Hidden Talent: StarLords, Book 1 Read online

  He chuckled at her eager questions, but answered them all. “Yes, Micah and I are of comparable level, though he technically outranks me now that he’s a Master. Specitars are given seats on the Council but also sit on the Board of Specitars, which is a subsection of the Council devoted to scientific and technological matters. And yes, I do send telepathic messages when required. For one thing, there is no way to intercept them. It is useful when we are on missions for the Council or Board to have totally secure communication.” He sighed as she took it in like a sponge. “As for the crew. Darak is a Dominar who, as I said, will probably make Mage in the next few years. The lovely Seta is an Authoritar and that’s probably as high as she’ll ever go since her Talent is close to fully developed. Then there is Trini, an Acoltar. Kirt is just at Novitar level and young Welan is an Apprentar. Both of them should be moving up shortly as well. The line of Geneth Mar has notoriously strong psi Talent. Only the Circe can boast four Talents of that bloodline, two near peak and two just developing.”

  He could tell she had more questions, but he sat back, centering himself for the work ahead. “Arrange yourself as I am, dama. We have some serious work to do, and I would not keep our captain waiting too long for the results of our testing this day.” He smiled at her as she crossed her legs and sat in a mirror of his position on the padded floor. He placed a set of crystals in geometric shapes between them and was pleased by the way her sparkling eyes followed each of his deliberate, ceremonial movements.

  “Do you feel the captain’s presence? Do you feel his protection?”

  He watched her close her eyes briefly, then smile. The smile was one of warmth and love that made him catch his breath. A moment later wonder passed over her delicate features as she opened her eyes and stared across at him.

  “I hadn’t realized,” she said in an excited whisper. “I’ve been so overwhelmed since I met him, I didn’t realize the strength of his shields extending to me. I feel it, like a warm caress against my skin. And I’ve felt it at other times too. I’ve never felt anything like it before.”

  “He protects you, dama. He spreads his wings around you when you are vulnerable and now, because he will assist with the testing. Since you must lower your shields, he will keep you from detection by replacing them with his.”

  “Can he really do that? I never knew you could shield someone else.”

  “He is a Mage Master. He often shields the entire crew of the Circe when we go into dangerous situations, though you are right. It is not something very many Talents can do”

  He watched her close her eyes once more and bask in the warmth of her lover’s shields surrounding her. Agnor could feel the surge in strength as if Micah knew what she was doing and perhaps, he thought, they were so connected that he did. Agnor got back to the task at hand, positioning the tools he would need for the test as he watched her with great interest.

  When he was ready, he took a deep breath, centering himself. What would come next would undoubtedly be a singular experience. He’d seen the nearly off-the-chart reading Darak had taken from above Pantur when she’d been unshielded before. It was saying something that Micah trusted only Agnor and himself to be around her when she was fully unshielded. They were the only ones who had even a hope of matching the reading he’d seen.

  “Now, I want you to relax as fully as you can, dama. When you’re ready, I want you to speak the words selta, passa, sum, then lower your shields as calmly as you can. Do you understand?” She nodded and he continued his instruction. “When your shields are down, I want you to concentrate on the sphere.” He tapped the crystal sphere, the first of the geometric shapes arrayed before her. “Concentrate your thoughts on the sphere and let it fill with your strength. When I call next I want you to move to the cylinder, then the square, then the pyramid and so on up the line. We may not get through all of them, and I want you to tell me when and if you want to stop, all right?”

  She nodded, her eyes eager and a little tense. “What will happen?”

  Agnor smiled reassuringly at her. “I cannot say. Not because I don’t want to…” he was quick to clarify, “…but because with each Talent, the response of the crystals is somewhat different. I will watch and evaluate, and based on the crystals’ response to your energies I will be able to formulate a base-level ranking for you. That is the point we will work from as we train your specific strengths and weaknesses. It is how we train all Talents, whether they are known from birth or are found later in life, such as yourself.”

  She smiled, but he could see she was nervous. “All right,” she said finally, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths. “I’m ready when you are.”

  He smiled at her quick grasp of the task before her. “Give me the warning count of selta, passa, sum, then lower your shields and begin.”

  She nodded and breathed deeply once more, beginning almost before he was ready. He’d switched on the recorders unobtrusively when they entered, since he didn’t want her to know they were there. Undoubtedly the Mage Council would be interested in what transpired here, during her first test, if the reading taken above Pantur proved to be anywhere near accurate.

  Agnor watched carefully as she called out the ritual warning count then tried to prepare himself for what was coming. A second later when she lowered her shields in his presence for the first time, he realized there was no way he could have prepared himself to feel that surge of raw power. It was amazing. It was exhilarating. And it was damned powerful.

  She focused her energies on the sphere and immediately it developed a pale purple glow from within, indicating a strong but latent healing Talent. He called for the next shape once the patterns in the sphere were fully developed. The cylinder brought forth a pulsing golden light that shot out both ends to swirl around the room and form double arcs around himself and Jeri. Agnor had never seen the like, but was pleased by the indication of a kind heart that sought to unite rather than destroy. He called for the next shape, and she moved on to the pyramid.

  Agnor knew he shouldn’t have been all that surprised when a bright white light concentrated in the point of the pyramid to shower out and down around them as they sat in his sealed mediation chamber, bathing them both in the pureness of her spirit. It was the strongest he’d ever seen in a new testing Talent, and it humbled him. Tears were in his eyes as she moved on to the cube, generating a bright and deep cobalt blue of conviction and power to protect her friends and those weaker than herself.

  As they moved through the progressively more complex shapes some were weaker than others, but all gave some indication of either mature or latent strength that they could develop further. She didn’t hesitate, didn’t tire and worked her way steadily through all the shapes he had on hand, proving her worth in this first test. Agnor was nearly overwhelmed. Never had he encountered such a strong, pure, raw Talent, and he doubted he ever would again.

  When she finished with the last crystal shape she looked to him for guidance and Agnor caught his breath at the dancing power behind her eyes.

  “You may call your energies back to you now, dama, then raise your shields as gently as you can. The test is almost complete.” He watched carefully as she harnessed that which she’d loosed in the room, not missing any stray telltale trickles of her energy, but calling it all back neatly and under her complete control. It was something even Dominars had trouble with. She then simply winked out of psi existence as she raised her incredibly tight shields.

  They not only hid her strength but disguised it completely. That was a rarity. Not even Mages could so completely hide their Talent when among other Mages. But, if she’d been in hiding from the Wizards of Mithrak since childhood, then perhaps the skill was born out of dire necessity. Perhaps, Agnor thought grimly, it was the only thing that had saved her from being forced to join with their enemy and give up her very soul.

  Agnor breathed a quick sigh as he felt the captain’s shields holding strong. They’d gotten through the tough first test, and she was so much
more than even he’d expected. Micah would be pleased, Agnor knew, as Agnor was pleased at the thought of helping develop such a strong and vital Talent. Micah would of course be her primary teacher, but there were skills peculiar to a Specitar that could be of use to her and Darak’s particular talents would come in handy during the training as well. And wouldn’t Darak be miffed when he found out this little slip of a girl had tested out at a base level he’d worked many years to attain? Agnor looked forward to sharing the news with him.

  “It is my honor to award you the rank of Dominar.”

  “You’re kidding,” she said softly, apparently remembering how high on the rank scale that would put her.

  Agnor smiled broadly. “Indeed I am not. You are at Dominar strength in most areas. Above in some, but you do require quite a bit of training. Your Talent is raw in many places and could be greatly improved with steady work. I would not be surprised if you end up with your own seat on the Council eventually.”

  Jeri looked shocked, though a pleased smile lit her eyes. “I can hardly believe it,” she breathed. “Have you told Micah?”

  He tilted his head. “Good of you to realize that as a telepath I could have done so already, but no, I will let you share the news with him yourself. Though he was shielding you the whole time. I would not be surprised if he did not guess already from the amount of power you were putting out.”

  He rose, and she followed suit. “I go to my rest period now, dama. But perhaps we can begin your training later. I will look forward to it. Training new Talent is a favorite occupation of mine. It is one of the things Specitars excel at in general.”

  “I will look forward to it,” she said formally, moving toward the door with him. “Enjoy your rest.”

  She slid out the door and practically bounced down the corridor as she left him, eager to tell her lover of her success.

  Micah was waiting for her when she walked up the companionway to their door. She flung herself into his arms, the residual energy flowing through her making her giddy.

  “So what’s the verdict?” he asked after kissing her deeply. “What did Agnor think of your Talent?”

  She pulled slightly away to smile up at him. “You’re looking at a Dominar,” she said with just a hint of shy pride, rewarded when Micah picked her up and spun her around.

  “I knew it.”

  She laughed with him. “I was surprised after he explained the rankings. I figured because I’d had no training I’d be very low on the scale.”

  He set her down and kissed her. “It doesn’t work that way. It goes by your level of power. And you are one of the strongest raw Talents I’ve ever encountered, even among my own family, and we’re pretty Talented. I’m duly impressed. But then, everything about you impresses me, sweet, sweet Jeri.”

  “Well, I’m just glad I didn’t embarrass myself.” Or you, she thought.

  She couldn’t quite get past the fact that they were totally mismatched on the social scale, and she wondered what his people must think of their lopsided relationship. At least now that she had some rank to speak of, maybe some of the questions would be answered, allowing her to take some pride in herself and her relationship with this powerful man. But the fact remained that he was way out of her league. She’d resolved with some sadness to enjoy this time with him because it was almost certain to come to an end once they reached any sort of civilization.

  Oh, he could have her as his lover in his cabin and in the small confines his ship, but she would never be a suitable companion to stand by his side in society. He was a Master Mage from an old and powerful family. She was strong but untrained, and the daughter of a comparatively poor horse tamer. There was no future for them, only the present, and she intended to enjoy every last moment with him while she had him. For this time would never come again.

  The lift doors opened in time to showcase Trini’s bare blue ass as she jumped up to wrap her legs around Darak’s waist and seat herself firmly on his thick erection. Jeri was shocked to her core, even more so when Trini laughed and started to gasp as Darak began pumping into her wet folds.

  There was little she could do but enter the lift. She had summoned it, wanting to go to the cargo deck. She was dreadfully embarrassed but Darak’s bold gaze, holding hers over Trini’s shoulder as his thick cock slid in and out of the woman’s pussy, dared her to run.

  Jeri decided she was through running. She was part of this crew and needed to get used to their ways. Micah had told her how out in the open their culture was about sex, and she secretly worried that he would grow dissatisfied with her inhibitions. She had to start getting used to these people and their scandalous ways.

  Firming her chin, she entered the lift, pushing the right pad on the control unit to signal her destination, trying for a calm she wasn’t even close to feeling.

  “Mmm, harder, Darak,” Trini moaned.

  Darak chuckled low and sexy, the sound rubbing along Jeri’s stressed-out nerves. “We have company, Trini.”

  Trini’s dazed gaze met hers as her supple neck swiveled around. “Oh, hi, Jer.” She turned her head back to Darak and caught his lips in a biting kiss. “Move, Darak. Harder!”

  The lusty XO complied with a wink in Jeri’s direction, which she studiously ignored. He laughed as he tugged the woman in his arms higher, using his hips to piston in and out faster and harder as Trini moaned.

  When the lift doors opened, Jeri shot through quickly, ignoring the masculine laughter that drifted after as the doors shut the two lovers within the lift once more.

  Jeri spent a productive few hours with her friends in the herd of horses, making sure the lift was totally empty before she headed back to the cabin.

  But as she passed the open archway to the crew’s common room, she saw a sight that made her stop in her tracks. The gentle Specitar who had tested her with such patience was seated on the couch while Trini knelt between his legs, sucking on his rod, and Seta knelt at his side on the couch, one of her nipples in his mouth, the other pinched in his fingers. He shuddered and groaned as Trini moved to take his thick cock into her pussy.

  Jeri stood in the hall, shocked and somewhat amazed by what she was witnessing. With all the hot action on the couch, the two young yeomen playing at some kind of air propulsion table on the far side of the room seemed oblivious. But then she noticed Seta’s glances at the two young men, and as she rose, leaving Trini and Agnor to their pleasure, the two muscular young men moved to join Seta on another of the long couches. Both quickly disrobed as she wrapped herself around both of the virile youngsters.

  Jeri felt her own temperature rising as the young men’s bodies were exposed, one blond with sun-kissed skin and kind eyes, the other with cinnamon-colored hair and an engaging smile. Jeri almost forgot to breathe as the blond one seated his hard cock in Seta’s pussy, watching as his cinnamon friend lubed her ass and slid gently inside with her loud encouragement. They began to pump in counterpoint as she moaned and spurred them on with her words and hands

  When Jeri felt a hand slide around her waist, she nearly screamed. Within a breath she realized it was Micah. She’d been so engrossed in the scene unfolding before her, she hadn’t heard him come up behind. Now she was embarrassed to be caught peeking at the archway like some kind of voyeur.

  Micah’s breath was hot at her ear as he leaned down and pulled her back tight against his chest. “Like what you see?”

  She tried to move away from the doorway, but his large body kept her in place, watching.

  “I didn’t know that was even possible,” she admitted finally, her face heating once more as both young yeomen fucked Seta’s squirming body at the same time.

  “Two men at once?” he seemed to ponder the idea. “It can be very pleasurable, or so I’m told.”

  “Have you ever…?” she couldn’t quite finish her question.

  “Taken part in a threesome? You bet I have.” He brushed her neck with his lips. “Would you like to get some of what Seta’s getting?” He li
cked over her sensitive skin with a hot swipe of his tongue, making her shiver. “I can arrange it.”

  She turned in his arms, pushing until he allowed her to move them away from the opening to the common room.

  “I don’t think so. I’m barely used to you yet, Micah.”

  He let her drag him down the hall, but he didn’t let her go. Instead, he backed her into their cabin, undressing her as they went until they were both naked and on the wide bed, hot, hard, wet, and ready for each other.

  Chapter Six

  Hours later, Jeri and Micah lazed in his wide, luxurious bed after making love again. He sifted his fingers through her hair as they faced the viewport, watching the stars go by. The Circe sped through space and time, cocooning her crew safely inside. Micah reflected on the peace he felt at that moment, Jeri’s cheek pressed lightly to his chest as she lay next to him, her arms wrapped loosely around him, and he realized he’d never felt more at one with another being, more at ease in his own skin or more right in sharing this moment and all the moments since he’d first encountered Jeri, at her side.

  She was fast becoming more than just a pleasant fuck. She was becoming important to him in ways that he didn’t dare examine too closely. She was his equal in many ways, though he enjoyed teaching her the things he could. She certainly was a good student. She’d applied herself to learning the ways of pleasure and each time he made love to her, she surprised him with new and more amazing heights of passion.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said softly, gazing at the distortion of light that indicated stars as they sped through space toward their destination.

  He moved his hand to cup her cheek and turn her eyes upward. “You’re beautiful.” He kissed her lips softly, impressing his words on her skin. She smiled against his lips, and he was happy. When he released her moments later she moved one hand to stroke his chest more firmly, making him even happier.