Dealers' Choice - Susan Hayes Page 0,15
her leg, would fade eventually. She’d make sure of it.
What wasn’t going away any time soon was the situation with Ward and Victor. Not that she regretted what she’d done. Draining Ward’s anger before he did something there was no coming back from had been the right thing to do. But now, she didn’t know what to say to them.
She snorted in frustration and leaned back in her chair. Some therapist she was, hiding in her office, avoiding two of her patients. She couldn’t go on this way, but she had no idea how to move forward. Nothing had changed. The human rules for therapists and patients still applied. They were still different species. Not to mention that as cyborgs, Vic and Ward’s lifespans would likely be calculated in centuries instead of decades. What kind of life could they have when only one of them aged? And then there were her secrets. The only beings in existence who knew what she could do were her parents. It was the only way to stay free.
The females of her family had hidden their talents for four generations, now. They taught their daughters the skills and control they’d need from the time they were small, preparing for the day they’d be tested. It was a test no one wanted to pass. Those with the gift of m’bara were taken from their families and forbidden to ever contact them again. They were Nazeela Ulo, Treasures of the People, Precious commodities to be gifted to the powerful. They became prized tools instead of free beings, bound by Pheran law to a lifetime of service and duty. If any Pheran learned what she could do, she’d be torn out of her life and returned to her homeworld to join the handful of others who shared her gifts.
She shuddered — the male who had attacked her simply because she was of lesser status and was in his way. She would never go back to that life.
She closed her eyes and took several slow, cleansing breaths, seeking answers to the same questions she’d been playing on a loop since that night. Was she really thinking about changing her relationship with Vic and Ward? Would they even want to see her again once they knew what she could do? Could she trust them with her secret? She knew the answer to at least one of her questions, but knowing she wanted to be with the twins only led to more considerations. If she agreed to go out with them, she’d have to tell them the truth. If she did that, she was certain they’d never speak about her abilities. But if they knew she could take away their pain, would they forgive her for not doing it before? Would they believe she never read them during their sessions? What would it be like to be with them? How would the others react? Would she lose her rooms and office if the IAF didn’t approve? Was she really considering being with two males at once?
She rubbed her temple, feeling a headache coming on. She had to figure things out before she spoke to Vic and Ward again. She just hoped they would understand she needed a little time.
Her reception AI pinged, indicating someone had entered the waiting room. She frowned and called up her schedule, a holographic display popping into existence above her desk just as someone hammered on the door to her office.
“Xori! I know you’re in there. Open this fraxxing door, please. I need to talk to you.”
“You don’t have an appointment!” She called back, relaxing a little as she realized the familiar voice outside had to belong to Victor. The word please wasn’t one Ward used often, and never when he was mad.
“I don’t have an appointment because you canceled it!”
“I said I’d reschedule you for next week.”
“I need to talk to you now, Xori. It’s about Ward.”
She sighed, the weight of his words pressing down on her like she was being crushed beneath some divine being’s thumb. She’d hoped for more time to figure out what to tell them, and how to manage whatever fallout followed. It wasn’t going to happen that way.
She touched a switch on her desk and the door unlocked with an audible click, then slid open. “Come in, Victor. Let’s talk.”
“You canceled us.” The first words out of his mouth held layers of meaning, but she opted to address the most obvious one.
“I did. I needed a little time before our next