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As the harpy disappeared from view, I noticed something else on the calm sheet of water. Ripples were forming, and as I watched, something dark rose to float serenely in the center, droplets glistening in the sun as it dried. It drifted closer to me, and soon I could make out a large black flower centered on wide, waxy leaves fanned around it like a deep green buoy.
My eyes widened as I realized I knew this flower. It was a black ice lotus, one of the rarest, most potent healing plants in all of Saori Sang.
And it definitely hadn’t been in the pool earlier.
I ginned, taking in its beauty. Maybe it was a gift from Gola. Glancing over my shoulder and still seeing no signs of my team, I slipped back into the water, swimming carefully toward the lotus. I didn’t touch it until I’d examined it from all angles, even underneath, finally satisfied there were no tricks.
Diving deep to slice off the valuable stem at its root, I paused with my hand wrapping the fibrous stalk, treading water beneath the surface.
I heard a voice.
Not Gola... male. Someone was calling my name, over and over.
I let go of the lotus stalk and did a quick spin. Nothing stirred in the pool, and the voice faded.
My lungs had begun to ache, so I grabbed the stalk again and began to saw through it with one of my knives. The voice drifted into my mind again, and this time, I heard it clearly.
Kana... are you out there, princess... Kana...
Kassian? Is that you?I pressed the words out of my mind, uncertain what direction to send the mindspeak.
Kas and I had only ever used mindspeak when we could clearly see each other, and he’d never managed it without me setting up the connection first.
A bark of laughter echoed in my mind.Holy fuck, it worked! You can hear me?
Wrapping the lotus stalk into loops around my arm as I kicked to the surface, I sheathed my knife and carefully towed the lotus toward the shore, setting it gently on the ground.
I can hear you, Kas. Where are you? What does it look like over there?
The returning voice in my mind was suddenly weaker, no more than a faint whisper. I wondered if the water had somehow amplified it, so I bent low and ducked my ear under the water again.
Kassian’s voice echoed a little louder when I asked him to repeat what he’d said.It looks like a fucking maze full of vicious animals all trying to kill us. You?
Plants, of course. Mostly poisonous. But I just found a black ice lotus.
Fuck yes - keep that thing close. I stole one a few years back for this guy - he needed to be able to mindspeak with his mate when she traveled to Earth, and evidently the stalk is some kind of amplifier. Probably why I found you,he added, sounding a little less pleased with himself.
I sat up straight, looking at the plant at my feet. If that was true... My bare toes were resting on the coiled stalk as I stretched toward the water.
Calling to Kas in my mind, I began to experiment, and sure enough, touching the lotus let his thoughts reach me easily. Maybe this really was a gift from Gola.
Hold on, I’m going to make some ear plugs, I told him, laughing as I carved a small piece of the spongy stalk into the right shape. I’d always envied my brother and his mate for their conversations, and now I could do it with Kas. Maybe I’d make a pair for Luca, too.
Okay, thief, let’s really test this. Send me a picture. Like the sun’s position in the sky, so I can see where you are compared to me.
I waited a few seconds to see if Kas could manage this harder task, and then I grinned wider as a hazy image leaked into my mind.
Labyrinth walls stretched in several directions under the blue sky, as tall as ours but made of dusty, brown and gray rock instead of bright green hedges and colorful flowers. Kassian’s legs stuck out across the bottom, like I was seeing the view from his own eyes.
And... wait... seriously?
Kassian Kingston, did you just use mindspeak to send me a dick pic?
Because yeah. The bare tip of his cock was protruding into the image between his legs. His teasing laughter filled my mind, and I couldn’t help but giggle. I shouldn’t reward bad behavior, but goddamn, I missed him too much to be picky.
Fuck, I miss you, I told him, biting my lip as I smiled.
My cock, too?
