Sapient Salvation 1: The Selection (Sapient Salvation Series) (26 page)

Lord Toric kept a hold of my hand, and we gazed at each other in silence as seconds stretched out.

“I will find a way to win,” I finally whispered.

He swallowed and blinked several times, as if coming out of a trance. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I should not have said those things to you. I should not have kissed you.”

“I don’t regret either your words or your kiss,” I said, suddenly feeling bold. My pulse was still racing.

He smiled faintly but let go of my hand. “I should not have done it, and I take responsibility.” He drew a sharp breath and looked down. “I will try to delay the next challenge to give you more time to recover. It will be up to Akantha to agree to it, and she is not exactly my biggest supporter.”

The next challenge. I’d forgotten it would come very soon. Tendrils of fear began twisting through me, reaching cold, rigid fingers through the heat of passion that Lord Toric’s touch had lit up through my entire body.

“I will do what little I can for you,” he said. “But I must warn you that I am forbidden from actually helping you to win the Tournament. For more reasons than you know, and reasons that I cannot speak of, you must win on your own.”

I squinted, trying to read the subtext of what he was telling me. I knew to my very soul that he meant what he said—he wanted me to win—but I had the same prickling sense in the back of my mind that I’d felt when Iris had tried to hint to me about the fate of the Tournament losers. There was much more to all of this than I understood.

Somehow, I’d become part of something larger than I could imagine.

Movement near the door drew my attention. One of Lord Toric’s Earthen servants stood just inside the chamber.

“My Lord,” he said. His eyes flicked to me and then away. “The master of the guard wishes to speak to you.”

Lord Toric stood. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Arrange for Maya to be transferred to her quarters under guard and to have a guard stationed at her door at all times. And send Calvin in.”

The servant bowed and backed through the door.

Lord Toric turned to me. “I would have you stay here, but with servants constantly coming in and out, it is less secure than your locked room under guard.”

I nodded. I was sure it was not just the lack of security, but also the attention I would draw if I continued to stay here, camped out in Lord Toric’s bed.

He looked down at me, his body stilling as if he were listening, or maybe reading something in my face that only he could see. “I regret that we must part ways now, Maya.” Raising his hand, he reached out as if to brush my cheek but pulled back before his fingers touched my skin. He turned as someone else arrived.

“My Lord.” A guard stood there—Calvin. I recognized him as the one who’d stayed behind to watch over me in the ballroom.

Lord Toric went over to him, but spoke loud enough that I could hear. “She must remain under constant protection. I will not have another incident.”

Calvin nodded smartly, touched his earpiece, and said a few words I couldn’t hear. He stayed where he was, obviously waiting to escort Lord Toric to his meeting.

The alien Lord cast a long look at me before turning and following his guard out the door.

I couldn’t imagine when Lord Toric and I might have a moment alone again, and disappointment gripped my heart as I watched his retreating back. I shook my head and touched my fingers to my lips, wondering again if I were trapped in a strange dream.

A contingent of guards and medics soon arrived. The medics pushed a gurney to the bed and helped me onto it, and then we trooped through the corridors of the palace and down to the Obligates’ quarters, drawing curious stares from servants and nobles alike.

After depositing me in my quarters, the medics left with their gurney. All of the guards, but the one to remain stationed outside my door, departed as well.

I settled myself into bed, trying to focus on resting but instead alternating between fretting over the next challenge of the Tournament and replaying the heat of Lord Toric’s kiss. I touched my lips again and closed my eyes but then forced my thoughts to my own survival.

I would need every bit of energy to do well in the Tournament, even under the best circumstances, but I could barely walk across the room under my own power. I sent up a prayer that Lord Toric would convince Akantha to delay the challenge, but I wasn’t hopeful.

There was a soft rap at the door. “Maya, it’s Iris.”

“Please come in,” I called.

My heart lifted at the sight of my guide’s face. If I’d had the strength, I would have raced to her and wrapped my arms around her slim shoulders.

“I’m so glad to see you,” I said. I blinked back unexpected tears and shook my head. “So much has happened, I don’t even know where to start . . .”

She sat on the edge of the bed and placed her hand on my forearm. “Are you okay? I was told of your ordeal.”

“I was drugged, and I still haven’t fully recovered my strength. Lord Toric—” I faltered, unsure of what to say about what had happened between me and the alien Lord. Unsure if what I remembered had actually happened at all. “He found me, and he—he took care of me. He showed me great kindness.”

I felt heat rising to my face as she tilted her head and gave me a curious look. “So I was right. He does indeed favor you in ways that extend beyond the Tournament.”

I gave a short laugh. “Orion tried to tell me exactly that and I didn’t believe him, but . . . perhaps there is something to what you say.” I shook my head again. “But I—well, I don’t really know what it all means.”

I buried my face in my hands as a rush of emotion churned through my chest.

“Something like this happened once before,” Iris said, her voice so soft I barely heard the words.

I dropped my hands. “What do you mean?”

“It was in Lord Alec’s time, just before I arrived here on Calisto. One of the Obligates in the group just before mine. I’ve only heard the stories, but . . . there was a young woman that Lord Alec was deeply drawn to. But the tide of the great battles took a sudden turn in the favor of the Calistans and Lord Alec was called away. While he was gone, the Obligate was murdered. Lord Alec plunged into a terrible depression and the Calistans lost their advantage in the war.”

“Was the girl’s murderer ever brought to justice?” I asked.

“No.” Iris gave me a long look. “Lord Toric is wise to keep you under protection.”

I grimaced. “It’s not going to matter much if I don’t survive the next challenge. I don’t know what I’m going to do. Lord Toric said he would try to convince Akantha to delay the next challenge, but she doesn’t seem to have much generosity of spirit, especially toward Obligates.” Fear edging on panic began to take over again. “Iris, I can barely walk.”

She squeezed my arm with gentle pressure. “Try to summon calm and courage, Maya. You have something now that you didn’t have before. You know that Lord Toric wants you to win. He wants
you
. He is a clever and powerful man, and if there is any way he can shift things in your favor, he will. You must keep your head about you.”

I took a deep breath, recalling the way he’d looked at me. The tenderness in his touch. The passion in his kiss.

“But he is not allowed to help me win,” I said. “He told me so outright.”

She nodded. “Yes, that’s true. But there may be things he can do that don’t violate the sacred texts. If so, I’m certain he will find a way.”

When I’d been selected to leave Earthenfell for Calisto I’d believed it was a fluke, a terrible turn of fate and the worst possible thing that could happen to me. But a new certainty blazed up inside me. I knew my fate was irrevocably tied to the alien Lord’s.

***

Next in the series:
Sapient Salvation Book 2: The Awakening

***

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Interview with Author Jayne Faith

Question 1:
What inspired you to create Maya?

Jayne Faith: I wanted to write a character who started out very innocent—sheltered and sexually inexperienced—and show how she grows and leaves innocence behind, partly out of her own desire to do so but more so because of her circumstances. Early in
The Selection
, Maya’s reality and her expectations for her future get completely rocked, and she’s forced away from everything she knows. We love to see what characters do when they’re shoved out of their comfort zones, and that was my aim with Maya.

I chose my Maya’s name very deliberately—it’s a name and word that appears across many languages and cultures, sometimes with slight variations in spelling. Just a few examples: “Maia” is the Greek variation, “maya” means “love” in Nepali, Mya is a Muslim name, “Maija” is the Finnish variation of the name, “Mayu” is a Japanese name that means “truth,” and “Maya” appears in Hindu mythology and means “illusion” [source: Wikipedia]. I love these various definitions that come from such disparate cultures—combined, they describe Maya as a person as well as hint at her role in the story. Symbolically, I wanted Maya to be universal, a young woman who simultaneously belongs everywhere and nowhere, and her name captures this, too.

Question 2:
So many questions still remain at the end of Book 1: Who was behind Maya’s abduction? Who delivered the secret volume of the sacred text to the Priestess? How close are the Calistans to their Return to Earth? What does Jeric want from Maya? Will Maya survive the next challenge? Will she and Lord Toric be able to explore their new bond under so many watchful eyes?

Will we learn any of the answers in Book 2 –
The Awakening
?

Jayne Faith: Oh yes, you’ll find out the answers to at least a couple of those questions! The mystery of who was behind Maya’s abduction will be a key one in
The Awakening
. And you’ll definitely get more development of the relationship between Maya and Toric—with a couple of big wrenches thrown into the works, like Toric’s impending responsibility to find a Calistan wife.

Question 3:
Lord Toric seems to have a dark past—what can you tell us about it?

Jayne Faith: I can’t help but feel for Toric because even though he’s the Lord of Calisto and Earth, he hasn’t had it easy in life. In
The Selection
, you got a few hints about his abduction and torture when he was a boy. He still bears deep scars from the experience, which will come into play more and more as he and Maya grow closer. You already know that Toric’s brother Jeric cruelly reminds Toric of his torture and its effects, but as the story progresses you’ll learn that Jeric is not the only key person in Toric’s life who harbors an unfair prejudice about Toric because of his abduction and torture.

Question 4:
What’s the meaning of the series name, “Sapient Salvation?”

Jayne Faith: Sapient has two meanings: “wise” and “human.” I like it because it’s kind of a science-fictiony word (I love science fiction!), and also for the dual meaning. The two most important characters in the story—Maya and Toric—are human in both the literal sense (they’re both descended from the same human ancestors) and in the sense that they have a lot to overcome. They each possess wisdom they have yet to realize, and both of them need saving in some way. “Sapient Salvation” seemed like a catchy and meaningful series name.

Question 5:
What other books have you written?

Jayne Faith: My co-author Christine Castle and I also have two futuristic adventure romances:

The
Seas of Time
is a sci-fi time travel romance that takes place under the ocean—with sexy tattooed mermen!
Tap here to read the full story description on Amazon
.