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The slash of an unforgiving gust of wind woke me up. What the hell? Neretha was scorching hot, the temperature rarely dipping below seventy degrees. Why was I cold?
I blinked my eyes open and sat up, my entire body aching, the way it had after I participated in the 5K run for breast cancer last year. I scanned the area, puzzled by what my mind was registering. I was in a room that was made of stone. The floor I sat on was cushioned by a thick, black rug. Prince Zamire sat beside me, his back leaning against the wall. His eyes were unfocused. It appeared that he was sedated.
I let out a yawn and longed for something warm to wrap around me. My hands tingled, and I pressed them onto my lap, right on the fabric of my gown. The tingling grew unbearable for a moment, then the cold vanished. I was toasty warm, as if I had a space heater blowing on my body. Something isn’t adding up. First, I manipulated the light punishment, then the killing beam. Now, I can put a spell on clothing? I don’t recall Amy telling me that the Hyndroyl crystal gave someone that kind of ability.
I eyed Zamire, who was shivering, and made a decision. I needed to share the wealth. I got to my feet and hobbled over to him. I pressed my hand to his shoulder and the tingling started up again. I asked the tingling to create a protection from the heat and a protective armor. The power flew from me and I groaned, a spike of pain driving through my skull. I collapsed to the floor and closed my eyes. I breathed through the pain, which gradually faded.
A zapping sound filled the air. What now? I thought to myself. I opened my eyes just in time to see the wall in front of me vanish. Our abductors entered; the three tall strangers were dressed in furry pants and furry vests. They also completed the look with fur capes. Their boots were black and thick, which told me that this room was cold, even for them.
“I hate Hyndroyl crystals,” the female standing between the guards complained. She was nearly seven feet tall with red hair that hung to her waist. She had pale skin and brown eyes with a slight glow.
“Don’t you worry, Princess, we’ll remove that corrupt technology from the both of them,” the guard to the left said. He, along with the other male companion, both had cropped hair and trimmed beards. The only thing that set them apart were the color of their eyes. The guard to the left’s eyes were green, and his partner’s eyes were brown. Only the woman’s eyes glowed.
“But still. How disrespectful for them to flaunt their powers in our faces. They couldn’t be subtle? I hate Nerethians,” the woman complained. “And look at his companion. It’s like she understands us.” It took a stupid amount of time for me to realize that these strangers weren’t speaking Nerth or English. I tasted the words in my mouth, feeling a tingling sensation on my tongue.
“What do you want with me?” I asked in the strangers’ language. The female’s eyes bugged.
“Hyndroyl crystals can teach Nerethians how to speak languages?” Her question was obviously directed at her friends, so I kept quiet.
“Who knows,” the man with the green eyes said. “The Nerethian scum love to steal powers. Maybe they found another race of people to imprison and steal from.”
“Jade, who are these people?” Zamire demanded in English.
“No clue,” I replied, eyeing the prince, who was more alert.
“How do you speak their language?” the prince demanded, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.
“I think it’s the Hyndroyl crystal. My tongue tingled and then I was able to speak these people’s language.” I wanted to smack Prince Zamire over the head for doubting me. But I refrained, knowing that hitting him wouldn’t help us escape. We needed to work together in order to get out of this mess.
“Hyndroyl crystals don’t do that sort of thing,” Zamire said.
“Well, mine did. Maybe me being half human has something to do with it,” I snapped. I let out a surprise yelp when the female pressed her large hand against my forehead.
“How are you warm?” she asked in Nerth. “My intel tells me that Nerethians can barely tolerate the cold.”
“The Hyndroyl crystal,” I replied.
Zamire shot me a disapproving glare. “Stop being so forthcoming.” I ignored him. If playing nice would keep me alive, I would do it in a heartbeat.
The woman removed her hand from my skin and let out a breath. “I will have the Hyndroyl crystal removed from the both of you. Then we will discuss your future,” the female announced.
“I’m Prince Zamire of Neretha. What do you want with me?” Zamire demanded in Nerth.
The female grinned. “Genetic material. But we’ll get to that, my prince. Go to sleep.” Moments later, the room began filling with vapor. Two metallic human-looking drones slid out of the floor. One of them made its way over to me. It’s metallic eyes began glowing a soft orange as its gaze perused my body. I wanted to roll away, to escape the possibility of getting operated on. For now, the Hyndroyl crystal was a tool I could use to protect myself from these strange people. Without it, I’d be as helpless as I was when David and Gwen kidnapped me from my safe life on Earth. That thought only made me long to speak to Jane and Tim, the foster parents who had loved me. Of course, while I was under their roof, I was suspicious of them, waiting for the other shoe to drop. When I spoke to them again, I’d apologize and bask in their acceptance. Meeting my biological father made me realize how lucky I was to find people like the Banes.
“According to trip, the female has a Hyndroyl crystal and a tracker. I’ll remove them both,” the female said in her native language.
“What about the prince?” the man with the green eyes inquired.
“He only has the crystal. I wonder who the female is?” the woman running the show said. I didn’t bother cluing her into my situation because the vapors were starting to cause drowsiness to come over me. I blinked furiously, not wanting to suffer through a surgery by drone. But my body lost its fight, and I fell into unconsciousness.
***
“Jade, wake up,” a voice pleaded. I slowly opened my eyes to discover that I was still in the freezing room. I sat up and felt pain radiating from my left wrist. Groaning, I eyed the skin, and saw that it was softly glowing. WTF? I eyed Zamire, who was wearing a silk robe, nothing that would actually protect him from the cold. The tingling started in my glowing hand, and I quickly pressed it to my robe and the cold vanished.
“I don’t think they took out my Hyndroyl crystal,” I whispered before putting my hand on Zamire’s sleeve. It took little time for his shivering to stop. Zamire shook his head.
“They removed your crystal and your tracker. They made me watch,” the prince said, a haunted expression on his face.
“Then how do I still have powers?” I demanded, doubt filling my voice. Could they have implanted memories in Zamire?
“I saw that drone cut into your flesh and take out your crystal.” The last thing I wanted to do was piss Zamire off. We needed to work together in order to escape our circumstances. I grazed his hand with my fingertips and gasped in surprise. Desire slammed into me, the emotion so strong that I slumped against the wall.
Zamire let out a snarl. The next thing I knew, his hands were on me. He lifted me onto his lap and his lips crashed into mine. I gripped the back of his head as our tongues collided. The first taste made my soul hunger to be near him. His hands traveled up and down my spine, causing flames of passion to ignite inside me. I was overwhelmed by the feelings that were coursing through my heart. I was nearly driven into madness. It was difficult, but I kept myself from completely giving in. Zamire, apparently, was living in another zone. His hands suddenly left my back and his finger undid the sash that held my robe closed. His hands began exploring my skin, his kisses only increasing in intensity. Before I could give in to what my body wanted, Zamire broke off our kiss. His eyes focused and he let out a breath.
“What in the hell are you doing to me, Jade?” he whispered, his lips brushing against my forehead.
“I don’t know. I... Um... I wanted you before, but...”
He chuckled, his lips tilted in a grin. “Good to know. What do you think the Janton did to us?”
“Did to us?” It was difficult to think when my body wanted me to kiss him again.
“Jade, think about it. We go from being attracted to each other, and holding a lot of restraint, to barely being able to keep our hands off each other,” Zamire reasoned.
I let out a breath. “I doubt that they would have injected us with an aphrodisiac. Maybe what we did is a side effect of the vapor they used to knock us out.”
Zamire pondered something. “I don’t want to fight it.” Zamire peeled my robe open and admired the view it revealed. Desire filled me again, and all I wanted was for Zamire to kiss me. He kissed my lips, and I was sucked back into the overwhelming vacuum of passion. He abruptly pulled away and took a deep breath.
“I can feel your emotions. It’s so overwhelming,” he confessed. I was going to ask Zamire to elaborate, but our abductors returned.
