Heart Fortune

now.

This was not how she’d ever dreamed she’d be connected with her love, her lover, her HeartMate. She swallowed tears.

What was separate in her was no longer. What was hidden in her—and Jace, too—was revealed but the overwhelming memories, feelings, needs, flaws, came too swiftly for her to sort out. Some sort of terrible memory featuring his parents—his father’s death, but they dared not think of death. She concentrated on life, on hope.

He groaned and she whimpered.

We are one, Jace said, awe in his voice.

“Ready to teleport to my bedroom in Druida City?” she asked.

Ready! Lepid said, tucking his nose between her arm and her side.

Ready! Zem said, hidden in his sling.

“Ready,” Jace said. He began layering the memories he had of her bedroom from his own perspective. Cozy, female, reflecting Glyssa. The wide bedsponge, the elegant and simple carving on the frame. He let her take care of painting the light right. Zem’s perch that Gwydion Ash had made, sturdy golden wood that matched no other wood in the room. Wood, beautiful wood, natural Celtan fabrics. He recalled the sight and feel of those, so different from the complete alienness of this ship.

Zem’s visualization merged with his, skewing the image a bit, as did Lepid’s. Then Glyssa absorbed them all, set them all so Jace could nearly believe he was there. Jace’s heart lifted as he fixed belief that they would be there, shortly. They had so much going for them. They would succeed!

“Counting down,” Glyssa said, sounding as serious as always, though there was just the touch of breathiness in her voice. He sent her love, belief, love, acceptance. Love.

They all joined in a small circle of love, of total dedication and belief.

“One, Jace, Zem; two, Lepid; three, and home!”

And they weren’t in the ship.

No, NO! You MUST die for making her leave me! shrieked a mad wind in Jace’s head, Trago. He felt a slight tug, as if a small hook caught in his clothes. He could not allow the evil man to hurt his Glyssa. They were all in this together. Diverting a bit of Flair, he smacked the man. Heard some long echoing scream. Jerked as he felt the guy die. The visualization vanished.

He scrambled to build the image again, held it hard.

But knew they were in trouble.

Forty

Teleportation usually was instantaneous. But this lasted for long, long seconds. Glyssa’s chest squeezed and she couldn’t breathe. She struggled to draw air. What of Jace? What of Lepid? She didn’t feel them, not physically nor emotionally. A scream stuck in her chest hurt.

She would die alone. Though they should all be together, they would each die alone.

She might have felt the tiniest boost from Laev and Camellia and Tiana. She did “see” a great burst of white energy from the direction they were going—Druida. Had the sensation of passing long miles.

No! Stup! Visualize your room! The light as autumn came, the slant of the sun. How it sparkled on the prisms in her window. Her comforter, her bed . . .

And her vision went black, white, yellow.

She crumpled to the ground, tried once more to drag a breath in, couldn’t. Struggled to open her lashes. Raw, raw pain against her eyeballs. Jace, matted hair, gray-looking complexion. Lepid limp in her arms. She couldn’t see Zem.

Still felt none of them.

Couldn’t inhale.

The floor vibrated. She thought she saw bold, eye-searing colors of Flair as women rushed to her.

Then nothing.

* * *

Fists pounded on Jace’s chest, Flair enveloped him. “Breathe, damn you!” shouted someone. It hurt, all of him hurt, but with another compression of his chest, he hauled in air.

He opened his eyes, saw a pretty rug on gleaming wood. Memory spun just out of reach.

Someone rolled him to his back and he stared up into wide green eyes set in a fierce face. The woman looked like someone he should know. She stuck her fingers into his dry mouth, opened it, shoved an oxygen bulb between his lips and squeezed.

Incredible air. Wonderful air. His mind cleared a bit. He still didn’t know who she was, but he recognized Glyssa’s bedroom.

Shouldn’t Glyssa be close? Where was she? He needed her.

“Breathe!” someone shouted to his left. There came a tiny sound, then the stench of foxy piss, definitely not Glyssa.

Glyssa? The little call speared excruciating pain in his head. A tiny moan, also not Glyssa. Lepid? Jace slowly formed the Fam’s name in his head.

“We’re here,” said a woman’s voice from a distance. “We’re taking the Fams immediately.” A small woman and a large young man ran in, cast shadows on him but didn’t look at him, then darted from the room.

Another thump on Jace’s chest, the bulb replaced. He’d caught his breath, hadn’t he? Stopped breathing again.

Lepid was here, but where was Glyssa? More fear swept through him. Zem! Zem should have been strapped on his chest.

Why?

He shut his eyes, but shuddered at the darkness behind him. Fear of the dark clawed and snapped and ate at him.

Opening his eyelids he saw the sunlight, blessed light from Bel, felt as if he’d been reborn from an alien and cold dark to this wonderful room. The Healer was wiping him with a warm cloth, taking strange smelling grime from his face.

The ship! Lugh’s Spear. The terrible risk of teleportation.

He’d made it!

But had the others? GLYSSA! he screamed mentally, hurting his own head. He couldn’t feel their bond, fumbled for it. Closed his eyes again to find all the bonds he had, saw nothing. Not to Lepid, not to Zem, not to Glyssa.

She could have died. HeartBound people did, and the remaining spouse died within the year. He wouldn’t linger if she was gone . . . just let the darkness take him, not fight against death and cycling on the wheel of stars until his next life . . . and no one could guarantee that they’d meet and love again in their next lives. Maybe she’d like someone else better.

Stup! He should have cherished her more, spent more time with her, acknowledged their bond instead of being careless and selfish for so long.

The Healer moved close with another bulb. “Glyssa,” he said. She frowned as if she hadn’t heard him. Everything took so much effort.

“Glyssa!” he yelled. Her name came out as the barest hoarse whisper.

A mask slipped over the Healer’s face, and he knew that was bad.

“Glyssa has been transported to Primary HealingHall and is being tended by FirstLevel Healer Lark