With a contemptuous sneer, the deity and his projection dissolved.
The agonizing grip on Zane’s mind severed, sending him stumbling forward.
He exhaled a ragged breath, his gaze burning with a frantic, sapphire light as he locked eyes with the brothers.
‘The threat isn’t hollow,’ Zane rasped, his timbre raw from the mental intrusion. ‘He will incinerate us all and a thousand worlds to punish your defiance should you conceive of any. He demands your total submission, or he will turn Pegasi into a graveyard.’
The temporal freeze thawed with the violence of a physical blow.
The rest of the Riders and the women at the table slid and collapsed over in their seats, unconscious.
Idan whipped around to his woman and cursed as she slumped on the chair beside him.
He reached for her, his heart hammering. ‘Sheba?’
She was non-responsive, so he lifted her into his arms, her head falling heavy against his shoulder.
Carrying her to an empty divan, he lay her down flat, staring at her with growing worry.
Xion, too, got hold of Illana, and Molan went to his woman.
Around them, the other Riders stirred.
The fokk?Xion groaned in a slurred sub-vocal utterance that Iran caught in his neural node.
Sulfiqar sent a psionic assault on us all,Molan offered.
Kainan and the rest of the Riders jolted to find their partners collapsed.
Their women were still lost in a deep, unnerving stupor, their bodies turning limp, slumped into their seats or face down on the timber table.
Panic flooded the terrace.
Kainan scooped a pale, unconscious Selene into his arms, his jaw set in a hard line of rage. Cursing under his breath, he andthe other men hurried to settle their mates onto the cushioned divans.
‘Will they besawa?’ Kage demanded, the words a raw growl as his focus sliced toward Ki’Remi.
The medic collapsed to his knees before his wife, shuddering from the aftereffects of the attack.
‘We need Mirage. I’m toofokkedup to assess the damage.’
‘Mirage!’ Kainan roared, his bellow echoing off the stone parapets.
A shimmer of light heralded the demi-urge’s arrival.
She took in the scene with an arched brow and produced a med wand, hovering it over the passed-out woman.
‘Their vitals remain steady,’ she announced, her tone cutting through the Riders’ burgeoning dread. ‘The mental incursion bypassed their defenses, but they will wake. Their minds require time to recalibrate after such a massive psionic surge.’
The sight of the vibrant women struck down by his progenitor’s hand sent a wave of nauseating guilt through Idan’s chest.
He gathered Sheba into his lap, his fingers digging into her side as he pressed his forehead against hers.
A frantic energy radiated from his frame, his usual composure splintering at her stillness.
He sensed Kainan’s flaming stare and sliced his eyes to the Rider’skhan, steeling himself.
‘Hell, I’m sorry,’ Idan gritted out. ‘Sulfiqar is spiraling beyond reason. He is out of control.’
