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  “Tell her Captain Verrai is here with his new mistress,” Kristoff told him, frowning. “And she cannot wait long.”

  “Don’t do that.” I put a hand on his arm. “Really—I hate self-important patients who try to get in first because they think their time is more valuable than anyone else’s.”

  “But my Lady, your symptoms—” he protested.

  “Are under control for now,” I told him firmly, although to be honest, I was already feeling that little tingle again, despite the intense orgasm he’d given me just a few hours ago. Or, I guess I had given it to myself, since he never really touched me. Although, it had certainly felt like he was touching me at the time, even though he was just guiding my hand.

  Just thinking about it was enough to make me blush. I was starting to feel very confused about my relationship with the big alien. I knew he was supposed to be my bodyguard and we weren’t supposed to have intimate contact. But I wanted intimate contact with him. Even now, standing right beside him without reaching over to touch him was hard.

  It was like my body had somehow gotten addicted to his in the short period of time we had spent on his ship. Of course, that probably wasn’t so surprising, considering that we had spent almost all of it naked and wrapped in each other’s arms. But that had been necessary to keep back the symptoms of the Burning Blood syndrome, right?

  Justify it any way you want, Charlotte, whispered a snarky little voice in my head. The fact is you liked it and now you want more. But you can’t have more—so deal with it.

  Shut up, I told it, even though I knew it was only telling the truth. Just leave me alone.

  Kristoff was still looking at me with one eyebrow raised, as though he was trying to decipher what I was thinking. I knew he could already feel my emotions, through the strange bond we seemed to have formed, so my thoughts couldn’t be far behind.

  He looked absolutely mouthwatering in his full uniform with the molded breastplate, short leather kilt, and high, black boots. His skin was tan with just a tinge of gold today and I was glad he wasn’t changing the color of it to reflect my mood. If he did, I bet it would be a cloudy gray-purple-blue because I was feeling so confused. Or whatever the colors of confusion are.

  I decided not to think about the situation I was in. Instead, I sat in the small waiting room on a hard bench that seemed to be made out of purple and blue and pink seashells and looked out the open window at the gorgeous beach landscape outside. Being from Florida, I was used to beaches but we didn’t have anything in the Sunshine State to top what Denaris offered.

  The white sands glittered brilliantly in the pale blue sunlight and the azure waters were so clear they looked like glass. Tall, blue and purple trees swayed gently in a salt-scented breeze and overhead, strange creatures that looked a little like miniature, pink pterodactyls soared and swooped through the sky.

  Denaris was a world that was mostly ocean at the poles but it was encircled by a chain of islands that wrapped all the way around it in an uneven, bumpy line with some more to the north and others more to the south. Kristoff had explained that the people here divided themselves into tribes—different tribes came from different islands but they often intermingled because of the strange practice they had of two men being mated to one woman.

  “How does that even work?” I asked, when he explained it to me as we were docking the small shuttle in a parking area not far from the doctor’s office. “They just have a three-way marriage and nobody ever gets jealous? That’s hard to believe.”

  “It works because of the psychic bond between them,” Kristoff had explained. “When they are very young, two compatible males find each other. They have some kind of medicine or plant which binds them together—I’m not sure exactly what it is. Anyway, they make a ceremony of it and from then on, the two of them are never parted.”

  “Aww, that’s kind of sweet—like promising to stay with your best friend all your life,” I remarked. It made me think of Leah and Zoe—I would have gladly promised to stay with them my whole life. It was too bad we’d had to go our separate ways—I missed both of them badly.

  “There is a practical side to this ‘sweet’ partnership,” Kristoff said dryly. “A female on Denaris will not mate a lone male because one male alone cannot form a bond with her or sire her children. Their DNA is such that two are required.”

  “Really? That’s fascinating,” I had remarked. “I wonder how the two guys in the relationship get along once they add the female in, though.”

  “Very well, actually,” Kristoff said mildly. “One of them almost always has an alpha type personality while the other male is more beta. The alpha is the breadwinner, working outside the home to support the family while the beta stays at home to help with child-care and chores around the home. This leaves the female free to choose if she would rather have an outside career or simply stay home.”

  “Wow—what a great setup!” I had exclaimed. I knew many women who would give anything to have that flexibility, not to mention more help around the house.

  “The Denarins think so,” Kristoff had said mildly and that had been the end of the conversation because we were trying to find Dr. Churika’s office.

  I had been intrigued by the possibilities and now, as I looked out the window of the doctor’s waiting room, I wondered about the Denarins I saw passing by. It was true that they most often seemed to be in groups of three—two males and one female. The male’s skin tones varied widely, mostly seeming to fall in the spectrum of greens and blues. The females, on the other hand, mostly had pale, pearly gray skin.

  It was fascinating to think that these people’s biology had developed in such a way as to make the two male/one female construct not only possible but vital to their survival. The bond between the males must be incredibly strong with no jealousy whatsoever…

  “I tell you, I’m not sharing a female with him!” a deep, rough voice shouted, interrupting my thoughts. “He is from the Fang Clan and my sworn enemy.”

  “I have no wish to share with you either—or any of the Claw Clan,” spat back an equally deep, though somewhat smoother voice.

  Two large alien males, both over seven feet tall, stormed out of the swinging silver metal door. They were followed by a tiny little female with pearly gray, wrinkled skin.

  “Gentlemen, please,” she said, frowning. “I am well aware that you were bonded accidentally, but as neither of you has any other prospects of finding a bond-partner, maybe you should try to make the best of the situation.”

  “You want us to make the best of this…this fucking mess?” demanded the one with the rougher voice. He had deep blue skin and light green eyes that snapped angrily.

  “Mind your language you cretin—there are ladies present,” hissed the other one, who had light green skin and deep blue eyes. “Off-worlder ladies, too—if I am not much mistaken.” He eyed me with interest. “How do you do, ma ‘frela?”

  “She’s fine,” Kristoff said shortly, stepping in front of me. “And she’s not in any way available.”

  “Forgive me.” The green-skinned alien gave a short, polite bow. “It’s just that my companion and I…” Here he threw a disgusted glance over his shoulder at the blue-skinned alien who glared back at him. “Were told that we could only be parted through the intervention of an off-worlder female. Specifically, one from a Closed Planet—a Pure One.”

  “I’m from a Closed Planet,” I said, before I thought about it. Kristoff had told me as much when he explained about the Ancient Ones, the Twelve Peoples, and fact that I was a La-ti-zal.

  “You are?” the blue-skinned alien asked eagerly.

  “She’s also completely unavailable,” Kristoff repeated, frowning at him.

  “We have no interest in your female—or any female, for the purpose of mating her,” the green-skinned alien said. “It’s just that we were accidentally bonded at a clan-gathering.” He glared at his companion. “And a wise-woman told us that the only way to break that bond would be
to find a Pure One.”

  “And I’m telling you that’s superstitious nonsense,” the older woman with the gray skin who had followed them out, said, frowning. “Once you’re bonded, you’re bonded and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. Look…” She put a hand on each of their arms. “I know you’re from rival clans and you’ve both been loners all your lives, but a bond could not have formed between you if there wasn’t some natural affinity there. Can’t you just try to accept it?”

  “Never,” growled the blue-skinned alien. “I’m not gonna fucking accept being psy-bonded to a Fanger!”

  “And I would sooner drown myself in the Green Hole as tie myself for life to a male of the Claw Clan,” the green-skinned one said, frowning. He looked at Kristoff. “Could you give us the coordinates of the Closed Planet where you acquired your female?”

  Kristoff glared at him. “I did not just acquire her—I am in her service. And I do not propose to tell you where you can ‘get’ one of her kind. Females should be protected—not exploited for your personal needs.”

  “Fine,” the blue-skinned one growled. “We’ll find it ourselves.”

  “Wait,” I said, standing. The waiting room was so crowded with tall alien males I felt a little like a kid at a gathering of adults.

  “Yes?” the blue-skinned one said roughly. “You have something to say?”

  “I just…I wanted to know what you were going to do with…with the girl when you found her,” I said.

  “Nothing untoward, I swear to you, ma ‘frela,” the green-skinned alien said smoothly. “According to the wise-woman we visited, it would be enough to simply have her lay her hands on each of us at once. That alone would sever the tie between us and we could all go our separate ways.”

  “And…you wouldn’t hurt her?” I persisted. “Or…abuse her?”

  “What do you take us for?” the blue-skinned alien spat. “We might not be as into female-worship as the Majorans.” He gave Kristoff a dismissive glare. “But we’re still followers of the Goddess of Mercy. Females are to be cherished—not harmed.”

  “So…you just want to find a girl who can lay her hands on both of you at once and then you’ll let her go?” I persisted, making sure that was all they wanted.

  “That is all—we swear.” The green-skinned alien looked at me earnestly. “And if we cannot find such a female to help us, we will be bound together in an unhappy and unwanted partnership forever.” He threw another unfriendly glance at the blue-skinned male who glared back at him.

  “All right.” I took a deep breath, hoping I was doing the right thing. “Then…I’ll touch you.”

  “My Lady—no!” Kristoff was already trying to get between me and the two of them.

  “Kristoff, it’s just a touch!” I said but to my surprise, the green-skinned alien was shaking his head.

  “Forgive me, ma ‘frela, but the touch must come from an unmated female who is not spoken for by another male in any way.”

  “He’s right,” the blue-skinned one said reluctantly, as though it pained him to agree with his companion about anything. “And I can smell from here how thoroughly your male has marked you.”

  I glanced at Kristoff, feeling a blush rising to my cheeks and saw him look back at me. I turned hastily back to the two alien males.

  “Well, I still want to touch you,” I told them stubbornly. When Kristoff started to protest again, I cut him off. “It’s the only way, Kristoff,” I told him. “The only way I can know for sure if they’re telling the truth about not hurting the girl they want to find to help them.”

  “Yes, of course, my Lady…I see.” He nodded reluctantly and stepped aside.

  I stepped up to the two big males and held out my hands. The blue-skinned alien started to step up first but I shook my head.

  “No—both of you. Both at once.”

  I don’t know why it seemed important to touch both of them at once, but somehow I knew it was the only way I could get an accurate reading on them.

  Silently, both of the big males held out their hands to me. I took them both at once, the green and the blue, and concentrated hard.

  And then, just as I had when I touched Kristoff, I knew.

  I got a rush of impressions—a huge grizzly bear-like creature roaring under the moon at night, a coiled snake-animal hissing in the dessert sand, and a deep feeling of reverence for females coming from both of them. These two would cut off their right hands before hurting a woman, I was sure of it. And I also felt their misery at being tied together in a partnership neither one had looked for or wanted. It seemed a shame they would be stuck together for life if they couldn’t find someone to help them.

  “All right,” I said at last, releasing their hands and taking a step back. “Kristoff, you can tell them.”

  He sighed. “They probably would have found the Earth anyway—the Commercians are starting to advertise for their damn Alien Mate Index now to bring more customers in.”

  “The Commercians?” I frowned. “You mean the blue worms? The same ones that were trying to contact me?”

  “The same.” Kristoff nodded. “My Lady, why don’t you keep your appointment with Dr. Churika while I speak to these two males.” He nodded at the two large aliens who were waiting eagerly, now that I had okayed giving them the coordinates to Earth. I just hoped I had done the right thing—but my touch-sense had never given me false information and I trusted it now.

  “Come.” The older woman with the gray skin held out her hand to me. “If you would follow me?” she asked. She was wearing a long white robe that looked more like something a priestess would wear than a doctor’s outfit.

  “All right.” I tried to smile, although I was feeling nervous at the idea of being examined. Don’t they say that doctors make the worst patients? Well, they’re right about that, at least in my case. Still, there was nothing else I could do.

  I nodded once more at Kristoff and followed the doctor through the door into her exam area.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Charlotte

  “So how long have you been having these symptoms?” Dr. Churika eyed me suspiciously and frowned as she took my pulse.

  So far she had looked at my eyes and ears, listened to my heart and lungs, and had wrapped some kind of full-length sleeve thing around my arm which I thought might be taking my blood pressure. It wasn’t that different from having an exam back home except I wasn’t sitting on an exam table. Instead, I was in a tank, up to my waist in some kind of pale green slime.

  I wasn’t very happy about the slime-tank, which I’d had to remove my clothing to get into, but Doctor Churika had assured me it was the only way she could get accurate readings on a La-ti-zal. Since Kristoff trusted her, I was willing to go along with the strange alien exam—but it still felt beyond weird to be standing there talking to her normally, as if I wasn’t halfway immersed in warm green slime.

  “I’ve been having symptoms about twelve to fifteen hours by now, I guess,” I said. “I mean, it was last night when I was doing my shift in the ER that I started feeling hot. But my fellow intern took my temperature and found that it was below normal. In fact, I was verging on hypothermic. Later I started having shortness of breath—a feeling like something was strangling me until I couldn’t breathe.” I shivered at the awful memory. Thank goodness those symptoms hadn’t come back!

  “Mmm-hmm.” Dr. Churika nodded thoughtfully and made some marks with a stylus on a thin, lighted pad which looked a little like a tablet except it was clear with a gold edge all the way around it. “And are you still experiencing any of these symptoms?”

  “No—not since Kristoff, uh, held me.” I cleared my throat, feeling awkward. It seemed like a strange treatment for any kind of sickness but it had certainly worked. “Um, he did a sensitivity test on me this morning,” I volunteered, as she continued scratching on her tablet. “He seems to think I’m past the withdrawal stage of my cycle and into the, uh, needing stage.”

  “Is that so?” She
looked at me sharply. “And what exactly did he do to you?”

  “Nothing that’s any of your business,” I snapped, stung at both the nosiness of her question and the accusing tone she’d asked it in.

  She frowned. “Your Majesty, as the personal healer to the Goddess-Empress I assure you everything about you is my business.”

  “But…but I can’t really be the new Empress, can I? I mean, that’s so bizarre!” The unreality of the whole situation hit me again. “I was born on Earth so how can I be a clone of the old Empress?” I demanded.

  “Not clone—Incarnation,” Dr. Churika corrected me sternly. “Between twenty and thirty cycles before the Goddess-Empress ascends to the Heavens, her next incarnation is born. For a time, they share a soul and both have the unique rainbow aura. When the present Goddess-Empress makes her Ascension to the Heavens, her incarnation is old enough and wise enough to rule in her place.”

  “And you’re sure I’m the one?” I said.

  “Kristoff is sure,” she said firmly. “And he has the Vision—the ability to see the Goddess-Empress’s rainbow aura. Besides, you look so much like the old Empress you could be her daughter. Not that she had any—there were only sons born of her union and I’m afraid none of them turned out very well. Such a shame.” She shook her head.

  “So…I’m genetically related to her in some way?” I asked. “I’m just trying to understand this. How can that be since I was born on Earth?”

  “You share some DNA with the old Empress—most importantly a recessive gene—the royal or golden gene—which only one female in the galaxy may possess at one time. Except for the times during which your life overlaps with your predecessor and your successor,” she added. “As to how you turned up on some backwater Closed Planet almost no one in the civilized galaxy has heard of, I have no idea. Some say the Goddess herself plants the seed of life that will grow into her next mortal avatar. But she chooses only the most worthy of vessels. Was your mother a female who was pure of heart?”

  “I was adopted,” I admitted reluctantly. “So I never knew my biological mother.”