“Justwords,” she whispered but she didn’t sound sure of what she was saying at all.

Heheld her close. “It’s all right, baby,” hesent through their link. Everything isgoing to be all right now.”

Orhe tried to send it, anyway. He’d heard the others talking about how the wallsof the temple blocked their mental communication and he’d been hoping that oncehe got Trin outside those tall stone walls, her mind would open to him againand thoughts could flow between them through their bond.

Buteven now, though they were finally away from the temple of the Goddess ofJudgment, the mental block Trin had put up against him and the bond they sharedheld strong. Even now he couldn’t reach her.

Lookingat her ravaged and tear stained face, Thrace wondered if he ever would.

 

Chapter Thirty-seven

“Putme down,” Trin said, the moment they entered the shuttle. Thrace had taken her straight backto the far end of the craft, presumably so they could have some privacy.

ButTrin didn’t want to talk to him—or to anyone. She just wanted to close her eyesand die. The look on her mother’s face kept replaying over and over in herhead. “I have no daughter now,” she’dsaid and Trin believed her. She had been wiped from the records by the bloodcurse and her own sins. She was nothing anymore—and she didn’t deserve to beheld in the arms of the male she loved. The male who would surely die with herif she allowed the blood curse to drag him down as well.

“I’drather hold you,” Thracerumbled. He passed a hand gently over her shorn hair. “Want to keep you close,baby.”

“Itold you before, I’m not your ‘baby.’” Trin struggled out of his arms and turnedher face to the window, looking out and away, refusing to meet his questioninggaze.

“Allright. Well, at least let me get a med aid kit and treat your wounds.” He wasalready busy with some kind of medicine but Trin pushed his hands away.

“Idon’t need that.”

“Yes,you do,” he argued. “You need help—they hurt you in there, Trin. You need tolet me help you.”

“Idon’t need anything from you.” From the corner of her eye she saw the flash ofhurt on his face but she had gone too far now to stop. She had the blood curseon her—she had to push him away for his own good. “In fact….” She took a deepbreath. “In fact when we get where we’re going I think…I think it’s better ifwe spend some time apart.”

“Timeapart?” His deep voice sounded hoarse and strange. “Don’t you think we spentenough time apart while you were in that fucking house of horrors your peoplecall a temple?”

“Idon’t have any people now.” Trin looked down at her hands. “Didn’t you hear mymother? I don’t have anyone.”

“Youhave me, Mistress.” His voice was soft and sad now. “You’ll always have me. Ifyou want me.”

Trinlooked right at him and said the worst thing she could.

“Idon’t,” she whispered, staring into his eyes. “I…I don’t want you anymore.” Because I don’t deserve you. Because I don’twant to drag you down with me when I go—when the curse takes hold. But shecouldn’t say it out loud—it hurt too much. Hurt almost as much as the pain in Thrace’s eyes—thepain she had put there—when he nodded his head.

“Verywell. When we get to the Mother Ship, I’ll ask that they house us separately.”

“Thankyou.” Trin turned back to the shuttle window, her heart sore and aching. Butshe knew she had done the right thing. A blood curse by the high priestess wasimpossible to break—a sentence of death. Trin only hoped that the bond betweenherself and the big Havoc had been weakened enough by the barrier she hadsomehow put between them to keep him safe. She didn’t want him to die with herwhen the curse went into full effect—didn’t want him to sacrifice his life forhers when her life no longer held any value.

* * * * *

“I’mtelling you, she just wants to lie on the couch all day and sleep!” Becca pacedthe floor of their suite, her bare feet whispering on the thick carpet. “Atfirst we thought it was normal—I mean, she’s like a cult survivor, getting outof that awful place after all the terrible things they did to her. So of courseshe needed rest. But it’s been weeks now and all she wants to do is rest. It’s not right.”

“Itsounds most distressing, Rebecca. We know how much you have come to care forthe Zetta female,” Truth said gravely. He and Far were sitting on the large,three person couch they shared and watching her with worried expressions ontheir faces as she paced.

“Ido care. I know how debilitatingguilt can be and they laid a crazy amount of it on Trin in that temple. But shedoesn’t want to talk to anyone about it—not even Charlie or me.”

Beccasighed and reflected wryly that this was probably the most upset her men hadseen her since they all bonded and settled down to live happily ever after. Butshe couldn’t help it. She felt for Trin as deeply as Charlie did. In fact, thetwo of them had been visiting their new friend every day for two weeks, tryingto bring her out of the funk she seemed to have fallen into. But no matter whatthey did or said, Trin barely replied. Becca would have thought their friendhad clinical depression but it seemed to go even deeper than that—she wasnearly catatonic at times which worried Becca deeply.

“There’sgot to be a way we can help her!” shewent on, still pacing. “She won’t eat, she won’t take a bath, she doesn’t wantto read or watch movies or do anything at all…she just wants to lie on thatdamn couch and sleep her life away.”

“Andshe won’t see Thrace?”Truth asked, frowning.

Beccashook her head. “She won’t have anything to do with him.”

“Whatabout their bond? Can he reach her that way?” Far asked.

“Charliesaid he told Stavros that she’s blocking him.” Becca sighed and shook her head.There must be something we can do or someone she can talk to. The Goddesswouldn’t have sent us to get her just to watch her waste away. Would she?”

“Ido not believe she would, Rebecca,” Truth said gravely. “I agree—there must bea way to help. But how?”

“That’swhat I’ve been asking myself for days now!” Becca wanted to stamp her foot infrustration. “I tell you, ever since that awful high priestess put that curseon her she’s not the same girl! I mean, I know I wasn’t the one having visionsof her but Charlie described what she saw and—”

“Waita minute.” Far held up a hand to stop her. “You say the priestess put a curse on her?”

“Well,yes—just as we were leaving the temple. Why?”

“Whatkind of a curse?” Far frowned. “Tryto remember, Becca—this could be very important.”

“Remember?I don’t think I could ever forget. Itwas a blood curse. She cut her arm and bled into a bowl and said all theseterrible things…it was awful.” Becca shivered, remembering the gruesome sight.At the time she’d thought the priestess was just being melodramatic but fromthe way Far was looking at her, she began to wonder if the curse was more thanjust theatrics.

Thelight twin was already tapping away at his hand-held device, searching nodoubt, for something in his extensive research file.

“IfI remember correctly a blood curse is very serious,” he said frowning. “Ah yes—hereit is. The curse is said to feed on the cursed one’s soul until their will tolive is completely gone and…”

“Andwhat?” Becca could feel her heart beating in her throat.

Farlooked up, his face stricken.

“Andshe dies. Becca, I’m so sorry. The blood curse is a death curse. And it’salways fatal.”

“No—noI don’t accept that.” Becca stopped pacing. “There must be some cure—someone shecould see.”

“Youcould start by having Commander Sylvan look at her,” Truth rumbled. “Didn’t yousay she’d refused medical help before?”