Unable to hold back a smile, he rechecked their heading—while it was a good shuttle and he’d reluctantly grant the duke as much,the controlswerenew to him—and sent one last coded message back to the station that was little more than an exhortation that they watch their brides with more care considering how he’d made off so easily with the last jewel. Then he closed down the comm to prevent any possible tracking.
Lishelle returned with two drink containers. She handed him once and nodded at his murmured thanks. “I won’tvouch for coffee in a pouch, but I get tired of pixberry tea.” She took a sip from hers and made a soft sound in the back of her throat. “Ah… Okay, that’s not bad.”
That sound… He sucked at his drink to cover the surge of lust at her blissful expression.
He might be God of Beloveds, doomed to bestow blessings while never enjoying the experience himself, but seeing her simple, earthy pleasureat the small delight of hot coffee explained why his incorporeal essence had been drawn to her as he exited the black hole. And that was even before he’d had the chance to revel in her sharp tongue and sharper mind.
No, it wasn’t just his incorporeal essence that wanted her…
Needing to put some space between himself and Lishelle in the confines of the shuttle, Tynan left her perusing old newsreports from the ship’s data core while he went through the shuttle with a scanner, checking for trackers. He really needed to show these youngsters how to take better care of their toys. Why, in his day…
He shook his head. He might be back, but those days were long gone.
Finding no evidence of trackers besides the ones he’d disabled by going dark with the comm, he returned to the cockpit. Lishellewas reading through the reports she bookmarked with a speed and thoroughness that he admired. She wouldn’t have made just a fine battlemaid but perhaps a general in her own right.
Without looking at him, she held out one hand, saying, “So I’ve been reading about Blackworm’s escape.”
With a wince at the topic, he deposited the second coffee pouch into her waggling fingers. How she’d known hewas bringing her another cup…
“What did you find?” He settled in the pilot seat next to her.
She sipped the coffee, too deep in her studies to make that appreciative noise again, much to his disappointment. “The shuttle data core has most of what was available to the station’s systems before you cut us off.” She slanted a glance at him. “Thanks for the coffee.” When he nodded, she went on, “Authoritiesdidn’t want to talk about the escape, obviously, but when they asked to send the bounty hunter, Nor—as part of his security duties—demanded that they share their internal investigations so far.”
Tynan stiffened. “Bounty hunter?”
“Guy named Idrin. Supposed to find Blackworm’s associates.”
“He could be useful.” Assuming the bounty hunter didn’t just shoot his prey on sight, unlike certain captains…
“From what I’m reading, there’s no mention of Radek’s name, but they intercepted chatter from a mercenary outfit linked to the crew that was captured while trying to kidnap IDA brides in Sunset Falls a year ago. The authorities assumed that Blackworm’s hired help went down with him in the dreadnaught last month, but…” She sniffed with clear suspicion.
A suspicion he shared. “That seems entirelytoo tidy.”
“Yeah. Idrin was following the payments from Blackworm to the mercenary outfit, and apparently Blackworm had some outstanding debts. They disagreed about whether he should have to pay when his rent-a-minions successfully kidnapped the IDA brides…and then got caught themselves.” She snorted. “Just can’t trust criminal armiesorhomicidal lunatics these days.”
Tynan sighed. “So Blackwormhas an angry brother and a pack of unpaid killer mercenaries after him. Why did the powers of the Lightlands choose such an abhorrent vessel for my return?”
She closed down her reading and settled back in her chair, gazing at him while she cradled both hands around the coffee pouch. “So you really believe you are a god.”
Her tone didn’t sound like a question, but he answered it anyway. “I am.”
“I know some Thorkons who are deemed worthy”—she wrinkled her nose—“or at least noble and rich enough, become avatars of gods. But I thought it was more of an honor title than a…uh, real thing.”
“We had avatars in my time as well, to do the bidding of the gods.” He lifted his hands, palms up, to show her. “I am the ‘real thing’.”
“Do you have, like, magical powers or something?”
He tilted hishead. “My blessing is not enough?”
The purse of her lips told him she wasn’t sure whether he was teasing or not. “Anybody can say a blessing.”
“True. And if it is said with a pure heart, it carries some of my power.”
Her jaw shifted side to side, as if she were chewing over his explanation. “On Earth, some religions like Hinduism and the Greek pantheon recognize multiple deities. Some of themare considered eternal, and some of them were raised up from notable humans.”
A sense of relief wafted through him, and he smiled. “Then you understand.”
“That’s not the case inmyreligion,” she said archly.
