Revealed (27 page)

To his surprise, Sophia jumped as though she’d been stung. “The Blackness which Eats the Stars!” she gasped. “That’s what she said—she said The Blackness which Eats the Stars was coming!”

Sylvan felt his heart clench in his chest. “Are you certain? Because if you’re right, this is a very serious thing indeed.”

“But…but I thought they were just an old legend. You just said so yourself.”

“I said we had ancient legends about them but that doesn’t make them untrue. A millennium ago the last Counselor
 
of
First World
waged a mighty war upon them. He won, but at the cost of his own life and that of his female. Some say he killed every last one of their relentless number but others say a few survived to grow and multiply under the burned crust of their arid world. Hiding until their numbers were enough to wipe out the stars.”

Sophia looked scared. “But that’s still just a story, right? And besides, how bad could they be? I mean, the Kindred defeated the Scourge, right? The Hoard couldn’t be worse than they were.”

Slowly, Sylvan shook his head. “The Scourge were a dying race led by a mad male. The AllFather was sickened and corrupted by his own power. In the end, they had almost no true warriors left, only vat grown soldiers without the sense the Goddess gave a child. But the Hoard…” He looked down, trying to think how to put it. “Have you ever heard the expression, ‘he fights like a demon?’”

Sophia nodded. “Sure. But it’s just an expression.”

“Not in this case. The Hoard
are
demonic, or what we consider to be demonic, anyway. They are soulless, seeking only to devour, to torture and maim and kill and ruin every living thing they come into contact with.” He sighed. “The Scourge were a twisted race but they grew that way gradually, polluting their home world and selling their virtue for monetary gain. The Hoard on the other hand…they cannot be reasoned with, cannot be tamed or bargained with. They can only be killed.”

Sophia bit her lip. “You make them sound like monsters.”

“Let me put it this way,” Sylvan said grimly. “The legends say that if a ship was boarded by a tribe of the Hoard, the passengers would be tortured, raped, skinned and eaten in that order—all while they were still alive.”

“Tortured and eaten and sk-skinned?” Sophia’s voice wavered. “That’s horrible. So barbaric! But what…why did they skin them?”

“According to legends, the more primitive Hoard tribes delighted in making garments from their victims’ skin.” Sylvan said. “They wore their trophies as a warning to the next ship they boarded.”

“Ugh!” Sophia shivered. “I’m so glad that all happened in the past and that it’s far, far away from us, near the Kindred home world.” She frowned. “What if by some chance they
did
come back? Would they be able to fold space and come get us?”

Sylvan shook his head. “The ability to fold space is a technology known only to the Kindred and the Scourge. So now, of course, only the Kindred have it. We guard its secret closely. But honestly, even if a hostile alien race were to get hold of it, it wouldn’t do them much good.”

“Why not?” Sophia asked.

Sylvan shrugged. “Because, it takes vast quantities of energy to create and sustain a controlled tear in the space-time continuum. Energy which now only Kindred Mother ships are able to make thanks to the artificial sun at their centers.”

“I see.” Sophia nodded. “So without the secret of the green sun and the technology to use it…”

“Any hostile race that wanted to spread through the universe would have to rely on existing worm holes,” Sylvan said. “And they are mostly too narrow and unstable for anything but a small scout craft to fly through.”

“So then we’re safe, no matter what the priestess said. Aren’t we?” Sophia looked at him hopefully.

“Yes, of course.” Sylvan drew her to him again. “Of course we are,
Talana,”
he murmured into her hair. But deep in his soul a stirring of unease had begun and he couldn’t tell if he was telling his beloved wife the truth…or a lie.

“All warmed up?” Rast asked as she stepped from the bathroom into the tiny living area of their ship.

“Yes, thank you. You were right—a hot shower was just what I needed.” Nadiah smiled shyly. She had dried herself off already and had her
tharp
draped around her in what Kat had called “toga style” with one shoulder bare. “You, uh, can take one now too, if you like. There should still be plenty of hot water left,” she said.

“Thanks.” Rast nodded. “I think I will. And don’t worry about anything, we’re already out of orbit and the autopilot has all coordinates locked in for the fold.”

“Will it take us five days to get back to it the way it took five days going?” Nadiah wanted to know.

“No, I don’t think so. If the calculations are correct, it should only take three days or so, Earth time.” He smiled. “So we’ll be back on the Mother Ship with all your friends in no time.”

“Oh. That’s…nice.” Nadiah tried to look happy but to tell the truth, she was rather disappointed. She’d been hoping for more time than that alone together with Rast.

He picked up on her mood at once. “What is it, sweetheart?” he asked, taking her hands in his. “Come on, we’re bonded now. You can tell me.”

Nadiah bit her lip. “It’s true we have a bond but it’s not…well, it’s not
sealed.”

Rast frowned. “Sealing the bond—your friend Lydiah said that several times, didn’t she? What was she talking about?”

“Um…” Nadiah felt her cheeks flushing. It was funny how easily she used to talk about sex with her girlfriends back on Tranq Prime. But now that she was alone in a ship with the man she actually wanted to give herself to, she found herself completely tongue-tied.

“Wow, whatever it is, it must be hot stuff. Come on, sweetheart, spit it out,” Rast said, grinning a little. Nadiah realized she’d been stalling for long enough.

“In order to seal the bond between us, you’ll have to change the color of my eyes,” she murmured, looking down at her hands. “I think you know what that means.”

“I know exactly what it means but I’m not going to do it. Not yet,” Rast said.

“What?” She looked up at him in dismay. “Then you don’t really love me? I thought you said—”

“Hey, whoa, slow down there.” Rast put a finger across her lips to stop the flow of worried questions. “First of all, know this—I love you like I’ve never loved anyone before.” He tilted her chin to look into her eyes and murmured, “To tell the truth, I’m fucking crazy about you.”

Nadiah gave him a trembling smile. “I’m insanely in love with you too. I think I have been for awhile, I was just afraid to admit it.”

“Me too,” Rast admitted, smiling.

“So then why—”

“Because I haven’t had a chance to talk to Sylvan yet.”

“But I thought you didn’t care what he said,” Nadiah protested.

“I don’t,” Rast said seriously. “I’m going to marry you whether he likes it or not. But I’m not going to make love to you and change the color of your eyes until
after
we tie the knot. I promised your cousin you’d be a virgin on your wedding day and that’s one promise I intend to keep.”

Nadiah sighed mournfully. “All right. I knew you were an honorable male from the start. I just wish…”

“What?” he said, laughing. “That I wasn’t quite
so
honorable.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, as it turns out, I’m not.” He leaned closer and his eyes were suddenly half-lidded with lust. “Not quite.”

“What…what does that mean?” The hungry way he was looking at her made Nadiah feel breathless.

“It means there are a lot of things we can do without taking that final step. Without changing the color of your eyes.” Rast tilted her chin again and placed a hot, gentle kiss on her lips. “Do you know what I mean?”

“I…I think so.” Suddenly Nadiah’s heart was beating so hard she could feel it in every part of her body. It seemed to shake her with its excited rhythm.

“Good.” Rast gave her a slow smile. “Then be ready for me when I come out of the shower. All right?”

“All right,” she murmured nodding.

“See you in a few minutes, then.” With a last, meaningful look, he headed into the bathroom.

Nadiah scrambled back to her tiny bedroom to get ready…then realized she really didn’t have much to do. She was already clean and naked under her
tharp,
her still damp hair falling in blonde waves past her shoulders. She never wore make-up and she didn’t have any perfume to put on. Still, shouldn’t she do
something?

Oh yes, of course!
She whispered a command to her
tharp
and suddenly it went from being slightly a furry, opaque blue to a sheer, white silky material that draped seductively over her curves. Nadiah looked down in mingled embarrassment and satisfaction and saw that the pink points of her nipples and the plump V of her pussy were both clearly visible beneath the new gown.
There, definitely sexier than blue fur,
she told herself. But was it too much? After all, she didn’t want Rast to think she was trying to make him break his vow. Although it
would
be extremely interesting to see how far she could push him…

Deciding to leave the
tharp
as the see through white gown, she tried to arrange herself in a seductive pose on the bed. Should she be lying on her back? No, too blatant. Sitting with her legs crossed? No, too demure. Well, what about on her side? Her breasts weren’t as full as some females’ she knew, but when she lay on her side, it formed some nice cleavage.

Just as she was deciding that the side was definitely the way to go, Rast suddenly appeared wearing only a towel slung low on his hips. His massive shoulders filled the doorway and droplets of water clung to his broad, bare chest. His eyes were burning as he took her in, naked beneath the silky, sheer
tharp
.

He didn’t say a word, just stood there and looked at her but the hungry expression his face made Nadiah forgot to worry about what position she was in. She only knew she wanted him and she could tell that Rast wanted her too. She whispered his name and held out her arms.

That was all it took. Rast was suddenly on the bed with her, kissing her with an urgency that seemed to set her on fire. She could feel her nipples turning into hard little points beneath her
tharp
and her pussy was getting hot and wet and slippery too–ready for him. Ready to let him in, to let him take her.

That’s not going to happen right now,
she reminded herself.
Not until we have an official joining ceremony.
Silently she vowed to haul her handsome human to the sacred grove to say vows the
minute
they landed on the Mother Ship. And after that…

“What are you thinking?” Rast murmured, surprising her. “You have the naughtiest look on your face.”

Nadiah blushed, then smiled, one corner of her mouth going up. “I was just thinking that I wish…wish we didn’t have to wait. And the minute we get back to the Mother Ship—”

“We’ll find the first handy priest. Or priestess or whatever to tie the knot,” Rast finished her thought with a grin. “I’m with you on that. But for right now, I think we need to take it easy.”

“You’re not leaving, are you?” Nadiah asked. “Please, Rast, I promise I’ll be good. You can trust me not to…not to do anything I shouldn’t.”

“The question is, can I trust myself?” He stroked her cheek. “But no, what I meant was let’s go slow so you can enjoy it. I mean, this is your first time being with anyone—is that right?”

Blushing, Nadiah nodded. “I’ve been promised to Y’dex all my life so I never even got to hold hands with another male.”

“Well, we’re going to do a lot more than hold hands tonight, I promise you that,” Rast murmured. “But slowly…I don’t want to rush things. Don’t want to scare you.”

“What are you going to do?” Nadiah asked, feeling her heart begin to race again.

“To start with? Touch you. Just touch you.” Rast smiled. “And I want you to lay there like a good little girl and let me do it. Can you do that for me, Nadiah?”

“I…I guess so.” She nibbled her bottom lip. “Should I take off my
tharp?”

“Not right away. You’re naked under it, right?”

She nodded and he made a low noise of approval deep in his throat. “Good. Just lie quietly on your back and let me touch you, then.”

Nadiah arranged herself as he directed, her heart thumping loudly in her ears. She expected him to touch her breasts or reach between her legs but Rast surprised her.

Starting at one of her burning cheeks, he stroked slowly downward, letting his fingertips trail over the sensitive side of her neck and down her bare shoulder. He did the same thing on the other side and then, starting at the point of her chin, he caressed down the pulse in her throat and the warm, bare skin between her breasts. His large hand came dangerously close to her curves but never quite touched them, making Nadiah feel like all her nerve endings were on fire with need.

“Rast,
please,”
she whispered, attempting to catch his hand and press it over her breast.