Warrior Rising - By Pamela Palmer Page 0,48

sensuously, then with more insistence as the passion rose, spilling over in a gentle torrent.

Ilaria kissed him back with equal intensity, drinking in the feel of his lips against hers, starved for the taste of him. His scent wrapped around her, his warmth enveloped her in a living heat. Their tongues tangled, stroking, caressing.

Slowly, he pulled away, laying a kiss on her cheek, then another on her forehead before finally straightening to look down at her, tenderness in his eyes. "Are you feeling better?"

She gave him a wry smile. "My heart's still racing, but it no longer has much to do with the fire."

An answering smile lit his face and he lifted his hand to stroke her cheek. She'd happily stay like this forever, staring into his eyes. But they had an Esri to find. With regret, Ilaria pulled out of his arms. Hand in hand, they started walking again.

They'd traveled only a few blocks when she felt it, something tugging at her mind. It didn't hurt, yet felt intensely odd, as if someone were knitting inside her skull, weaving threads between her and...her people. Literal, physical threads. Amazing. As if she were the center of a great web to which all the threads connected. They were hers. And she theirs.

As she'd felt them when she came into her power, so she felt them now, more and more clearly. Glowing life forces at the end of each of those threads. A few glowing brightly. Two, brightest of all, as if only a short distance away.

She blinked as understanding hit her.

The two Esri were nearby.

She could feel them like pinpoints of heat, but their emotions were hidden. Perhaps her ability to sense their loyalty had already dissipated. If only she could tell if either of these was the one she sought.

Pulling her mind inward, she concentrated on those small flares of heat and realized she could locate them all.

She glanced at Harrison. This newfound ability to sense the whereabouts of the Esri would be of great use to the Sitheen. If she shared it. And perhaps she should. Whatever she could do to strengthen Harrison's trust in her would only help her later.

She hated the subterfuge. If only she could tell him the truth. All of it.

But that was impossible. So she'd tell him what she could, whatever wouldn't hurt her own mission.

He turned to meet her gaze, as if feeling her eyes on him. "What is it?"

"I feel them. All of them."

His gray-green eyes turned as sharp as knifepoints. "The Esri?"

"Coming into my power has connected me to them. I feel two nearby."

His body stiffened. "Where?"

"I'm not sure. Not...here. But close."

"How close?"

She shook her head, not sure how to explain. "In my mind, I see them like bright stars in your sky. But I'm too new at this to understand distances yet."

"What about the others?"

"There are five more elsewhere in the city. They've split up into a total of three groups."

He watched her keenly. "How are they moving? As if they're converging on one location, or wandering aimlessly?"

"The latter."

"As if they're searching."

"Yes."

Harrison grunted. "They don't have a clue where those stones are." He pulled out his phone. A moment later, the faint sound of Charlie's voice drifted to her. "Hey."

"The princess seems to have acquired some kind of locating ability. She can sense where the Esri are, in a general sort of way." He explained what she'd told him. And what he thought it meant.

Charlie swore. "So we're out here twiddling our thumbs for nothing."

"Maybe, maybe not. One or more Esri may have suspected Ilaria would be able to sense their whereabouts now. They may have split up just to throw us off. Ilaria and I are going to try to follow one of the pairs and see where they lead us. If we get lucky, we may stumble upon the king himself."

"I'm not sure that's getting lucky," Charlie drawled. "If I could be sure Rith wasn't going to try for the stones on his own, I'd get your back."

"I don't plan to engage him."

"I'm pretty sure you weren't planning to engage the last pair, either. Just..."

"What?"

"Don't lose sight of your mission, big bro. If they kill the princess, it's all over."

Harrison's gaze swept to her, his eyes unreadable. "They're not going to touch her."

Again, that pause. "Be careful, Harrison."

"You, too." Harrison shoved the phone back into his pocket. "Let's get that sucker." Determination and a hint of a smile lit his eyes.

Ilaria smiled, her chest filling with that wonderful