“I know.” She gently leaned against him as she pressed to her tiptoes and brushed a kiss across his lips.
The connection between them was so strong it was as if they had stepped into each other’s minds. A shared desire to do good, to give comfort and share wealth was at their shared core. Neither could doubt that the movements of the universe had brought them together.
“Okay.” She glanced around quickly, looking at her mother who remined in the crowd talking with reporters—thankfully distracting them. “Give me a few minutes.”
Sasha disappeared back into the hotel room—the bathroom—and Whelon stood guard outside the room’s door. He ordered a few Preor who had followed from Farthing Street to set up in one of the empty hotel rooms, to install a relief clinic there as well. He asked for any student healers to be sent from the tower or the ship to his emergency stations and for them to bring as much tech and medical supplies as they could carry.
At least half an hour had passed and Jenna still spoke to the gathered reporters but made no attempt to speak with her daughter. Disgusted was too soft of a word for how Whelon felt about the female. She should be blessed and revered as the dam of his mate, by their side in bearing and there to croon to the dragonlets when they were born.
Instead, like many of the human-Preor mates, she would have to be kept far away and carefully watched so she could not destroy her own young.
No wonder the planet is going to hell, he thought in a fury. They cannot even care for their own young ones with compassion, let alone each other!
He turned back to the hotel room and spied Sasha exiting the bathroom. She was clean and dressed in loose slacks and a sweater, looking radiant now that she was clean and they were near one another.
She glanced around furtively and then grabbed Whelon’s hand. “C’mon,” she whispered. “Let’s get out of here!”
Instead of asking the questions that burned on his tongue, Whelon grabbed her hand and let her tug him around the corner of the building and out of sight of the cameras. As soon as they were hidden from view, she broke into a run—one he easily matched. They darted through the streets, turning this way and that, before quickly emerging onto Farthing Street.
As they approached his impromptu clinic and the massive table of food, Sasha squeezed his hand. “You did all this?”
“It was all I could accomplish in such a short time.” He grimaced with some regret that it was not more. “I require more supplies.”
“Whelon,” she murmured. “I don’t think you understand how much you’ve truly done. It might look simple to you, but these people haven’t had a good dinner in so long… Look, people are starting to come in from the end of the street.”
He glanced around, realizing the crowd around the makeshift clinic was twice what it had been before. They would need more supplies… fast.
Sasha giggled and squeezed his hand. “We’re going to need a bigger boat.”
“What?” Whelon struggled to understand her words. Why would they need a boat? They were not near the ocean or other water.
Sasha shook her head. “Pop culture reference. I’m sorry, shaa kouvi.”
He smiled. “I am not familiar with that particular reference, but I am sure Penelope can educate me appropriately.”
“Who’s Penelope?” Sasha’s tone held a sharpness that was not present before, and Whelon smiled, feeling the edge of jealousy in his mate.
He leaned over and kissed her softly. “She is the ship, essentially. You shall meet her. I think you will like her. Most human-Preor mates do.”
“Okay…” Sasha mumbled thoughtfully and Whelon kissed her again, enjoying her closeness.
One of the young ones in line came running toward Sasha, arms up for a hug, and Sasha bent and let the child run straight into her, wrapping her arms around the child.
“Sashi!” the little girl cried out.
“Hello, Emma.” Sasha smiled. “How are you?”
“The dragon man.” Emma looked up at Whelon. “He brought yummy food! I’ve had three cupcakes!” Then little Emma giggled with glee.
Sasha laughed. “That’s great. Are you here with your mom?”
“Yes, Mommy is waiting in line. I’m watching the TV.”
“Okay, sweetheart. I’m on my way and will be there soon. I’m going to help the dragon man.”
The little girl hurried off, laughing as she returned to her mother. Whelon turned to Sasha and found her warm blue eyes staring back at him. The compassion they showed for others bonded them more closely than even the Knowing had accomplished.
Whelon gripped her hand and strode toward the field clinic, knowing they would work tirelessly into the evening to make sure everyone was treated and fed well. It was as if they shared the same soul.
Chapter Fifteen
Sasha’s shoulders and hands ached as she stood, arching her back to stretch her tired muscles. She reached up and wiped a line of sweat from her brow, a heavy sigh escaping her chest.
She’d been helping Whelon for a few hours and the exhaustion and sore muscles only made it all the more satisfying to her. It was hard to believe that only this morning she had been utterly incapacitated, dying of Knowing sickness. The process itself told her that as long as she stayed near Whelon, the illness would never return.
They needed each other in ways a human could never understand. Once the Knowing began exchanging information between them, it seemed to alter them at a cellular level. It wasn’t like an addiction where the affected found themselves chasing a hit until they came to grief. No, it was a balanced chemical reaction that drew them together.
It’s mystical, she thought as she moved a new crate of medical supplies toward Whelon’s workbench. It’s not something a human could ever understand. It’s almost like I’m part Preor now, not completely who I used
