Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Chapter 18
Gina: Hey, anyone heard from Soleil? She hasn’t posted since before what happened and I can’t see that Yariela has, either. I know it’s only been three days, but I feel sick to the pit of my stomach. I just want to know they’re okay.
Brett: Yeah, I’m the same. Best-case scenario is that they’re just picking up the pieces and will respond to comms later.
Shamita: I hope so. I hate that no one from SkyElm has reached out to the rest of us for assistance. That alpha of theirs is a total ass according to my own alpha, but we would send help regardless. But we can’t go in without an invitation.
Gina: Brett, you’re a cat in the same general region. You heard anything on the feline network?
Brett: Nada. SkyElm’s insular at the best of times, and right now, they seem to be ignoring all attempts at contact—my alpha tried to reach out directly, got nothing. The only thing I can confirm is that there were survivors—we were able to find that out via a human contact on the ground there.
—Chat log: Primal Care Forum (17 February 2082)
SOLEIL CAME AWAKE with no physical movement to betray her change in state. It was a skill she’d cultivated as a child, after being placed in temporary foster care with the kind of people who should’ve never been carers. But her cat wasn’t having it today, too startled by the other scent in the room. Of a much bigger cat.
Her eyes flicked open.
To see a face of warm beauty leaning over her. The woman’s eyes were the shade of rich caramel against skin kissed by the sun, the hair that tumbled over one of her shoulders an intense brown, and her presence a protective blanket.
Soleil knew her: Tamsyn Ryder, the senior DarkRiver healer.
Changeling healers had long had an informal alliance; they shared healing knowledge regardless of politics and other such vagaries. Back in 2080, however, Tamsyn had set up a forum to facilitate that sharing. Having the forum also allowed for information to be saved so it could be searched. Most of all, the forum was an open conversational space for healers across the world.
“Politics is for alphas and sentinels,” Tamsyn had written in the introductory text. “Healers heal.”
Before the massacre, the forum had been one of Soleil’s favorite online places. She wasn’t, however, worried that Tamsyn would recognize her. As SkyElm’s junior healer, she’d never joined any of the visual communications.
“There you are.” Tamsyn’s voice was as warm as her presence. “How are you feeling?”
Soleil did an internal check. “Tired but okay.” And with an echo of loss inside her that had nothing to do with SkyElm. It was colored in a strange glowing orange edged with scarlet … and in shards of blue, like the eyes of the man who’d saved her life … and now thought he owned it.
Hmph. Her cat tilted up its nose, tail flicking. But it wasn’t angry. How could it be when it was convinced Ivan was hers?
Tamsyn helped her up. “Understandable given what you did during the incident.” Her presence was deceptively gentle—because, if changeling gossip was true, Tamsyn was one of the most powerful people in DarkRiver. It was said that she’d dared override Lucas Hunter and come out of it not only alive but with Lucas’s respect.
The thought of a healer being so treated caused a pang in Soleil’s chest. Monroe had never harmed Yariela, had even taken her advice much of the time—but that was as far as it went.
“An energy drink,” Tamsyn said, passing over a tall glass.
Since changelings weren’t known to poison each other, far preferring more direct methods, Soleil took the glass and drank down half of it in one go. Tamsyn’s approving look made her want to flush, her cat in awe of this woman who was all Soleil had once hoped to become: a strong healer who was an integral part of a pack … and a woman with her own small “pack”—a mate and children she adored.
A family. A sense of belonging. A home.
Energy fizzed in Soleil’s veins. Startled, she looked at the drink. “What is this?”
Tamsyn’s laugh was husky and warm. “Good, isn’t it? It’s a new formulation, based on Psy nutrient drinks. One of our young food scientists saw how the nutrients give Psy an almost immediate boost when they’re stressed energy-wise, and wondered if she could formulate a mix for changeling bodies.”
She nodded at the glass. “It’s only half as effective as the Psy compound, but it packs a punch. Yuka is currently working on another iteration—and she’s already drawn up a business plan where DarkRiver takes over the changeling energy drink market.” Affectionate pride in Tamsyn’s voice.
Soleil’s cat curled up inside her, dejected and lonely and wanting. Yariela had done her best, as had other senior members of the pack, but SkyElm had never functioned in the way of a huge and supportive family. A studious packmate like Yuka would’ve been sniffed at and denigrated by Monroe and his cronies.