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  “Shh, should you really be saying that to me?” Tess asked in a whisper. “Is this a secure line? Could someone be listening in?”

  “Oh, I didn’t think about that.” Becca looked suddenly worried.

  “I did. You’d better be careful.” Years of living with an abusive, paranoid man had made Tess extremely cautious. Of course now she was with Garron but the habits she’d built of looking around every corner and watching what she said were still in place.

  “Let’s talk about something else completely,” Becca said. “Did you know that Kat finally had her babies?”

  “No, of course I didn’t know! Oh my God, I wish I could have been there!” Tess sighed. She didn’t know the girls aboard the Mother Ship nearly as well as Becca but she liked them very much and wished them well. “Did they look like their fathers? One light and one dark?” she asked eagerly.

  Becca’s smile slipped a little. “Well…two of them do.”

  “Two of them? What are you talking about? Are they all right? She had twins, right?”

  “She had triplets actually,” Becca said. “But that’s not what the Kindred call it. There’s one light twin, one dark twin…and one shadow twin.”

  “What? What does that even mean?” Tess shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t either to be honest, although it’s got me really freaked out since I’m mated to Twin Kindred too.” Becca looked troubled. “What it seems to mean is that two of the babies look normal—one has dark hair and eyes and the other has light hair and eyes. But the third one…”

  “Is he okay? Does he have…” Tess’s voice dropped. “Some kind of birth defect?”

  “Not that you can see but he looks kind of…unusual. He has this shock of bright silvery-white hair and his eyes are silver too. But a darker silver—almost a platinum or a pewter. I don’t know, it’s hard to describe.” Becca sighed. “Anyway, he’s got a beautiful little face but when he looks at you with those eyes…well, you’d swear he was staring right into your soul.” She shivered. “It’s kind of disconcerting.”

  “How are Kat and her guys taking it?”

  “Not so well. Apparently having a shadow twin is supposed to be really unlucky. But as far as I can figure out, that’s because he’ll be all alone with no one to bond with.”

  “What—can’t he bond with his brothers like regular Twin Kindred?” Tess asked.

  Becca shook her head. “No, and it’s obvious even now. The light and dark twins are already thick as thieves. They cry if you take one away from the other and Kat says they’ll lie there for hours just staring at each other being as good as gold. But the other little guy—they don’t even seem to notice him.”

  “Well, but I mean, how could they? They’re all only a few days old, right?”

  “I know it’s hard to believe but you can seriously already see the light and dark twin bonding and the shadow twin being left out. It breaks your heart, really. Mine, anyway and especially Far’s. He remembers growing up on Twin Moons with no twin and he really feels for the little guy. I think Truth feels bad about it too, but he’s not quite as willing to talk about his emotions.”

  “Speaking of emotionally stunted people, have you heard anything else from Mei-Li—the girl who got claimed by Six, the Dark Kindred?” Tess asked. “Now that was a guy who was never going to feel anything for anyone.”

  Becca shook her head. “No, but I understand there have been some communications between the Mother Ship and Zeaga Four so maybe they’re trying to negotiate.”

  “Maybe Six will bring her back early,” Tess said. “I mean, after he realizes how pointless it was to take her in the first place. It’s not like he could bond with her—not with one of those emotion dampers implanted in his neck.”

  “I wish he would bring her back! Maybe we could stop this stupid war before it starts if her father could see she’s all right,” Becca said passionately.

  “Do you think she is?” Tess asked doubtfully. “All right, I mean?”

  “I don’t know,” Becca said soberly. “All we can do is say a prayer for her and hope she’ll be okay and come home soon.” She pointed a finger at Tess. “I’m praying for you and Garron, too. I may have given up on being a nun but I can still light a candle and say a rosary with the best of them. Take care of yourself, Tess.”

  “I will.” Tess smiled at her friend. “Garron is motioning to me—I think I’d better go. Give Kat my love and kiss the new babies for me—all three of them.”

  “Of course I will.” Becca smiled. “And I’ll try to get back in touch as soon as I can.” She blew Tess a kiss and the viewscreen went dark.

  Tess stood there for a moment, staring at it. She was thinking about Six…and about Mei-Li who she didn’t even know but felt sorry for all the same.

  She must be so frightened right now—so unhappy. Poor thing!

  Then Garron called her name again and she came back to reality with a start. Things were about to start getting really sticky for the Kindred or anyone associated with them down here on Earth.

  It was time to prepare.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Mei-Li didn’t know the last time she’d been so miserable. Six had spent the entire night in his recharging area—the same, forbidding room she had always seen him in during their Dream Sharing. She hadn’t even dared to put her head in and talk to him—it was obvious he wanted to be alone. He’d been up early that morning and had barely spoken a word to her while he ate the garn she had made for breakfast.

  Mei-Li had been excited that the simulator was now attuned to her brain waves and she was able to use it to fix food. She had been hoping to share some of that excitement with Six. But the big Kindred had simply stared right through her as she talked about getting the machine to work. He had eaten his bowl of gluey paste silently and quickly, as though he couldn’t wait to get breakfast over with and get away from her. Then he had risen from the table, looking absolutely huge in his exoskeleton.

  “I must go to work—I have much to do today. Apologies for leaving you alone but you know all of your entertainment and recreational options.”

  “Yes, I know,” Mei-Li had said humbly. “And please don’t worry—I won’t look at anything I’m not supposed to.”

  “I have no concerns about that. Ter has triple locked all restricted materials. Even if your irrational, emotional nature tempts you to try and access them, you will be unable.”

  In the past, Mei-Li might have gotten angry at him for calling her irrational and emotional but she understood that he was still hurt and upset—though no one hearing him talk would think he was anything but an emotionless robot. Still, she felt that under his icy façade there was something else lurking—a boiling cauldron of repressed feelings that was ready to blow sky high if he was pushed.

  “I understand,” she’d said quietly. “But you didn’t have to lock everything away. Now that I know how you feel about it, I will never invade your privacy again. You can trust me on that.”

  “As I keep reminding you, I have no feelings,” Six had replied coolly. “Though even if I did have them, I do not believe that ‘trust’ is one I would extend to you.”

  “Six, please…” Mei-Li felt tears welling up in her eyes. She tried to hold them back, but they just kept coming. “Please, I said I was sorry. Why can’t you forgive me? We had such a good day yesterday. I almost felt like…like there was something between us. Something good.”

  “There is nothing holding us together here but the Claiming Contract,” he’d replied shortly. “And even that will be over soon.” He nodded at the blinking yellow numbers on her arm. “Though not soon enough to suit me.”

  With that, he had left the house and Mei-Li had sat down and cried.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid, she told herself, wiping away more tears. Stop crying over the big jerk! If he can’t forgive one stupid little mistake, he’s not worth having. And it wasn’t like she would have been able to “have” him anyway. As soon