He placed one hand on her uninjured cheek. “Great Deity, I was so out of my head over you.”
“Please, I don’t want to focus on that now. I just want to enjoy being here with you. There have been too many awful things that have happened lately. Let’s just live in the moment.”
“As you wish. Is there anything I can get you?”
She took a stab at sitting up in her bed, only to fall back with weakness. “Whew! I thought I was a bit stronger than I am. How long have I been here?”
“A couple of days, but you’ve undergone some severe things to be sure. Julian and five robomedics had to do surgery on you. Maddie, you were...well, to be honest, you were at death’s door when you arrived here.” Rayn’s piercing gaze was telling her more than she wanted to know at this point.
“Is there room for you in this bed here? I would sure love to feel you hold me right now,” she said with a slight smile. Maddie was feeling the need for him to soothe away her anxiety, and she was desperate for him to take her into his arms. She loved the feel of Rayn’s supernatural Power of Tranquility comforting her.
Rayn could sense her anxiousness. “We shall make room,” he said as he climbed beside her. He laid on his side and put his arm gently over her. “You are quite the patchwork quilt, my love, so please tell me if this causes you any discomfort.”
“You cannot hurt me, Rayn; that wouldn’t be possible. You feel so warm, and you make me feel so safe and secure.” She gingerly rolled on her side so that she could mold herself next to him. “I just want to stay like this forever.”
Maddie told Rayn that something odd had happened the night of the attack.
“I left our tent, after Sharra passed out. I mean she totally passed out, and I was star gazing. I decided to take a bathroom break before I turned in for the night, and I somehow got lost. It was really weird, Rayn. It was like the landscape changed on me.”
Rayn explained to her about the veil. “Maddie, something happened to the veil. It was not there when Therron and Rykerian came to you. We have Xarrid trying to figure out what happened there.”
“I couldn’t figure out how I got so lost. Then, I heard a sound, and I knew. I just knew it was him. He said he’d been looking for me. Rayn, he was insane. After he said that, I knew there would not be any reasoning with him. His mind was gone. Anyway, before he overpowered me, I knew I would only have one chance at getting away. You know Sharra and I have been kind of sparring in the gym, kickboxing and defensive moves and all, so I threw some of that at him. I think I broke his nose.”
“Therron told me as much.” He flashed her one of his famous smiles.
“I also landed an elbow directly in his solar plexus that immobilized him for a few moments. The only problem was I didn’t know where to run. I had gotten so lost and confused out there, because everything looked so different to me.” She sighed deeply.
Then, she continued, “Then, I remembered what you said, about you always being in my thoughts. I started concentrating really hard on you, trying to get through to you. I felt my mind screaming at you.” She looked up at him, her large amber eyes boring into his, directly opening her mind to his.
“Oh, believe me, Maddie, I heard you loud and clear. Your thoughts nearly decimated me!”
“Really?” She lifted her head and made eye contact with him. “You’re not just saying that, are you?”
“No! I mean, yes. Your thoughts crashed into me like a meteor. I even felt your pain. That is when I went crazy! I started projecting out to all the brothers, and I guess they were slammed pretty hard too. They said they kept getting tossed around by my thoughts. I kept at it until I knew you were safe. They told me I was trying to kill them,” he chuckled, without mirth. “When Therron and Rykerian got to you, I was devastated. I could
feel
how badly you were injured. I felt like I was there with you.” He rubbed his face, trying to erase the horrific images that came to mind.
He paused, and then continued, “I don’t ever want to feel that again. I cannot bear the thought of
you
ever feeling that again either. I thought I had lost you forever and the feeling of helplessness was unbearable. My urge to rush to your side and destroy that bloody…” he trailed off, running his hand through his hair. “Just know this, I cannot live through anything like that...
ever
again! Do you understand me?”
“I love you, too, Rayn!” Her voice dripped honey.
“I am not jesting, Maddie! You took years off of my life, and I cannot endure it again. Your safety and well-being is of utmost importance to me. I will not be with you on Earth to protect you, so you must swear to me that you will never do anything foolish like that again.”
“But, Rayn, I didn’t—”
“Maddie, no objections! Can you understand?”
“Gosh, you are so darned bossy. I had to use the restroom. What would you have had me do? Go in the tent?” Now she was getting her feathers seriously ruffled.
Rayn looked at her with a raised brow.
“Don’t look at me like that! You’re acting like this whole thing was my fault—like I am to blame!”
“No, Maddie. That is not my intent. You are my obsession, my soulmate, my
amashan
. I simply cannot allow you to run off unprotected, and I demand that you think about these things first. Sharra was of no help to you and—”
She put her hand on his mouth to stop him from uttering another word. Maddie was furious. She was a victim in this crime, but he was making her feel like the criminal.
“Excuse me, my overbearing Royal Pain in the Petootieness! Stop being such a horse’s behonkas. I’m the victim here, not the criminal.”
Rayn caught himself before he responded. He thought for a minute and recognized he had severely screwed up.
“Maddie, I am sorry. I did not mean to—”he began.
He didn’t get any further because she interrupted him. “You need to get out of my bed…right now…this minute. Allow
me
to explain something to
you
. I have been through too much to listen to your rants about how you nearly went off the deep end. I was the one who was
there
…who experienced the attack. I nearly died and I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“But, Maddie…”
“Now, Rayn. Out!”
She was breathing heavily, and Rayn was getting more and more concerned about her. He called for Julian.
Julian sedated Maddie before her condition could deteriorate any further. After he had her settled, he turned to Rayn.
“What in the Deity’s name has gotten into you, Rayn?” Julian demanded.
“I was trying to explain to her…”
“Excuse me if I disagree, but you were all but blaming her for making
you
upset. As if she willingly exposed herself to danger. This is the second irrational outburst I have heard from you. Excuse me for saying this, my lord. If I overstep my bounds, I apologize in advance, but you need to gain greater control over yourself.” Julian was uneasy over Rayn’s misguided anger.
“You are correct. I cannot seem to help myself. The thought of her being hurt in any way makes me senseless and completely out of control.”
“Have you bonded with her, Rayn? Have you broken your vow of celibacy?”
Rayn was astounded by the question. As he shook his head, he said indignantly, “Of course not. How can you ask me that?”
“Because you are acting as such. I have never seen a male so protective of his female. I know you have made a strong connection with her, but—”
“Julian, it is more than just a connection. It is an overwhelming emotion with a physical dimension to it.” Rayn explained to him what had happened during his first deep kiss with Maddie and how they had both felt utterly electrified by it.
“This is very perplexing indeed, particularly since she is human. However, you still must keep a tighter rein on your emotions. You cannot be tearing into people for no apparent reason. You will alienate them, and they are the ones closest to you.”
“Yes, you are correct. I will see that I have better control over my emotions. Thank you, Julian. It seem I am indebted to you again.”
* * * * *
Rayn returned to Maddie’s side, resuming his vigil.
Hours later, Maddie woke to find Rayn sitting next to her, holding her hand. Her first inclination was to jerk her hand away as she remembered her words with him, but then, she thought the better of it. He only had her safety at heart, and she couldn’t blame him for that. He had been through a lot recently, so she would cut him some slack. He had, after all, saved her life.
When Rayn felt Maddie’s thoughts, he whispered, “I am so sorry for upsetting you so, and for being such a…what is it you called me? Oh, yes, ‘a horse’s behonkas.’ I cannot explain what possessed me to say those things, but I deeply regret it. Maddie, please forgive me.”
“You are forgiven.” When he started smiling, she put her hand on his lips and continued, “But only because I know you are like this because you love me and are concerned about me.”
“Yes, and for some reason, I cannot seem to control my emotions where you are concerned.”
“We’ll just have to work on that then, won’t we?”
Rayn nodded. “I could not bear to see you like that again, Maddie.”
“I know. Honestly, I don’t think I could bear it either.”
The force of his emotions rolled over her, drenching her with their intensity. It was such a powerful feeling that Maddie gasped. She looked at him, questioning him with her eyes, but he was unable to speak. He locked onto her gaze and they both began to feel that familiar current flow between them. He pulled her into his embrace as they both shuddered with desire.
They were silent for a few moments, holding on to each other when Maddie breathed, “What is this between us Rayn? These feelings I have...I can sense your emotions.”
“Yes, it is much the same for me. I know it is an extraordinary sensation that Vesturions sometimes experience, but I was unaware that humans could also feel it. I am as surprised by it as you are.”
“Will it always be this way between us?”
“Yes, I believe it will.”
“So what happens now?”
“You are going to continue to recover here, and when you’re well enough, Rykerian will take you back to Earth. I am still confined and will remain as such until my trial. We are still waiting for them to announce the date of that.”
“Are you okay, Rayn? I mean really okay? Aside from all of this?” She gestured toward herself.
“I am fine just knowing you are going to be as good as new. I will survive this, and we will be together one day, Maddie. This, I promise…no, I swear this to you. I ask you to have faith in me, please?”
“I will always have faith in you. You are truly my Guardian…my Guardian Angel!”
Several hours later, Therron burst into Maddie’s room and startled her and Rayn out of their sleep.
“Wake up you two. Wake up!” he yelled exasperatingly. He excitedly paced around the bed.
“What? What is going on?” Rayn irritatingly asked.
“We have it; or rather, Xarrid does!”
“Have what?” Maddie asked groggily.
“The reason all this happened to you. The break in the veiling…” Therron trailed.
“Go on,” Rayn encouraged. Now, he was instantly alert.
“Xarrid figured out what happened. We had a security breach. Someone hacked into our system and shut down the veil, which means that is how that lunatic got to Maddie. He could hear them too. The muting was also breached. And listen to this: two men from the security center here on Vesturon came to the Great Hall of the Guardians and showed us a letter from one of their friends and coworkers. Apparently, this fellow disappeared, and when they went to check on him, they found a letter.”
“And?” Rayn prompted him.
“The letter had some damning evidence in it about things that were perpetuated against us, the Compound, but also you Rayn. It was a conspiracy against you!”
“Who did it?” Rayn was becoming impatient.
“Voldruk Monteveldo.”
Rayn jumped up yelling, “
What
?” Rayn, whose jaw had dropped to the floor, just stood there in shock.
“Who is Voldruk Monteveldo?” Maddie wanted to know.
“Believe it or not, he is, or
was
, a great family friend. I cannot believe this!” Rayn informed Maddie.
“Geez, with friends like that, who needs enemies?” Maddie asked in a joking manner.
Both Rayn and Therron turned to her and responded simultaneously, “What?”
“Oh, sorry. Just a little Earth humor.”
Rayn frowned and said, “You may need to spare us that kind of humor right now. Voldruk and Father were the best of friends.” Turning to Therron, he continued, “Why would Voldruk want to hurt our family?”
“Well, we are not sure of that, but we plan to find out. Father has put him under surveillance to see if we can uncover the reason. But, someone from Vesturon hacked into our system at the Compound and shut down the outer three bands of our veil. Maddie, that is why the landscaping changed for you. When you left the tent, you were still under cover, but when you kept walking, you walked right out of the masked area. Then, when you tried to get back, it all looked different to you. The inner bands were still deployed, so in a sense, you were walking blind. If you had stayed within a few feet of the tent, you would have been fine, but you were not aware of that.”
Rayn piped in, “Has anything else been sabotaged?”
Therron said, “Xarrid is digging in, and you know Xarrid. If anything else has been tampered with, he will find out what, when, where, and why. He already knows the who and the how, but he is relentless with this kind of thing.”
“I bet Father is positively livid. I cannot believe this. Does anyone else know?”
“No, and we plan to keep it that way for now.”
“Let us know exactly what Xarrid uncovers. And thank you, Therron, for everything you have done,” Rayn said as he leaned protectively toward Maddie. “And, please accept my apology for lashing out at you earlier. I am truly sorry.”