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spoke in an awed
voice, and Sparrow grew somewhat self-conscious with the way he
stared. When she smiled, his breath caught and he turned to Navar.
“You are a truly blessed man, my Lord. I only hope when my lady is
chosen, she is half as beautiful.” With a second low bow, he turned
and opened the door.
    Squeezing Sparrow’s hand, Navar brought it to
his lips and placed a kiss in her palm. “Before we enter here, I
must explain yet again.” His face was so serious, she felt another
huge sense of dread. “Five years ago, when we realized drastic
measures were going to have to be taken, I made the decision that
any experiments done would be done only with me. I would not
compromise the emotions or health of my people.”
    Try as she might to follow what he was
saying, Sparrow actually found herself only growing more confused.
“I don’t understand . . .”
    With a growl of frustration, Navar began
ushering her into the room. My sperm was combined with five species
from other planets. It was a way to discover who was most
compatible with us.” He held fast to her as he explained, afraid
she might pull away and flee from him. “Of the five, only one seed
took root. The one combined with the egg taken from you.”
    Shock made Sparrow drop her jaw. What is
he saying? Does he have babies frozen in cryogenics, waiting for my
arrival so I can be artificially inseminated? “Navar, you’re
scaring me,” she whispered. “What are you saying?”
    Taking a deep breath, he took her by the
shoulders and slowly turned her to face what he was unsure she
would want to see. “When we knew she was healthy, I should have
waited, I know. But I was so happy and I wanted my mother to be
able to see her and hold her before she died.” He added in a softer
voice, “She was already ill, and I knew we had limited time. I
waited for as long as I could. But, it was going to be another
three months before you could be brought here.”
    Sparrow stared at the bed on the far side of
the room. It was shaped a little different than the ones back on
Earth, but she could tell it was a baby bed. Almost as if in a
trance, she moved slowly toward the bed. When she reached it,
there, gazing up at her was the most beautiful baby girl she had
ever seen. The child had silvery skin that reminded Sparrow of
Navar, and the beginnings of fine black hair the same shade as hers
were starting to grow on her head. Her big blue-green eyes were
open and regarded her with open curiosity.
    Overcome with emotion, she reached out to
take the tiny girl in her arms. The baby seemed to reach for her as
well, and Sparrow began to sob as she cradled the child to her.
Navar started to reach out to touch her, but hesitated. He was
afraid she’d reject him. “Please forgive me. I know it was a
violation of your body and your rights to take without asking and
deprive you of being able to go through the pregnancy. You have
every right to be angry. I can only hope in time, you will forgive
me and know I did what I did out of desperation.”
    Still holding the child, she turned to look
at the man who had made her a permanent part of his family, without
her knowledge. “Angry?” she questioned softly. “I should be more
than angry. You should be in fear of losing your beautiful but
crazy man parts. I should refuse to allow you near either one of
us.” She sniffed as she moved to tilt the babe so she could look at
her face again. “But, for some crazy reason, all I can think of
right now is how blessed I am.” Reaching out she grabbed his hand
and pulled him toward her and the child. “What did you name
her?”
    Navar held her gaze with a hopeful expression
of his own. “I wanted her to be named in a similar fashion to you.
I knew your name, Sparrow, is the name of a bird.” He paused, and
looked away. “But I couldn’t find a human name for a bird as pretty
as yours. I ended up calling her, Skye. I imagined you as a bird,
and her free as the sky.” He stopped and