“Oh? And why is that?” Liv wanted to know.
“I have to be on the Monstrum Mother Ship to see the prisoner Rarev and I caught on a flight to Tiberius Four, the Max Security planet,” Baird told her. “It’s some kind of Monstrum tradition—Rarev asked me to be there and I couldn’t very well refuse.”
“It’s all right, honey—Daniel and I can wait for you,” Liv told him.
They went on to talk about what they would be having for dinner and other inconsequential domestic details, but Christine didn’t hear anything else. All she could focus on was the fact that Roarn was about to be taken away from her—sent to a prison planet where she would never see him again!
As Dr. Liv and her mate, Baird, left the room where Christine lay, a silent tear rolled down her cheek.
Oh Roarn, if only I could speak for you! If only I could tell them how special you are—that you’re not always wild and savage! I miss you so much—I love you so much!
For she did love the big Monstrum, she realized now. All the time they had been together, she’d been trying to keep herself from catching feelings, telling herself that they were just “having fun.” But none of that had been true—she understood now. All the time she’d been fooling herself. She didn’t care about the age difference or the fact that they weren’t the same species—she loved the big Monstrum with all her heart.
And now she would never see him again.
More tears trickled down Christine’s cheeks and desolation filled her heart. After all these years, she had finally found the right man and now he was going to be taken away from her and locked up forever in a place she could never reach him…
“Courage, daughter,” a warm, feminine voice whispered in her ear.
Christine opened her eyes and looked around the room. Was she dreaming again? But she didn’t see anyone in the room with her who could have spoken.
She didn’t see anyone but she did feel a presence—a warm, comforting, feminine presence that was soothing, like a pair of arms wrapped around her in a hug.
“Who—?” she whispered, her voice coming out low and hoarse after days of disuse.
“I am the Kindred Goddess and I care for all the Kindred, both those of this universe and the Monstrum,” came the reply. “I care for the one you love—the warrior called Roarn.”
“They’re…sending him…away,” Christine husked out. “Never…see him…again.”
“You will see him once more and you will have a chance to save him,” the Kindred Goddess whispered in her ear. “But you must have courage. You will be going into danger, but you will know what to do.”
“I’d gladly go into danger…to save him,” Christine got out through her dry throat.
“I know you will, daughter—your bravery is beyond praise.” The Goddess’s voice was warm and approving. “You deserve the chance to save your lover and spend your life with him.”
“How?” Christine asked slowly. “He’s leaving soon.”
“I will send you help,” the Goddess promised her. “In the meantime, rest child. Tomorrow will be your day of reckoning.”
The voice and the presence faded but a lingering feeling of hope remained. As Christine drifted off into a real dream for the first time in days, she knew that she would get her chance to save Roarn…if she was brave enough to do it.
FORTY-ONE
Christine opened her eyes the next morning to see two faces bending over her. One was familiar—it was Dr. Liv, the same doctor who had performed her surgery and had been taking care of her ever since.
“Dr. Liv?” she asked, looking at her and then looking around the room—which looked rather like a hospital room down on Earth, except much nicer.
“You remember me?” The blonde woman smiled encouragingly.
“Dreamed…of you,” Christine told her. “You…saved me, didn’t you?”
“Well, I performed the surgery to lessen the pressure on your brain,” Dr. Liv said modestly. “And I’ve been looking out for you ever since. How do you feel?”
“I feel…thirsty.” Christine licked her lips. “Please—could I have some water?”
“Of course. Here, let me help you sit up. It should be perfectly safe now.”
Dr. Liv raised the top part of her bed and Christine found herself in an upright position for the first time in days. Thankfully, this time it didn’t make her feel dizzy. She took a long sip from the cold glass of water the doctor was holding to her lips and sighed gratefully.
“Thank you. That’s so much better,” she said.
“I’m glad to see you up and around,” Liv told her. “And you’ve got a visitor.” She nodded at the woman standing beside her.
Christine looked at her and frowned—now where had she seen her before? She had the beautiful face of a woman in her twenties but her long hair was a rippling waterfall of pure silver. She looked familiar.