“How?”
“I walked into the open ocean.”
“I’ve been in the open ocean hundreds of times. This planet is mostly ocean. I’ve never heard the Yore ancestors.”
“You don’t go into trances like I do.”
“True. So you heard them when you went into a trance in the ocean?”
“Yes.”
“Take someone with you next time. That could be dangerous.”
“I will. Do you want to know what they said?”
“What?”
“They said that I have to guard my throne.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, but if I’m an empress, then...”
“We really need to get your blood back.”
52
Mission Planning
Gahariet
Gahariet and Olivier were with the small group that they were taking into the auction house. They had hired some Yore seers to navigate through the little-known underground tunnels, using some kind of Yore map that Hoa and Phuong had created that glowed in certain places.
Gahariet hoped that by putting Phuong in the leading position, she’d be pleased, but she was still closed off from them. Her dragon blood made her more temperamental, and he didn’t like the way that she had closed herself off from the two of them.
“The east tunnel is guarded by beasts that none of us are prepared for,” the Yore seer warned. “Even Marc and his brood avoid them. They are wild guard dogs.”
“Just dogs? We can subdue them.”
“You don’t understand. These are genetically modified dogs. They are several times larger than the creatures that you think of when you think of dogs. They’ve been bred to attack first. Marc stays far away from them.”
The Yore seer’s eyes grew even brighter as she intone, “But the west tunnel can be navigated if you have a Yore seer with you. It’s a labyrinth, but it’s not impossible to get through.”
“We could just walk in through the front door,” Xuan commented. “It would be easier.”
Gahariet turned and looked at his brother-in-law.
“That might be a good idea.”
53
Passion
Olivier
The second that they were done with their strategy meeting, Phuong ran upstairs to her room. Gahariet and Olivier walked in to find their mate totally naked.
Her temper was in full blaze, and she jumped into Olivier’s arms before thrusting her tongue into his mouth.