Warrior Rising - By Pamela Palmer Page 0,38

gaze back to him.

"You know?"

"We know. We're ready for it."

She watched him uncertainly, the stone's energy clawing at her impatiently, calling, demanding. Her hands began to shake, her pulse speeding. She'd been born for this. All her life, she'd waited for this moment. And now that it was upon her, she hesitated. In the proper scheme of things, she should be in the grand temple of the Fair Court, surrounded by her people as she came into her royal power, showered with love and affection and celebration.

Instead she stood among humans - strong and cunning humans who sought to use her power for their own purpose, to seal all the gates between their worlds. A purpose they didn't realize was impossible, for neither world could survive completely cut off from the other. As different as they were, they were two halves of a whole, dependent upon one another in ways neither Esri nor humans had ever understood. Only once, a very long time ago, had one of her ancestors attempted to seal both gates, for in that distant time there had only been two. Just the attempt had rained terrible destruction upon both realms - floods and quakes and storms beyond comprehension. Her ancestor had died in the world's fury. And two gates had become twelve.

No, she could never seal all twelve gates.

But the humans, she feared, would never accept that truth.

With a deep breath, she reached for the stone. The moment the draggon touched her flesh, the mystic energy leaped at her, rushing into her in a thick, wonderful surge.

Strength, well-being, rightness.

As she curled her fingers around the draggon and lifted it from Harrison's palm, the energies raced through her blood, her chest, her mind, at once intense pleasure and perfect calm, filling her to overflowing, bursting from her pores until she could do nothing but fling her head back and ride the storm.

Though her gaze was fixed on the gray clouds above, her mind exploded with swirling eddies of color and life as the energy took root inside her. Deep within her, the stone sang, calling to her, calling to all of Esria, proclaiming her the true queen. With the draggon in the queen's possession, the land would flourish once more. Esria would be whole...if the scourge of Rith could be removed.

In that part of her mind connected to all the Esri, emotions sprang forth as her people responded to the draggon stone's claiming her their rightful monarch.

She felt their shock, surprise, joy. Dismay.

Perhaps a half dozen of those emotions were especially strong. The emotions of the Esri here in the human realm. One sang with joy, a couple felt confusion, several displeasure. A single point of fury burned white hot.

Rith.

But beyond the myriad emotions, she felt something else. Something far closer than the other Esri. A tight core of contained strength and energy pulsing, seeking freedom. She sensed it nearby, practically within reach. Opening her senses and her mind, she reached for it. There. Right where...

Her head snapped down, her eyes flying open to stare at the man. The source of that contained, unleashed power.

Harrison.

From the start, she'd felt something within him, the promise of a power she didn't understand. And he felt it, too. She could see the startled look in his eyes, the blend of surprise and awe she herself felt.

Knowledge and awareness flowed between them. Her pulse raced, her skin turning flushed and damp. The power spinning within her bounded as if she were not the only one mesmerized by this man. As if the mystic energies sought to claim him, too.

Why? What was Harrison? What gift did this human, this Sitheen, possess that the draggon stone recognized?

The connection that formed between them stole the air from her lungs, grabbing her, binding her in a way that went beyond the physical. Her chest tightened, her heart at once contracting and expanding as if it were under assault. She felt compelled, pulled, as if she were tumbling into that piercing gray-green gaze, falling... .

With a cold slide of understanding, she realized what was happening. Deep in her mind, a door had unlatched. A door none had ever passed through. None had ever even touched. It was a door she'd known existed within her mind as it did in all Esris, but had expected to never feel. Few ever did.

And with a hard, sinking feeling of disbelief, she knew.

In Harrison Rand, in a human, she'd found the man destiny had chosen to be her mate.
Chapter 9
Harrison