“But…but where do you think you’re going?” Douglas blustered.
Alli took a deep breath.
“I have to find the man who really loves me—who’s trapped in a whole other universe, which is where I have to go too, in order to save his life.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “How’s that for a grand, romantic gesture? Now, please excuse me—I have to go.”
She left him standing there, slack-jawed, and rushed down the aisle.
“The PORTAL,” she exclaimed, grabbing Caroline by the arm. “Please hurry—I have to get to it and find Kane!”
“O-okay,” Caroline stuttered. “If…if you’re sure.”
“I’m sure!” Alli told her firmly.
She was certain the other woman was thinking of how she had reacted last time she had seen the other universe through the PORTAL aperture. But this time was different. This time she remembered.
“Come on,” she said, dragging at Caroline’s arm. “Let’s go!”
Forty-One
It seemed to take forever for the PORTAL to warm up. All the time Alli kept fidgeting nervously as she watched for the swath of stars and the clouded Earth to appear in the window. She was still barefoot and wearing her wedding dress, having run with Caroline—and Sophie and Sylvan and Liv—all the way from the Sacred Grove to Caroline’s lab.
“Hurry,” she muttered, as the PORTAL at last began to hum. “Hurry, hurry, hurry…”
At least none of her friends seemed to think she was acting strangely. Caroline had been startled at first but everyone in the Grove—with the possible exception of Douglas—had felt the Goddess’s presence. And several of them had heard the priestess’s words as well.
“I’m so glad you got your memory back,” Sophie told her, squeezing Alli’s hand. “I knew something must have happened in that month you were gone.”
“A whole lot happened,” Alli said distractedly, her eyes still glued to the PORTAL’s aperture. “But for some reason Kane made me forget it. He must have thought I was in danger. But damn it—how could he?”
“Ask him yourself,” Liv murmured. “Is that him there—on the bed?”
Sure enough, the PORTAL had rushed through the space and Earth scene so quickly it had been nothing but a blur, and now it was displaying a carved black four-poster bed with a man lying in the middle.
No, not a man, Alli realized—a Kru’ell One warrior—Kane!
But something was wrong with him. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow. In front of his bed, two other warriors who were clearly guards were talking.
“Poor bastard,” one was muttering to the other. “He might be the new Overlord, but for how long?”
“Not long at this rate,” the other replied. “The hell of it is, it’s not his wound that’s killing him.”
“No?” The first warrior raised his eyebrows in surprise. “That was a nasty scratch the old Overlord gave him.”
“No.” The second warrior shook his head firmly. “The Medic says the wound is all but healed. His problem is, he’s starving to death.”
“What?” The first warrior frowned. “Why doesn’t he just take a new concubine to feed from?”
“Rumor has it he went and bonded himself to another concubine—a female the old Overlord coveted for himself,” the second male said. “He did it to protect her but then he sent her away so the old bastard couldn’t get her.”
“Then he signed his own death warrant!” The first warrior looked awed. “What male in his right mind would do such a thing?”
“A male in love, I guess.” The second warrior looked almost wistful. “Have you ever thought of that? Thought of finding a concubine you could stay with forever?”
Alli didn’t wait to hear the other warrior’s answer. This was the place—the universe she needed to be in. And now she knew exactly what was wrong with Kane—he needed to feed from her emotions. And right now, she was brimming over with them!
“That’s him—how do I get in?” she demanded, climbing over the guardrail which had been placed in front of the PORTAL, apparently to keep people away. “How do I—?”
“Oh, be careful!” she heard either Sophie or Liv shout, but their voices seemed very far away. The picture in the PORTAL’s aperture got rapidly bigger and bigger until Alli found she was in it—standing right beside the four-poster bed with its still, silent figure.
“Hey!” one of the warriors gasped.
“What in the Seven Hells?” the second growled. “Where did she come from?”
Alli ignored them both.
She climbed into bed with Kane, not caring that her wedding dress was getting crumpled, desperate to be by his side.
“Kane!” she gasped as she gathered his head into her lap. “Kane, wake up! It’s me—it’s Allisandra!”
His eyelids fluttered open and he looked up at her with his mirrored eyes.
“All…isandra?” he muttered weakly. “What…what are you doing here?”
“Saving you—if I can.” She looked at him anxiously. He looked so weak—so helpless! What could she do for him?
He lives on pleasure, whispered the little voice in her head. Remember, Alli? He lives on emotion and the sensations you have when he touches you. Think about it!