The Healer's Kiss: Book Four of the Forced To Serve Series (9 page)

“The finger salute she just gave? Okay—yes. Guilty,” Gwen admitted, grinning back. “But that tiny female is not all that nice once you get to know her. Boca has a dark side.”

“Yes, I know,” Chiang said, smile fading. “I believe it matches mine.”

“
Yours?
” Gwen exclaimed. “Yeah, right. You’re a big teddy bear.”

Chiang shook his head. “I wasn’t always. I have a dark past. She sees into me and I am not going to be able to hide it from her.”

Gwen crossed her arms as she studied Boca strapping on her shoes. The tiny Sumerian had a will of iron. If she ever really accepted Chiang, he would have an interesting life talking her into every bloody little thing that was good for her.

“A dark past, huh?” Gwen repeated. “So how old do you have to be to have a dark past. You have one. Ania has one. Boca has one. Hell, I want a dark past too. I guess you think thirty-six Earth years isn’t long enough.”

“You’re an infant on this ship, much less in the universe,” Chiang teased, laughing again as he headed to Boca. “Earthlings don’t get interesting until just before their life force runs out.”

Gwen snorted. “Well, I bet this
infant
could still kick your Greggor ass if I needed to. Don’t be messing with my trainee tonight, Doctor Chiang. She’s had a hard day and needs some genuine rest. We have some new stuff planned for tomorrow. Plus it’s tattoo day.”

Boca looked up from fastening her shoes and laughed when Chiang lifted a finger in the air as he continued his walk towards her. His actions only made Gwen laugh loudly.

“Are you trying to rescue me by re-directing the commander’s irritation at you?” Boca asked, letting Chiang open the heavy workout room door for her. It was a small concession, and she was very tired.

“Perhaps. Why? Are you impressed?” Chiang asked.

“I was thinking that since your fingers are much bigger than mine, perhaps your much larger disrespectful gesture might count more heavily in the commander’s culture,” Boca said, limping out the door before she straightened.

Chiang smiled at Boca’s reasoning. “I don’t know if it works that way. But I appreciate the way you’re thinking. If you like, I can stick my hand back inside the room and do it once more before we leave.”

It filled him with pleasure to hear Boca actually laugh at his teasing offer as she shook her head.

“Tempting, but no, thank you. The commander would just make me pay for it tomorrow,” she said.

Chiang followed her down the hall, the strangeness of his intense concern still not totally comfortable for him. He felt pride for what Boca was achieving and a paralyzing fear for what she might become. His instincts were conflicted over her training, he decided. That was just how it was.

“Are you taking your rest with me again tonight? I promise to restrain myself. If you sleep without clothing, I can massage your pain away,” Chiang offered, meeting her gaze when she looked up as they walked.

“Can you be trusted to restrain yourself?” Boca said. “Last night I started to trust, but this morning I wanted to harm you.”

“I can be trusted,” Chiang said tightly. “If I couldn’t, all three of those ensigns would be in Medical getting their bodies repaired.”

Boca laughed sharply. “Am I supposed to be grateful that you minded your own business?”

Chiang shrugged, making her snort and shake her head. “You never answered my question. Are you sleeping with me tonight?”

Boca glanced at Chiang out of the corner of her eye and caught his hopeful gaze. “I guess I can take my rest beside you, but know that it would not be wise to disturb my sleep. Ania let me practice with blades today.”

“Threats now?” Chiang asked, grinning at her words. He must be a disturbed male to find such talk from her arousing. Perhaps it was that he’d held her delightfully muscled, naked body all night and found great comfort in touching her. “Do you have enough energy left to lift knives?”

Too tired to even demand he take her seriously, Boca snorted again. “Must you always be so flippant?”

“Only when the female I invite to my bed starts talking about using knives on me if I displease her. Not exactly a great start for a relationship.”

“We do not have a
relationship
,” Boca said. “I do not know what we are doing together, but it is not a relationship.”

“Agreed. Let’s say you are a casual female who has nothing better to do than to sleep naked on top of me in my tiny bed. I do this all the time. Very casual. Very temporary,” Chiang declared. “Better?”

“I am only staying with you because I seem to have no choice,” Boca said sharply.

“There is always a choice,” Chiang said firmly, wondering if he was lying as he held open the door to Medical for her.

Chapter 6

Seta was studying those surrounding her in welcome, mostly wondering what had possessed her to accept a commission on this small, way too intimate Peace Alliance ship where they talked ceaselessly about their relationships to each other. It was less money, more work, and during her initial briefing she discovered she was also going to share night bridge duty.

Shades of Kellnor
, she hadn’t done night bridge duty since her second year out of academy.

Plus her crew mates were all strange creatures putting off massive amounts of energy that almost overwhelmed her sharp senses. They also exercised unidentifiable thought processes outside the comfort of the professional demeanors that had been rigorously maintained on the Paladin and her other contracted ships. Close proximity to such erratic spirits had kicked her assessment abilities into a level of awareness she had never felt outside of a mission.

Oh, they were all professionally polite enough when you first met them, Seta thought as she tried to be fair, but she could sense an undercurrent that was not normal or calm. Regretfully, there hadn’t been time to ask Rena for her view of them yet. Captain Synar had kept her occupied almost until the very moment she’d had to come to this reception in her honor. Attention drifting between conversations as she tried to figure it out, Seta lost track of what was being discussed and had to ask to hear their words again.

“The day has been hectic and I’m growing tired. Forgive my rudeness for asking again, but how many mated couples did you say were on the Liberator?”

Seta saw Rena give her the usual pay-more-attention look, which she blatantly ignored as she always did.

“We have only a few committed mate pairs,” Dorian said casually, answering for everyone, but sparing her the Siren declaration he wanted to make about his own mating status. Bragging about it hovered on his tongue always, but it embarrassed Gwen to hear him stake a public claim to her, so he frequently bit it back.

“There are also a few uncertain sets of bonding pairs. Two of the mated pairs are here to greet you. The Commander and I are officially mated. And as I’m sure you know, Captain Synar is mated to Peacekeeper Ania Looren.”

“Peacekeeper? Have I met her?” Seta asked, curious to see the female the moody yet stoic Norblade had mated. Captain Synar’s intensity had already strained her nerves today.

“Not yet,” Malachi said, defending his absent host. “Ania has been training Ensign Ador for the Lotharius mission and therefore has to do her own training exercises after those activities are done. I’m sure you’ve heard that two of our crew are going to Lotharius to scout for the location of the hostage. Many on the ship are involved in seeing to their preparations.”

“Yes. I was informed by my previous captain and admit to not understanding. What is so special about your crew members? No disrespect to the Liberator’s crew, but there are many trained in covert operations serving on the Paladin,” Seta explained, sipping a beverage that was surprisingly good. Apparently the Liberator bartered for real food supplies instead of routinely using the emulators all ships contained.

“No offense taken,” Gwen said, biting back her annoyance as she addressed the Ethosian female with a brief direct gaze and then looked away, following the protocol of her new lieutenant’s culture. “We are strangers to you for the moment, Lieutenant Trax. In time, I believe the answer to your question will become quite apparent. The warriors among our crew are unique.”

Seta smiled at her new commander’s arrogance, even as she appreciated the pride behind it. She had never served so closely with an Earthling who had been given such power. Despite their innate cleverness at finding unique solutions to dilemmas, Earthlings were mostly known for unreasonable emotional reactions and the exercise of less than desirable control over themselves.

She had to admit though that there was something, while almost indefinable, still quite appealing about the passionate Commander Jet. Perhaps it was the utter satisfaction in the female’s possessive gaze as she surveyed the small number of occupants in the room, not to mention the way she always kept one keen eye on her very attractive mate. Maybe what impressed Seta most was that she could tell the Liberator’s Siren counselor returned her loyalty completely.

The male’s utter devotion actually relieved a huge concern Seta had felt coming to a ship where she had seen that the males outnumbered the females by quite a large margin. Hearing there was a Siren onboard the Liberator who outranked her had not been great news. Fending off Warro had taught her to be wary of that culture, no matter how constrained their natures appeared to be. Seta hadn’t looked forward to wasting her time pushing off bonding advances in her new job as she had in her old one.

“I look forward to seeing the Liberator’s crew validate your claim, Commander,” Seta answered politely, bowing her head to the out-spoken female even as she risked the irreverent remark. When the door to the conference room opened, all eyes turned to see who the newcomer was, relieving Seta of having to continue the awkward discussion.

“Oh good, now you can meet Captain Synar’s mate,” Dorian said, relieved to see Ania show up before his distrustful mate decided to prove her point by kicking their new Lieutenant’s quietly challenging ass.

***

Ania entered the room, still wearing the workout gear that she’d had the bursar order to fit her much more robust form. The exercise had exhilarated her. It had taken weeks for her Terris Rein wounds to completely heal, but now she was finally starting to feel like herself again. Soon she would be ready to ask Gwen or Dorian for sparring, but she would not do so until she stood a good chance of actually winning.

She nodded at her captain and mate, smiling back when Synar smiled and motioned for her to join the group. Seeing everyone in pressed uniforms except for the one female in a long, well-made gown, Ania wished she had stopped by their quarters to change into more appropriate attire for an officer welcome. Chiding herself for caring about fashion in the midst of more pressing issues, she started across the floor and then froze, her intuition sending her immediately into full alert mode.

Looking over those huddled around the new females, Ania searched for the danger before sliding her eyes to the new lieutenant easily identified by the freshly pressed Liberator uniform shirt. Then her gaze landed on the almost physical mirror of the new lieutenant standing nearby in a floor-length gown like the type Sarinnea often wore to formal gatherings. The energy signature in the second female exceeded the limits of her danger alarm. Before Ania could check her actions, she was running across the floor and had disabled the second female with a quick push on her forehead and a sharply spoken command. As she watched the beautifully attired female slump to the floor unconscious, Ania heard another female call out and turned just in time to see the Liberator’s new lieutenant fall unconscious at Gwen’s feet.

“How fascinating,” Ania said. “They appear to be linked energetically.”

“
Shades of Kellnor, Ania
,” Synar exclaimed, totally in shock. “
What in the raging fires of Helios have you done?
”

“Saved us all from a demon attack at the very least,” Ania said calmly to her mate and captain, before turning to the sound of Malachi clapping his hands for her actions.

“Bravo, my amazing host. You never cease to astound me,” Malachi declared, walking over and stooping down to investigate the female in the gown. “How did you know which one was the greatest danger? Seta is the one with the demon, or at least that’s Rena Trax’s story.”

“
Demon?
I thought you said you were wrong, that there was no demon,” Dorian declared hotly, staring down at the now comatose females. Glaring, he also stooped to check Rena’s vitals and ended up nose-to-nose with Malachi. “So you lied to me?”

“By the Creators, I did so
only
because Rena Trax forced me to deceive you. She tortured me into agreement,” Malachi declared. “I don’t know what she is, but her power is greater than mine. She bound my mist form to Conor’s body, and I could not stop her from inflicting pain on it, which I
felt
. It was a horrendous experience. She froze both you and Seta Trax without even being present in the room.”

“What were her reasons for acting that way?” Dorian demanded, placing a hand on each side of Rena’s head. A shocked stream of Siren spewed out of him before Malachi had time to answer. Most of the people in the room drew in a shocked breath, followed by several rapid denials.

“Of course. I should have known,” Malachi said, rising to look down at her. For all her power, she wasn’t so intimidating now.

Dorian’s hands came up to rub his face in disbelief as he stared at the Ethosian female. How could he have been so blinded to her energy’s true nature? And how could all of them treat her with such a lack of regard?

“Are you certain of what you see?” Ania and Synar both asked, eyes widening at what Dorian had discovered inside the now unconscious female.

“Aye,” Dorian said, rising and shaking his head. “I have only experienced the energy once before, but it is unforgettable. My guess is that the entity only allows this situation because it serves some higher purpose for her. Either that—or the Creators have abandoned her to face her fate with us. This seems unlikely.”