Delivered by the Defender (Kindred Tales)

“But—” she began again, looking worried.

“Think of it as something to remember me by,” Valen told her smoothly. Though he knew he wouldn’t have to buy one of the devices for himself to remember her—the little Elite was already burned into his mind forever.

He dug into his supply of Ma’shorkan coins—which had to be purchased off-planet, since there were strict laws about depleting the Ma’shorkan supply of precious metals —and handed the vendor what he asked for. He watched as Selena chose a device with a clear, sparkling stone and clipped it to her nose.

“Well?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. “Does it work?”

“Let me see.” Leaning close to him, she inhaled deeply, then gave him a shy smile. “Mmm—nice.”

Valen looked at her, bemused.

“Are you trying to make sure you remember me, little one?”

“I don’t think I could ever forget you.” Selena’s cheeks went pink and she smiled at him shyly. “You’ve been so incredibly kind to me.”

“Well, I had to make up for being what you humans call a ‘jark’ when we first met,” Valen pointed out.

Her smiled widened.

“I think you mean a jerk, but believe me, you’ve more than made up for it.”

“I’m pleased you think so,” Valen murmured, looking into her eyes again. Gods, she was lovely! And he had never felt such an immediate connection with a female before. He almost wished he hadn’t taken his vow when he looked at her.

But you did take a vow, so don’t forget it, whispered the voice of guilt in his head. Remember Ka’leesa and what happened to her—remember why no female would want you. This little Elite might be attracted to you now, but the minute you asked to sink your fangs into her flesh, she’d run screaming because you can’t give her pleasure with your bite—only pain!

Reluctantly, he pulled his eyes away from Selena’s, and immediately caught sight of something which made his heart sink, though he didn’t want to admit it, even to himself.

Up ahead, on the far curve of the rotunda, a Ma’shorkan palace guard was standing stiffly at attention in his severe black and gold uniform. He was holding a small, coin-sized device in the palm of one hand, which projected a holo picture of Selena’s lovely face. The picture rotated from side to side and under it, the words, Selena Bates were blinking in vivid pink and blue holo letters.

It was time to say goodbye.

17

Valen had been smiling at her—that one-sided smile of his she was really beginning to like and which she didn’t even think he was aware of—when he looked over her shoulder and the smile fell abruptly off his face. It was replaced by a grim expression much more like his usual look.

“Is something wrong?” Selena asked, concerned. “You look like you saw a ghost.”

“A ghost?” He frowned and shook his head. “No, but I do believe I see your escort up ahead. Come, we should probably go meet him.”

Selena looked to where he was pointing and felt her heart sink just a little. There was a Ma’shorkan man wearing a stiff black coat trimmed in gold with gold trousers. He was holding some kind of small device in one hand that was displaying a holo of her head—which looked a lot like an image of her from Jess’s wedding pictures. At least, that was how she’d done her hair for her friend’s wedding. Jess must have used it to make the “holo sign,” which also had her name in bright pink and blue letters, floating in the air in front of the guard.

“Oh yes—I guess we should go,” she said, trying to sound happy and failing.

She ought to be ecstatic to finally see her ride and get out of here, but somehow, she couldn’t muster any emotion but sadness and a feeling of impending loss.

In spite of their rocky start on the shuttle, she had never felt such an immediate connection to any man, as she did to Valen. Despite his stern exterior, he was both attentive and protective, and she felt drawn to him. Also, she felt like he was drawn to her—though perhaps somewhat unwillingly. Such instant, intense, two-way attraction didn’t happen every day of a girl’s life, so knowing that she would probably never see him again made Selena sad. It felt like a missed opportunity—a road not taken.

It felt like a rare chance she would never get again.

But what could she do? Lifting her chin, she made her way around the rotunda with Valen leading the way. Well, at least the big Kindred didn’t seem inclined to leave her until she actually met the guard. That was nice, at least—that he was going to stay with her until he knew she was safe.

Reaching the Ma’shorkan guard, Selena cleared her throat.

“Hello, I’m Selena Bates. I’m the one you’re looking for.”