“Score all ’round.”Gweneth’s cheeky grin urged him to share the joke.
Their lips collided, and for one heady sec, reality pushed away, replaced by sheer pleasure and satisfaction, softness, and the scent of Gweneth’s arousal.
Outside their cell, Sheera broke off mid-scream, the silence welcoming and pleasing.Ellard continued to kiss Gweneth, his feline purring at the close contact.His mind drifted back to the previous eve and their loving.Somehow, Gweneth centered him and pushed his anxiety about his lack of an arm away.
He smiled down at her.
She raised a hand to stroke his cheek.“Nice.”
“I thought so, and Sheera has stopped screaming.”Ellard walked to the grate door and peered out.Sheera stood between the two Scothage males, the band around her neck glowing.She looked straight at him this time, and he winked in acknowledgment.Good.Gweneth’s idea had worked.Sheera had stepped past her panic, and the slight energy boost had helped her center her thoughts.
“You be going in here with the other,” Stinky said in a gruff voice.
Gweneth joined him at the door.The door to another cell farther down slid open.Ellard caught a glimpse of a pale being sitting in the corner of the cell and breathed a sigh of relief.Leeam.A band circled his neck, the glow of blue almost ghostly in the dim light.Kid didn’t appear too healthy.
Sheera darted into the cell and slid to her knees.Skinny, pale arms slipped around her shoulders as the couple embraced.The cell door slid shut, and the door didn’t return to its original opaque.The grates were easier for feeding and checking on prisoners.Nifty feature.
“What now?”Gweneth breathed next to his ear.
“Wait.Observe.Hope that the dragons can rescue us, and failing that, Lynx and Shiloh will know we’re missing because we’ve skipped our check-in a couple of times.They’ll come looking.”
The Scothage men disappeared, their chatter fading.One returned and pushed tubes through the grate of their cell.
“Water.Soup,” he said with a gesture at the tubes.He pushed the same tubes through the grate to the Incorporeal couple and departed.
“They have no idea how the Incorporeal feed,” Gweneth whispered.
“Leeam doesn’t look too good.Sheera?”he called in a low voice.
She pushed to her feet, her actions slow and almost tortured.When she reached the grate door, he saw the tracks of tears staining her cheeks, the blue glow from the throat band pulsing like a heartbeat.
“What is the collar for?Does it inhibit your powers?”Ellard asked.
“Yes, we can’t blink out.”
“Can you materialize items still?”Gweneth asked, coming to stand by his side.
“Yes, but staying visible is sapping our energy.Leeam is weak because he needs food.”
“The Scothage don’t know how you feed.How do they not know this if they know enough to make a collar to force your compliance?”Ellard asked.
“They’re not particularly bright,” Gweneth murmured.
“They’re smart,” Ellard contradicted.“They have to be to make their living as pirates.Did they say what they intend to do with you?”
Leeam struggled to his feet and lurched to the door.Sheera squawked in distress and ran to offer her support.
“Help to door,” Leeam said.
She shouldered most of his weight and got him to the door.His pale fingers gripped the bars to keep upright.
“Think someone sold us out but didn’t tell them everything,” he whispered hoarsely.“They’ve been watching, waiting for half a rotation.Something about the debris storm gave them an unexpected advantage, or they caused it.Couldn’t work out.”
“Do you think one of the dragons would give the information to reivers?No, why would they do that?Betraying your people wouldn’t make sense,” Gweneth said.
Ellard studied the youngsters.“It would make sense if they’d left the planet and wanted to abduct Incorporeals to start their own empire.”
“Or if the reivers are acting as intermediaries,” Gweneth added.
