Hunger Untamed (Feral Warriors #5)(37)

Olivia stared at Delaney, her mouth dropping open. "You?"

Delaney nodded.

Kara leaned forward. "Will a human pregnancy test work? I mean, she used to be human. What about a blood test?"

Olivia shook her head, understanding the strange expressions on the women's faces. Such joy mixed with the terrible knowledge that the father's life hung in the balance. "There's no need for a test." She looked at Delaney. "You already know. Within a few weeks of conception, a Therian mother always knows." She sank down on the bed beside Delaney. "You know."

Delaney's mouth compressed, her eyes brimming with a damp wealth of joy and sorrow. "Yes. A little boy. I know." A tear escaped and started to roll down her cheek. "Tighe knows."

"Through the mating bond?"

She nodded, the tears running faster. "The moment I felt my son, I felt Tighe's wonder, his absolute euphoria. Moments later, both dissolved in devastation." She choked on a sob. "He doesn't think he's ever going to see him."

Delaney shot off the bed, pacing to the window, a tense bundle of nerves. "I can't stand this waiting, this feeling him die." She whirled back to the two women, dashing away the tears running down her cheeks. "I'm going back to Harpers Ferry. I know he's not actually there, but I feel like he is. And if he dies . . ."

The field where the vortex had opened was almost certainly the place his body would be spit out.

There was nothing any of them could do but hope the Ferals found that Mage, Hookeye, and a cure for the poison that would allow Queen Ariana to save Hawke and Tighe. While there was still time.

Awake again, Kougar dressed quickly, his mind spinning from all he'd seen, from all he'd learned. His blood raced with the possibilities. Almost as quickly as Ariana announced there was no way to reclaim the ancient memories, she'd backpedaled, realizing she no longer knew what was and wasn't possible.

And he was hoping this was the miracle they'd prayed for, that within those lost memories lay the answer to saving Hawke, Tighe, and the Ilinas. And himself.

"I need to go to the Crystal Realm." Ariana pulled her jeans over her hips and zipped them up. "I have to talk to Mel and Brie."

"Call them here. To the backyard. I want Lyon to hear this, too."

"This isn't your concern." Her words dismissed him, annoying the hell out of him.

As she reached for her shirt, Kougar grabbed her arm, startling a gasp out of her as her gaze snapped to his.

He didn't say anything. He didn't have to.

Her eyes flashed. "Right. Your friends, your concern." Her tone was clipped, but her expression eased with a wry twist of her lips. "It's a hard habit to break."

Kougar's grip loosened, and he ran his hand up and down her arm, knowing he'd gripped her too hard. "Break it."

They finished dressing in silence, and he ushered her out of his room and down the stairs. As they reached the foyer, he hesitated, half-tempted to tell her to go call her maidens while he went in search of Lyon. But that required a trust he just didn't have. Instead, he took her hand as he went in search of Lyon. He found his chief in his study, working at his desk.

"We may have a lead," Kougar said, when Lyon looked up. "Ariana needs to speak with Brielle. And Melisande."

Lyon scowled.

"She'll call them to the backyard. I thought you might want to be there."

"I do." Lyon came around the desk. "Is Melisande really necessary?"

"Yes." As the three strode down the wide hallway, Kougar filled Lyon in. "We think Ariana has lost some chunks of memory--racial memory passed down from one queen to another--either as a direct result of the Mage attack or a secondary result of the poison. Either way, if she can retrieve that memory, she may be able to find an answer that could help them. And us."

They strode through the large dining room where the long dining table sat before a wide bank of windows overlooking the thickly treed backyard. Lyon yanked open the door and, together, they stepped out onto the sunny brick patio. Birds called to one another as the midday sun beat down warmly despite the mild temperature of the air.

Kougar glanced at the woman at his side. The sun glowed in her dark hair, setting it afire with red and gold highlights, drilling him with her beauty. "Call them, Ariana."

Lyon pulled one of his knives, holding it at his side with a warrior's stillness. Kougar didn't believe Melisande would attack again, but there was never any telling with that one. Moments later, Ariana's two lieutenants misted into place on a pine-scented breeze.

Melisande drew her sword, her gaze locked on Lyon.

"Ease down, Mel," Ariana snapped.

Brielle's gaze fastened on her queen. "What's the matter?"

Ariana waited for Melisande to sheathe her sword, then told them what they'd seen--the temple, the prayer. "Where is that place?"

"The Temple of the Queens, the lowest chamber, below the altar of life. Only you could go down there." Brielle frowned. "You don't remember."

"No. I've lost memories. I don't know when, or how many."

Melisande scowled.

Brielle gripped Ariana's arm. "From the time of your awakening until the attack, you returned to the temple and lit the fires in the Chamber of Life every equinox. I thought you stopped going after the attack because it was too hard on you when you could no longer turn to mist."