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  “Of course I’ll come. But Cobra—I sense nothing.”

  “You’re his mate, there has to be a way to get him back.”

  They moved swiftly. Cobra had his armor up and her in his arms and was on the move in a second. The ship hovered at least twenty feet from the ground and Abri stifled a scream when Cobra jumped. He had her curled within his arms. He landed like an agile cat—just like the Tonans had. The planet looked like a vast wasteland of sand, desert-like. It was hot. The air was thick. Abri coughed.

  Cobra was racing across the ground, eating up the distance. In the vast remoteness were mounds of mountainous dirt. It looked so empty. So lifeless. Abri hoped no humans had ever landed on this planet. Her entire body quivered. Raiden must have sensed this. She had known the second he landed on the planet. The taste that filled her mouth had been hard to determine but she knew it now. Raiden had been feeling intensely worried. He had sensed something.

  Cobra stopped when they reached three other Castians. Loy, Doss and Cace were un-armored. Cobra set Abri on her feet. She knew he must have sent his men back to the ship. If only close family and Raiden’s warrior mate was here it was bad.

  “Abri, do you sense him?” Doss asked her.

  From the look on all their faces, she knew they were relieved to see her alive. Abri strained for a sense of Raiden. There was nothing. Goose bumps dotted her arms. The fine hairs on the nape of her neck stood tall. Her heart still hammered in her chest. Cace moved closer. From his look she knew he scented her terror.

  “Don’t touch her,” Cobra shouted and everyone froze. “Do not calm her. The more frightened she is, the more of a chance Raiden can pick up on her senses.”

  “Where did he go?” Abri asked. Her teeth were clicking together and she could feel her body calling out to Raiden. He was supposed to be able to sense her from a universe away—what the hell was this place?

  Abri followed the four men behind a mound of dirt and gasped. There was a hole in the ground. She saw no bottom, no end to it. Blackish gray swirls of smoke billowed around. It looked like the gateway to Hell.

  “There was an Earth shuttle that sat over there. Raiden went to look. It was a decoy. A trap,” Cobra said with a growl.

  Cobra pulled her back as more of the ground fell into the hole. The sand vanished. Abri could feel an evil presence. Oh God what’s down there? Raiden was in there. Cobra turned her to face him.

  “Abri, we haven’t much time. The hole is expanding. When Raiden was first sucked in, the area was smaller. Every warrior here would go in there if I thought it would help, but we tried sending Cace in first. He can’t scent Raiden at all. He can’t find a connection. Neither could Loy or Doss. You’re our only hope—our last hope.”

  “We can’t leave him in there,” Abri cried out.

  “Abri, I’m going to tie a thong around your wrist. It’s unbreakable.”

  Cobra slipped a padded black band around her wrist. It was at least two inches wide. Attached was a cord. Abri shuddered. They wanted her to go into the hole—without armor, without Raiden for protection.

  “Abri you need to listen to me carefully,” Cobra began. “I can’t send you in there with my warriors. Their shields will stay up—they can’t lower them, the armor won’t permit it. If you touch one accidentally, you will find yourself tucked into his armor. If you go in with one of them, Raiden can’t scent you beneath the armor. Abri, I’m not trying to be cruel, but if you are filled with emotion, it might be easier for Raiden to detect you.”

  “What’s in there?” Abri whispered.

  “So far all we can ascertain is the nothingness—a very strange new life form to us. It feeds on our senses. There is a real and bigger danger, Abri. If Raiden can’t scent you and you can’t scent him, he might accidently harm you if you bump into him. Even my warriors can see nothing down there. I don’t know if his armor can scent you down there. He needs to know you’re down there first. Loy, Doss and Cace already know you’re here, they’ve seen you and their armor would be aware of you even if it can’t scent you. Raiden’s unaware you’re here.”

  Abri shook harder. His talons could rip her to shreds. Images of Tasha all covered in blood came to mind. If he felt the rope on her wrist he would follow it back. If he killed her, he would die the second he lowered his shield. He loved her. He would lower his shield. Abri knew it. They would both die. Raiden would be devastated if he harmed her in any way.

  More of the sand gave way and again Cobra pulled her back with a taloned hand. All of them had their armor suddenly come up.

  “Damn,” Cobra yelled. “My armor won’t come down.”

  Abri knew Cobra couldn’t shield her, regardless. He stopped Doss from approaching her.

  “Doss, if you touch her, your shield will drop and instinct will kick in. You won’t be able to help yourself. She is family and in danger. You’ll have her in your arms before you can stop yourself. Your armor will not drop to release her until she is free of this place, and you will take away Raiden’s only chance.”

  “I have to go in there alone, don’t I?” Abri whispered.

  If any of the three men touched her even by accident, there would be no hope for Raiden. Cobra was leader. She couldn’t expect him to risk his life for her.

  “I can hold your hand the entire way,” Cobra said.

  Abri was surprised. “But you’re leader.”

  “Everyone on my ship is under my protection.”

  Cobra handed the device he held to Loy. He took Abri by the hand and pulled her into his arms. When he got closer to the hole he stopped. Abri heard him swear.

  “What’s wrong?” Doss called. All three moved closer to Cobra and Abri.

  “My armor senses danger and won’t let me go forward. Raiden fell in when there was no hole to begin with. The ground just opened up. Then his senses were gone. I saw it all—we all did. Something tells me none of us will be able to get near the hole again.”

  “But I was already in there once. So was Loy and Doss,” Cace said in confusion.

  “The threat is growing. My shield senses are in overdrive,” Cobra said. Even as he said this, the hole expanded.

  Cace moved forward. “I can still go in. My warning is off the charts, but Raiden is my warrior mate. Maybe that was why I and his brothers can go in. This was your first attempt.”

  “There is no way to see. The second you went in, you would be unaware of Abri unless you touched her. You could accidently bump into each other. You can’t touch her for this to have even the remotest chance,” Cobra said and Abri heard his frustration.

  “I’ll go alone,” Abri said. She wiggled from Cobra’s grasp.

  “You can’t go in alone. I’ll have to find another way,” Cobra muttered. “Maybe we could take a shuttle in there.”

  Abri knew if they took a shuttle in she wouldn’t be able to sense Raiden. She had to feel for him. There was no choice. Abri jumped. Cobra yelled but it was too late. Abri felt herself falling. The air seemed to grow thicker. She could see nothing. She could hear nothing at all. She couldn’t hear Cobra calling her any longer. Abri hit the sandy ground with a thump.

  She felt the band on her wrist jerk, but she yanked back. A game of tug-of-war ensued. There was no battle really. If Loy wanted to pull her out, he could have easily done so. For a moment the cord was too tight to let her continue on, but she felt the rope give—they had decided to let her try. Abri moved forward a step then stopped. Like when the Earth shuttle was in the black wormhole, Abri couldn’t see herself. She felt deaf and blind. She called out. There was no sound. She was mute. Well, if Helen Keller could do it…

  The air was stale but breathable. She was neither hot nor cold. It was as though she’d died with her mind still intact and her body able to move. Abri started to stretch her hands out then stopped. She had to sense Raiden or he would kill her. She had to let him know she was down here with him. How was going to be the hard part. Abri had been deaf before and she had survived. It hadn’t mad
e her less of a person. Not being able to see or speak either wouldn’t make her less of a person. She was still the same kind soul she had always been.

  Closing her eyes, Abri stood as still as possible. She searched her thoughts, her emotions, her senses. There was no odd taste in her mouth. There was nothing. This had to be killing Raiden. In a world where scent and feeling was everything, to go to suddenly nothing must be wreaking havoc. What would his shield do? Would it simply slip away if there was nothing to control. Abri whimpered.

  She had feelings. That hadn’t changed. Just because there was nothing didn’t mean there wasn’t something. She felt her emotions loud and clear. It was like watching the earthquake rock her parents. They died and she was all alone. If she couldn’t find Raiden, she would be all alone again. How long could he wander in here before he died? He had no food or water. Without the sunlight, he couldn’t regenerate—his shield would fall.

  Raiden loved her. He was the first man to ever love her with every fiber of his being. She was part of him—inside of him. He flowed through her. Devastation filled Abri. She thought her heart would burst. Tears streamed down her cheeks. They dripped from her chin to splash onto her chest. She couldn’t hear her sobs—but she felt them. Her entire body rocked with the magnitude of her emotions.

  Life without Raiden, even for a short time, would be no life. She saw in her mind his dimple flash in and out with his cheeky grin. Her fingers could still feel the softness of his lone renegade curl. His bright gray eyes lit up every single time he saw her. Abri gasped. She felt it, an emotion, creep into her entire being. She was engulfed with one thought. I do love him. The emotion filled her. He had become everything to her. Now she had lost him. The idea thundered into her heart almost felling her with the intensity.

  She couldn’t lose him now. Not when she had only just figured out what she felt for him. It wasn’t fair. The loss filled her chest until she was in agony. Her hands clutched her chest. She felt like she was dying. Once before, she had wished she could turn off her hearing—turn a blind eye. Now here she was, deaf and blind, and the pain still came. Because it came from within. Just because you couldn’t see or hear didn’t mean something didn’t exist. It was a revelation. Sometimes sighted people are blind and a person who can hear can be deaf. Abri heard her thoughts, felt her agony and could see Raiden in her mind. His voice filled her memories. He loved her. The thoughts she screamed came from her heart.

  Raiden.

  Abri?

  Abri jumped, startled. Her eyes flew open into the dark dank nothing. She had heard him. She knew it. She turned to where the sound originated from. When she stretched her hand forward it felt disconnected until she pulled it back.

  Raiden was out there, somewhere. He knew she was here. Abri slipped the rope from her wrist. Cobra said it wouldn’t break. But what would happen if Raiden touched her and his armor closed over her? Would it be able to snap the cable-like substance? If it fell they would never find it. She had to find Raiden and get it into his hand before he got her under his shield. That would take some tricky timing.

  Abri felt her heart thumping harder. If Raiden’s armor was controlling his emotions, it would be harder to find him. She pulled her hands over her face. Her mind screamed for him. Her thoughts filled with him.

  Raiden.

  Call again, Abri, don’t stop.

  He was searching for her. A chorus of his name reverberated throughout her head until she was certain she would go deaf from her inner shouting. The sand began shifting under her feet and she panicked, worried another hole would swallow her down deeper. Abri began running. She maintained a death grip on the rope she held in her hand.

  Terror consumed her. Was she running back towards Cobra and the others? Was she going left or right? Was there such a thing as direction in a hell hole? Abri gasped. She was in Hell, she knew it. The evil stench surrounding her was in her. She breathed it in. She remembered not long ago thinking Hell had many faces. Her mind screamed for Raiden to help her.

  Stop.

  The word was commanded right in front of her and Abri slid to a halt. If she ran headlong into him she would be hurt. It would be the equivalent of racing head first into a brick wall—she could die. Instead, Abri sank to her knees. Her arms covered her head. When she felt the hand on her shoulder she slipped the cable into Raiden’s hand. She was pulled up and into his arms. His armor crashed around her.

  Even in his armor Abri couldn’t hear him. But she felt him, his body was warm and dry and she was safe. Her tear-streaked face pressed into his throat. Abri could feel his heart pounding. For a few moments he held still and soon the hammering pace of his most vital organ began to calm. His shield was regulating it. Abri could feel her own emotions begin to settle. Raiden began moving and she knew he was following the rope to freedom. Soon he was being lifted and Abri stared at the most gorgeous bright light she had ever seen.

  “Let’s get the hell out of here,” Cobra said. It was the most beautiful sentence Abri had ever heard. Even if it was only from her left ear.

  Abri was surprised at how much more of the hole had opened. It was as though the entire planet was disappearing. She stiffened when the men began moving and the hell hole followed close on their heels. It seemed to be chasing them. How was that possible? Did it have conscious thought? Faster and faster they sped until Doss was nothing more than a blur. He was the first to leap onto the ship.

  The black nothing was at Raiden’s heels. Inky clouds of dust reached for them. Raiden jumped, the ground disappeared beneath his feet and Abri breathed a sigh of relief when the hatch was closed and Cobra was yelling out orders. The warship was a hive of energy. Raiden climbed the side of the ship to their quarters where he lay her down on their bed. His armor had dropped and he was on top of her, kissing her face. His hands ran the length of her hair.

  “My beautiful Abri. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” he muttered.

  His hands traveled her body, roaming everywhere as though checking to see if she was real. Abri did the same to him. There was no life without Raiden. When she couldn’t feel him any longer, the void in her heart had been too much. She knew why she would die if he did. Raiden lifted his head.

  “You love me,” he said in wonder.

  “Yes.”

  “That’s how you found me. The hole blocked so much. I heard you, but couldn’t feel you. It was awful. I thought I would die if I never felt you again. My armor let me feel my emotions—it didn’t control them. I didn’t understand why it didn’t regulate my feelings. Now I know why. I needed to be aware of you searching for me. I needed to hear your love.

  “Abri we may never hear the way we used to, but now I hear so much better. I hear your love—it called me. It is a sound no one will ever take from me.”

  “Or me.”

  “Thank you for loving me.” He pulled her closer.

  Abri felt her tears drip from her face. He looked so sincere. His eyes were filled with wonder. She had done that. Loving wasn’t losing. Loving was feeling alive. Raiden was her heartbeat. Whenever his stopped, so would hers. She would never lose him. There would be no wondering who was going to die first and leave the other alone. He was hers forever. This time when she saw her parents’ faces flash before her eyes, Abri was happy for them. Wherever they were—they were together. They would always live inside her forever.

  Raiden stripped them both and Abri began laughing. This time they would really make love—and same with the next time, and the next time.

  Epilogue

  Raiden kissed Abri’s cheek. They held hands and Abri shook with anticipation. A woman emerged from the room adjoining the one they were sitting in. The woman was smiling. Her hand held that of a small girl of perhaps three. When Abri had learned of Raiden’s deep desire to have a child of his own, she had asked Cobra if there were orphaned children on his planet. Cobra hadn’t understood the word.

  Abri explained when a child was alone there were at times prospective
parents who were happy to step in and care for a child like it was their own. Cobra had just placed the children together with numerous females to watch over them. It was what he had done when the females on his planet had died. All the little Castian males were grouped together for safety. It seemed it never occurred to him to find families. The idea was they were already family with all the warriors able to shield the little girls and the boys being groomed for warrior mates.

  “This is Clara,” the woman said. Her gentle nudge sent the child forward. “Her mother was killed by Tonans; she was what’s considered a late-in-life mother. Clara has no father. He was a shuttle pilot that was lost over a year ago.”

  Raiden was down on his knees in seconds before the child. His hand cupped her tiny cherub face. Long blond ringlets flowed down her back. Her eyes were gray. The resemblance to Raiden was uncanny.

  “Hello, little one.”

  Abri could tell he was already smitten. The girl smiled but didn’t answer. She was the most adorable little girl Abri had set eyes on. She said nothing, but her smile was worth a thousand words.

  “I’m afraid Clara doesn’t speak,” the woman said.

  Abri knew why right away. She couldn’t hear. Clara was deaf. Abri settled herself beside Raiden. She touched his arm. This child was hers, theirs—she knew it.

  “I don’t think she can hear,” the woman said.

  “She can hear,” Raiden said. “You just need the right tools to help her listen. They are the most important sounds. Hearing with what you feel. It can only come from the heart.”

  Raiden scooped the child up and his armor closed around her. For a few moments, he held her that way. When finally his body reabsorbed his shield, the little girl had her face pressed to his chest, over his heart. She was giggling and nodding. Raiden pulled Abri close to them. Abri heard what Clara was feeling as her ear pressed to Raiden’s chest as well.

  As long as his heart beat, he would love them. It was all the sound any of them ever needed to feel.