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boy’s head remained constant. “This will be quick, I swear.”
    He shuffled instruments and found a small clear bulb in a package. Tossing other supplies around, he searched for an elusive piece. At the boy’s shifting, he glanced back and pressed a hand to Gar’s shoulder. “I’m looking for the liquid solution, Gar. It’ll clear up your eye. You’ll be able to see in a few hours.”
    Frustrated, he glanced from the sterile bulb in his hand to his duffel on the floor. His reluctance to release his hold on Gar was obvious. And the boy wasn’t letting either of them go.
    “Aaron.” Analena motioned to the duffel on the floor. At Trace’s confirming nod, the younger man who’d just returned, crouched to pick up the large bag.
    “Toward the bottom. White cloth.” Trace gestured with the bulb. “It’s a soft pack.”
    Aaron dug for a minute and pulled out a white cloth bundle, unrolling it until multi-pockets of solid, clear bricks and pouches lay in a line on the table.
    “Second one.” Trace pointed and motioned for the packet to be brought closer. Angling over the pouch in Aaron’s hands, he positioned the bulb above an insertion nodule. A small needle elongated from the bulb into the nodule, filling the clear bulb with a viscous solution. Withdrawing the bulb, Trace motioned for Aaron to replace the packet and turned to Gar.
    “This will be cold but you can’t jerk. How about you move your hands to my shirt, Gar? If you have a reaction, hold on tight.”
    He kept using the boy’s name, creating a link, the effect as soothing to her and the other children as it was on Gar. She met his gaze and shifted the boy’s hands over the fine black weave of Trace’s shirt. The small fingers dug in.
    “Going to feel weird. You can blink, but try not to move.”
    The boy’s face tilted, and Analena watched Trace brace his palm against the side of Gar’s face, the point of the bulb still in the air. His other hand tilted the chin higher and then drifted along the boy’s skin until his fingers framed above the brow and below the eye. “I’m going to open your lids a bit, for more space for the fluid to work. It’ll leak in from the corner. Ready?”
    “Yeah.” The whisper almost broke her heart.
    Gar didn’t blink as delicate drops of fluid slid from the needle’s edge and touched his eye.
    “Now, slowly blink once. Again. Now close your eye for me.” Trace handed the bulb to Analena and carefully brought Gar’s head to his chest. “Sting?”
    “Only a little,” came the soft reply.
    “That’ll go away in a minute.”
    “I’m not going to see from the other one, am I?”
    The weary look on Trace’s face and the quick look of apology he gave Analena said it all.
    “Not right now, Gar.”

 
     
     
    Chapter 4
     
    “Is there a device available for his missing eye?”
    Piper’s voice broke through Trace’s scrutiny of the cavern. Unable to focus on anything but the boy’s injury since his arrival, he chose to check out his surroundings rather than stare at the calm, composed woman beside him. Her sherry eyes, capped with delicate brows, and a full, curving mouth wrestled with his self-control.
    No wonder he’d never seen her face in his dreams. The temptation of her body had been hard enough. He’d recognized her from the moment he’d entered the cave and seen her move. Years of dreams had lent him familiarity with the sensuous, sleek muscles and mannerisms. Nothing could mask that body from his memory. And the numerals on her body, he’d wager his life they were there as well.
    Now he could add her smooth olive complexion and vibrant eyes to his torment. Unfortunately, her expression reflected her assessment. Her tolerance of him, a mix of wariness and appreciation.
    One was prudent, the other unwarranted.
    “There’s no device I’m aware of. It doesn’t mean I can’t figure something out,” he said.
    “I’d rather not lead him on.” Her gaze shifted to Gar and then settled on