PowerofLearning by Viola Grace Read Free Book Online Page A

Quedar’s say-so, and Hosh put her hand on his arm, leading her back to Turnari’s offices.
    “Why are we waiting to talk to the Coordinator?” Yavil had to ask.
    “You will see.”
    She shrugged, and they waited for the receptionist to wave them through. When the woman let them pass, they walked into Turnari’s office together.
    Tea was waiting for them, and Turnari looked at their posture with a resigned expression.
    He poured tea and smiled, “Links?”
    Hosh helped Yavil into her seat. “Yes. She needed it.”
    Turnari handed Yavil her cup with a quirked brow.
    She shrugged. “Tebr are not designed to live alone.”
    It was so simple and summed up in that one sentence, she was amazed that it had not come to her before. Her people were not designed to live alone. They had evolved to be linked to a sibling as they matured and their mate when they wed. Her attempts to hold someone to her during childhood had been thwarted, but now, she had been handed the cure to her brainstorms in a delightful package.
    Turnari sat back and sighed. “I will have the maintenance staff move your things, Hosh. Her environment is pretty specific.”
    That got Yavil’s attention. “What?”
    “Links have to live together while the bond is still forming. If you separate for too long, you risk going back to the worst possible moment in your illness. A broken mind is not something we will court, so your schedules will be matched for convenience.”
    Yavil shook her head in confusion. “So, I have to move quarters?”
    “No. Hosh will move in with you. You will need to stay close together for as long as possible, that will include your sleep schedule. You will need to be close while your mind is at rest. The bond will strengthen then.”
    Hosh was smiling and sipping at his tea.
    “Do I have a say in this?”
    Turnari leaned back in his chair. “No, I believe that is why Hosh brought you here. He wanted to make sure that you knew it was not just his half-assed seduction techniques.”
    “I…this is stupid.”
    “It is the price of being linked, pet.” Hosh lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.
    She warmed with that small display of public affection. For all that the Tebr lived in the nude, public romance was taboo. She glanced at his lap, but his robes obscured it, and she realized that clothing had its finer points beyond keeping a body warm. The concealment was also something that she had not considered.
    They discussed details of the schedules and the alterations to her speaking arrangements before Turnari dismissed them with a smile. “I will see you in a week to check in or sooner if you have any trouble adapting.”
    Hosh got to his feet. “Thank you for your time, Coordinator.”
    Yavil smiled. “I don’t know if I want to thank you, but have a nice evening, Turnari.”
    She took the hand that Hosh extended and left the head of the Citadel’s office.
    “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me that.”
    “It was a surprise, and I wanted to make sure that I had an audience in case you didn’t react well.” He chuckled.
    “Funny. You know, I didn’t peg you for having a sneaky sense of humour.”
    He wrapped an arm around her waist. “You don’t even know me yet.”
    She snorted. “I am aware of that. I can feel you in my mind, but it is like you are standing in a train terminal and my thoughts are moving around you.”
    “For me, it is slightly different. Part of you is clamped onto me and power is running riot back and forth in my mind.”
    She winced. “It does not sound pleasant.”
    “I will get used to it. It does not burn like it first did. For now, I will manage as long as we can keep close contact.”
    “How long with that excuse last?” She grinned.
    “As long as you keep letting me get away with it, pet.” He squeezed her tight to him as they descended the staircase to the living quarters.
    She pressed her hand on the pad outside her door, and when it opened, he accompanied her