“Thank you.” He hit something on the band and Daneth disappeared. “Put some clothes on.”
She beamed at him, hurrying to dress. “Thank you, my lord,” she said breathlessly.
“Let’s go.” He pressed his palm to the door.
“My lord.” She ran to catch up with him and was startled when he took her hand in his as they walked swiftly down the corridor. She noticed Gunt had been replaced with a different guard. “You do not have to put me in the cage every time you leave your chamber. If you trust me enough to walk about the pod on my own, why not to stay in a room I cannot exit, which is guarded at all times?”
“Cage time is go
od for you.” His deep voice sounded gruff, but rather than frighten her, it reverberated right in her core.
“Why?” she demanded.
“Research says once cage-trained, humans love them. It becomes a safe space. I like it because it reminds you of your place. Makes you happy to see me when I return.”
Her pussy moistened and something slithered in her belly. Why? Surely she didn’t like being trained like a pet by Zander?
He stepped up to a room she hadn’t been in before and pressed his hand to the seal. It slid open. “Close your eyes.”
She gasped when they stepped inside. A gigantic crystal had been installed in the ceiling, sending rainbow shafts of light all around the dome-shaped room.
“I said, close your eyes,” Zander snapped.
She covered them with her palm and allowed him to lead her to the center of the room, where she’d seen narrow flat beds arranged in a circular pattern to match the shape of the room.
“Take off your clothes.”
She pulled off her clothing and peeked to see him shucking his clothes as well. He guided her into a bed and she heard him settle in one next to her.
“Here,” he said, dropping a piece of clothing over her face. His shirt, she thought. It smelled of his clean, masculine scent—a scent she’d come to love.
She breathed in deeply.
“Keep your face covered, just in case. I’d feel terrible if it got burned.”
He’d feel terrible. So he must care about her. Or at least he took responsibility for her. Were they the same thing? Not necessarily.
She lay under the great crystal and paid attention to the sensations dancing across her skin. There was a tickling—no, a vibration. A humming of energy that made the hairs on her arms stand up. As the room grew quiet, a whisper became apparent.
King Zander will restore us to our planet. He needs you. Pay attention to all knowing.
She sat bolt upright and opened her eyes.
Zander’s lids flew open and he glared at her. He pointed to the door, “Out.”
She snatched up the shirt and lay back down, covering her face again. “No, no. I’ll be good. I’m sorry.”
Her heart pounded against her ribs. No one was in the room but the two of them. Even as her rational brain struggled to answer the riddle, she already knew—the crystal had spoken to her. The vecking crystal.
Something about the experience made her weep. There was a lightness, a benevolence projecting from the crystal. Love, in its purest form. She felt grateful to be in its presence, grateful to be spoken to, to be needed by Zander.
Except...no. She couldn’t tell Zander. Clearly he hadn’t heard anything. Zandians, like humans, weren’t supposed to just “know” things. Or “hear” things. Or “see” things. And while it may not be a trait punishable by death for a Zandian, it sure as hell was for a human.
So how would she help Zander with her knowing— the knowing that had never done her a bit of good in her life—when she couldn’t reveal how she knew things?
Chapter 8
“Gunt has stolen over thirty crystals from the pod in the last three solar cycles.” Seke rubbed his forehead, his mouth turned down in disgust. “He sells them to Ocretions for a tidy sum. I’m sorry I didn’t catch it.”