She paused and not even the cameras clicked. Everyone was spellbound, but this time it was done naturally, not with her internal gift. The glow.

  “I remember. I remember your presence in the lab. I remember your instructions for the scientists as to what you wanted. I remember your hatred, your condescending attitude, your lack of empathy, and the stink of your perfume. Don’t think you’ve gotten away with striking at Jason by using me. Because you know the truth, I know the truth, and whatever god you believe in knows the truth. I’m fully aware of who was behind my kidnapping and torture. For everyone else—” She smiled, that wide, eternal smile that always signified Lily. “Thank you for understanding. For giving me some space while I adjust to my new life. My adult life.”

  “Lily, why? Why would you think Counselor Becker would do this to you?”

  “I had what she wanted. Youth and the attention of Jason Becker.”

  “What do you mean by youth?”

  “Counselor Becker is well-preserved by her own youth, isn’t she? Is it hers?”

  Stunned horror radiated through the crowd. “My Gaw—are you insinuating she’s a doll?” The reporter who asked had horror in his tone.

  Lily shrugged. “She was in the facility where I was strapped to a table. I can’t prove it, but I remember it. And my youth is gone. Did she steal it to preserve her own looks? Is this retaliation for something Jason did to her? Well, the law says he can’t reveal what she is because he is an ex-spouse. But I can tell you how the Becker siblings came to know Dr. Saraven.”

  Now, as she spoke, her tantalizing glow began to shine, ever so gently.

  “Jason Becker had asked for support in proposing a change to the Master Laws of the Global Government. Right now, a soon-to-be spouse should have to reveal to their significant other certain conditions that may impact their union. Whether they’ve changed their identity. A gender change. Their name. But nowhere do they have to reveal their true age. Jason had requested an addition to those laws, stating a spouse should also have to reveal their affiliation with the Society of the Rejuvenated Dolls. Privacy is still in force as a spouse cannot reveal what he learned. But he should be informed before he plunges into marriage, not afterward.”

  “Is that true? How long ago did he request a petition for the Master Law proposal?”

  “The documentation is dated for eighteen months ago. It was put on hold while Dr. Saraven was contracted out for a six-month time frame. We all know the occurrences that happened during that time frame that put the proposal on hold until now.”

  “Lily, will you press charges against the rejuvenated dolls organization?”

  Lily shrugged helplessly. “I can’t. What proof do I have that they did this?” Her hand swept up her body.

  She had no proof. But who else would want a person’s youth except a woman who stole youth from others? The implication was thick.

  “I apologize for not letting anyone know I was safe. When Jason rescued me, I was horrified to see myself. I couldn’t let others see me until I had processed it myself. He agreed to keep me safe while I wept over my lost years. I remember the comment made to me: Quit sniveling. You’ll hardly miss ten years of your life. A decade whips by in the blink of an eye.”

  There was a thickness that swept over the crowd. Sorrow and shame.

  “Please keep your own children safe. No one should decide whether or not you donate part of your life to someone else.” Lily turned and walked off the podium, the wall of security closing behind her.

  “GOOD JOB, LILY,” ROBYN murmured. From the cameras where Jason and the others watched, the silence was thick.

  Amanda looked pale. “That wasn’t what we discussed. She just all out blamed Sherry.”

  “Not technically,” Robyn said, grinning. She pulled up the transcript of Lily’s speech. “She never says Sherry is to blame. Sherry has nothing concrete to bring her up on charges for. Look at the last sentence. I’m fully aware of who was behind my kidnapping and torture. She never says ‘Sherry Becker was behind my kidnapping and torture.’ But do you think Sherry will get any clients after this? Her career is ruined, and her secret age is out. Even if the rejuvenated dolls program manages to live through this, her affiliation with them is ruined. Her life is ruined.”

  “It may be beyond that. Sherry may be scorned on the streets.”

  “She could be cast from the floating cities, relegated to Earth-Ground.”

  Renegade called out from across the room where he and Jason watched Robyn’s monitor. “The feeds are going crazy. ‘We love you, Lily!’ ‘Please stay strong, and know you have support.’ ‘Someone needs to take Sherry Becker and put her through what she put you through.’ I’d say the focus is definitely off Jason.”

  He looked at Jason and grinned.

  LILY WAS SHUTTLED THROUGH Xenia back to the main hub. The guards had returned to normal, laughing and talking about the shock in the reporters faces when they’d first lifted Lily’s veil.

  No one had known what to expect under the darkness of the veil, and they commended her for her dramatic insight. Funny how just a week ago she’d felt so alone and unwanted, not fitting in anywhere. Now everything had changed.

  Was it just her perspective?

  The shuttle rolled to a stop, and one of the guards jumped down first, then reached up and lifted her off the steps with hands at her waist. It made her laugh. She may have grown up, but with her petite size, they still seemed to cart her around like their doll.

  She raced up the steps of the main hub, knowing everyone would be waiting inside the large building where her kind gathered, milling about. Sofas had been placed around at various points, creating small seating arrangements throughout the room. She found the one where Shawn was sprawled, Jason sitting next to him.

  “Good job, Lily. We cried tragically for you.”

  “It’s this black,” she said, curtsying in the dress. “It makes the situation more tragic.”

  “I don’t know,” Jason rumbled. “I think it’s kind of sexy. Promise me you’ll wear that to my funeral when I die.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “I hope it still fits in about a hundred and fifty years.”

  She lifted the veil off her head, shook her bouncy green hair free and then jumped into his lap, where his arms wrapped around her.

  “At the rate you bunny-rabbits are going at it, I think he’ll go before then,” Shawn said.

  “Get a woman,” Jason growled, before depositing a kiss. He let it linger, waiting for Shawn’s groan before Lily smiled against his lips as she broke away.

  “How’s Tempest?” she asked Shawn.

  “Still being kept in the coma. She could be under for weeks. I’ll be recovered by the time she wakes.”

  “That’s probably a good thing. She won’t feel so guilty that we killed you,” Lily said.

  He laughed and then turned serious eyes on her. “I’m milking her guilt for all it’s worth. Do you think I haven’t noticed Blaze with Irina?”

  Across the room, Blaze sat on another sofa, the gentle doctor near his side. His eyes gazed at her with adoration.

  Jason snorted. “She’s just trying to keep him uninjured. She’s tired of treating his scrapes and bruises.”

  “And his blue balls,” Lily murmured. Her hand came to her mouth, aware that the thought escaped. “Oh! I think my telepathic link is back up and running.” She concentrated, focusing on the snippets of conversation.

  Lily! Welcome in. From across the room, Steele winked as he bounced baby Kaden on his knee.

  It was just a matter of time. In her head, Beast groaned.

  She wished she was close enough to smack him. Instead she smiled, feeling like she was finally home.

  Shawn looked curious. “He has blue balls?”

  “Literally...” Jason said. “And probably figuratively, too.” His gaze was focused on the hunger strewn across Blaze’s face as he stared at his doctor. On her end, Irina didn’t seem very interested in Blaze, other than as a professional.

  Lily hoped his tender heart wouldn’t be stomped on one day.

  “I seduced you with my glow,” Lily said to Jason. “I wonder if I could somehow send it stretching out to him?”

  “If he comes sniffing around you, I’ll have to lock him down and beat it out of him. Wings or no wings,” Jason gritted.

  “No, not to ensnare him to me! To get Dr. Irina to notice him.”

  “Baby, you may be able to lure men to you,” Jason said. “But I was yours before you ever came into that power. So as far as powers go, it’s a rather useless one.”

  Lily smiled at him.

  We’ll see.

  Several of the Xenia Sapiens heads turned at the mental communication that rolled through her mind.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Three months later:

  “Tempest is awake,” Jason announced, coming through the kitchen door. Lily had been drying her hands on a dishtowel. He caught her to him, swinging her through the air.

  “Finally! Is Shawn there?”

  Jason grinned. He looked younger now that he was happy. Shawn had teased that Lily needed to keep him from human view because surely people would suspect he was now a doll.

  “Of course. Baby, what is it?”

  Lily went still and was barely aware of him sliding her down his body to reach the floor.

  Now! Steele shouted through the mental link.

  Beast roared. What the hell were the males of her people doing?

  Sunny? What’s going on? Lily thought. Dead silence met her inquiry. Something was wrong. Sunny never ignored anyone—except for when she wanted to with Beast.

  He’s down.

  He’s a strong asshole.

  I’ll kill every single one of you. Let me up!

  We can’t do that. Not until you’re reasonable. Renegade’s voice was the voice of calm.

  Beast roared again, his anger and palpable pain through the link making her wince.

  We’ll get her back. But not with you in this condition.

  Snap out of it, dammit. You can’t help her running on high emotion.

  Lily gasped, yanked from the link. “Sunny,” she whispered to Jason. “Beast’s out of control, and I can’t find her.”

  Jason went into security mode, barking into his communicator for several seconds. Then he turned to her. “Let’s go, baby.”

  They ran to the security car he’d parked outside their cabin last night. It was just a few minutes before the crowd spilling from the main hub let them know where the commotion was.

  Beast was on the ground, beaten and bloodied, struggling against the chains that held him. There was at least a dozen Xeno Sapiens who looked the worse for wear.

  Lily ran to him, ignoring his snarls as she lifted his head onto her lap.

  “Lily,” Steele said. “He’s out of con—” Lily looked up, her skin warmed from the sheer glow she held in place.

  The glow she used to hold Beast in check.

  Steele nodded.

  “Shh, big guy. We’re here for you.” She rocked him, allowing her glow to spill over, to pacify his huge body that literally shuddered inside.

  “They have her,” he mumbled. “They captured my Sunny.”

  Despair filled Lily’s midsection, clotting like rotted milk. It was his, she realized. Goddess, he was strong, able to cut through her glow with his emotion like that.

  Then Robyn was there, stepping into her field where Beast lolled like a tempered lion. Her smooth fingers felt for the pulse on his neck. Satisfied, she stroked his forehead. But seeing his friend had the opposite effect. Instead of being calmed by Robyn’s presence, he grew more agitated.

  Lily pressed deeper with her glow, breathing deeply with the effort.

  He was so very emotional inside he could barely restrain his frustration. Seeing Robyn made him want to let loose the wail of despair. She was the one person he could be himself with.

  But Robyn knew what to do. She leaned in, pressing her kiss to his cheek and whispering to his ear. “You’re Beast, remember? You’re going to bust in there and rage everywhere. You’ll flatten everything within a ten-mile radius. Because now is the point where she needs you. But first, you have to calm. Settle into Lily’s glow so you can think.”

  He nodded, and Lily felt the pressure release. It was like she had been barely holding the edges of her power over him, and now it rustled much easier.

  “She’s a strong little thing,” Beast said. “I couldn’t bust it anyway.”

  Steele bent down and began unlocking the chains that held him.

  “So is Sunny,” Robyn said, her voice strong. “She was trained for this. She was trained alongside Tempest. She may need you, but don’t underestimate that she can kick ass. As soon as she gets a chance, she’ll take them down on her own. In the meantime, you’ll hunt for their lair.”

  “But, Robyn. They think she’s made of gold. What if they—”

  “Don’t even think of it,” Robyn warned. “We are going to get her back in one piece. We just need you calmed down enough to think this through. You have more than predator abilities. You also have a human brain. We’re going to use all of our power to rescue her. And we’ll combine what we have because we’re a family. Look at Lily’s glow, enticing you to hold still and be calm. With enough exertion, she can entice the kidnappers to freeze, to keep them from harming Sunny.”

  Beast’s eyes shot to Lily’s.

  Lily nodded. “I’m just waiting for her to regain consciousness so I can establish a link to others around her. But Beast, you’re draining my strength.”

  Just like that, his aggression stopped. Lily felt her glow snap back to her, shimmering brightly before she let it go.

  “We got this,” Robyn said. “We have the best security team. A family who will stop at nothing to get one of our own back.”

  Around them, the bruised Xeno Sapiens pulled him to his feet. The heavy chains clanked uselessly on the ground. Jason was behind her, lifting her to her feet, too.

  “First order of business is to prepare,” Jason said softly. “The original Esson Four group to the conference room, along with Team A from my security. Esson Four will decide which Xeno Sapien powers can be the most useful in the operation and will contact that person to come in.”

  Inside the conference room, Amanda sat holding Kaden. Jason settled Lily in the chair next to them and stood at the front of the room, waiting for everyone else to sit.

  “Someone tell me what happened when Sunny was taken.”

  “Something spooked her,” Sam said. He was on Team A of security, where Shawn was normally in the lead. With Shawn out of capacity, Sam had stepped in. “I don’t know how someone would have snatched her. We were patrolling the gate. I met up with her at the checkpoint, and everything was fine.”

  “Which checkpoint?”

  “East wall, marker 323.9.”

  “Go on.”

  “At the next point, she wasn’t there. But I could see her in the distance, and so I ran to her. She was staring at something on the ground. Like a burlap sack or something—just staring. Then I realized it was in the shape of a human.”

  Amanda stood up abruptly, Kaden in her arms. Her eyes sought Robyn. “Dr. Eric has it in the lab. It’s...the husk of a human body. A shell. Completely dehydrated and worsening. Eventually, it’ll get to the point where anything will crumble it, a puff of air, a whisper.”

  She sat back down.

  “What the hell?” Renegade sounded as baffled as everyone else looked.

  “So there was no threat at that point,” Jason continued. “If the...thing had been a threat, somehow it was neutralized.”

  Robyn sighed, and then stood. “Sunny neutralized it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “In uncovering Sunny’s other DNA, Amanda and I discovered her species came from a planet with two types of people. Her kind injured the other by sucking their essence from their bodies. It was uncontrollable, not deliberate. I haven’t mentioned it because she demanded medical privacy, but in lieu of her safety...”

  “You should have told us,” Beast growled.

  “Do not blame her.” Tempest stood in the doorway, leaning weakly against Shawn. “Robyn was in a dilemma. Sunny asked for her silence. Humans have laws protecting their privacy, and while we are technically not humans, Robyn knew she could not treat us as lesser beings and refuse to give us the same treatment. None of us would keep appointments if we knew our deepest secrets would be revealed.” She exhaled and leaned further onto Shawn, who tightened his hold on her.

  “Instead, Robyn sent me. I was supposed to keep an eye on Sunny. I was supposed to let Robyn know if any of the gifts Sunny ran from”—Tempest’s voice was a sneer—“manifested. As you can see, I was out of capacity.” She looked directly at Beast. “I would never have allowed her to be unsupervised otherwise.”

  For the longest time, she held his gaze. Finally, he nodded and something seemed to pass between them.

  Forgiveness, Lily realized. For what, she couldn’t imagine.

  “I have very few friends,” Tempest continued. “Robyn.”

  Robyn blinked, obviously startled at the statement.

  “Lily.”

  Lily felt herself blink, just as bewildered as Robyn had been.

  “The pipsqueak.”

  Kaden waved his fists at her. Tempest smiled at his coo. “And Sunny.” She sighed, her face becoming drawn. “I will help as best as I can.”

  Beast cleared his throat. “Thank you.”

  Jason took over. “Our first course of action is to track her.”

  “Eclipse can smell like no other,” Pax said, looking at Steele. “He knew of a bomb when we were held in the underwater laboratories. And he knew the day Robyn conceived.”

  “Good. We’ll take him along.”

  “He’s not really the warrior type,” Pax warned.

  “It doesn’t matter. There are enough of us around to keep him from harm’s way. We’ll take him to the spot where Sam last saw Sunny and go from there. For this expedition, we’ll use Team A, minus Shawn. He’ll stay back and recover. I’ll also need a few Xeno Sapiens.”