled in her gut. The whole concept scares the hell out of me, she thought, biting her lip hard to stop the tears.'DARON, SHE DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT. Her energy is off.' Nesha sounded concerned.