Interdict (3 page)

She nodded. "I understand, Viktor. Thank you, brother, for this opportunity."

"Take her with you, but know that she doesn't have shoes and none have been provided for her. You will be responsible for her from the skin outward. She comes with nothing and she has nothing."

"I will take her on as my charge and we will go from there." Corleen reached out and took Cynthia's hand. "Now, do we have your permission to go?"

The councillor waved his hand, Councillor Hael smiled and the female councillor glared.

Cynthia took in this strange set of events and knew now why she wouldn't write about it. Even she would never believe it.

Corleen was quiet as she piloted the small skimmer. "It was a quirk of nature that gifted our men with wings while the women have to rely on technology for flight."

"So I have been given to understand." Cynthia smiled.

"You aren't very talkative. Do you know why I saved you from the council?"

She looked carefully at Corleen and dredged her memory. "For Garo."

The woman nodded grimly. "Indeed. My eldest needs to find his mate and you are the one he dreams about."

"I dream about him as well."

"Do you think you can bear him a child? Are your genes compatible?"

Cynthia thought of all the medical procedures she had undergone just for this. "Yes, I am and I will have at least one daughter from whom will bloom all the psychic talents lying dormant in my genes."

"How do you know this?"

"A friend of mine could see the future and her words participated in leading me here. I take seers very seriously." She sat quietly on the bench in the skimmer and let Corleen steer them to a lovely home built into the side of a mountain.

"And did you mention this to the council?"

"From my research, the Drai are not very accepting of psychic talents. To tell them that one led me here would not really be a great idea."

Corleen chuckled. "Probably not. Despite the science-defying presence of shapeshifters among us, our folk do not really believe in those who can use their minds for things other than disapproving."

Cynthia didn't have to respond to that. They landed on a wide deck and Corleen immediately was at her side, waiting for her to come along.

When Cynthia followed the Drai woman, she stopped for a moment to admire the huge home that Corleen's mate had provided.

"So, you promise me a granddaughter?"

Cynthia blushed. "It depends on Garo. He doesn't seem to like the idea of an alien in his bed."

Corleen looked her up and down. "I am sure that with a little stimulation, he will get over it. He is a sensible male and his thoughts have been troubled of late."

She couldn't respond to that either. "Thank you for saving me from incarceration, Madam Weelich."

"Corleen, please. Come along now, we need to get working on dinner. The boys are all out for the afternoon and Garrik is on duty until sunset. Can you cook?" Corleen raised an eyebrow.

Cynthia inclined her head, "Let's find out."

Corleen nodded. "I think you are up to the challenge."

They entered the huge house, large enough for this woman to have raised four sons with her husband and not have killed any of them. The kitchen was well laid out and after a few false starts, they fell into a rhythm. Knives flew, dishes entered the oven and meat sizzled. By the time the sky began to suffer from the stain of sunset, everything was done and in a warming oven.

Corleen poured two glasses of wine and sat at the counter, gesturing for Cynthia to join her. "Now, what do you want me to tell the men? Garo will know what is going on, but he won't mention anything to his brothers if he can help it."

The baritone that answered her comment made them both jump. "You have that right, Mother. What do you think you are doing?" Garo's glare could have peeled paint.

Corleen calmly sipped at her wine. "I am welcoming this guest to our home."

Cynthia took in the breadth of his shoulders, the narrowing of his hips and the flex of his arms and then her gaze returned to the irritated look in his face. "Good afternoon, Wing Leader Garo."

He remembered his manners and gave her a short bow, his wings flaring out and framing his body in a dark halo. "Miss Norman. Welcome to Drai."

Chapter Five

Dinner was more of an inquisition than the previous few days and Corleen's family were masters at getting information from their guest.

"So, how many languages have you studied?" Garo's youngest brother, Vikkar, was genuinely curious.

"More than six, less than twelve." She shrugged.

"Do you have a mate back home?" Neral, the second youngest, was looking at her with a speculative gaze.

"No, I do not. When I left my world, it was understood that I would never be allowed to join with another of my kind and out here, it seems very unlikely to find another Terran."

Garo asked, "Would you want to?"

She shook her head. "No. Sometimes you just know when you need more than your own race has to offer." Her pointed look in his direction caused a darkening of the skin along his cheekbones.

Corleen took her mate's hand in hers and he lifted it to his lips in a loving reflex. "What matters is that you knew that your own kind were not for you."

"That is true. Even as an adolescent, I knew that something about the boys nearby wasn't quite right. It was a relief to leave." She finished her meal and waited for the men to go through their third helpings. Her touch in the kitchen hadn't screwed anything up, so that was a mark in her favour.

When Corleen and Garrik finished their meal, the others stood and started clearing the table.

Garo got to his feet and pulled her chair out for her. "Cynthia, may I have a word with you?"

She swallowed. That didn't sound good. "Of course."

He offered her his arm and she walked with him to the huge outer balcony that overlooked the mountains behind the house.

Away from prying eyes, he moved suddenly and lifted her, taking her mouth in an eating kiss that left her in no doubt as to his interest in her. She reached for him and he broke the contact, putting her back on her feet and releasing her abruptly.

He turned his back to her and faced the night sky.

She finally understood the comment that she had written to herself. "You don't want me."

He groaned, "What I want is a normal Drai woman who will dream of me and I of her and a life of blessed normalcy. What I am getting is a raging hard-on every time I hear your voice or smell your scent. I have dreamed of you, but this can't be right. You are an alien for pity's sake."

Tears pricked her eyes. "I see. I understand. I will keep my distance."

He groaned again. "I have hurt your feelings."

"That is one way to think of it. I have known one thing my entire adult life and that is that I was destined for you. If you don't want me, I am afraid that I will have to rethink everything that I know and work from there. How does one remove the dreams?"

He turned back to her and rubbed his forehead. "I don't know. I don't know of any couples who have fought the dream state."

She smiled brightly, ignoring the tears tracking down her cheeks. "Then I suppose we will be the first, though we are hardly a couple."

Garo's frown at her comment gave her hope. He might pretend indifference, but his face was showing irritation at her denial of their connection.

"Do you think Corleen can ask any of the elders to see if this has happened before?"

He blinked. "I suppose. But are you content to live here without the option of being my mate?"

"I am not in prison and I am not dead, so each day I get freedom is a good day. Your mother has extended me this courtesy and I will not shun her hospitality."

She walked to the edge of the balcony and clutched the railing. She could see the star systems that surrounded earth and she smiled at the familiar sight.

"What are you looking at?" Garo was right behind her and he absently wrapped his arms around her waist as he looked in the same direction she was.

"I am looking for home. It is over there. At this point in time, it is primitive and sparsely populated, but it will soon begin to shift into one of the fastest-evolving planets on record."

He nodded and she leaned back against him, taking comfort in is proximity. Whether he knew it or not, he was sowing the seeds of their inevitable joining.

"How do you know what is going on on a primitive world you couldn't possibly be from? I have done some research and there is no way you are a Terran."

She sighed. Honesty was best but only with him. "I am a Terran, just not one from this point in time. I came back a few years and this was the moment I was destined to live in."

He stared at her as if trying to determine her seriousness. "And you chose here and now?"

She barked a quick laugh filled with all of her frustration, "I didn't have a choice. I have a destiny and I need to be here to begin it."

"I will not be party to your destiny." He pulled away abruptly and left her standing under the alien sky.

In all of her plans and the journal, she had never imagined that Garo would reject the evidence of his own traditions, his own culture. Returning to the dining room, she informed Corleen of the discussion. "I am afraid that Garo isn't one to give into destiny."

Corleen nodded. "He needs a little incentive. I have just the thing. Tomorrow evening, we are going out and you are wearing an Introduction gown."

The look in the Draikyn's eyes was militant, but it gave Cynthia hope. Having Garo's mother on her side might just be the luck she needed. He was going to fight her, but she would persevere. Livin was depending on her, after all.

The next day was a series of minor domestic chores helping Corleen with the cleaning and setting the table for the evening meal.

An hour before the men were due home, Corleen brought her up to the master bedroom and opened a chest, lifting a gown out of a silken cover. The gown was covered with beads, shells and gemstones.

"Oh, Corleen, it's beautiful."

"With every pregnancy, I worked on this gown, hoping for a little girl and putting it away when my sons arrived." Corleen stroked the detailed work on the gown. "It would please me very much if you wore it to the event this evening."

"Are you sure?" Cynthia wasn't positive if wearing an Introduction gown was a good idea.

"I am. Mercuros is hauling Garo to the Introduction tonight. He will have to face men fawning over you and deal with whatever feelings that brings up."

What Corleen was suggesting was one of the oldest ploys used by women--jealousy. The flaw in her plan was that if Garo found another woman to his liking, he could form an attachment and the new female might worm her way into his dreams. It was a risky venture, but she could always look around for a suitable substitute if Garo wandered off with another. Livin would probably be able to adapt to another great grandfather. Cynthia snorted to herself.
Yeah right.

When she had removed all her clothing at Corleen's insistence, the Introduction gown was dropped right over her head to settle in heavy waves around her body.

There were tears in the elder Drai's eyes as she settled the gown around Cynthia's body. "You look lovely."

Cynthia took Corleen's hands in her own. "Thank you again, Corleen. I know how much this gown means."

Corleen's eyes were shining with tears. "I know you do. I want to beat my stubborn son on the head, but if we can bring him to his senses, it will be good start. Let's take this one phase at a time."

"I am willing to go on the attack if you are, but one day, you will have to tell me why you have trusted me before you even met me."

Cynthia grunted as Corleen gave her a hug.

"I will explain it one day but not until you are a member of the family." The wink that Corleen gave her hinted at secrets that had Cynthia afire with curiosity. "Now, let's go down for dinner. I am sure that the boys are home by now."

Grinning and moving carefully in her new gown, Cynthia stepped into the matching slippers and followed her hostess downstairs and took her seat at the table while Vikkar and Neral put the dishes on the table.

Mercuros stared and Garo glared at her gown. Garrik simply kissed his wife and gave her a hug before joining his elder sons and their guest at the table.

When they were all seated, they had a moment of silence before engaging in the family dinner. As was the custom in most Drai houses, the unwed sons lived with their parents and helped out with the housekeeping until the day that they completed their own homes. The real estate market on Drai was strictly a venue for raw properties. Each Draikyn male built or designed his own home. It was up to him to provide for his mate and part of the ritual that a female liked the completed home. Until she gave the home he had built her seal of approval, they were not mated for life.

As they began eating, Cynthia took a great deal of care to keep the slit sleeves of the gown out of her plate.

Garo barely touched his meal. He was too busy glaring at her.

When Corleen announced, "I am taking Cynthia to the Introduction tonight," the table went completely silent.

Mercuros looked amused. "That seems like a sudden decision."

Garo kept glaring.

Corleen smiled, "Well, she is not mated and there may be a male out there who will accept her for what she is. That would give her a bit more stability on Drai as well as a home of her own. I love having her here, but I am sure she would prefer to be the queen of her own domain."

Mercuros looked at her and propped his chin on his hand. "Can you cook?"

She gestured to the meal, all her handiwork today. "You tell me."

Mercuros waggled his eyebrows at her. "Save me a dance."

A genuine smile formed on her face. "I will. Thank you."

Corleen looked pleased and the rest of the meal continued pleasantly. It remained pleasant, because Cynthia ignored the dark cloud of displeasure that was emanating from Garo. As long as she ignored him, she was able to have a very enjoyable meal.