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  “Kat, that’s awful! You can’t let them do that to you. You have to get away from them!” Liv leaned forward, wishing she could reach through the viewscreen and drag her friend to safety.

  “That’s what I’m trying to do,” Kat protested. “But first we have to find this rare flower—it only grows in a certain part of Twin Moons.”

  “Seriously?” Liv raised an eyebrow at her. “You can’t come home because you and Lock and Deep are going to go flower picking together?”

  “We have to. It’s the only way to dissolve the bond.” Kat sighed. “We’re going to bring it back to Mother L’rin and she’s going to make some kind of special bond breaking medicine or something.”

  “Well,” Sophie said doubtfully. “I guess if that’s the only way you can get free of them…”

  “It is.” Kat ran a hand through her hair. “Look, I told you it sounded crazy, didn’t I? But I have no choice. And I swear as soon as I get the stupid bond dissolved I’ll be on my way back.”

  “Well, if you have to, you have to.” Sophie sighed philosophically. “Just try not to take too long. You do realize I can’t plan my wedding without you.”

  “Or my baby shower,” Liv put in.

  Kat shook a finger at them. “You’d better not!”

  “Of course not.” Liv smiled. “So how are things otherwise? Are Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee behaving themselves?”

  Kat shook her head. “I just don’t know. Lock is a sweetheart, as always. But Deep…well, Deep is Deep. And I mean that both literally and figuratively.”

  Sophie frowned. “Meaning what—that you two are still fighting?”

  “We have what you could call an uneasy truce right now,” Kat said. She looked behind her and then leaned closer to the viewscreen and lowered her voice. “But I found something out about him. Something he did—”

  “Kat,” a deep male voice said from somewhere off screen. “The ship leaves very soon. You need to hurry.”

  “Just a minute!” Kat looked harassed. “We have to leave on the flower hunt tonight and the guys are waiting outside the shuttle so I can talk to you two privately. But I guess they’re getting impatient.”

  “Forget about them,” Liv said. “Tell us what you found out. Is he an axe murderer? A gigolo?”

  “No,” Sophie cut in. “She said it was something he did. What did he do, Kat? Was it awful?”

  “Kat!” said the deep male voice again. “We have to go now.”

  Kat sighed. “Sorry, I guess I’ll have to tell you later. But believe me, you will never guess in a million years. Love you both.” She blew kisses at the viewscreen and Liv and Sophie did the same.

  “Kat, just tell us—” Liv started to say but then the viewscreen went blank as their friend’s picture flickered out.

  “Crap!” Sophie sounded disappointed. “What do you suppose she was about to say? What did Deep do?”

  “I have no idea.” Liv frowned. “But knowing him, I’m guessing it wasn’t random acts of kindness. I just hope Kat will be okay.”

  Sophie looked troubled. “I hope so too.”

  Liv gave her twin a comforting hug. “I’m sure she’ll be home soon and then we can get the scoop directly from the source.”

  “I guess.” Sophie didn’t sound convinced. “But I think I’ll ask Sylvan what he knows about Deep…just in case.”

  Liv nodded thoughtfully. “I’m going to grill Baird too. And we can compare notes later.”

  She just hoped she didn’t find out anything too awful about the dark twin’s past. If Kat was already halfway bonded to him, there was no telling what might happen to their friend.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “So we’re actually going to sail to this continent place on a boat?” Kat eyed the green wooden boat with the pale pink sail doubtfully. It looked very picturesque rocking on the golden water—but not very safe. And despite living in Florida all her life, Kat had never learned to like sailing—she was always afraid she’d fall off whatever boat she was on, into shark-infested waters. “Why can’t we take the shuttle?” she asked Lock. “We could just fly there, find the fi-fi flower, and be back in a couple of hours.”

  “It isn’t permitted to take advanced technology to the continent, my lady,” he said, shaking his head. “The natives who live there are very superstitious. They might take it for black magic and want to kill us for offending their gods.”

  “Wait a minute—there are natives?” Kat’s heart skipped a beat.

  “Angry, hostile natives.” Deep, who had been loading their gear spoke up.

  “Not if you don’t antagonize them,” Lock said quickly. “And honestly, there aren’t that many of them. Hopefully we’ll be able to avoid them all together.”

  Kat shook her head. “I don’t understand. Twin Moons seems like such a civilized place. How can you have a whole continent of superstitious savages?”

  “It has to do with the genetic trade,” Lock explained. “When the Kindred first came to Twin Moons, hundreds of cycles ago, they introduced themselves to the inhabitants of the islands. There are over three hundred islands of different sizes and shapes in the archipelago, you know. Anyway, the Kindred made their trade with the islanders. Being fishermen, traders, and explorers, they were more open to new ideas and to change.”

  “I get it.” Kat nodded. “So the islanders got all the technology and advances…”

  “Not to mention the genetic advantages of the Kindred,” Lock said. “While those who still lived on the continent—”

  “Remained ignorant savages.” Deep smirked at her. “Ignorant and depraved if you can believe the rumors. It’s said they have the most barbaric sexual habits.”

  Kat raised an eyebrow. “More barbaric than never having sex unless you have at least three people involved?”

  Deep grinned. “Point taken. But no, they still have two males to one female—that’s normal. For our world, of course. I’m well aware it’s considered immoral and disgusting on yours.” He laughed, as though making a joke, but Kat could feel a wave of bitterness coming from him that belied his apparent good humor. It settled harshly on her tongue like a bad tasting medicine she couldn’t spit out.

  “Over the years attempts were made to bring the natives into the trade, but they were put off by the change in our physical appearance,” Lock explained. “The Kindred genes make us much larger and more intimidating. And they changed our skin and hair color too, making us resemble the natives less and less each passing generation. Until at last, we are an entirely different race of people.”

  “That’s kind of sad,” Kat said thoughtfully. “To lose contact with your roots that way.”

  “Believe me, if you saw them, you wouldn’t think so,” Deep said. “They still live in grass huts and perform sacrifices to their gods on full moon nights. Some even say they practice cannibalism.”

  “Ugh.” Kat made a face. “I really hope we can find the fi-fi flower and get back without running in to any of those guys.”

  “That’s what we all hope, my lady,” Lock said soberly. “But the sooner we get to the continent, the sooner we can find the Moons blossom and come home.” He looked at Deep. “Are we ready?”

  The dark twin nodded. “Everything’s loaded.” He stepped from the pier and over the side of the rocking boat. Looking at Lock and Kat he said, “Come on. Time’s wasting.”

  “Very well—come, my lady.” Lock climbed aboard also and then held out a hand to Kat.

  Kat looked at the swaying golden water uneasily. It was very beautiful, certainly. But who knew what it hid in its depths? Just watching the way the waves swelled and slapped against the wooden side of the boat made her stomach roll. Still, she had to get aboard. Taking a deep breath, she reached for Lock’s hand. But just as she was leaning over the narrow gap between the pier and the side of the boat, a wave of dizziness hit her.

  “God!” She put a hand to her head, swaying and would have fallen if Lock hadn’t quickly grabbed her hand.