The Siren's Call (Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance) (FORCED TO SERVE) (34 page)

“The amount of compassion I have for you overwhelms me, and still I feel it growing,” Dorian said in amazement.

The chant of sharing life rose inside him as he stood and turned with Gwen in his arms. He knelt on the bed, laid Gwen back on the pillows, and followed his amazing mate down, never ceasing the chant. She squirmed and thrashed as it began its work.

“Zade—I mean, Dorian? What are doing? I feel like someone is sticking pins in me,” she said.

Ignoring her complaints, Dorian kept chanting, then finally closed his eyes on the last words, sending his silent pleas to the Creators to heed his will in the matter. He left the exact number up to them, but just asked that it be enough for the family they would create together.

Gwen felt a blaze of heat sweep through her burning every cell in her body. The intense sensation robbed her of breath and had her swearing in alarm.

“What the hell was that rush? You doing some kinky Siren sex thing to me, Zade?” she demanded. “That didn’t feel very good. You’re usually better than that.”

Tired with the effort of bestowing his gift, Dorian lay down beside her and stretched a possessive arm across her waist. “I was just making sure you will see our children grow up. The effects will start to manifest by morning. Now I must give my body to sleep in exchange. Try to do the same. Even the Creators need a bit of time to do their best work.”

“What are you talking about? I swear sometimes I can’t understand a thing you say. When you get all philosophical, I feel like I need an interpreter,” Gwen declared, turning her face to his, shocked to find her amazing mate already unconscious and snoring softly.

She reached out a hand and brushed his spiky growing hair off his forehead.

“Don’t look now, but you’re going to have to wear a headband to keep your hair back as it grows, which is going to make you look more female than me. Don’t worry though. If anybody says anything, I’ll kick their ass so you don’t have to. Consider it a perk for sleeping with a mate who outranks you.”

Gwen tried to turn on her side, but the arm across her stomach had her locked into place, flat on her back. He had done the same thing their “real” first time. It had her sighing, even as it reassured her.

“Okay, fine,” she conceded with grunt, closing her eyes. “Just for tonight I’m going to lie on my back and let you hold me. Don’t get too used to getting your way.”

Her sigh of resignation had his arm tightening even more.

Chapter 22

Standing nude in front of the large mirror in the spacious bathroom of the captain’s quarters, Ania turned her body and peered over her shoulder at the spot where the knife blade had entered. It was nothing more than a thin line now, barely an indentation, the healing not even discoloring the skin anymore. But the trauma of the wound had scarred her in ways that did not show because the slow healing injury had forcibly reminded her that she was not invincible.

Only after surviving the ordeal she barely remembered, had it occurred to her that if Malachi had still been resident in her, the demon’s power might have spared her from being stabbed. So the downside of his new host body was how vulnerable she was without him.

Of course, Malachi might also have been captured and put into the locket Synar had taken from her captor. Admittedly, it could have gone either way.

Yet studying her scar in the mirror, Ania realized that what remained to be dealt with was her new understanding of her mortality, which was ironic considering not so long ago she’d been determined to seek her own death. If it had not been for Malachi, she might have continued to seek it. Her link to the demon was becoming more apparent to her as time passed.

The male waiting in their bed for her had also changed that desire, as had meeting and helping others onboard the Liberator. She had more to live for now than she’d had in all her years of being an ambassador. And whether she liked acknowledging it or not, meeting and mating Liam Synar had brought both chaos and purpose to her existence.

Turning around to fully peer at her reflection, Ania pushed her dark hair back to better stare into her own blue gaze. Knowing what disturbed her was helpful, she supposed, but she was making little progress in facilitating her own healing. Something energetic was obviously in the way. Since she had been comatose for most of the time she was captured, Ania suspected it wasn’t from reliving the trauma of her ordeal on Terris Rein. No, it was—other things that continued to disturb her.

As an ambassador who fought to live peacefully, she had never done much that she had to regret. But a warrior tended to make mistakes all the time, which was another thing her capture had made quite clear to her. This meant she had to learn to deal with the bad things that happened because it was doubtful that Terris Rein was going to be the last time she would get surprised. It was old wisdom that she had forgotten.

Ania sighed and sent a quick prayer to the Creators, trying to convince them—and herself—that she had learned her life lesson from what happened on Terris Rein.

Since her mate rarely allowed her to sleep in clothes, Ania didn’t bother with them as she left the bathroom. Bonding with her mate often had the power to banish her concerns, and she had decided to take advantage of that ability this sleep cycle.

“I had begun to wonder what you were doing in there,” Synar said, smiling when Ania emerged still naked. “Thank you for not wearing clothes.”

Ania snorted. “You don’t have to thank me, Liam. I’m not up to the wrestling match that takes place when you insist on undressing me each sleep cycle.”

Synar laughed, really laughed. “No clothes is better, but I like making you beg for bonding,” he said with a satisfied smile. “And since I like ripping off your undergarments, I personally asked the bursar to keep a large supply of hygiene straps onboard.”

“Yes. I am well aware of your peremptory seduction methods,” Ania said dryly, climbing under the covers her mate lifted high enough to let her in beside him. “I also admit to sometimes enjoying them.”

She let Liam pull her into his arms, sighing at the same feeling of relief she always felt being held by him. “Will you promise me something, Liam?”

“Perhaps. What would you have me vow?” Synar asked warily.

“If I die, will you promise to seek another mate? It is my wish for you to do so. I need to know you will not remain alone in your life’s journey,” Ania said softly.

Synar pulled her closer. “Why ask me such a thing? You are not dying. Neither Malachi nor I will let you.”

“No. I am not dying,” Ania agreed. “But my time on Terris Rein humbled me, and it reminded me that I could easily do so. Even Malachi does not have the power to prevent my death from happening eventually. I don’t like to think of you being alone.”

The thought of losing her had Synar tightening his hold. “I cannot think of losing you. Do not ask me to do so. Tell Dorian or Gwen your wishes in the matter. Or tell Malachi. Your confidant can remind me should the need ever arise.”

“As you wish,” Ania said, sighing at the pleasure of his stroking hand.

They were both silent for a long time.

Finally, Synar spoke quietly. “I feel your distress. It has been growing all week, and now it is an energetic wall around you. Will you tell me the cause and let me help?”

“Warriors are not supposed to worry about anything, much less everything. I know how to set it all aside, but I cannot purge my concerns from the depths of me,” Ania admitted.

“This is the purpose of a mate—or it should be. Share them,” Synar said.

“Alright, here’s the short list. I am worried about being a bad mother. I am worried about Malachi’s spirit. I am worried about sending Boca back to Lotharius,” Ania said.

“Well first—you could never be a bad mother. Look how you worry about everyone on the Liberator,” Synar said softly. “And if you agree to have my children, I would simply look for someone willing to come onboard as a day-to-day caregiver. Or we will look for a planet assignment that would allow me to be with you to help until the children require less daily care.”

“I could never ask you to give up the Liberator or the life you have chosen here, Liam. I know what being captain means to you,” Ania said sincerely. “And I have come to see that you serve the Creators in your tasks.”

“Yes, well, no ship means as much to me as you do. And you are not asking me to give up anything, I am offering a compromise,” Synar said, shrugging one shoulder. “I do want children, but I don’t expect you to bear the entire burden of them. You are not that kind of female.”

“I am not any kind of female really,” Ania said softly. “I have never been normal.”

“Which is precisely your allure for me,” Synar said, leaning to kiss the curving mound of one breast. “That’s why I cannot promise anything about taking future mates. My standards for females are skewed by having mated the most extraordinary one the Creators ever made.”

“Liam—” Ania said, too emotional to say more than his name. Normally his flattery didn’t affect her much, but she had come too close to losing what they had to take it lightly anymore.

“So you must tolerate your own uniqueness, and the fact that I am addicted to it,” Synar said, grazing the front of her with his lips. “But I sense my compassion for you is not among your gravest concerns. Know that I finally wish to ease your spirit more than I wish to avoid the discussion of any topic.”

“Have I been a bad mate?” Ania asked in a whisper as Liam rolled onto her and braced his elbows on either side of her to stare down into her face.

“No—just an intense one,” Synar said. “So let us talk. Explain your biggest concern. What do you dwell on the most each day?”

Ania took a breath. It was the opening she’d been waiting for with him. “Okay—I suppose my primary concern is Malachi’s limitations as he lives in Conor’s body.”

“As much as I wish he could remain celibate, I do not want bonding frustration to become an issue that prompts the demon to mischief or anger. Norblades have strong physical needs. We will tell Malachi that he can bond with females who will have him so long as he does not use more coercion than a normal male might in wooing someone into his bed,” Synar said with a frown. “The puzzle of figuring out the balance might slow him down some.”

Ania sighed beneath the weight of her favorite male. “I know it’s the equivalent of telling a young male child about bonding and sending him off with permission to indulge. I don’t want this anymore than you do, but I believe it’s the right choice.”

“You sincerely believe the demon is changing, don’t you?” Synar asked.

“Yes. There have been several times lately where Malachi has chosen being honorable over serving himself. That is much progress for a creature like him,” Ania said sincerely.

“If Malachi is indeed changing, I will concede it is because of you. Instead of wishing to kill the slave owners on Terris Rein, he insisted we do something like you would to teach them all a life lesson. He removed every slave collar, blew up power sources to disable their weapons, and was gleeful about the slaves revolting. The Peace Alliance reports that many thousands of slaves have been freed in an unprecedented planet-wide rebellion,” Synar said dryly.

“I did not hear of this massive rebellion,” Ania said on a laugh. “Thank you for telling me. Malachi has not shared much beyond telling me you and he had an accord in the matter of the rescue.”

“With the exception of the male who stabbed you that Malachi killed, I was far more bloodthirsty than the demon was about your captors,” Synar said. “I suppose you could consider that evidence of some sort of change.”

“Thank you for agreeing to let him form deeper relationships,” Ania replied, sighing. “I do not look forward to having to monitor his bonding partners, but through them I think Malachi will learn to care even more.”

“So we have an accord on one matter. Now for the next, let me just say that whether we ever have children or not, it will not lessen your value to me as my mate,” Synar said. “I understand your concerns. There’s no reason for this decision to be an energy struggle inside you. Let us leave it in the hands of the Creators and agree to discuss it again in a year.”

“Okay,” Ania agreed, glossing over his reassurances. She could tell Liam was not completely sincere, but a year’s delay in the matter was good enough for now.

“Unfortunately, that’s all the ease I can give you at the moment. I cannot change my mind about sending Boca Ador back to Lotharius. She has offered and has the best chance of finding out what we need to know. I don’t like the idea of sending Chiang with her, but the Greggor male is insistent on being her escort. He is claiming to be her mate,” Synar said, still a bit in disbelief.

“It is more than a claim, but Chiang and Boca do not yet have an accord about their mating,” Ania said, letting out a breath.

“Are you upset at me for wanting to send her?” Synar asked.

“How can I be when Boca wants badly to go? Every entity should choose his or her own destiny. Besides, I would be outnumbered because Gwen agrees with you in the matter. She is insistent that we train Boca to fight better. So I will focus my attention on doing that,” Ania said.

“So—have we resolved all your concerns?” Synar asked.

Ania looked inside for worry. Her mate has lessened her concerns greatly. “I feel much better to be of a like mind with you on at least these issues.”