Page 19 of Bonded

Whispers woke me, but my body was slow to respond. I was in a dark room, but I felt nothing around me aside from warmth.

I felt as if I was adrift, and if I let myself, I could float far, far away.

The whispers grew insistent. It was odd because I could hear them, and I knew what they were saying, but I couldn’t understand. I was thrilled when I felt something brush against my arm.

My arm. I could feel my body again. Tethered once more to my physical self, I realized I was lying next to another body.

A gentle pressure was laid on my temples, then my eyes, down my nose, and finally resting upon my lips.

“Ruzan, are you allowed to do that? I do not believe she gave you permission.”

The imperious tone of voice amused me. It belonged to someone I knew. Someone who was important to me. Vryek.

The room was too dark to see him clearly, but somehow, his facial features were obvious to me. From the worry lines at the corner of his eyes, to his high cheekbones, to the set of his lips, he shone like a star.

“She seemed lost. I was helping her. Besides, she likes it.” That indulgent tone of voice had to be Ruzan.

Now that I was conscious, I realized why I had thought the room was dark. My eyes were still closed.

I opened them to see that we were awash in blue and violet light.

“Am I dead?” I asked.

Ruzan and Vryek came into view over me as if they were a pair of detached, floating heads.

I blinked until their fuzzy outlines came into focus. Strange that I could see them so clearly when my eyes were closed. They both held me in their arms, though I was mainly in Ruzan’s lap. He had been the one who kissed me.

It was a nice kiss.

Very, very nice kiss.

I lifted my hand, and it weighed about a million pounds. My fingers could wiggle in a random wave. “Hey,” I said.

“Hello,” they said in unison, and I giggled before allowing my eyes to close again. They were heavy, and I lacked the strength to open them.

“Did I miss something?” I wanted to move but couldn’t. “I don’t want to alarm anyone, but my legs are no longer attached to my body.”

Vryek stroked my hair back from my face. “You are feeling the effects of being linked, Priya. No need to be alarmed. I can tell you that your body is whole and perfect.”

His face was so pretty, especially when he smiled like that. High cheekbones, sculpted jawline…he looked years younger when he wasn’t furrowing his brow in worry. And a lot more approachable.

I reached out to touch his face to make sure he was real. “You’re real, right?” I asked.

He leaned his face against my touch. “Yes, I’m real.”

“And pretty.” I turned to Ruzan who had made a choking sound. “You’re pretty, too.”

The humming and tingling effects rolled through my body, and I shivered against them.

“What’s happening? Why is she trembling?”

“I believe she is cold,” the Ship’s mechanized voice answered. A pneumatic hiss whirred, and a metallic bin opened. In it must have been some blankets, because Vryek came back and wrapped me in one.

I immediately felt better. “That’s nice.” I curled into Ruzan’s bulk and made myself comfortable against him. He tucked me under his chin, my face against his chest. The strong beat of his heart was calming. So much so, I gave a jaw-popping yawn. “I’m so sorry I’m sleepy. I can’t seem to stay awake.”

“You don’t need to apologize. When Ruzan linked to the Ship, he promptly threw up his stomach contents.”

“Hey! As if you did any better!” Ruzan arranged the blanket more comfortably around me, cradling my head in his hand as he did so.

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