The Healer's Kiss: Book Four of the Forced To Serve Series by Donna McDonald

do. Rena said they had waited a long time to serve on Liam Synar’s ship,” Malachi reported. “Those are close to her exact words. She is here because of Liam.”
    All eyes turned to their captain. Synar sighed and stepped away from the wall. “I have no idea why. We can stand here guessing all night, or Ania can release her from the trance and we can find out. None of us can read them, not even you,” he said, looking at Malachi.
    “Are you willing to take that risk, Liam? If Rena Trax chooses to harm someone, I may not be able to stop her.”
    “Well, what else do you suggest? Shoot their unconscious host bodies out escape pod tubes and forget about them?” Synar challenged. His irritated gaze swung first to Ania and then to Dorian. “You two are the spirituals experts. What’s the call here?”
    Dorian sighed. “If Malachi is correct about her power, their unconscious states may be just a ruse to give us time to come to terms with it all. It could be some kind of spiritual test for all of us.”
    Malachi shook his head. “I’m not completely disagreeing with you, Lieutenant, but Rena Trax was adamant about only two things when we spoke. One—that I not touch Seta because she said her sibling had an aversion to be touched by males. And two—that Seta never know she hosts a demon. At the very least, I would suggest the use of extreme discretion concerning the new lieutenant. We need only question Rena to find the whole answer. It is she who controls both their fates—and likely ours.”
    Synar nodded. “Agreed. We will keep the information about the demon in Lieutenant Trax confidential until we determine the nature of the threat. Ania, let’s wake up the being calling herself ‘Rena Trax’ and see what she has to say.”
    Ania walked to the female in the trance, spoke the words of release, and saw Rena immediately rise into a sitting position. She held up her hand and all froze—except Ania and Malachi. Chiang was poised over the new lieutenant, his hand just above her mid-section. Liam, Dorian and Gwen looked stunned.
    Ania lifted a brow in amazement as she looked at the female responsible. “Thinking you were an emissary of the Creators, I was going to apologize for my earlier defensive actions, but now I’m not so sure I regret rendering you unconscious.”
    Rena turned her attention to Ania and Malachi, but when she held a hand up to them both and made a fist, only Malachi fell into convulsions of pain.
    Ania merely looked down at herself and found she felt— nothing . She looked up again, feeling Malachi’s power igniting within her. It had been weeks since she’d had to contend with demon rage, but it all came flowing back in a rush.
    Approaching the bed where the emissary of the Creators sat staring at her with condescension, Ania felt her anger growing even more. She was upset about having to face the darkness inside her again, as much as at having to fight the up-to-now mythical being she had long idolized. As she prepared for battle, her most prominent repeating thought was that she was getting really tired of losing her illusions.
    “Despite any exalted purpose you serve for the Creators of All, my patience with you is now limited. You seem to have control over the others, but evidently I have control over the form you’re hiding in. Never doubt I will use that control to save those on this ship. This is going to be my only warning to you. If you wish your host body to come to no harm, release them immediately.”
    Believing the Pleiadian female’s quietly spoken words since they were backed up by the demon power lighting her angry gaze, Rena uncurled her fingers and watched as Malachi rose gagging from his efforts to breathe normally.
    It was most unexpected to feel neutrality from the demon, and yet righteous hatred from the being who was obviously his willing host. Rena knew the Creators were displeased with her, but many times she had put a restraint field around beings and always