The Power of Three (19 page)

Ash nodded. “I’ll go and knock on her door
and see what the response is. If she doesn’t want to see us, we can
arrange to meet up with her tomorrow. It’ll give us all time to
think.”

“
You do that.” Esca lay facedown on the
bed and sighed as Ash slipped out of the room.

He was back within a minute. “She’s not
interested in seeing either of us tonight. She will talk to us
tomorrow if you promise not to be an ‘overbearing pig’. That last
bit is a direct quote.”

“
Figures.”

“
I also reminded her that I’ve set up
the planetary link so she can talk to her grandparents about her
plans.”

“
Well at least that’s some progress.
Hopefully it means she’s decided to stay.”

“
Because of the time difference, the
link is early tomorrow morning. She should be finished by breakfast
so we can talk to her then.”

Ash took off his silk robe and stretched out
beside Esca, one hand resting on the small of his back. He rubbed
slow circles that helped ease the tension from Esca’s shoulders.
“It’s all right. This mating with a female is hard for both of us
to get used to.”

“
You’re better at it than I
am.”

“
But you have the skills we need to
keep her safe.”

Esca rolled over onto his back and put Ash’s
hand on his cock. “It’s much easier with another male.” He rolled
his hips as Ash played with his shaft. “I can’t believe I ever
wanted to have to deal with two females. One is quite enough.”

Ash leaned over him, his blond hair tickling
Esca’s skin, and gently kissed the crown of his cock. “That’s good
to know.”

He pushed his fingers into Ash’s hair and
wrapped it around his hand, trapping his mate close. “Suck me?”

“
My pleasure,” Ash breathed.

* * *

Despite her efforts to block Ash and Esca
from her mind, Soreya was well aware when they started to make
love. Several hours later she woke up again, turned onto her back
and resolutely stared up at the ceiling. They didn’t need her.
They’d always have each other. She’d rather not have either of them
if they couldn’t respect her as an individual.

She groaned and covered her eyes. Damn it,
that was a lie, but it was one she might have to convince herself
was true if she stood any chance of getting away from them. At
least Ash was willing to compromise. Esca was another matter. If
they were to stay together, she had to make a stand now otherwise
he’d never change. She wasn’t prepared to have children with a man
who would treat his sons differently from his daughters.

For all her faults, her mother had taught her
how to be independent and how to protect herself. And she’d needed
to know those things. Not every planet was as kind to telepaths as
Pavlovan. She’d want her children to know the dangers of their
abilities as well as their strengths. But she couldn’t stand to be
controlled again, to live her life as others dictated, otherwise
she might as well go back to Etrusca.

And now she was imagining having children
with these males, men she’d only known for a few weeks at most but
felt completely at one with. Gods, her life was becoming so
complicated…

“
Private
Lang
?”

She opened her eyes.
“
Meljan senior
?”

“
I’ve spoken
to my sons. They would both like to meet you. Can
you come by my office at ten?
”

“
Yes
.”

“
Excellent. You might wonder
why they both insist on attending, but according to my records,
they both spent time on Etrusca. I look forward to seeing
you.”

The connection shut off as abruptly as it had
started, leaving Soreya staring into nothing. Two brothers, and
either one might be her father. She hadn’t quite expected that, but
at least they were willing to meet her. Would she know which one
had sired her as soon as she met them? Would she finally have a
blood connection with her father?

It was both an enticing and intimidating
thought. Despite what she’d said to Ash, being rejected in person
would hurt. Unless she had her own children she’d never experience
that unique connection between a parent and child again.

She checked the time and realized she might
as well get up. The slot for the planetary link with her
grandparents was fast approaching, and she needed to prepare for
that mentally and emotionally. If she did stay on Pavlovan she
suspected it would be the last time she’d ever hear or see them. It
would be kinder to let them go and live out the rest of their lives
without the stigma of being related to a freak like her. But she at
least owed them her thanks for allowing her to survive.

After she’d showered and dressed, she checked
her desk and saw the handwritten note of instructions on how to
activate the link Ash had thoughtfully stuck on the screen. She
turned on the screen with a quick mental flick of her power and
implemented the security codes. She ended up on a page displaying
the Etruscan flag and a countdown timer in the corner.

After a deep breath, she composed her
features as her grandparent’s faces swam into view. They looked so
damned uncomfortable and so old that it gave her a jolt.

She nodded respectfully. “Grandfather and
Grandmother Lang. I appreciate your agreeing to participate in this
link.

Her grandfather nodded in return. “We weren’t
given a choice. We are good citizens who do what our government
requires of us.”

“
Still, it is good to see your faces.”
She tried a smile but it wasn’t returned. “I simply wished to let
you know that I survived the journey to Pavlovan and that I’m
enjoying working at the university, passing on my skill set to the
next generation.”

Her grandmother’s mouth tightened. “So
we’ve heard. How c
ould
you,
Soreya?”

“
I’m just doing as my government
ordered and being a good citizen.” She paused. She might as well
get it over with. “I’m sure you’ll also be pleased to hear that
I’ve met some nice telepathic males.” Their expressions became even
more horrified if that was possible. “They’ve asked me to stay on
Pavlovan with them and I’ll probably do that.”

“
Did you say
males
?” her grandfather demanded.

“
Yes. There are two of them. One of
them is a major in the army and the other a senator.”

Her grandmother darted a look to one
side and then leaned in close to the screen “How
dare
you disgrace us like this?
You’re worse than your mother! And after all we’ve done for
you!”

“
I appreciate everything you’ve done
for me,” Soreya said firmly. “As it appears that I won’t be coming
back. I just wanted to thank you for everything and say
goodbye.”

“
I knew we should’ve put her down.” Her
grandfather turned to his wife as if Soreya wasn’t even there.
“She’s a slut just like her mother.”

“
Excuse me, I’m not—”

“
At least she won’t be able to spawn
any more defective brats. We made sure of that.”

She spoke over her grandfather. “What did you
say?”

His smile made her feel sick. “We might not
have euthanized you, but we made sure they sterilized you before we
took you back.”

Her fingernails bit into her palms. “Are you
saying I can’t have children?”

“
Thank the Gods, no. At least we’ll be
spared that shame again.”

She blinked once, cutting off the link, and
sat there in the silence. So much for Esca’s imagining their kids,
and for her hoping to have her own family. Gods, she really was an
abomination. Her males deserved offspring. They at least deserved
to know ahead of time that she was incapable of providing them
before they committed themselves to her.

Tears plopped onto her desk and she realized
she was crying. With shaking hands, she pulled on an extra
sweatshirt that smelled like Esca and headed for the door. She
needed to be by herself for a while to come to terms with what had
happened and before she had to meet up with the Meljans, who,
knowing her luck, would probably, reject her, too.

* * *

“
She’s not there.” Ash came back into
the kitchen. “And she’s still blocking us.”

Esca stood up, his coffee cup in his hand.
“Did she leave last night or this morning?”

“
I don’t know. I’ll check her last
log-in time on her screen.” He went back into Soreya’s quiet
bedroom and over to her desk. “She must’ve activated the link
because she threw away my instructions.”

“
What the hell did her
grandparents
say
to her?” Esca
scowled at the screen. “Can we access the link?”

“
I doubt it. The Etruscans were
extremely reluctant to provide one in the first place.” He tried
though using the parameters he’d left for Soreya, and got white
space. “Dammit, why didn’t I get up and sit with her?”

“
Because she didn’t want our company,
remember?” Esca slammed his cup down on the desk. “I hope she
hasn’t gone all noble on us again, and decided to go back to
Etrusca.”

Ash stared at him. “She wouldn’t.”

“
Then where else would she
go?”

“
The university?”

“
Contact Bev. She’ll know if Soreya’s
there.”

“
Bev?”

“
Senator.”

“
Is Soreya at
work?”

“
She was in earlier, but she
said she had to pop out for a bit.”

“
Did she seem
okay?”

“
No, actually, she didn’t.
She looked like she’d been crying. I figured you guys might have
had a fight, so I didn’t get all in her face about it.”

“
If she comes back, will you
let me know?”

“
Sure. It must’ve been one
hell of a fight if she’s still blocking you both.”

“
You have no idea. Thanks,
Bev.”

Ash turned to Esca. “You got all that?”

“
Yeah, now Bev thinks we’re both
callous bastards, and we still don’t know where Soreya
is.”

Ash let out a long slow breath. “Perhaps
we’re looking at this the wrong way. How about we have faith that
she’ll contact us when she’s ready?”

“
This ties in with all that crap you
were spouting last night about giving her space and not
overprotecting her, right?”

“
Yes. If she doesn’t want to commit to
us, I’m not going to force her—how about you?”

Esca stalked back out into the kitchen and
sat down at the table. “You’d better put on a fresh pot of coffee.
It’s going to be a long day.”

* * *

Soreya knew from the dubious looks the
receptionist was giving her that she probably wasn’t looking her
best. She’d tried to freshen up before she left the university, but
the results were certainly underwhelming. She reminded herself that
it wasn’t a beauty contest. It was simply an opportunity to meet
the man who had fathered her, say hi, and walk away.

She was taken to the same conference room as
the day before, and stopped short as she got her first good look at
the two men who flanked Meljan senior.

“
Wow, you’re identical twins.” She
hadn’t meant to speak first, but it was something of a
surprise.

“
Good morning, Soreya.”

She belatedly turned to Meljan and smiled.
“Good morning. Thank you so much for facilitating this
meeting.”

The male on the left of Meljan stepped
forward. He wore a black shirt with the company logo on it. “I’m
Dahl, and this is my twin brother, Teg.”

Teg wore the blue version of the company
shirt and remained seated. From what Soreya could see he appeared
to be in some kind of wheelchair.

“
Hi.” Soreya shook both their hands and
got exactly the same zing from both of them. Perhaps this was going
to be more complicated than she’d imagined. She took the seat
directly opposite Meljan and looked inquiringly at her.

Meljan waved a hand. “Go ahead. Ask any
questions you like.”

Soreya took the only picture she’d managed to
save of her mother from her pocket. “This is my mother, Aria. She
worked at the spaceport on Etrusca. Seeing as half my DNA is
Meljan, I have to believe that one of you is my father.”

The twins exchanged glances.

“
We remember her.”

“
You
both
met her?”

Teg looked at his brother. “It’s a little
complicated. When we were young, we used to change identities quite
often. Your mother might have thought she’d only met one of us, but
in fact, she met us both.”

“
And
slept
with you both?”

“
Yes.”

“
Wow, what a sleazy thing to do.” She
half rose. “I don’t think I want to know which one of you
actually
did
the deed now. Do
you know what happened to my mother because she got
pregnant?”

“
No,” Teg said softly.

“
She gave birth to a child who was
telepathic like her, which on Etrusca is equivalent to giving birth
to an abomination. And
because
she kept me, and tried to help me learn what being a telepath
meant, she was publicly executed when I was ten.” Her voice was
trembling so hard she could hardly continue. “And you two thought
it would be
amusing
to fuck
her and leave her.”