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“If you don’t want me to make a scene, leave me the hell alone!” She jerked her arm out of his grasp and presented him with her back.
He moved to stand beside her, leaning his back against the wall. He didn’t provoke her, didn’t encourage her to talk. He just stood there, watching her, waiting for her to calm down.
She knew damn well he could sense her emotion, could likely hear every thought whirling through her agitated mind. Arcon had taught her how to strengthen her shields, but her skills were least effective when she was upset and both Kyrex and Neloff were unusually strong telepaths. The silent treatment wasn’t possible and giving in to her emotions would doubtlessly lead to a public spanking. She refused to amuse the rebels, so that only left one choice. Objectivity.
Forcing her emotions into submission, she thought through the situation logically. In Earth’s past, marriages had been used to secure alliances between powerful families, even different countries. But that was the past. This star system was more technologically advanced. She had hoped that they would be highly evolved enough to see females as valued individuals rather than property. It was so discouraging to discover that so little had changed.
“Have you accepted that all your friends will need to bond with two males in the near future?” Kyrex asked after a long pause.
She shot him an impatient glance. “Of course. It’s dangerous to fight our basic nature.”
“Are you concerned that they will not be allowed to choose once they are taken to the other planets?”
Fighting against her instinctual need to please her mates, she focused on her friends. “Why does it need to involve conduits at all? We have nothing to do with this war.”
He smiled, but the expression was precariously close to condescension. “Maybe not the Earth-raised conduits, but every conflict in this star system has been underscored by the desire to control power triads.”
She shook her head and released a sigh. “Being bartered away feels so damn demeaning.”
“Would the concept be less demeaning if the females volunteered?”
She wanted to believe it would be as easy as Kyrex made it sound, but she’d been controlled her entire life. So had all of her friends. “Raina promised us choices and freedom, but she hasn’t been able to deliver either. Not really.”
He pivoted to face her, compassion warming his eyes despite his stern expression. “True freedom is beyond any conduit. The only way to live a long and fulfilled life is as part of a power triad.”
“I know that.” And all the mated conduits were doing their best to make sure all the unbound conduits understood.
“Zevon is in a much better position than Raina to ensure that your friends have real choices. They could choose which planet appealed to them, which culture they found intriguing. He can also ensure that they are not abused.”
“How long will the conduits be given to make these choices?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Those details had not been worked out when we left for Torret.”
She nodded, quickly running out of objections. No one lived at the Citadel permanently. Each of her friends could have ended up on a different planet anyway. If a lasting peace could be achieved by including the right to court them in the alliance, wouldn’t it be worth it?
“Controllers and sources are just as enslaved by their genetics as conduits. Did you realize that?”
Confused by his digression, Eden looked at Kyrex. “What do you mean?”
“As soon as we hit puberty our entire purpose in life becomes locating and claiming our mates.”
He had her attention now. She’d never even considered how controllers and sources were affected by the need to mate. “But there are so few conduits. What happens to all of the ones who never find their soulmate?”
His expressive eyes seemed haunted by remembered pain. “The vast majority of us live our entire lives yearning for something we will never have.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea.” But she should have. Power triads were meticulously engineered. Anything that affected the female would also affect the males. “Do unbonded males develop the same symptoms as females? Does their sex drive spike? Can they go insane?”
“It’s different with males,” Kyrex admitted. “It’s more like a persistent ache that waxes and wanes. Much of the time it is barely noticeable, but other times it is unbearable.”
Compassion eroded her irritation. They were all trapped by the ambitions of others. She released another sigh and moved closer to her mate. “I’ve been really selfish, haven’t I?”
“No.” He smiled, the expression warming his eyes. “You care about your friends and want them to be happy. No one can fault you for that.”
“Then I guess the answer to your question is, as long as the conduits volunteer, I’ll work through my objections.”
Before Kyrex could say more, he snapped to full alert. His head came up and his expression intensified. “Something’s wrong.”
Heavy footfalls echoed in the corridors surrounding them. It sounded like every rebel in the building was suddenly running toward them.
