“Jim and I grew close on the journey here. Jaci and Bill said we Hum and the cousins gave us a crystal. Jim and I…we make it glow. I know that means something really special to your people, but we’re both human. We both have responsibilities and duties to people and places far apart. Jim and I made no commitments to each other. I can’t, in good conscience, make a commitment to anyone at this point in my life. I owe the Patriarch my allegiance and my loyalty. I’m his to command. I can’t promise anyone—you or Jim—anything beyond today. My future is uncertain and not mine to choose.”
Grady dropped her hands and moved a few steps away, clearly processing her words. He seemed to be struggling with what she’d just told him, making her feel guilty. She hated the feeling.
“I want to do the tests with you.” Grady whirled on her, causing her to take a step backward with his vehemence. “Now.” He shook his head, his voice strong. “As soon as possible.”
“Okay.” He must have sensed her hesitance because he stepped up close to her and reclaimed her hands in an almost desperate grip.
“I believe in my heart—in my soul—that you are my mate, Gina. I want to see the proof before we go any further. I want the world to see that you are my true Resonance Mate.”
Her body vibrated in an echo of his desperation. She felt the urgency in his tone and his grip. She could do this for him. It was a simple enough request.
“All right. Jaci can witness. Or Bill. Both can hear the Hum.”
“But all can see the crystal glow.” Grady’s eyes snapped with fire, his lips curling into the smallest of grins, daring her.
“I don’t know—” Gina didn’t really care to be put on display, but she feared nothing less would satisfy him in such a dangerous mood.
“You’re mine.” The growl in his voice surprised her, as did the possession in every line of his body.
“You’d best stop manhandling my friend, Grady Prime, or friend or not, I will kick your ass.”
Bill’s voice broke like an icy wave over Gina’s senses. She dragged her gaze from Grady’s to find the other Alvian warrior just a few feet away, watching them. Grady looked over at him too, but didn’t move for a long moment, staking his claim clearly for the other warrior’s benefit.
Then, little by little, he let her go. Gina stepped back, but not far. She wouldn’t allow her actions to shame him in any way.
“We will perform the resonance tests right away,” Grady announced. “You can be a witness.”
“No need. You already have passed all three tests. Congratulations. You are true mates,” Bill shocked them both by saying.
“When? How?” Gina asked, unable to say anything more coherent.
“Just now. Jaci took out a tuned crystal when you two said hello. Everybody saw it glowing but you. You were, shall we say, otherwise engaged.” Bill chuckled at them and Gina started to realize just how lost to the world she’d been after spotting Grady.
“You are certain?” Grady seemed to want further proof.
“Yes, my friend. I am absolutely certain. And seeing this miracle—in addition to that granted Jaci and her mates—gives me renewed hope for the future.”
All of a sudden, Gina realized that Jim must have seen everything. Her heart sank like a stone.
“This is welcome news.” Grady took the hand Bill offered in congratulations. Only then did Gina realize Jim and their hosts had left the area while she’d been oblivious in Grady’s arms. She worried over what that might mean¾what Jim might have seen and how he might have reacted.
Jaci came over to them and offered her congratulations. Gina decided to let things unfold as they willed for the moment. She’d deal with Jim at the earliest opportunity, but for now she wanted to bask just a little longer in Grady’s presence. She didn’t know what the future would hold, but something inside her wanted to be near Grady for as long as possible.
No doubt, she had a lot to think about, but for the moment, she latched onto Grady’s arm and let it all ride.
This installation’s communications center looked even more advanced than the one in Jim’s facility in Colorado. Jim was suitably impressed with the artificial intelligence computer that ran most of the systems in the underground complex and told the cousins so. They took his words in stride, but Jim could tell they were pleased as they unveiled the newest console in the chamber.
At its heart was a clear, shining, quartz crystal. Its surface sparkled in the dim light of the chamber, throwing sparks of light around the room like an old-fashioned disco ball.
“We’ve made a few modifications with Bill and Jaci’s help.” Mike sat at the console, flipping switches and powering up the system.
It didn’t take long at all. The crystal glowed from within when power started flowing through it, but not as much as Jim expected. Certainly not even as much as he’d seen when that newly arrived Alvian bastard had kissed Gina. That glow had been brighter and the crystal much smaller. Jim didn’t know what that meant just yet, but he planned to find out.
Mike placed a call that was answered a minute later by a cheerful, female voice.
“Hi, Mike, it’s Jane. How are you all doing out there?”
“We’re just fine, Mrs. O’Hara. How’s the family? Good, I hope.”
Damned if this didn’t sound like a good old-fashioned telephone call. For just a minute, Jim felt nostalgic for the old world and the millions of easy conversations he’d had with friends and family. When the aliens took out the satellites and most of the ground-based infrastructure, telephones had become impossible tech for humans to maintain.
Jim listened as Mike exchanged pleasantries with the woman on the other end of the line for a few minutes longer, finally asking to speak with someone named Mick.
“Mick O’Hara is one hell of a telepath. He’s the one who’s in direct communication with their boy, Harry. He’s the relay from the city and from Caleb,” David explained. He stood beside Jim, a few feet behind the console and Mike.
A few moments later, a male voice came over the line. “Harry said you’d be calling sooner rather than later. How’s it going over there?”
Mike explained the situation, giving Mick O’Hara more detail than Jim would have expected, but then, he didn’t really know these people or their resources. But the more he saw, the more he decided to cultivate a relationship with these people and their facility. They could definitely learn things from each other.
“So what have you got for me, Mick?” Jim was glad when Mike finally got down to business.
“Caleb had a good chuckle over your situation. We all know how much you two despise Grady Prime, but I have to tell you, you’re going to have to put that all behind you if you want to move forward. He’s a changed man and with him will come even greater changes. Managing them is going to be the key. You two are poised to do that, along with the girl and her contacts. Caleb can’t see much about them yet, only vague images and what he thinks are metaphors.”
“Metaphors?” Mike shot a look back at his cousin, clearly curious.
“He’s seeing angels, Mike. Near as he can figure, that’s got to stand for something else.”
Dave laughed out loud and stepped forward to the console, taking the mic. “You know as well as I do, doc, that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”
The other end of the line was silent for a moment. “You trying to tell me there are dudes with wings on this planet, Dave? Have you been smoking the drapes?”
Both cousins laughed at that.
“No, Mick. I’m telling you, I’ve seen it. Dudes with wings. They’re real.”