“Yes,” he insisted, and stepped closer to her. “I’d like you to have it. It belongs with you.”
She pulled the box toward her and trailed her fingers over the globe once more. She'd never owned anything so beautiful. “Thank you.”
“Kayla,” he murmured her name. She looked up at him and he lifted his hand to stroke her cheek. “You're exquisite.”
He tilted her head back and pressed his lips against hers. She closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss. Her senses went into overload. Everything felt sharper and clearer. His touch sent energy flowing through her.
But he’s not Carl
.
She pulled away. “I’m sorry, Alec. I can’t do this.”
He looked at her in surprise. “Because of Carl? Kayla, he’s just a trader.”
“How did you…” her voice trailed off and her eyes narrowed. She'd had her suspicions but she hadn't been sure until now. She took a step back and demanded, “Are you listening to my thoughts?”
He hesitated for a moment before admitting, “Yes. Not all of them, but I can hear some. You haven’t learned to think quietly yet.”
“All this time? You knew what I was thinking?” she accused angrily. How much had he been manipulating her by listening to her thoughts?
“Kayla, I was waiting for the right time to teach you. Most people can’t communicate with thought. I usually have to be touching someone for them to hear me. You’re one of the rare exceptions.”
Well, didn't she feel lucky.
“You sick and twisted bastard.” Her hand clenched into a fist and she swung out.
He caught her hand easily. “You don’t want to do that.”
She snatched her hand away from him and hissed, “Everyone deserves the right to be a jackass, but you abuse the privilege.”
Alec followed her as she stormed out of the room. “Wait a minute, Kayla.”
Kayla ignored him and headed straight for the door, walking right into Master Edwin Veritan.
The older man glanced back at Alec. “Is there a problem, Kayla?”
She scowled at him. “Yeah, your son. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m done with this place. I’m going back to where things actually make sense and there isn’t any of this woo-woo crap.”
“You’re planning on leaving the towers?” Edwin’s eyes narrowed.
“Yeah. I want to get as far away from here as I can.”
“Kayla, wait a minute,” Alec protested. “This was just a misunderstanding.”
Edwin gave Alec a hard look and grabbed Kayla’s wrist. “You had your chance, Alec.”
“What are you doing? Get your hands off me!”
She tried to pull away from him but his grip was ironclad. Suddenly, Kayla felt a sharp, piercing energy flow through her. She gasped and struggled against him.
More energy poured through her and Kayla started feeling dizzy. She desperately searched for the calm oasis she'd found before. Relief flooded through her when she found it. She gathered as much of the energy as she could and flung it back toward Edwin.
He relaxed his grip slightly and his eyes widened in surprise. There was admiration in his voice as he said, “You said she was strong, but I had no idea.”
“Let her go,” Alec's angry voice demanded. “She was upset because of a misunderstanding. This isn’t necessary.”
“Forget it,” Edwin snarled. “She’s an untapped resource. I’m not risking her leaving the tower. I had no idea she was this powerful.”
His words didn't make complete sense to her but she was having trouble focusing on both the energy and their argument. If she could clear her head of the energy rush, she could think and get out of this mess. She pushed more energy back toward Edwin. He tightened his grip on her wrist and she cried out as her senses were once again flooded.
The assault continued to increase in intensity until Kayla finally closed herself off in the dark abyss of her mind.
Edwin lowered Kayla’s unconscious form to the floor. Alec knelt down beside her and looked up at his father in anger.
“She was upset because she found out I could read her thoughts. If you'd given her a few minutes to calm down or let me talk to her, this wouldn’t have been necessary.”
Edwin gave his son a hard look. “This was inevitable. She’s her father’s daughter in every sense. I haven’t seen anyone with this much raw talent since he died.”
Alec returned his father’s look. He should have known his father wouldn't be reasonable where Kayla was concerned. She was too headstrong and too much like her father for him to view her as anything other than a threat. He'd hoped his obvious interest in Kayla would be enough of a deterrent. “And what do you plan to tell Seara? Or her friend Veridian?”
Edwin walked over to the communications device on the wall and pressed a button on the control panel. “Seara will be told the truth. She has no choice but to accept it. I made that clear to her tonight. Kayla’s little outsider friend is of no interest to me. Send him away.”
“Send him away?” Alec asked dryly, trying to keep his temper in check. If he lost it now, he wouldn't be in a position to help anyone. “You think he’s just going to accept the fact Kayla’s disappeared and doesn’t want to even say goodbye?”
“Then you’ll have to make him accept it,” Edwin ordered as the door opened. Director Borshin and another man entered the Veritan family quarters.
“Borshin, Cessel.” Edwin nodded at the two men he summoned. He gestured to Kayla. “Take her to Observation Room A. Cessel, I want her outfitted with a bracelet immediately.”
Director Borshin scampered out of the room to retrieve a transport while Cessel looked down at Kayla as though examining a specimen on a microscope. “Forgive me, but we received reports of some disturbing fluctuations in the energy field. Was this woman the cause?”
Annoyed with the callousness of Edwin's head scientist, Alec corrected the man. “This
woman
is Mistress Kayla Rath’Varein.”
Cessel’s eyes widened and he backpedaled quickly. “My apologies, Master Veritan. I didn't intend any disrespect.”
“Enough,” Edwin ordered. “What do you mean by ‘disturbing fluctuations'?”
Cessel cleared his throat and looked at Kayla's unconscious form on the floor in front of him. “There was a significant energy drain on our pooled resources. Five of your sources have been temporarily depleted.”
Alec’s head jerked up. “It took five people to subdue her?”
Edwin regarded Kayla with new interest. “Cessel, I want you to attune her bracelet directly to me. I want to test the limits of her strength.”
Alec stared at his father and clenched his fists, furious at the covetous look on his face. It took everything he had not to give in to his impulses. Forcing his body to relax, he shook his head and argued, “Absolutely not. She’s untrained. If you try using her that way, it could kill her.”
Edwin regarded his son coolly. “Then feel free to train her. But my order stands.”
Director Borshin returned with Seara following on his heels. He pushed the medical transport cart into the room. “My apologies, Master Veritan, but Mistress Rath’Varein saw me in the hallway.”
“Edwin, what have you done? We all felt the drain on the energy pool.”
When she saw Kayla, she gasped in horror. She ran over to her daughter and knelt down beside her. She looked up at Alec pleadingly and asked, “Why now? You said you wouldn’t do this now.”
Her look of betrayal pained him. He shook his head, holding out his hands in regret. “I’m sorry, Seara. I didn’t want this either. It wasn’t my decision.”
Seara stood and turned to look at Edwin, hate filling her eyes. “You bastard! She’s of no use to you right now. She doesn’t remember anything of her past with us and she hasn’t been trained yet.”
Alec stood up and approached Seara. He rested his hand on her arm. His thoughts flowed through to hers and her eyes filled with tears as he shared what had transpired and learned what Edwin had ordered.
“Please don't do this, Edwin. Putting a bracelet on her now without the support of all of us to tamper the flow will destroy her. She couldn’t possibly know how to properly channel that sort of energy.”
When Edwin didn’t reply, she reached for his arm. “She’s my daughter, Edwin. I’ll do whatever you want, but please don’t do this to her.”
Edwin gave her a bored look. “Seara, once upon a time that offer may have intrigued me. But I already control you. You have nothing left to propose. Your daughter, on the other hand, has potential.”
Director Borshin pushed the medical transport into the center of the room. Tears ran down Seara's face as they moved Kayla into the transport and activated the privacy setting to hide her from view.
“At least tell me where you’re taking her,” she begged.
“Oh, don’t be dramatic,” Edwin said in annoyance. “She’s going to Observation Room A. They’ll put on the bracelet and she’ll be returned to you tomorrow.”
Alec gave his father a dark look before turning back to Seara. He put his arm around her, trying to offer some reassurance. Where his father was concerned, he couldn't make any promises. “Seara, I need to speak with Veridian and explain things to him. When I’m finished, I’ll check on Kayla for you. In the meantime, let me take you back to your quarters.”
Seara nodded and wiped away her tears. Borshin and Cessel pushed the medical transport out of the room. Alec led the older woman out of his family’s quarters and toward her own rooms. When they were outside, she turned to him. “I don’t understand, Alec. What happened?”
“Kayla was angry when she realized I could hear her thoughts. She threatened to leave the towers. My father overreacted.”
Seara stopped and looked at Alec harshly. “You haven’t listened in on private thoughts since you were a child. Why would you do such a thing?”
Because he was a cad? Because he enjoyed experiencing Kayla's refreshing way of looking at the world? Alec resisted the urge to flinch under Seara's accusatory stare. “It wasn’t intentional in the beginning. I suspect we have similar talents. I was able to hear her without touching her. She hasn’t learned how to guard her thoughts and I wanted to give her some time before explaining this to her. She seemed apprehensive about our abilities.”
Seara's eyes widened as she absorbed the news. “She can read thoughts too? That’s not something that usually runs in our family.”
“I don’t believe she can read everyone. Perhaps because I’m already sensitive to it, she’s able to tap into it somehow. I’m not sure. But that’s what originally caught my attention. She appeared to be able to hear me influencing Director Borshin while standing on the opposite side of the room.”
They approached the door to Seara’s quarters and she clutched his arm to stop him. “I have a request, Alec.”
He looked at her expectantly and she explained, “When you speak with Veridian, be kind. I owe a great debt to him and his family. Kayla seems to care about him a great deal.”
“Of course, Seara. I’ll try not to upset him, but this is necessary.” He didn't need to remind her of what his father would do to Veridian if he didn't leave the towers of his own volition.
She nodded and opened the door to find Veridian sitting inside the common area. When he didn’t see Kayla, a look of confusion came over his face.
“Where’s Kayla?”
Alec walked over to him and held out his hand to shake it. “It’s been a great pleasure meeting you, Veridian.”
Veridian accepted the man’s handshake. “You too. What’s going on?”
The moment Veridian touched his hand, Alec wove a subtle thread of influence around his next words. “I gave Kayla a toy from her childhood. It triggered a number of memories. She asked to be alone for awhile so she could sort through her thoughts. She wants you to return to Trader Carl’s camp.”
Veridian shook his head and tried to pull away. “That doesn’t make sense. She wants me to leave without her?”
Alec was surprised at Veridian’s resistance. The bond between Veridian and Kayla must be extremely strong for him to believe his convictions so vehemently. Alec increased his influence. “Yes. She wants some time to sort through her memories. She’ll contact you when she’s ready.”
Veridian's shoulders slumped. “I guess… I guess I should go back now?”
Alec released Veridian’s hand. “Yes. We can have someone escort you back.”
Veridian scratched his head and then turned to Seara. “It was nice meeting you, Seara. I’m glad Kayla found you.”
“Goodbye, Veridian. Thank you,” Seara said softly.
“I’ll walk you out,” Alec offered, sensing the man was still having difficulties making sense of the story he'd been given. He led Veridian out of the Rath’Varein quarters and back toward the main elevator. They rode the elevator down in silence. When it arrived on the ground floor, Alec took him to the main entrance area where they first arrived. Leon looked up in surprise and bowed low when he recognized Alec.
“Leon, contact Director Borshin and tell him to come down. I want you both to escort Veridian back to Trader Carl Grayson’s camp.”
If Leon was surprised, he didn’t show it. He merely nodded. “Right away, Master Veritan.”
Alec turned once more to Kayla’s close friend. “Veridian, I wish you the best of luck.”
Veridian nodded. “Thanks.”
Without another word Alec turned and left the room, knowing his request would be fulfilled. He headed straight for the observation room where Cessel was holding Kayla. Dealing with Veridian took longer than he expected and he didn't want to leave Kayla alone longer than necessary. Upon entering the large laboratory, he found Cessel arguing with his assistant.
“Cessel? What’s going on?”
Cessel frowned and shifted his weight from foot to foot. “We have a small problem. I contacted Master Edwin Veritan and asked him to come down.”
“What sort of problem?”
“We ran a blood test on Kayla to properly configure the bracelet. Unfortunately, she must have some sort of metabolic booster in her system because we’re unable to get a stable reading. Was she given something within the past few days?”
Alec nodded, keeping his face impassive. “I believe so. She was injured the other day. They probably gave it to her then. Why is that a problem?”