Return of the Ascendant (The Ascendant Series) (6 page)

It only took him a moment to realize he hadn’t thought this through very well. He hadn’t realized how hearing her disrobe would influence his thoughts. Before long, his forearms started tingling. Swallowing hard, he stared at the curtains and tried counting to ten. When that didn’t work, he increased the number to twenty. The pain in his forearms intensified.

Out of desperation, he parted the curtains to look outside, intending to distract himself by searching for possible threats. Only when he saw that the darkness beyond the window turned the glass into an effective mirror did he realize the extent of his mistake.

His gaze remained frozen on Kyr. She had removed her previous garments and now wore only the white lace panties he had just scanned. Thankfully, she was mostly facing away from him as she reached for her bra. Still, the glimpse he got of her bare skin made him forget to breathe.

It wasn’t only his forearms that pained him then. He was forced to adjust his stance to ease the pressure in his jeans. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to drop the curtain until she had donned the rest of her clothes. He supposed he was embracing the concept of self-torture.

When she sat on the bed to put on her socks and shoes, he lowered the curtain and got himself under control. The pain in his forearms eased and he imagined he’d be able to walk without too much discomfort. Relieved, he waited for her to tell him it was okay to turn around and then he walked past her to unlock the door. He was careful to keep his expression contained.

No one could know how he felt about Kyr. No one.

Chapter 9

Why was she so disappointed that Ty wasn’t attracted to her?

Kyra didn’t know the answer, but there was no denying how deflated she felt as she watched him turn the lock on her door handle without giving her so much as a passing glance. After his reaction to seeing her bra on the bed, she’d expected…well, she didn’t know. Something other than the cool expression he wore now.

Her gaze fell on his right forearm as he grabbed the door handle to open it. She gasped when she saw the series of thin white lines covering it. They were so faint that she hadn’t noticed them in the darkness. The symbols she saw were intricate and beautiful.

“What are those?” she asked.

A small furrow appeared between his eyes. She realized it might have been rude of her to ask. What if they were scars?

“A constant reminder of my place,” he said at last.

Before she could question him further, he opened the door and walked out. She followed him, not knowing what to say. Although she had no idea why, she felt responsible for the markings. For all she knew, maybe she was.

He led her into the kitchen, where Sam—
Sem
, she reminded herself—stood eating a sandwich. Ty gave him a look. He shrugged.

“What?” he asked around a mouthful of food. “I’m starving and you were taking forever.”

Ty didn’t respond. He walked over to the kitchen sink and started running the water. Kyra opened the fridge and pulled out a can of Diet Coke. She figured she’d probably need the caffeine if the rest of the night was anything like the past few hours had been.

“How far away is this place?” she asked.

“A couple of hours,” Ty replied as he wet the same dishcloth Sem had used to wash himself.

“By air,” Sem added.

Kyra paused with the can halfway to her mouth. “I don’t have my driver’s license or any money. How are we going to fly anywhere? Is there a spaceship around I don’t know about?”

“We will fly in an airplane, and you don’t have to worry about the details,” Ty said.

She caught Sem’s glance as Ty washed his face and neck. “Is he always like this?”

He swallowed a bite of sandwich and grinned. “If you think this is bad, just wait until we get to Alametria.”

His smile was contagious. He had a dimple in one cheek that always made her think he was up to mischief. She found herself returning it, even though his reminder of where they were ultimately headed made her stomach lurch. He offered her a bite of his sandwich, but she shook her head. The Diet Coke was plenty, and it would be iffy as to whether she kept even that down thanks to her nerves.

A couple of minutes later, Ty finished his clean-up. “Let’s go,” he said.

The guy sure wasn’t one for tact or small talk, she thought. He gave orders and expected them to be followed. He was clearly used to having people obey him. Considering his size, demeanor, and the way he’d handled himself against the Shelvaks, she thought she understood why. She wasn’t entirely sure about the relationship between Sem and Ty, but she got the sense that her friend didn’t take kindly to being ordered around by his cousin. She sure empathized.

Nevertheless, she followed Ty out the front door. As much as it chafed to be told what to do, getting killed would suck a whole lot more. She knew she was safest near Ty.

They got into the sedan, this time with her in the front passenger seat. Sem grumbled about it, but Ty gave him one of his looks and Sem quieted down. Within a minute, they were loaded and ready to go.

Another sense of finality struck Kyra as Ty put the car in reverse and backed them out of the driveway. She kept her eyes on the house she’d lived in with the only parents she knew until it disappeared from sight. Only when she turned to face forward did she realize that her vision was blurred with tears.

Two fell. Then two more. She struggled to battle them back.

Ty reached over, startling her. He opened the glove compartment and pulled out a couple of napkins that looked like they’d come from a fast food restaurant. She didn’t ask how they’d gotten there. She just accepted them with a quiet thank-you.

He didn’t comment on her condition, for which she was grateful. They drove the forty-five minutes to the airport with only the sound of the local Top 40 station to fill the silence. She had a million questions, such as what was going to happen to her parents’ house and the apartment she had rented with Avana, but she knew Ty was intent on driving and making sure they were safe. The last thing she wanted to do was distract him and end up in a car wreck because the Shelvaks had found them.

She spent the travel time reviewing what she’d learned so far. On her home planet, Alametria, she was called Ma’jah Kyr…the Ascendant. Although she didn’t know exactly what that meant, Sem had jokingly called her “the ruler of worlds.” She was afraid to ask whether that was true. She hadn’t even wanted the responsibilities of dorm monitor, for crying out loud.

Her birth parents—and just thinking that term tore at her heart—were two people that Ty had called the Guardians. Their titles made her think that they were acting in key leadership positions on Alametria. Her parents—her
Kyndred
, she reminded herself—had said something about living with her in a palace. Maybe her birth parents were like a king and queen and she was like a princess, she thought. That wouldn’t be so bad. If they were the leaders right now, she could learn more about what it meant to rule over…what, exactly? A kingdom? The entire planet? Galaxies?

Her heart started having palpitations, so she dismissed the thought and moved on.

The Shelvaks were enemies of Alametria. As such, they apparently sought to harm her since she carried a significant role among the Alametrians. Ty had been assigned as a sort of personal bodyguard to protect her. He was either highly perceptive or had the ability to read her mind, as several times he had answered questions or addressed thoughts that she hadn’t said out loud. She took that in stride. If it was true, it would hardly be the most incredible revelation she’d received that night.

Ty had called himself her Mynder, and Avana had told her that Sem was also a Mynder. She assumed that was the Alametrian term for bodyguard. It sort of made sense, she reasoned. Humans sometimes said things like, “minding their children” as a form of taking care of them and protecting them. Maybe Alametrians used the term in a similar way. Which meant Sem and Ty were trained to protect.

Avana, on the other hand, was a Divyner. Kyra should have known that the times her roommate spaced out weren’t a result of some illness. She’d never bothered to look up the condition that Avana handed to her because it felt like an invasion of privacy. Even if she had, she suspected she would have found that one of the side effects of the illness or the recommended medications was lightheadedness or something else she would have accepted as a reason for Avana’s space-outs. She’d had no reason not to.

What had Avana foreseen back in Sem’s dorm room? Why hadn’t Ty or Sem asked her? If Ty was a mind reader, he clearly hadn’t read Avana’s vision, as he asked her a question about it later. So were the visions sacred or taboo or something?

There was so much she didn’t know.

She pushed that aside as they arrived at the airport. Ty pulled the car into the short-term parking garage. She wondered why he wasn’t putting it in long-term parking since it wouldn’t be noticed as quickly there.

“We don’t want to park on a level that would require using an elevator or stairs to get to the terminal,” he said. “Someone will move the vehicle after our flight departs.”

“So you
can
read my mind,” she murmured.

He didn’t reply. She was learning that if an answer was obvious, he didn’t bother justifying it with a response. The guy was economical with his words, she’d give him that.

“He can read everyone’s minds,” Sem said.

She blinked at that. “Then why don’t you know what happened to disrupt the transition? Can’t you just tune into the people out in space and find out?”

Sem chuckled. “It’s limited by distance, Kyra.”

Ty looked at him in the rearview mirror.

“Ma’jah Kyr,” Sem corrected himself.

He sounded exasperated. Kyra couldn’t blame him. She didn’t understand the need for all of the formality here on Earth when she didn’t even remember the significance behind it. It was important to Ty, however, and Sem seemed willing to humor him.

They pulled into a spot and Ty cut the engine. “Stay seated,” he told her. “I’ll come around and get you.”

She exchanged a knowing look with Sem over her shoulder as he climbed out of the car. She unfastened her seatbelt and waited for Ty to open her door. Sem, having been seated right behind her, beat him to it. Seeing the stare that Ty gave Sem, she decided not to get out of the car until Ty reached her.

The cousins exchanged a long look over her car door. She glanced between them, wondering what the hell was going on. Maybe since Sem was a Mynder, he could also hear thoughts? It sure looked like they were speaking without words.

Finally, Ty reached down and helped her out of the car. “You will stay by my side. There are many shadows in this garage.”

Her eyes widened. “You think the Shelvaks are waiting in this garage?”

“I think they will explore all avenues of transport out of town.”

“Oh.”

She allowed Ty to take her arm and lead her away from the car as Sem trailed behind them. It was pride alone that kept her from clinging to him. Their recent experiences had given her good reason to fear walking in shadows. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to sleep in total darkness again.

Parking garages late at night were always a little creepy. Tonight, she felt like she was in the middle of a slasher film. It was late enough that there were no other people on this level. The silence made her hyper-aware of her harsh breathing. Every dark void between vehicles looked sinister. The flickering fluorescent bulbs offered little hope that they’d remain lit.

By the time they reached the far side of the parking garage and prepared to cross at the pedestrian crosswalk to get to the terminal, Kyra’s stomach was churning with fear. She ended up clutching Ty’s arm, despite her desire to look brave in front of the guys. Only when they reached the terminal did she relax a little.

Then she kept her hand on Ty’s arm because she liked the feel of his taut bicep.

Sem moved up to walk on her other side once they were in the well-lighted ticketing area. He looked over at her and grinned.

“Well, Alice,” he said. “Are you ready to go through the looking glass?”

It was as apt a question as any, she supposed. Her world right then was crazier than anything Lewis Carroll had ever penned. As Ty led her with purposeful strides through the nearly-empty airport, she knew she was going through that looking glass whether she was ready or not.

Chapter 10

They approached a nondescript counter on the far side of the terminal. Kyra looked around for any signage indicating which airline they’d be flying, but couldn’t find anything. She would have passed right by the counter thinking it wasn’t in use if she’d been any other passenger traveling through the airport.

A blonde woman in her mid-to-late forties stood behind the counter. She wore a navy blue suit without any logos on it. Her silver name badge read, “Margo.”

Ty released Kyra’s arm and stepped in front of the counter. “Dane to speak with Rinaldi,” he said without preamble.

The woman must have been used to such requests. “Of course, Mr. Dane. One moment, please.”

Her gaze swept over Kyra and Sem as she lifted the phone on the small desk behind the counter. As she pressed a button and lifted the receiver to her ear, her gaze shifted back to Kyra. Her head tilted as though she was wondering if they’d ever met.

Ty shifted, blocking her view. Kyra guessed he didn’t want people asking too many questions.

“How does he know all this stuff?” she whispered to Sem. “He didn’t even need directions to the airport.”

“There’s always a contingency plan for an extraction,” he replied just as quietly. “Several, in fact. He would have memorized the locations of the closest airports, bus stations, and train depots, and he’d know all the major routes out of the area by car.”

“And this Rinaldi person…who’s he?”

“I have no idea. Ty would’ve learned the names of our contacts at every possible evacuation point, though. We keep Alametrians stationed in each of our usual training areas for reasons like this. They assume human identities, though, to blend in.”

Kyra heard the phone clicking back into the cradle. The ticketing agent—if that’s what she was—said, “Rinaldi will be here momentarily, sir.”

Looking back at Sem, Kyra said, “So the people we’ll be encountering on this trip are Alametrians based here on Earth?”

“Not everyone.” He nodded at Margo. “Some are humans who enjoy making a lot of money and don’t ask a lot of questions.”

“Why couldn’t I have gotten a job like that?” she asked with a smile.

“Because you ask too many questions,” Ty responded.

She looked at him in surprise. Had that actually been a joke by the ever-stoic
Dem-Shyr
? She decided since his face was as non-expressive as ever that it couldn’t have been. He was just answering her question.

Turning back to Sem, she asked, “Can you hear thoughts, too?”

He shrugged. “I can hear Ty’s thoughts since he’s the
Dem-Shyr
, and if I’m assigned to protect someone, I can read theirs.”

“So you can read mine?”

“Only the
Dem-Shyr
can read the Ascendant’s thoughts.” Seeing her look of relief, he grinned. “Glad that I can’t hear your inappropriate thoughts about me, Kyra?”

Ty gave them both a quelling look.

“Mr. Dane,” came a female voice, making them all look over. “I’m Rinaldi. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Kyra watched as a gorgeous woman stepped next to Margo. She must have come out of the door behind the counter. Ty was blocking most of her view, so she wasn’t sure. Margo gave a slight bow and made a discreet disappearance, leaving the four of them alone at the counter. Sem urged Kyra forward until they stood closer to Ty.

It took her a moment to process the reality that Rinaldi wasn’t a fifty-year-old, rotund Italian guy. The last person she’d been expecting was this tall, model-thin bombshell with long, strawberry-blonde hair, striking sapphire blue eyes, and an Armani suit. Next to her, Kyra felt like a dwarfish hobo.

And when Rinaldi looked at Ty with more than just friendly interest, Kyra wanted to leap over the counter and leave a mark on her flawless face.

Ty glanced at her, reminding her that he could read her thoughts. Heat scorched her cheeks as she pretended to be interested in the aging ceiling tiles. Why the hell was she reacting this way to a guy she’d only known for a few hours?

You’ve known him much longer than that
, an inner voice told her.

That brought her gaze back down from the ceiling.
Of course
. It wasn’t like she’d really never met him before. If he was her assigned Mynder, surely they’d known each other before she ended up on Earth. And it wasn’t likely that his appearance had altered that much over time, so if she was attracted to him now, that meant she had probably been attracted to him before.

She tuned back into the conversation when Rinaldi’s eyes widened and latched onto her. “Of course,
Dem
—Mr. Dane. I’ll take care of it immediately. Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll escort you through security myself.”

Ty didn’t respond. He took Kyra’s arm and led her a short distance away as Rinaldi picked up the phone and began issuing orders.

“Didn’t she know who you were when she saw you?” Kyra asked Ty, curious about the other woman’s reaction. “I got the impression that you’re some kind of bigwig on Alametria. Shouldn’t she know your face?”

“She knew who I was,” he said.

Kyra waited for him to explain. It had been obvious to her, at least, that Rinaldi was surprised by their presence. When he didn’t, she looked at Sem.

“She recognized him,” her friend explained. “She didn’t recognize you.”

Her mouth opened on another question, but Rinaldi said, “Right this way, Mr. Dane.”

Ty once again took her arm. She was beginning to expect it. They followed Rinaldi through the terminal, bypassing security through a special line. Kyra had no idea how or why, but whatever Rinaldi showed the security guard and said to him had them walking on to the gates without incident.

Every so often, Rinaldi looked over her shoulder and caught Kyra’s eye. It was like she wanted to say something or ask her a question. After the fourth time, Kyra almost blurted out a “What?” But Ty gave her arm a squeeze and she bit her tongue.

They traveled to a part of the airport Kyra had never seen. It was a lower level leading right out to where the planes were fueled. Her eyebrows rose towards her hairline as Rinaldi led them to what was clearly a private plane. It was smaller, sleeker, and fancier-looking than anything Kyra had ever seen outside of movies or TV.

A man and a woman stood at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the plane. Judging by the way they were dressed, the man was the pilot and the woman was a flight attendant. Both of them wore navy blue suits without any logos, just like Margo had.

Ty stopped walking about twenty feet from the plane. “Stay with Sem,” he told her.

The moment he stepped away, Kyra began to feel uneasy. She really clued into the fact that they were standing outside in the dark. Yes, there were lights surrounding the plane, but there were also a great many shadows. Her eyes moved over to a plane parked not too far from theirs. Half of it was cast in darkness. The hair on the back of her neck rose when she saw movement.

“It’s a canvas tarp moving in the breeze,” Sem said, following her gaze. “Don’t worry, Kyra. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

She tried to give him a smile to let him know she appreciated his reassurance, but it felt weak even to her. Ty had entered the plane with the pilot. Rinaldi was speaking with the flight attendant, another tall woman with red hair. Kyra wondered if they were related. She couldn’t ever remember seeing so many redheads before.

As if they knew she was thinking about them, both women suddenly looked at her and stopped talking. Kyra fought the urge to hide behind Sem. She felt like she was being weighed and measured.

“Don’t squirm,” Sem said close to her ear. “They’re both Alametrians. This is the first time they’ve ever seen you.”

“Why?” she asked. “Am I an Alametrian hermit or something?”

“You’re well-protected.”

She frowned. That was as vague a response as he could offer. What kind of life was she about to get transported to? It sure didn’t sound like one she wanted.

Ty exited the plane a few minutes later and walked over to her. Without a word, he took her arm and led her to the stairs. She supposed the plane had passed his inspection.

“Did you check the cargo hold and the bathroom?” she asked.

“Of course.”

She had been joking. He obviously wasn’t.

When they neared the bottom of the stairs, Kyra realized the flight attendant was gone. She must have already boarded. Rinaldi stepped forward just as Kyra’s foot hit the first stair. Ty immediately positioned himself between her and Kyra.

Kyra thought he was overreacting. She’d managed to survive a couple of Shelvak attacks already that night. She could handle one tall, skinny businesswoman.

“My apologies,
Dem-Shyr
,” Rinaldi said with a bow of her head. “I was just hoping to meet—”

“This is no time for pleasantries,” he interrupted.

“Of course.”

Kyra wanted to kick Ty for being so rude. As he ushered her up the stairs, she said, “It’s nice to meet you, Rinaldi. Thank you for your help.”

The other woman’s face lit up. She looked like she’d just been offered a knighthood by the Queen of England. Not speaking, she lowered herself into a deep bow.

Kyra was embarrassed by the display and returned her attention to not tripping up the stairs. That would be one sure way to show how unworthy of a bow she really was.

The pilot and the flight attendant both stood in the open doorway. They also bowed to her as Ty entered the plane first, standing between her and them and guiding her to a seat. Did he think one of them would try to stab her or break her neck? Why did everyone want to kill her? Was he just overprotective?

Wishing she’d never gotten out of bed that morning, she sat by the window and fastened her seatbelt. Ty took the seat next to her. Despite the fact that the seats were larger than on commercial flights, he seemed to fill up every available inch of space.

Sem sat in the aisle across from them. Kyra couldn’t even see him around Ty’s broad shoulders without leaning forward. She heard the flight attendant murmuring something to him, though, and his polite denial.

“Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in an aisle of your own?” Kyra asked.

Ty looked at her. “I sit where you sit.”

“I get that, but you’d only be a few feet away…”

She trailed off when he just stared at her. It was like reasoning with a brick wall.

“Can I get you anything,
Dem-Shyr
TaeDane? Ma’jah Kyr?” the flight attendant asked, stopping beside Ty.

Kyra noticed that she held her hands clasped tightly together. Was she nervous? Hopeful?

Just as Kyra started to ask for a Diet Coke, Ty said, “Nothing for us. Please tell the pilot we are ready for takeoff.”

At least he said please
, Kyra thought dryly.

“You know, Ty,” she said as the flight attendant bowed and headed for the cockpit, “I’m thirsty. We’re going to be on this plane for a couple hours, or so you said. Why can’t I have a Diet Coke?”

His gaze remained on the cockpit door. “You will refrain from eating or drinking anything on this plane.”

“What kind of explanation is that?” she asked in exasperation. “Do you think they’ve poisoned everything, for God’s sake?”

He didn’t reply. She started to laugh in disbelief. Then her face fell.

“Wait a minute. You really think that, don’t you?”

Once again, his lack of response was her answer. Her palms dampened as the pilot gave an announcement that they should remain seated for takeoff. She didn’t see the flight attendant, but imagined she was seated near the front by the cockpit. She couldn’t help but be paranoid.

“It’s not like they knew I was coming,” she said. “Right?”

Silence.

She wanted to think he was ridiculous. Talk about over the top! But then she considered the fact that Avana could see the future. If she could, that probably meant other Alametrians could, too. The idea that someone would have poisoned everything on the plane in an attempt to harm her made her want to leap up and run for home.

Glancing at Ty, she said, “Were you trained to think this way?”

He caught her gaze. “Yes.”

“Am I the only one you protect?”

“Yes.”

“How did you earn that duty?” she asked, envisioning some mass competition. Maybe there were many people vying for the honor of serving as her Mynder. That held a certain appeal.

He once again looked forward. “It was fated.”

What did that mean? “Fated?” she prompted when he didn’t continue.

He took his time responding, but eventually said, “We were born on the same date at the same time under the same star.”

“We were? Huh.”

She realized that she and Ty were the exact same age. That surprised her. It wasn’t so much that he looked older than her, but he certainly carried himself in a way befitting a much older guy.

“So…that means you were fated to be my Mynder?” she summed up.

“Yes.”

That all sounded rather mystical and woo-woo to her. It also sounded like Ty hadn’t been given any choice in the matter.

“What if you decided you didn’t want to be my Mynder?” she asked.

He didn’t reply. She supposed the question didn’t justify a response in his mind.

For some reason, she felt dejected. From the sound of things, Ty had been raised with the knowledge that he would be her Mynder and nothing else. It hadn’t occurred to her until that moment that she was nothing more than an obligation to him. He was essentially required to lay his life on the line every day to protect her.

Hell, she was more than an obligation. She was a burden.

“You should try and sleep,” Ty instructed her.

She wasn’t feeling tired, but she nodded and closed her eyes anyway. He didn’t need to see how upset he’d made her with his revelations.

He didn’t need to know how much she wished he was with her out of more than a sense of duty.