War Bride (Battle Born #7)(27)
Chapter Five
The next six days passed in a flurry of activity. Skyla saw more of Tonn than she did of Kryton and she was beginning to feel neglected. According to Tonn, the ship had been beset by one crisis after another. But Skyla suspected an element of strategy also kept Kryton from visiting her. The last time they’d been together had been intensely erotic and keeping her focused on their dream joining worked to his advantage.
Her future had become a sort of race. She needed to facilitate Arton’s rescue before Kryton finished seducing her. And surrendering to him became more of a temptation with each passing day. Her life on Bilarri had been a pleasant yet empty routine. Even her job held little reward. She told pampered rich people how much their toys were worth so they could insure them or sell them at auction. It all seemed pointless and shallow.
She’d spent the past six years searching for her mate. She’d traveled extensively and submitted her DNA to every database she could find. Last year she’d grown desperate enough to contact an interplanetary mate-finder, but even that semi-humiliating step had proved futile.
And then a potential mate found her.
With a frustrated sigh, she tried to force away thoughts of Kryton. It didn’t matter that he was devastating to her senses or that he could provide her with the one thing she’d dreamed about all her life, children. He was Rodyte. That alone made joining with him impossible. But what if she turned the tables on him? She could do her best to become pregnant before she earned her freedom. A shiver dropped down her spine as the thought percolated inside her mind. She couldn’t let him realize he’d succeeded or he’d never allow her to leave. But Bilarrian females often sensed pregnancy long before outward signs indicated that they’d conceived.
“What caused that expression?” Tonn asked her. “You look like you’re plotting a crime.”
She smiled at him. “In a way I am.” Tonn had brought her dinner tray a few minutes ago and she’d convinced him to share the meal with her. They sat across from each other in the small dining room in her upgraded cabin, but Skyla was too distracted to have much of an appetite. This was one subject she dare not share with him, so she switched to a believable alternative. “How old was Arton when he was taken by Harbinger Guild?”
He paused to clear his mouth before answering her. “Around five. I’m not sure exactly. Is that important?”
“It could be.” Skyla took a drink of blood wine as she considered her next question. Hoping to trigger a vision, she’d spent countless hours meditating and reviewed everything she knew about Arton each night before she went to sleep. Still, any useful information eluded her. Many of her visions were spontaneous, but more were triggered by specific stimuli. If she had objects Arton had touched or access to the memories of people who knew him, her visions might be more productive. “Has Kryton seen his son since that day? Maybe in a surveillance vid or…has there been any contact between the two?”
“Surveillance is forbidden inside Harbinger Academy, but Kryton’s investigators have captured stills and a few short vids of Arton down through the years.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“A few weeks before he was taken.” Tonn set down his fork and pressed back into his chair. “Why all the questions?”
She’d confided in Tonn, told him about the bargain she’d made with Kryton, and just about everything else. He was easy to talk to and Skyla was lonely. Even if he was Kryton’s spy, she had nothing else to lose. “My visons are often triggered by objects or memories. I think the reason I’ve been unsuccessful is because I have no connection to Arton.”
“The person with the strongest connection to Arton is Kryton,” he pointed out with a knowing smile.
She drained her glass then pushed back from the table so she could cross her legs. “He’s avoiding me.”
“He’s been extremely busy, but I suspect he’ll make time for you. You should have told me you were missing him.”
“I didn’t say I was missing him,” she stressed. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”
Tonn chuckled, clearly unmoved by her vehemence. “I’ll com him for you.”
He gazed off into the distance as if he were communicating telepathically. There were no visible devices on his person, so how was he sending the com?
“He needs twenty minutes to finish what he’s doing and then he’ll come here.” Tonn’s gaze returned to her face as he offered the explanation.
“Are you telepathic? How did you contact him?”
One of Tonn’s brows arched and amusement made his dark eyes shimmer. “You’ve never encountered anyone with integrated tech before?”
“I’d never left Bilarri before and Bilarrians have no use for most forms of technology.” She hadn’t meant the response to sound so bitchy, but his amusement made her feel ignorant. “What did you mean by integrated? Integrated with what?”
“With me. The tech is inside my body.”
His tone still held a hint of disbelief, but she tried not to take offense. Her perspective was just as alien to him as his was to her. “You have some sort of communications device implanted in your body?”
He nodded. “Com-bots are mandatory for all military personnel. It allows us to contact each other or interact with our ship even when we aren’t aboard.”