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“You’re not going to die—I don’t give a fuck what that dusty old book says!” Torin growled.
“I was telling myself the same thing—that it had to be wrong,” Sky’lar cried. “But then, after we got settled in your ship I finally had a minute to examine the place where I cut myself and well…look.”
She held out her right hand and turned it over, palm up. The pad of the index finger had already turned black and streaks of the same ominous color were climbing down her finger to her wrist. It looked like some kind of horrible blood poisoning except the black lines had made a swirling shape in the center of her palm. It looked like a mystical symbol, Torin thought.
“Do you see? I’m poisoned—soul-poisoned!” Sky’lar exclaimed. “The Book That Writes Itself was right about me—I am going to die!”
“No, you’re fucking not, baby! I won’t let you die!” Torin growled fiercely. “We’re on our way to the Mother Ship—if anyone can deal with soul-poisoning, it’s Commander Sylvan. He’s a physician too, you know—one of the most respected Healers in the galaxy. He’ll know what to do.”
“Do you really think so?” Sky’lar swiped at her tears and Torin’s heart fisted in his chest. He’d never seen her cry before and he could only imagine how terrified and upset she had to be for tears to crack her calm exterior.
“Yes, baby—I know so,” he said firmly.
Oh Goddess—he really, really hoped he was right!
FIFTY-FIVE
SKY
“I won’t lie to you—this is bad. Very bad.” The look on Commander Sylvan’s face was grave as he looked at Sky’s palm. She was sitting on an exam table and Torin was standing just behind her while Sylvan examined her. “Maybe if you’d been able to clean it out right away it wouldn’t have spread, but I’m afraid the soul poison has a real foothold now.”
He pointed at the way the black lines had climbed up her wrist and were reaching for her forearm. The poison had spread that far just in the time they’d taken to land in the Docking Bay of the huge white Mother Ship and make their way to the Med Center, where Torin had asked his Commanding Officer to meet them.
“If the poison reaches your heart, well…” Commander Sylvan shook his head again, a look of sympathy on his face.
“But you can cure it, right? You can fix it?” Torin was hovering anxiously, looking over Sky’s shoulder. “Please, Commander—you have to fix it. Sky’lar and I…I love her! And she loves me—we can’t lose each other now that we finally figured that out!”
“Hmm…” Sylvan looked at him speculatively, his pale blue eyes, much like Sky’s own, narrowing in concentration.
“You thought of something—I can see it! What is it?” Torin demanded.
“If you love her—if the two of you love each other—then it’s possible that you might heal her yourself, Torin. If you’re willing to help bear the load of the poisoning,” Sylvan told him.
“Of course I’m willing! What do I do? Just tell me!” Torin said eagerly.
“You must bond Special Agent Sky’lar to you,” Sylvan said calmly. “When you have a Soul Bond, you can help dilute the soul poison. Even better, if you’re able to get her pregnant and form an innocent new life together, that will neutralize the poison instantly and completely and neither one of you will have to bear it.”
Torin’s face fell.
“But Commander—I’m a Hybrid,” he said hoarsely. “I can’t bond with any female. Believe me, I’ve been with plenty of partners and never bonded a single one to me.”
“Hmm…” Sylvan frowned, clearly thinking hard again. “Well, I suppose Agent Sky’lar could bond with a different warrior…”
“No!” Sky said at once. Torin wrapped an arm around her from behind and she pressed her back against his broad chest. “No, I don’t want anyone but Torin—for the rest of my life,” she said firmly. “However…however long that is,” she added in a low voice.
“You’re the only one I want too, baby,” he rumbled, squeezing her gently.
“I didn’t think that was a viable option but I had to mention it.” Commander Sylvan sighed and ran a hand through his spiky blond hair. “Let me ask you this, Commander Torin,” he said. “Did you hear the voice of the Goddess during your trip back to Portex Three to save Agent Sky’lar? Sometimes she speaks to her children when they are in dire need.”
“I did hear her—she spoke to me several times!” Torin exclaimed. “She said the female she had chosen for me was in danger and she guided me to where the killer was!”
“She spoke to me, too,” Sky put in. “She woke me from sleep to warn me about the killer and told me to trust my instincts.” She shook her head. “I was an agnostic before today, but hearing her voice…”
