The Healer's Kiss: Book Four of the Forced To Serve Series (19 page)

“How do you know this to be truth?” Chiang demanded.

“Faith,” Dorian replied. “Come. Sit with us until you can be calm enough to judge for yourself.”

Chiang ran a hand through his hair, his nerves on edge. He looked at Boca’s still body and felt something wither inside him. If anything happened to her…well his mind couldn’t accept that as even a remote possibility.

“You swear she lives?” Chiang demanded.

Dorian nodded, trying to send as much compassion to the worried male as he could. “Yes, Doctor. I swear by the Creators that Boca lives. Now sit down and calm yourself. You may hold her if you wish, but her spirit is not within the form.”

Chiang sat and put his head in his hands. “She looks dead. I should know. I have seen much death in my lifetime.”

Dorian told himself not to laugh at Chiang’s torment, but he could not prevent the smile. “There are all kinds of death, Chiang of Greggor. This meditative state is not any of them. She is traveling astrally and will return to her physical form shortly. Think of it as purposeful dreaming.”

A few moments went by with Chiang fighting to calm his concerns and Dorian simply being calm. It was all Chiang could do not to pick a fight with the serene Siren.

“Did Gwen tell you I was coming to check on Boca?” Chiang asked finally, trying to ask the question with the least amount of resentment he could manage.

“She is our commander. Of course she informed me,” Dorian said lightly, not really seeing any benefit to sharing in detail what his mate had said about pissy Greggors and temper tantrums. But he did let himself fully savor the self-righteous pleasure of being right about Chiang. The resistant Greggor male suffering with worry for the female his spirit had chosen as mate.

Beyond that small allowance, Dorian felt only genuine compassion for Chiang’s plight. Nothing would have stopped him from coming to check on Gwen if she had been the one unconscious in a trance state. And the last time he’d gone into a trance, he had awakened to find his head cradled lovingly in his mate’s lap.

Since Rena Trax had returned some of his missing memories, he could now instantly recall Gwen’s extreme relief to see him with all the fondness of a happily committed Siren to the female that adored him. Though he certainly hadn’t handled it well, Dorian realized now that moment had been one of the first times Gwen had offered him her full compassion without any limits.

With that memory activating his heart chakra, Dorian looked at the Greggor, head in hands, and then at the quiet body of the meditating Sumerian. Perhaps this moment was an opportunity to promote compassion and caring between two of the most stubborn-without-cause creatures he had ever met, with the exception of Liam Synar, who still exceeded all others.

Dorian quickly offered up quiet thanks for the inspiration and asked for a blessing on his efforts to intervene for the greater good.

“Would you like to wait with Boca’s body until her spirit returns to it? Nothing is needed. Just reassure her on her return that all is well. She might be a bit disoriented. Most do not immediately remember what they went to learn,” Dorian said. “You can always call me in my quarters if she needs my help.”

“You know I am glad to wait with her, but I left my wrist com in my haste to come here,” Chiang said bitterly, hating the wider obligations of his new commitment to the ship. “I am under obligation to be available at all times.”

“We went two years without a full healer, Doctor. I’m sure the senior medics can handle things until all is well with Boca again,” Dorian said with a smile. “Consider her your patient if you must. I will inform someone in Medical of your situation.”

Dorian rose and watched Chiang scoot closer to Boca, obviously eager to put his hands on her body and assure himself that life remained within it. The depth of Chiang’s concern brought a smile to his face.

Removing his meditation robe as he contemplated reporting Chiang’s misery to his mate, he hung it without thought on its usual peg. Hearing a growl just as he was feeling the Greggor’s glaring gaze on him, Dorian turned back with as innocent a look as he could manage for a nude male.

“Something wrong, Chiang?”

“You wear nothing under your robe,” Chiang observed harshly, frowning at the Siren’s perfect body.

“No. I wear only what the Creators gave me when I commune with them,” Dorian said with a pleased smile as he pulled on his slacks and tied them loosely. “Is that a problem for you, Doctor? I would find that surprising for someone in your profession.”

“What does Boca wear under her robe when she meditates?” Chiang demanded, having to restrain his itching hands from checking. Zade’s laughing gaze was all that stopped him from doing so.

“Isn’t what she wears under her robe Boca’s business?” Dorian countered, shrugging his shirt over his head, glad that it hid part of his smile.

“There are no privacy screens in this room. Do you undress in front of her each day?” Chiang demanded.

“I’m not sure I understand your question. I conduct my spiritual training as I was trained. What is the purpose of your inquiry?” Dorian asked, putting great effort into making sure his expression was neutral.

“You’re evading. I want to know the answer,” Chiang demanded.

“If you came to group meditation regularly, you would know this answer for yourself,” Dorian said firmly, working hard to keep his laughter from erupting over the Greggor’s jealousy.

Chiang narrowed his gaze. “Do not undress in front of her again.”

Dorian felt one eyebrow arching. “Really? Or what?”

“Or I will turn you into a Siren pretzel first chance I get. All the Khalsa training in the world won’t stop me,” Chiang warned, his hand now resting on Boca’s cheek.

Dorian laughed softly. “You should meditate on what your ownership feelings imply about your relationship. I go now to be with the only female that holds my attention in that manner. You know it. And I know it.”

“Gwen is worldly. Boca is not Gwen. She is more innocent. Boca is vulnerable to. . .
visual stimulation
,” Chiang said sharply.

Dorian laughed at the remark even though it was unkind of him to do so. Gwen was the youngest creature on the ship, though perhaps the “worldly” comment might apply to her. Boca was an experienced female more than twice Chiang’s age, yet it was obvious that the Greggor saw how innocent Boca was about emotional connections.

His Sumerian pupil had never experienced male friendship, much less true male compassion. Yet if Chiang’s uncommon jealousy over a female was a sign of anything, it was that the Greggor planned to change at least one of those conditions as soon as she let him.

“Vulnerable to visual stimulation? Well, I will certainly keep that advice in mind for future interactions with my pupil,” Dorian said softly. “Guard her vulnerability if you can, but look in the mirror if you want to see Boca’s greatest temptation.”

“Where is your legendary compassion now, Siren?” Chiang asked.

“My compassion resides with you and Boca, where it has always been,” Dorian said firmly, bowing his head. “You have been chosen by the Creators to be together for some greater good. I suggest you honor that and set aside your fears of committing yourself to her. Whether you fully accept her as your mate or not, until the day your spirit returns to the source of all, the deepest part of you will long to meet her needs and be her strength.”

“I will keep your advice in mind for future interactions with her,” Chiang said sarcastically, sending the haunting words right back to their source.

“Fine. Stay in denial then,” Dorian stated flatly, shaking his head as he left the room.

Chanting prayers for Boca’s spirit to safely return to her physical body, Chiang quickly forgot his debate with her openly exhibitionist teacher. Instead, he made quick work of removing the pins from her hair to make her more comfortable. He gently pulled the length of it down her back and over the side of her, frowning at how much smaller and vulnerable she looked afterwards in the ill-fitting robe. He was going to have a word with the Bursar about clothing that fit the smaller female. It should not be assumed that all on the ship were the same size.

Finally, he was satisfied that she was as comfortable as he could make her. Not knowing what else to do, Chiang lay down and put an arm under her head, curving his large body around her smaller one, warming her as he did when they slept together. It at least felt familiar and brought him some measure of peace as her body breathed softly in his arms.

Seconds after his spirit finally accepted she was safe, Chiang drifted into a deep sleep.

Chapter 12

When she became aware of herself again, Boca’s first thought was that the extreme tiredness she had felt while meditating had indeed claimed her. The thought of contacting the Creators had slipped away the moment her body refused to support her alertness.

But now she was awake—awake and suddenly walking, she decided, looking at the ground moving beneath her bare feet as she strode across it. Feeling the front of her body, Boca was relieved to find the meditation robe still in place, and some clothes beneath it.

Pulled along by some urge she couldn’t seem to resist, she kept walking slowly forward until she finally realized where she was. Boca looked around the familiar yet dreaded landscape, wondering why she was walking around unguarded in this place.

People walked quickly by her on both sides, females hustling to keep up with the males they accompanied. She placed a hand on her stomach, felt it churning with fear of being seen, even though no one was even looking her way.

Compelled further by an urging she couldn’t identify, Boca walked into what once was Fener Sel’s meeting hall, passing by guards who blessedly seemed not to notice her presence. Her footsteps made no sound as she walked into the large open room.

Her captor, the term she now used to describe her Lotharian mate, stood to the side with a female she didn’t recognize who was dressed in the exact clothes she had once worn. Clothes that she had not been the first to wear either. All slave mates were expendable and easily replaced. Clothes were passed along with little thought of comfort, fit, or convenience, unless one’s mate wanted a certain appearance to be maintained.

Seeing the new female, the same question she’d always had rose in her mind. What source supplied new females to these abusive males so frequently?

Her hand went to her throat, shocked to feel the Xendrin collar there. Feeling it made her wonder what exactly was dream and what was reality. Had she and Chiang already gone on the mission? Had something happened to her to cause her current state?

“This experience is both reality and dream, Boca Thaiten Ador,” a soft voice said behind her.

Boca turned swiftly to see a tall female with a broad forehead, kind eyes, and hair only on the back of her head. She was dressed in a long blue robe that fell to feet covered in matching shoes that poked out from beneath the folds.

“Have I returned to the source? Are you one of the Creators come to greet me?” Boca asked.

“No
Che’ta
,” the female answered softly. “I am merely an emissary sent to deliver a message to you.”

“
Che’ta
. That is Sumerian. It was my sire’s fondness name for me,” Boca said.

“Yes. Your sire, Thaiten Ret Ador, willed his warrior energy to you before he returned to the source of all,” she said kindly. “I share his name and legacy with you now to gain your trust. You carry his abilities. The Creators are pleased that you have found a way to use them for the greater good.”

“Is my sire well?” Boca asked.

“The journey of his energy is not known to me,” she said.

Boca studied the female who remained serene under her gaze.

“Let us say that for the moment I choose to trust your words, regardless of my dreaming state. What is your message for me?” Boca asked, looking around her again.

She saw her former captor lift the chin of the new female and kiss her on the mouth against her will. The urge to kill him rose before she could stop it. She turned back to the emissary, hoping her desire for his death was not obvious to the female.

“I cannot deliver the message yet. Look again to the mirror of your former life here,” the emissary directed, lifting her hand and one long finger to point.

Boca turned and saw the Lotharian who had once owned her squeeze his hand into a fist. The female facing him fell to her knees, crying out in pain.

“She is newly his and still resistant to her fate. The cycle continues, Boca Ador. Be reminded of the pain,” she said firmly.

Suddenly, Boca felt pain shooting unchecked through her arms and legs. It was not enough to take her down, but it definitely got her attention. If this was a dream, it was not a pleasant one. The emissary evidently had as much power over her as anyone else ever had.

“You torture me for no gain. I will never forget,” Boca stated coldly as she nodded.

Then there was a bright flash surrounding everything that had Boca covering her eyes. Pulling her arm down when the light receded, Boca saw the emissary still beside her. They were no longer in Fener Sel’s meeting hall. Instead, they were standing in a place that was cold and dark, with metal cages obviously meant for prisoners. A short distance away in one of them, a female was quietly weeping while another sought to comfort her.

“The pain will recede in a few days, Kefira. More importantly, you must come to terms with your destiny as Orem Sel’s mate. He is not a wholly unkind male and provides well for his females. At the moment, he favors your chaste condition and looks forward to changing your celibate state. Just do not fight him or he will punish you. I suggest you use your first bonding to gain his full favor if you can,” the soother said.

“My father will not leave me here to be violated by the likes of Orem Sel. I serve the Creators, Maire. I see the future, and what you describe is not mine. Regardless of these wires in my body, I will not be used as a slave mate,” Kefira answered.

Boca watched the second female stand and press a spot on her gold armband. Moments later a guard with a laser weapon trotted from somewhere to open the cage door to let her out.