Roark
Closing my eyes, the strands of the newly-formed bond stretched out as I tried to feel the yellow-haired female, ensuring she remained unharmed.
Nothing.
I inhaled deeply and concentrated on her icy blue eyes, the shape of her slightly curvy body, and allowed my mind to stretch even more.
It didn’t work. The bond hadn’t had enough time to form.
Zorvak gripped my shoulder. Looking up, I jumped to my feet, spun around and faced him.
“What did I miss?” His gaze slid over the two dead Suntae.
“The Suntae. They had a yellow-haired female and I…”
I acted on instinct alone with no rational thought, and accidentally bonded with a female? These were not the actions of the Captain of the Royal Guard, but the impulsiveness of a youngling!
“And?” Zorvak prompted.
“And I tested for Compatibility.” Zorvak was smart enough to know what that meant, without me actually admitting what I did.
“I see.” He inhaled deeply; I could tell he was sorting through solutions. “Undoubtedly, they are heading to Ukan. We have two options. One, we can change course and rescue the female or two, you can go alone while I take Cami to have the NI removed.”
“I cannot leave you unprotected.”
Zorvak grinned darkly. “I think I can handle things.”
I did not need his help to rescue the female.
He clamped me on the shoulder. “Let us procure you a flyer from the space station, and gather our supplies.”
Using a space station flyer was not an optimal solution, but it was better than nothing. Space station flyers were nothing more than old, broken down heaps of metal which had been repaired enough to fly, but you could never tell how long they would hold up under extreme conditions.
Walking through the crowded passageways, my eyes touched on everyone within view, my mind constantly on the female. I’d never seen anyone look anything even remotely similar to her. Perhaps Cami…but no. Even if she was Human as I believed, she was unique.
As we walked, I felt the intense need to save her before she was sold at auction, or worse, sent straight to a pleasure ship.
My heart pounded wildly, but I kept my composure. I needed to be smart, to come up with a plan—not run in like a first-year guard in training.
After looking over the selections, we discovered (unsurprisingly) that all the flyers were in a state of disrepair. To be honest, I didn’t know if any of them would get me to Ukan, even though it was a short trip. Hopefully, the Humchins would make a couple of extra stops along the route, giving me time to arrive first. If I could take them by surprise, that would be the easiest way to rescue her.
Before leaving, I closed my eyes and concentrated, trying to reach her one last time, using the words she (I think it was her) used on me.
Is anybody out there?
Silence.
I tried again.
Is anybody out there?
I’d almost given up when I heard her say, So, now you want to talk?
Startled, I clamped Zorvak’s shoulder and said, “Wait.”