The Sacrifice Read online

  Cy chewed his lip, and tried to imagine how it would feel to be so connected to another person.

  She looked at him with love and concern in her sapphire eyes. “Do not worry, darling. It’s a wonderful connection to have with the person you love. And it is difficult to fully understand before you experience it yourself.”

  “I understand what you’re saying, but I’m hesitant to let someone get that close. I’m a warrior, and I live a warrior’s life. My world is dangerous. What if I fail to keep her safe?”

  His mother laid her warm palm against his cheek. “Cygan, you cannot be afraid to love someone because of who you are. You are so much like your father. You have the heart of a warrior, but also the heart of a king. That combination leaves you with a fierce conviction to protect our race. However, when it comes to those you love, there are no limits to what you would do to ensure their safety. What makes you think you would do no less for your life-mate? You’ve spent your life trying to keep complete strangers from harm. The time has come for you to allow yourself some happiness. Do not let fear deprive you of this wonderful gift.”

  “I think it’s too late to back away from her, anyway. Every cell in my body is telling me that after all this time I’ve finally met the person meant to share my life.” A momentary look of dread crossed Cy’s face. “Now comes the hard part.”

  “What is that, dear?”

  Cy released a long breath. “Convincing her of that.”

  Chapter 11

  The alarm blared, and Riana hit snooze for the umpteenth time. She forced herself out of bed, but wanted to roll over and bury her head beneath the pillow again. She’d tossed and turned most of the night, thanks to her mother and the Commander’s ‘big revelation.’ As if running on no sleep wasn’t bad enough, this afternoon would be her first one-on-one with Kyra. Supposedly, so she could assess their fighting strengths and weaknesses. Riana doubted it was the complete truth.

  She dressed and headed to the fridge to grab a glass of synthetic blood. Maybe it’d help her energy level. As she pulled it out of the microwave, the doorbell rang. Who could that be this early?

  It’d better not be my mother. I’m not in the mood to deal with her today.

  Riana opened the door. A young man wearing a compound staff uniform peeked around the largest bouquet of brilliant yellow roses she’d ever seen.

  “Riana Martin?” the boy asked. “These are for you.”

  She took the flowers and used her foot to close the door. If this was her mother’s way of making up for a life-time of lies, she could forget it.

  Elle came out of her bedroom while Riana searched for a card. “Now that’s what I call impressive. Who are they from?”

  “I don’t know. There are so many roses in the vase I can’t find a card.”

  Elle found the card and handed it to Riana.

  Her heart-rate sped as she read the inscription.

  They reminded me of the sun that shines in your eyes. Cy.

  “Well?” Elle asked trying to read over her shoulder.

  A smile lifted Riana’s lips as she handed the card to Elle. “They’re from Cy.”

  “The hottie you turned down last night?”

  Riana nodded, and admired her flowers. The fragrant scent filled the room, soothing her senses.

  “Wow, the sun in your eyes? You certainly know how to make an impression.”

  “That’s the thing. I don’t think I did, not consciously anyway. Maybe he felt that chemistry thing too. It’s kind of hard to explain, but warmth and security surrounded him. Pure sexual magnetism reeled me in like a fish at the end of a line. I’ve never experienced anything like it.” Riana gave Elle a sheepish look. “And, I’ve been rethinking my decision about the date.”

  Elle put her hand over her heart in feigned surprise. “But, Riana, what will your Mom say, dating a Protector and all?”

  Riana snorted and rolled her eyes. “Like I care what she has to say. I think her credibility is pretty much blown. I still can’t believe after all the loathsome things she said about Protectors, the Commander of them all is my father.”

  “Don’t you mean, ‘Dear old Dad,’” Elle taunted.

  Riana laughed, grabbed her gym bag and sailed it past Elle’s head.

  Thirty minutes later, Riana and Elle arrived at their class on fertility.

  Kyra cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “Some of what you ladies know about fertility and conception within our race is true, some probably is not. You’re here because you’ve reached the age to enter your first life-light cycle. Sadly, this is when it becomes vital for you to learn to protect yourself.”

  Kyra paused and looked around the room. “Can anyone tell me exactly why it’s so important now?”

  A girl with sandy brown hair spoke up. “So we can fight a feeder,” she said in an apathetic tone.

  Kyra nodded. “Yes, but do you know why they’re more likely to attack you now, than before?”

  “Because they want to breed with us,” the girl replied, same bored tone.

  Kyra tapped her pencil against the desk and released a loud sigh. “Well, yes, that is their ultimate goal.” She glanced around the room. “Can anyone else tell me why they want to breed with you?”

  Riana decided to speak up before the girl spouted another clipped answer, and Kyra unleashed on her. “Females who drink human blood lose the ability to conceive. Since we’ve never drank from humans, we’re not affected. It’s the reason male feeders abduct us to breed with. We’re at greater risk now because they would sense we’ve reached fertility age.”

  “Exactly,” Kyra said. “Thank you Ms. Martin. Once their females lost the ability to reproduce, we became their only means of replenishing their army. If you happen to run across a feeder, they’ll not stop until you’re captured or dead. You ladies need to understand why this program is important for your well-being. Hopefully, the defensive fighting techniques and effective use of weapons you learn will be enough to escape abduction.”

  Kyra walked around her desk and propped herself against the edge. “At the end of your training we’ll escort you to a location for your fertility ritual, which is a necessary part of life that enables us to reproduce. If you go then, you’ll have the best protection on Earth. Feeders used to capture females at a younger age, and take them to the fertility sites when they developed. We were largely successful at halting that practice. We monitored the many sites around the world, killed the feeders, and rescued the girls. Another factor that slowed that practice was the volatile nature of feeders. Many of the young girls wouldn’t live until fertility age.”

  The face of a girl with long, dark hair flashed into Riana’s mind. They’d met in college and she was the only person Riana knew who had been rescued at a fertility site. But it wasn’t hard to see the psychological scars in the girl’s withdrawn eyes. Kyra’s voiced snapped Riana out of the memory.

  “Because of our biological makeup, and the difference between the magnetosphere of Earth and that of Sivadia, to reproduce we must travel to an area where Earth’s magnetic field lines are most concentrated. The areas easiest for us to absorb these energies are where they are giving off light emissions, commonly known as the Aurora Borealis. There, you’ll bathe in the hot springs, which contain century’s old minerals from glacial runoff. These minerals serve as catalysts, allowing you to absorb the high levels of electromagnetically charged energy in the area. It takes this combination of events to jump-start our reproductive systems into producing viable, mature eggs.”

  Riana’s mind raced with possibilities. This sounded like a lot to go through to have a child. Sivadians were far more advanced than humans. If human scientist could make the advancements they had, Sivadian scientists could figure a simpler way to conceive.

  Once this training’s over, I need to research this. Maybe I’ll get Mom—no! I will not ask anything from her.

  “After the fertility ritual,” Kyra continued, “you’ll have the ability to
conceive if you choose. However, you must have sex within one week of absorbing the light. Your body’s need to procreate during that week will cause a tremendous increase in your sex drive. You may find it necessary to isolate yourself from males in order not to become pregnant. That’s why the ritual is on the last day of your training.”

  Just great, we’ll turn into sex starved fiends for an entire week. Unlike Elle, I don’t have a harem of human men at my beck and call. If it becomes unbearable, I may have to find my own. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about becoming pregnant with a human.

  “If you’re not ready to have children, stay away from men. When you are ready, you must do what I refer to as a reboot. You’ll go to one of the regions on Earth with low magnetic field lines and pull energy from them. There are many of these on every continent. After the fertility ritual you’ll naturally feel their pull, making them easy to recognize. This part of the process is called ‘Life Light.’ ‘Life’ because our continued existence depends on the ability to complete this process, and ‘Light’ because when you pull from a magnetic field line, you will dissolve into a luminescent sphere of light as you float along the lines, absorbing the electromagnetic vibrations the Earth offers. Both of these experiences are described as exhilarating, and will leave you with a sense of oneness with this world like you’ve never experienced before.”

  Kyra glanced at the clock behind her. She turned back to the class with an uncharacteristic smile.

  Riana’s eyes widened. Any moment, she expected Kyra’s face to crack.

  “Okay, ladies, after lunch your first one-on-one assessments will begin. The sign-up sheet is on my desk. Stop by and pick a time on your way out.”

  So, that’s why the smile.

  Visions of Kyra beating her into a bloody mess came to mind. Riana stopped at her desk and signed up for the last session of the day, dreading the inevitable.

  ***

  Cy stood close to the gym waiting for Riana to come out of class. He planned to make it appear as if he were passing by at that particular moment, anxious to see her reaction to the roses.

  After leaving his mother’s, he’d tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Every time he drifted off, a pair of brilliant green eyes haunted his dreams. If Riana didn’t change her mind about spending time with him, he might never get another peaceful night’s rest.

  Riana exited the building, and Cy headed in her direction. The moment she saw him, a dazzling smile lit her face.

  That’s a good sign. At least she wasn’t ignoring him like last night when she got out of the Hummer.

  “I’ll meet you back at our place,” Elle said as Riana stopped in front of him.

  “Thank you for the beautiful roses. You really shouldn’t ha—”

  “No, I really should have,” he interrupted softly. “They pale in comparison to you.”

  Oh my God, could that line have sounded cheesier? Why do I turn into a rambling idiot when I’m around her?

  Riana’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “Well, thank you.” She hesitated and drew a slow breath. “I was wondering…if the offer for dinner is still on the table.”

  Cy’s brows popped. Had he just heard her right? “Yes, it most definitely is. Nothing would please me more.”

  Well there is one thing, but I better keep that to myself for now.

  “What time should I pick you up?”

  “Is seven all right?”

  “It’s perfect.” Cy tried to keep from grinning like an idiot. “Are you finished with class for the evening?”

  “Yes, but I have to go back in a couple of hours for a one-on-one session with Kyra. She says it’s to evaluate our skills. Personally, I believe she intends to give us a beat-down to put us in our place. She was a little too excited about it for my liking.”

  “Yeah, since her little sister came to live with her, she doesn’t get to fight in the field very often.” He might need to have a talk with Kyra, make sure she wasn’t being too rough with the trainees.

  An idea popped into his mind. “I was headed down to the stables on the other side of the lake. We use horses to patrol the periphery of the compound. Would you like to come along to keep me company?”

  She smiled, and her full, pink lips, drew him in. He wanted to pull her in, brush his lips across them and feel their softness.

  “Do I get to ride a horse?” Riana asked.

  “Have you ridden before?”

  Light danced in her eyes. “I’ve ridden a few times.”

  “Okay, we have a mare that’s gentle. You can ride her.” He would have preferred to have her ride with him, her arms wrapped around his waist, snuggled close to his back. He pushed the thought from his head.

  What am I thinking? I can’t even look at her without becoming hard. Riding a horse in that condition is probably not the smartest move.

  They walked past the lodges, and then past the lake.

  “This place is beautiful.” Riana said, looking up at the high mountains.

  “Yes. I’ve enjoyed living here. People are more laid back than some other places we’ve been. Because of the feeders in town, we’ll probably have to change our location sooner than I’d hoped.”

  “How often do you change locations?”

  “If undetected, we’ll stay between ten to fifteen years. That’s why we build the compounds like a resort. It’s easier to sell when we move on.”

  They strolled across an arched, wooden bridge over a creek, and a large barn came into view. As they entered the stables, the scent of hay and horses mixed with a hint of manure filled the air. Cy went past several stalls before reaching the mare he had in mind for Riana. She had stopped at a stall holding a large stallion. Cy wasn’t surprised. The animal was one of the most beautiful he’d ever seen, golden brown with white socks and a white star between his eyes.

  Riana’s arm reached through the gate and stroked the horse’s neck. “Hey, boy,” she whispered. She glanced at Cy. “Can I ride this one?”

  “Tonka has a bit of a stubborn streak…doesn’t always do what he’s told.”

  She looked at him from beneath long, thick lashes. “I guess that’s something we have in common. We should get along splendid.”

  Great.

  How could he deny her anything when those emerald eyes sparkled? Hell, how could he deny her anything, period?

  “Okay, but you need to stay close, in case he decides to act up.”

  Riana’s entire face lit to match her eyes. He’d do anything to keep that expression there. The veil of darkness that had surrounded him for centuries began to lift, allowing in a long forgotten light.

  Cy saddled the horses and led them outside. He was about to ask if she needed help mounting her horse when she put a foot in the stirrup and slung her leg over. God, she looked good sitting up there. Her body was relaxed and confident, like she’d done this a thousand times.

  “You look like a natural.”

  “Elle’s uncle owns a horse ranch in Wyoming. Every summer we spent several weeks with him. We could barely pry ourselves from the horses long enough to eat and sleep.”

  “You and she must have been friends a long time.”

  “Since we were children. My mother worked a lot, so I spent most of my time at Elle’s house.”

  Cy mounted the black stallion he’d chosen to ride. “We’ll take this trail over to the rock wall circling the compound. There’s a wide path that follows the fence.”

  They rode at a slow pace. Cy pointed out a family of rabbits scurrying inside a hollow tree, different birds and wildlife. When they reached the straight away at the back of the property, Riana flashed him a devilish grin. She leaned forward and dug her heels into Tonka’s sides. The horse pitched forward and took off like his tail was ablaze.

  Every cell in Cy’s body went on alert and he followed suit. What was she doing, trying to get herself killed? With his eyes trained on her back, he attempted to catch up. She was leaning over the horse with her rear in the air
like a professional jockey. The wind whipped her long hair behind her. The sun glistened through rippling strands of gold. She turned and glanced back to see if he was gaining, her face a picture of delight.

  Oh, she is so enjoying this. While I’m practically paralyzed with fear she’ll get hurt.

  Cy smacked the stallion on the rear and it responded, increasing his speed.

  Before long he pulled up beside her. “Slow down,” he yelled over the sound of pounding hoofs.

  Riana sat back and pulled the reins. The horse slowed to a trot.

  “What was that all about?”

  “What? You’re not up for a little race?” Her full lips held an adorable smile, and her tone a bit of a challenge.

  Even though his heart pounded against his ribs as if trapped inside a prison, Cy enjoyed seeing her fun side. He reined in his emotions, afraid she’d think he was a control freak. “You didn’t mention being a horse jockey.”

  Riana burst into laughter. His body immediately reacted to the sound. What was it about her laughter that made him want her even more? Maybe he’d developed an addiction to her pleasure? A grin lifted his lips. He’d really like to explore that theory at length.

  Once back at the stables, Cy dismounted and walked over to Tonka. He reached up and circled Riana’s waist with his hands. She brought her other leg over the saddle, and their bodies made contact as she slid down the length of his six-four frame. The air around them sizzled with electricity. Every cell in his body came to life. As he sat her feet on the ground, a blush crept over her cheeks and a sensual expression covered her face. As if suddenly realizing what was happening, she stepped out of his arms, leaving them bereft. Riana took Tonka’s reins and led him inside the stable.

  Cy grinned, adjusting the tightness inside his jeans. That time, he had confirmation. She felt their incredible connection. This was no mere attraction. She craved him just as much as he craved her.

  Chapter 12

  Riana changed her clothes before her fight session with Kyra, still hyped from horse-back riding with Cy. He was without a doubt, the sexiest male she’d ever met. Her womb had practically seized when she’d dismounted and slid down the length of all those hard muscles. At that moment, Tonka wasn’t all she’d wanted to ride. What would it be like to spend an entire evening with him? A smile quirked the corners of her mouth. It would be fun finding out.