Allegiance of Honor (Psy-Changeling #15) - Nalini Singh Page 0,44

ask.”

A born teleporter, Vasic could go to the deep-sea station without problem. To him, it was no different than teleporting to another country. There was no issue with a change in air pressure, either, since the pressure inside Alaris was identical to that on the surface. Not that it would’ve bothered Vasic regardless.

Unlike everyone on the planet but those capable of teleportation across that vast a distance, he’d suffer no ill effects from a sudden change in air pressure. Researchers had been grappling with that little quirk since the first time a teleporter figured out what he could do, courtesy of a scuba diving emergency.

“See if you can judge his mental state,” Aden said. “He might not be alone, but he’s still stuck under tons of water on a daily basis.” He’d always considered Stefan’s choice of work an odd one, given the psychological “flaw” that had gotten the other man kicked out of the squad’s training program.

“You know he’s as stable as a rock, has been for years.” Vasic’s smile was more suggestion than form. “At least he can finally openly share the reason why.”

Aden couldn’t argue with any part of Vasic’s statement. “Check anyway, ask if he’s happy to remain on Alaris.” The fall of Silence had changed everything; there was no reason for Stefan to stay underwater if he didn’t want to be there.

“I will.”

Nodding at his friend’s prosthetic, Aden said, “I could swear I saw you wearing a prosthetic with a metallic finish yesterday.”

“I was,” Vasic confirmed. “But that’s the piece Samuel uses to assess various components. This”—he flexed the obsidian hand again—“is his newest creation.”

“Any more effective than his previous one?” The gifted scientist had gone into a deep funk when the last prosthetic had shorted out in sparks, the wrist falling away from the forearm.

“Oh, it’s very effective,” Zaira said, a biting amusement in her tone. “Show him, Vasic.”

Vasic glanced around before walking over to pick up a branch.

His hand clamped around it. Dust drifted into the air.

“See, very effective.” Zaira’s comment was dead serious on the surface. “But not so useful if Vasic wants to stroke Ivy’s hair or hold her close—or pick up a glass to take a drink.”

Vasic closed his prosthetic hand around a rock. It came to the same dusty end as the branch. “I think I’ve proven this grasp has only one setting: ‘crush everything dead.’”

His friend was amused, too, Aden realized. “Rain will be disappointed,” he said as Vasic began to remove the prosthetic.

Floating it neatly to the ground using his Tk, the teleporter pinned up the sleeve of his shirt with his free hand. “Samuel won’t give up until he either dies or gets it right. Last time a prototype failed, he pulled at his hair until it stuck out in all directions, then declared he was Ahab and my prosthetic was his whale.”

“You’ve definitively decided on a prosthetic?” Aden hadn’t expected that. “Last time we talked, you were leaning against it.”

“I don’t need one,” Vasic admitted. “I’ve adapted.” Sleeve neatly pinned up, he teleported away the malfunctioning unit. “But Samuel saved my life and, oddly enough, this obsession helps keep him anchored. He usually only requires three or four hours of my time a month—it’s little enough payment for the life he gave me.”

“Does he realize you no longer want a replacement for your biological arm?” Zaira put her hands on her hips, clearly annoyed on behalf of a man she’d ignored for most of her life. “And if he succeeds, what then? You’ll be stuck with it.”

Unexpected humor in Vasic’s response. “I’m certain Samuel doesn’t care if I actually use the prosthetic. Getting a unit to function with my damaged systems is his whale. Once he does that, I’ll fall off his radar and he’ll find a new obsession.”

Aden was in full agreement: Vasic was a puzzle to be solved for Samuel Rain. That didn’t mean Aden wouldn’t protect the man for the rest of his life. Mad genius or not, Rain had saved the life of Aden’s best friend. That was a debt that could never be repaid. “The BlackSea situation,” he said into the undemanding silence among the three of them. “No new data on the kidnapped marine biologist from our sources. Changelings say the same.”

Seeing Zaira’s body tense to trembling point, he put his hand on her lower back. It was a silent reminder that she was no longer a child in a cage, that she stood with her lover and their