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When Kendra didn’t respond, Ansley answered the question. “The psychic link forms faster and more deeply if the males are the only ones the conduit has ever been with. It makes virgins more valuable.”
“Then why give us access to the internet?” Kendra wanted to know. “I know I’m not the only one curious enough to watch porn. I bet most of the girls did at one point or other.”
Ansley nodded. She’d done her share of exploring, especially as the suppressant stopped working and she crept closer and closer to activation. “The founders wanted us inexperienced, not ignorant.”
“But we’re ignorant too,” Kendra objected. “Or we were until all of this started. You’re the only one who knew the truth and they only told you because of Mistress Neeva’s accident.”
Ansley could only guess at the founders’ motivations. Everything she thought she knew about them was a carefully concocted lie, so who the hell knew why they did anything? “I think our ignorance protected them. If the island was raided by humans, they wanted their cover story to be airtight.”
“Fuck the founders,” Eden muttered, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears. “They have no power over us anymore. I’m not going to waste another minute thinking about them. I want to hear about your mates. What do they look like? Are their personalities different or just their abilities? Tell us everything.”
* * *
Desperately needing something to do with his hands, Jobek shifted his weight from one foot to the other and ran the same series of checks he had just completed an hour before. Neloff was finally in his quarters getting some much-needed sleep, so Jobek stood behind theMadelle’s central control panel. He was not usually a fidgeter, but the past two days had been the longest of his life. Being separated from Ansley was torture. He spent all of his limited free time talking with her over their mind link and he knew Tandor did the same. Each night, or whenever they found time to sleep, Tandor pulled her into a shared dream and they spent hours pleasuring and being pleasured by her. Metaphysical fucking was better than nothing, but not being able to touch her, smell her,feelher was making them both restless as hells.
“Is something wrong with the defense systems?” Tandor strolled over to where Jobek stood and lowered his voice. It was a wise precaution. About half of the bridge staff was off duty right now so the last thing they needed was a crisis. “That is the third time you’ve run diagnostics.”
The ship was in hyperspace so the risk of any sort of attack was practically nonexistent. Their course had been set for days. The ship was basically flying itself. “The ship’s systems are functioning perfectly. I, on the other hand, am going out of my mind.”
Tandor nodded, his lips curving with a sympathetic smile. “That malady will be cured as soon as we reach the Citadel.”
“This is more than just missing Ansley,” Jobek admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “I still need her desperately, but I’ve felt something else for the past hour or so.”
“Can you explain what you’re feeling?”
Jobek reflected for a moment then shook his head. “It’s just vague anxiety, but it’s persistent.” Tandor and Neloff had learned to trust Jobek’s instincts even when he couldn’t detail what he sensed. All of his premonitions thus far had proven to be legitimate warnings.
“Should I wake up Neloff?”
Jobek shook his head again. “We have another two hours in hyperspace. Let’s give him that much time at least. Besides, I’d like to have more information before I admit what I’m feeling.”
Rather than return to the science station where Tandor had been sitting earlier, he activated one of the retractable seats and sat down. The flexible option provided more floor space if the operators preferred to stand. “When you came up here to relieve Neloff, I continued our conversation with Ansley.”
Jobek glanced back at him but continued running scans. “I wondered what took you so long to join me.”
“She mentioned something in passing as you left that I wanted to explore in more detail.”
Curious now, Jobek turned around and faced Tandor. “We spoke about so many things this morning. What caught your attention?”
“She said that the trainers at the Citadel were exploring a sort of cross-training program with Pyronese wraiths.”
“Really? Those two groups hate each other. They’ve been fierce competitors for decades, maybe centuries.”
Tandor’s head dipped in agreement. “Thus the reason for my follow-up questions.”
“And what did Ansley say?”
“Apparently, second-level conduits form unusually powerful triads when they are claimed by hybrid males.”
Jobek wasn’t sure he saw a connection. Why would that motivate sudden cooperation between Pyronese wraiths and the Citadel? “It’s nearly impossible to find an empowered male in this star system who isn’t a hybrid. Why would that cause a sudden alliance?”
Tandor crossed and then uncrossed his legs before he finally explained. “One of Raina’s mates is half-Altorian, half-Torretian, the other is half-Torretian, half-Pyronese, and they are developing abilities no one believed possible before. Her Pyronese mate is the grandson of Mistress Air, so the wraiths took notice. Zevon is willing to cooperate with them to an extent, but he is also anxious to create more hybrid triads.”
Jobek felt a wide grin building, but he fought it back. Was Tandor finally going to admit that he had Houkdi blood? It had been nearly two decades since Tandor’s DNA had been assessed by the Citadel, and Tandor refused to discuss what he’d learned. Jobek had honestly expected Tandor to take the secret to the grave with him.
Tandor started to speak, then closed his mouth and sighed. He had a reason to share the secret now, a damn good reason. When the silence dragged on, Jobek prompted, “And one of Ansley’s mates is half-Altorian, half-Torretian. The other is…”
“Half-Torretian, half-Houkdi.”
