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serve two purposes. It would make it harder for the assassin to track them. And it would give him more
time with Sa Rah. He knew he could outrun his Diharan brother for only so long. Eventually he would
find them. Tristan was determined that by that time, Sa Rah would have accepted everything about him.
They would be true mates in every sense of the word.
Then he would kill the would-be assassin. He would protect his woman with everything he was. He
would sacrifice his Diharan brother s life for his and Sa Rah s happiness. It was the only way he knew.
The only way it had to be. There was no other choice. No one would take Sa Rah from him.
Tristan joined her at the table and they ate silently. He wondered about her thoughts. He knew she
wasn t happy with his commands and pondered why she had so easily acquiesced to his demands. It
wasn t like his ishwala to give in so easily. She must be forming a plan. He d have to watch her closely.
* * * *
Sa Rah had no plan.
There were just too many unknowns at the moment for her to form any kind of coherent approach to
escape. But she knew she would think of something. If nothing else, she had learned how to be
resourceful during her short stay on 21st century Earth. Combined with her training as Toka Rok, she felt
confident that she would come up with a plan.
What she didn t feel confident about, however, was her traveling partner. Stealing a glance at Tristan,
she wondered about his thoughts. He seemed very intent on his food as they silently ate. What was he
thinking? She would have to keep an eye on him.
Not that it was difficult to do that. He was one of the most attractive men she had ever met. His long
golden hair and emerald green eyes combined with a strong nose, square jaw, lush, sensual lips, and
dimpled smile made many a woman s heart flutter. He moved his tall, muscular warrior s body in a
predatory way that drew a woman s gaze. When her female Tanvieran friends first encountered Tristan,
many of them claimed to be in love. They often followed him around like love sick pups.
But her friends didn t know the whole Tristan. They didn t know that underneath that suave, civilized
veneer lived a beast. A beast that was so violent and dangerous that she shuddered just thinking of it.
Her movements caught Tristan s eye. He turned to meet her stare and Sa Rah could tell by the sudden
coolness in his gaze, that her fear and loathing was apparent in her eyes. He pushed away from the table
and gathered his bags.
"It s time to leave, princess." Picking up a small knapsack, he tossed it in her direction. "You ll be in
charge of the supplies in that small bag. They re your responsibility for the rest of the trip."
Sa Rah caught the bag easily.
"Where are you taking me?"
Tristan didn t answer immediately. He walked to the door and opened it.
"To the mountains," he replied as he waited for her to walk through.
Sa Rah held her ground.
"What if I don t want to go with you? What if I scream and call for help? What then?"
Tristan s eyes became cold and empty. So empty they looked dead. When he spoke there was no
inflection, absolutely no emotion in his voice.
"You don t want to do that. My Diharan brothers and sisters wouldn t take too kindly to you disobeying
me. On this planet, you are no longer a princess. You are merely prey. And as prey, you are at the mercy
of the predators around you. I m the only one keeping you from them. Don t forget that."
Tristan turned without waiting for her, and walked out.
Sa Rah knew she had little choice but to follow at this point. She had played a wild card, and it hadn t
worked. But there would be another opportunity. And when it arose, she would take it. The thought of
being someone s prey disturbed her, but as a trained warrior, she knew she would go down fighting.
She would not be taken easily.
* * * *
"Aren t we taking the transport station to our next destination?" Sa Rah asked as she noticed Tristan
walking away from the inn, back into the desert.
"No," he answered without turning around. "We re walking."
"Walking?" Sa Rah asked, quickly catching up to Tristan and grabbing his arm. "Why are we walking?
Do you not have transport stations we can use nearby?"
"Yes, there are transports nearby, but we won t be using them. I don t want to leave an obvious trail."
Sa Rah kept her hand on Tristan s arm until he came to an abrupt stop and stared down at where she
touched him then back up at her.
She got the message, releasing his arm, but not before asking her next question.
"Trail? Why don t you want to leave a trail? Who s following us? What s going on, Tristan?"
Tristan looked like he was about to turn away and continue walking without answering her. Ignoring her
better sense, she grabbed his arm again, and held it firmly. She needed answers.
"Who is following us?"
Tristan exhaled loudly and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
"Walk with me, and I will tell you what you need to know."
And he did.
* * * *
Rachel woke up to the worst hangover she had ever experienced in her life. Cracking one eye open, she
peeked between the blur of her eyelashes. Her stomach rolled in protest. Bright. It was too bright. And
hot. Dizziness assailed her. She needed soothing, cool darkness right now.
Bright bad. Dark good & bright bad. Dark good.
Keeping her eyes squeezed tightly shut, she breathed deeply and chanted the mantra over and over
again. Focus on the breathing, in, out, in, out. Having done Yoga for many years, her mind easily slid into
the place she led it to. It was evening, the stars sparkled overhead. She lay on a hammock between two
palm trees. The sound of the ocean soothed her. Its cool breeze ran over her body cooling her. Turning
toward the waves, she saw the moon reflected --
"Wake up, Rachel."
The serene image scattered in the wind as his voice penetrated her mind. Her eyes flew open. The
penetrating eyes staring down at her jerked her back to reality.
Him. Her nightmare. Zerik.
It all came rushing back to her in waves of nausea and dizziness. Unable to stop herself, Rachel rolled to
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