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What is it?”
    “I have a little bit of everything.” He smiled. “It’s not like your brother or most other’s powers. They all have the same abilities day in and day out.” He shrugged as he stared off into space. “With me, it’s more like my body somehow knows what strength I’m going to need for any given rescue.” He smiled down at her and winked. “It’s kind of like magic.”
    I can believe that. Marti could feel something different in him. It was almost as though he had some magic aura that drew her to him. She almost felt bewitched by his warmth. Energy radiated off him in waves, making her want to edge closer to him, even as she wanted to move away.
    You’re cold, Marti. That’s all. Your body just wants to leach warmth off him. It’s nothing more.
    Just keep telling yourself that, Marteeka. One day, you might believe that. However, that day will not be today.
    Marti closed her eyes to the sound of that strange motherly voice in her head. Tears burned behind her lids as she wondered what it would have been like to have a mother’s love. Their father had always told them that it was a female’s lot in life to give birth and perhaps die in the process. He never apologized for not being able to save their mother from that fate.
    Their mother, also named Marteeka, had loved their father even though she had never been his true mate. He had been content with her, but never truly happy. Marteeka had always wondered if the same fate awaited her and Artu. She glanced at her brother, happy that at least he was saved from that fate.
    The servants had always said their mother had been the happiest woman alive. She had died giving birth to the defender’s children. Not many in this time knew that she and Artu were twins. Maybe that was why she, too, held a defender’s power. Right up until five years ago, that is.
    Her womb clenched as she inhaled Kyl’s spicy scent and she knew she must talk about other things or she just might throw caution to the wind and snuggle up to the strange defender, for his scent as much as his delicious warmth.
    “I went on holiday and decided to see what all the hype was about Katkari.” She shrugged. “It looked much like any other world, but the propaganda I saw made it look like some beautiful tropical paradise.” Marteeka didn’t know whether to laugh or cry about that part.
    “One area of the planet was earmarked for the trap. It was a beautiful island with lush grasses and trees with the most succulent fruit.” She closed her eyes as she remembered the beautiful island and its equally beautiful men.
    “The first night I was there, I met a man who swept me off my feet. He even asked me to marry him.” She laughed mirthlessly. “I knew he was only saying those things because it was his job. However, I didn’t know it was his job to get to know the lone women and mark them for abduction.”
    Pausing, she took a drink of the delicious water before her and then continued. “I stayed for a week and then I left. My vacation over, I was headed home. I made a stop on the space station to try and get some of that almani butter that Artu likes so much. I had dinner there and that is the last thing I remember before waking up in a community cell filled with Katkari’s slaves.”
    Marti shuddered when she thought about how lucky she was to have escaped. “Katkari is not a paradise. Its deepest darkest secret is its trade in human flesh.”
    “How many women are slaves there?” Ga’briel asked. He’d slid forward and perched on the edge of his seat.
    “How many of the women are slaves on that world?” Looking up, Marti met his gaze, barely able to believe he asked that question. “All of them.”
    “We can’t leave them there,” Lena said to Artu.
    She might not know the woman, but Marti loved her for that. Even knowing that the people had some way to steal their power, Lena refused to leave others in subjugation if she could do something to help. The woman might