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did not know about Dardaptoans or Lupoiux or anything else until that man showed up on our door.”
    “I see.”
    “I thought I was human…”
    A delusion she would never have again.
     
    Chapter Thirteen
     
    Rion hoped his shock wasn’t as clear on his face as Lana’s was. She turned away, but he didn’t doubt his Rajni saw the surprise.
    Her mouth trembled and her eyes were guarded. But there was a strength in her face that gave him hope.
    They would have a long way to go for her to understand their bond, wouldn’t they? For all purposes, if she knew so little of their people, she most likely knew nothing of Rajnis.
    The path before him looked longer than he’d expected.
    It wasn’t long before she was resting again. Rion just sat and stared at her, studying the face of the mate the goddess had chosen from him.
    So, so young. So obviously confused. How was he supposed to help her? It was obvious she was feeling lost and adrift, or was that just her injuries?
    He looked at his brother and sister-in-law. Their eyes showed their understanding and compassion. “What am I to do to help her?”
    Lana patted him on the shoulder. “Just as your brother is doing to help me. Time. It is something we Dardaptoans, even the lost and injured, tend to have a lot of.”
    Marcos disagreed. “But do not take too long, brother. Having your mate is the best thing a male can experience. A moment without her is a moment too long.”
    The look the two of them shared was so intensely private and full of love envy immediately filled Rion. Envy and hope.
    Would he and Mara one day feel the same of each other?
    Mara shivered and Rion took the extra blanket at the end of the bed and covered her with it more fully. It wasn’t cold in the room, by any means. Was she chilling?
    “We’ll need to watch for infection,” Lana said. “I’ll send a bit of the green from Marcos ruined vestis to Josey. Maybe she will be able to identify what those creatures were.”
    A knock sounded on the door. Lana opened it and a blonde woman rushed in. From the resemblance he assumed it was Mara’s mother. Two young boys followed her, identical down to their feet. Twins—odd. Dardaptoan women did not deliver twins safely very often. Especially women so young. He would put her younger than fifty. Very young.
    She was most definitely Dardaptoan, but she wore human clothing, and no hasha . Her sons, too, were dressed in human clothing. Frayed and worn, and a bit too small. The fear and wariness in their faces was almost tangible.
    He stood, and stepped between his female and her family, halting the mother’s progress. “I am Clarion, dhar of the Australian Adrastos House. I am your daughter’s Rajni .”
    She stared at him with horror. “My daughter has no Rajni . Least of all an Adrastos warrior. My daughter is Lupoiux.”
    “No more than you are, my lady. And you cannot deny what the Goddess has decreed. I am your daughter’s mate, and I will see her happy and safe.”
    “Can you return her to the life she had before coming to this place? If not, then you face a losing battle. My daughter has been anything but happy in this world.” The mother looked at the girl in the bed. “And that’s all my fault.”
    “Mama?”

    Chapter Fourteen
     
    Mara heard them talking, but it was taking more energy than she really had to open her eyes. So she didn’t.
    She heard him use the word rajni and she’d been around enough Dardaptoans in the past five months to know what it meant. Mates destined to be together, put into place without choice by the goddess these people revered.
    She hadn’t understood it the first time she’d heard it, and she sure didn’t understand it now.
    And he thought she was his ?
    No way. That was so not happening. She opened her eyes partially, just enough to look at him.
    He looked strong and beautiful in the light coming through the window.  Where had he come from and why had he been in the library? “You followed