Read Online The Dracons' Woman by Laura Jo Phillips - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Laura Jo Phillips
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far, but the sight, scent, taste and feel of her had robbed them all of sense for a time.
Now, as Val and Trey lay beside her, watching her sleep, they both noticed how unusual her hair was. While wet it had appeared to be red with highlights of gold. Now that it was dry, they could see that about two thirds of the strands were a deep flame color from her scalp all the way to the ends, with no hint of gold in them. The remaining third of the strands were a bright shiny gold from scalp to end. The golden strands were sprinkled evenly throughout the red. Even from a short distance away her hair appeared to be red with gold highlights, but in reality it was two separate and distinct colors. They had never seen anything like it, and they could not resist running their fingers through the long silky strands as they watched her sleep.
It was early afternoon when Garen stepped quietly into the room and signaled to them. Trey and Val both checked to be sure that Lariah was still sleeping quietly before they slipped from the bed, careful not to wake her, and followed Garen out.
“What is wrong?” Trey asked, frowning at the expression of mingled surprise and tension on his brother’s face. He was certain he’d never seen such a look on Garen before and that worried him.
Garen shook his head and laughed shortly. “You are simply not going to believe this,” he said. Without further explanation he turned and walked up the hallway. Trey and Val looked at each other, shrugged, and followed their elder brother through the house and into the study.
By the time they caught up, Garen had already stepped behind the desk. He waved them over as they entered, Trey pausing to close the door behind them before joining his brothers. He looked at the vid-screen with its light blue background indicating that it was in stand-by mode and checked the status icons along the bottom. “Is this prank?” he asked uncertainly, glancing up at Garen in confusion.
“No, not a prank,” Garen replied. “Nor is it a system malfunction, or an error.”
“But according to this, we have had nearly five thousand incoming vid-calls in just the past few hours,” Val said, his tone expressing the shock and disbelief Trey was feeling. “How is that even possible?”
Garen sighed. “Evidently they are not actual calls. They are mostly messages.”
“Messages?” Trey asked. “These are all from off-planet?”
“No,” Garen replied. “They are all local.”
“I thought if it was local, it was a call. Real time.”
“So did I,” Garen said dryly.
Trey frowned. “So, what is the difference between a call and a local message?”
“My question exactly,” Garen replied. “A local message is when the sender records what he wants to say and sends it, not giving the recipient the opportunity to blast him off the system for his unwanted advice.”
“Oh,” Val said. “Sounds like the news is out that we have found our Arima.”
Garen nodded. “Yes, and every unmated male-set on the planet has advice on how we should handle her.”
Trey growled, but Garen waved his hand at him. “It is not what you think Trey,” he said. “I too was furious at first. But after listening to a few of the messages, I realized that their concerns are, in truth, founded.”
“Please explain,” Trey said, trying hard not to snap at his older brother.
“It is known that Lariah is both our Arima, and human,” Garen replied. “The hope of our people is that where there is one such female, others may also be found. But, as she is human, there is a debate over how the situation should be handled and the possible consequences if mistakes or errors are made.”
Trey nodded. “I understand,” he said finally. “If we were the ones standing on the outside, we would want those involved to go slowly and carefully. Too much is at stake.”
“At the same time, Lariah is a person,” Val
Now, as Val and Trey lay beside her, watching her sleep, they both noticed how unusual her hair was. While wet it had appeared to be red with highlights of gold. Now that it was dry, they could see that about two thirds of the strands were a deep flame color from her scalp all the way to the ends, with no hint of gold in them. The remaining third of the strands were a bright shiny gold from scalp to end. The golden strands were sprinkled evenly throughout the red. Even from a short distance away her hair appeared to be red with gold highlights, but in reality it was two separate and distinct colors. They had never seen anything like it, and they could not resist running their fingers through the long silky strands as they watched her sleep.
It was early afternoon when Garen stepped quietly into the room and signaled to them. Trey and Val both checked to be sure that Lariah was still sleeping quietly before they slipped from the bed, careful not to wake her, and followed Garen out.
“What is wrong?” Trey asked, frowning at the expression of mingled surprise and tension on his brother’s face. He was certain he’d never seen such a look on Garen before and that worried him.
Garen shook his head and laughed shortly. “You are simply not going to believe this,” he said. Without further explanation he turned and walked up the hallway. Trey and Val looked at each other, shrugged, and followed their elder brother through the house and into the study.
By the time they caught up, Garen had already stepped behind the desk. He waved them over as they entered, Trey pausing to close the door behind them before joining his brothers. He looked at the vid-screen with its light blue background indicating that it was in stand-by mode and checked the status icons along the bottom. “Is this prank?” he asked uncertainly, glancing up at Garen in confusion.
“No, not a prank,” Garen replied. “Nor is it a system malfunction, or an error.”
“But according to this, we have had nearly five thousand incoming vid-calls in just the past few hours,” Val said, his tone expressing the shock and disbelief Trey was feeling. “How is that even possible?”
Garen sighed. “Evidently they are not actual calls. They are mostly messages.”
“Messages?” Trey asked. “These are all from off-planet?”
“No,” Garen replied. “They are all local.”
“I thought if it was local, it was a call. Real time.”
“So did I,” Garen said dryly.
Trey frowned. “So, what is the difference between a call and a local message?”
“My question exactly,” Garen replied. “A local message is when the sender records what he wants to say and sends it, not giving the recipient the opportunity to blast him off the system for his unwanted advice.”
“Oh,” Val said. “Sounds like the news is out that we have found our Arima.”
Garen nodded. “Yes, and every unmated male-set on the planet has advice on how we should handle her.”
Trey growled, but Garen waved his hand at him. “It is not what you think Trey,” he said. “I too was furious at first. But after listening to a few of the messages, I realized that their concerns are, in truth, founded.”
“Please explain,” Trey said, trying hard not to snap at his older brother.
“It is known that Lariah is both our Arima, and human,” Garen replied. “The hope of our people is that where there is one such female, others may also be found. But, as she is human, there is a debate over how the situation should be handled and the possible consequences if mistakes or errors are made.”
Trey nodded. “I understand,” he said finally. “If we were the ones standing on the outside, we would want those involved to go slowly and carefully. Too much is at stake.”
“At the same time, Lariah is a person,” Val
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