Read Online Fire's Touch (The Enlightened Species Book Three) by Wendy S. Hales - Free Book Online
Authors: Wendy S. Hales
Ads: Link
Elven population seems to be making an effort to bridge the gap now with the Hulven, but that is by design. They treat me as a rogue, someone evil, someone to be feared and hunted. The truth is I’ve been striving to aid Hulven since well before the Elven, willing to utter the term in mixed company and long before the Symbiosis of Species Council began formation. They hunt me because I know the truth and I aspire to eventually reveal that truth, a truth the SOSC and especially the Elven do not want known.”
Huey had leaned in while Osiris spun his tale of being the victim, castigated and misunderstood, swallowing the line of rubbish hook, line, and sinker. “What is this truth?” Osiris shook his head, denying the healer the information to make him hungrier for it. “Please, I must know.”
Laying it on thick, Osiris slumped his shoulders. “If I tell you and you reveal my words to the SOSC, they will kill you, my friend. You are too valuable to risk; you are the only chance male Hulven have for a future. The only chance my sons will ever have to become fathers. I can’t.”
“I will never tell. You have my word of honor as a male and as a healer that it will never pass my lips.” Huey’s desperation seeped into his voice. “As a Hulven male, don’t I have a right to know?”
Osiris dropped his hands from his face, meeting the healer’s eyes for the first time since he’d dismissed him earlier. “I suppose you do.” Sighing with surrender, he continued. “Elven are dinosaurs living on borrowed time before extinction. The only thing holding the Hulven race back is the male’s inability to procreate, which is why the Elven put so much into barring any efforts at remedying it.” If Huey bought this, Osiris planned to sell him ocean-side property in Idaho next.
Osiris watched as Huey digested the information, reconciling in his sharp, scientific mind the possibility Osiris posed. The frown on Huey’s face showed that he wanted to believe, but the explanation still seemed too far-fetched. Osiris hammered the final nail into Dr. Fennell’s mental coffin of loyalty. “Have you never wondered why there are Hulven warriors, healers, agriculturist, tradesmen, etc., yet very few if any true Hulven scientists like yourself? Why you have felt compelled to keep your research a secret? Why there are no Hulven Oracles … none? It is because they are put to death if discovered, as you will be. Somewhere inside, you must have known that your studies threatened your life, even if you didn’t fully know the reason. The true rogues are the Elven race of Volaticus society and, by association, the SOSC.”
Firm, outraged determination set in Huey’s eyes … finally. Osiris had given the good healer a cause to believe in and the paradise of a lab to look forward too. Now he needed to put his redheaded new tool to use.
“What would you have me do?”
Osiris shrugged. “I need some records from the main Hospe in Greenland. After that I want you to tie up any loose ends you have in your current life and join the life you were meant for.” He indicated the wall behind him.
Chapter Seven
Prince Hansi Alba stared at the text Mattie had just sent him: “Cassie’s in Seattle” and an address. His mind churned and he nearly forgot where he was. After giving the report for his last mission to the SOSC leaders in Greenland, he had returned to Mesa to see his friend Umbrae and her quadruplets. He enjoyed the warm welcome he got from each of her children. The quads could lighten any situation. Umbrae and Enlil had bestowed each child a godparent and a namesake. The baby girls had been named after their namesakes. Jestyl was named after Jess Einar and had the warrior Irsu Einar as her godmother. Tana, named for Enlil’s deceased bloodedmate Etana, had the Aquatie warrior Greyton as her godfather. The third baby girl, Erisa, was named for Umbrae’s father Eros and had Greycia, Greyton’s paired sibling, as her
Huey had leaned in while Osiris spun his tale of being the victim, castigated and misunderstood, swallowing the line of rubbish hook, line, and sinker. “What is this truth?” Osiris shook his head, denying the healer the information to make him hungrier for it. “Please, I must know.”
Laying it on thick, Osiris slumped his shoulders. “If I tell you and you reveal my words to the SOSC, they will kill you, my friend. You are too valuable to risk; you are the only chance male Hulven have for a future. The only chance my sons will ever have to become fathers. I can’t.”
“I will never tell. You have my word of honor as a male and as a healer that it will never pass my lips.” Huey’s desperation seeped into his voice. “As a Hulven male, don’t I have a right to know?”
Osiris dropped his hands from his face, meeting the healer’s eyes for the first time since he’d dismissed him earlier. “I suppose you do.” Sighing with surrender, he continued. “Elven are dinosaurs living on borrowed time before extinction. The only thing holding the Hulven race back is the male’s inability to procreate, which is why the Elven put so much into barring any efforts at remedying it.” If Huey bought this, Osiris planned to sell him ocean-side property in Idaho next.
Osiris watched as Huey digested the information, reconciling in his sharp, scientific mind the possibility Osiris posed. The frown on Huey’s face showed that he wanted to believe, but the explanation still seemed too far-fetched. Osiris hammered the final nail into Dr. Fennell’s mental coffin of loyalty. “Have you never wondered why there are Hulven warriors, healers, agriculturist, tradesmen, etc., yet very few if any true Hulven scientists like yourself? Why you have felt compelled to keep your research a secret? Why there are no Hulven Oracles … none? It is because they are put to death if discovered, as you will be. Somewhere inside, you must have known that your studies threatened your life, even if you didn’t fully know the reason. The true rogues are the Elven race of Volaticus society and, by association, the SOSC.”
Firm, outraged determination set in Huey’s eyes … finally. Osiris had given the good healer a cause to believe in and the paradise of a lab to look forward too. Now he needed to put his redheaded new tool to use.
“What would you have me do?”
Osiris shrugged. “I need some records from the main Hospe in Greenland. After that I want you to tie up any loose ends you have in your current life and join the life you were meant for.” He indicated the wall behind him.
Chapter Seven
Prince Hansi Alba stared at the text Mattie had just sent him: “Cassie’s in Seattle” and an address. His mind churned and he nearly forgot where he was. After giving the report for his last mission to the SOSC leaders in Greenland, he had returned to Mesa to see his friend Umbrae and her quadruplets. He enjoyed the warm welcome he got from each of her children. The quads could lighten any situation. Umbrae and Enlil had bestowed each child a godparent and a namesake. The baby girls had been named after their namesakes. Jestyl was named after Jess Einar and had the warrior Irsu Einar as her godmother. Tana, named for Enlil’s deceased bloodedmate Etana, had the Aquatie warrior Greyton as her godfather. The third baby girl, Erisa, was named for Umbrae’s father Eros and had Greycia, Greyton’s paired sibling, as her
Similar Books
