Free Forsaken by Cyndi Friberg Page B

battle born, you must understand the system that produced us.”
    “You make the battle born sound like a commodity.” She lowered her gaze to his throat. Their nearness seemed to calm him, but it was having the opposite effect on her. She wanted to run and hide, or…rub against his entire body like a greedy cat. But he didn’t think of her like that. Men never did. She needed to stop pretending she was Ashley or she’d humiliate herself.
    “We are a commodity.” His sharp voice cut through her discontent and drew her gaze back to his face. “We’re bought and sold, even traded. We’re produced like a crop for the slim possibility that we’ll restore magic to Rodyte bloodlines.”
    “And now you want to use human females for exactly the same purpose.”
    Tension rolled across his features. His chest expanded, then he slowly exhaled. “If you will listen with an open heart, I will tell you a story.”
    Playing on her sympathies was a waste of time. She generally found sob stories manipulative. “My mind is open. I don’t make decisions with my heart.”
    “Fair enough.” He stepped back and motioned to the sitting area on the other side of the table. “It’s a long, complicated story. Let’s go sit down.”
    Raina snagged her wineglass as she rounded the table then followed him across the room. He chose one of the two chairs, so she sat on the armless sofa facing him. “Is this a true story or an allegory?”
    “Every word is true.” He seemed to fortify himself with another deep breath, then his features settled into an expressionless mask. “A man neither rich nor poor had accepted that his life would be ordinary. He did his thankless job to the best of his ability and poured all of his energy into making his morautu happy.”
    “What’s a morautu ?”
    “A chosen mate, a permanent partner. It’s the sort of union every Rodyte craves.”
    It was rude to introduce a tangent, but she couldn’t help but ask. “Is that what Ashley is to Bandar?”
    “Their bonding has begun, but it’s not yet permanent. You’ll have to ask Ashley if you want the details.”
    “Sorry. I didn’t mean to derail your story.”
    He accepted the apology with a nod and resumed his tale. “The couple was content within their ordinary life and the gods blessed them with offspring. The man’s deepest wish was granted and his mate delivered a strong, healthy boy. But there was one small complication. The boy was born with harbinger eyes.”
    “I don’t know what that means.” She rolled the glass between her hands, too anxious to sit still.
    “Harbingers can foretell the future through dreams and visions. The genetic anomaly that results in their power also creates very specific coloring. Every harbinger has silver-blonde hair and silver phitons in bright blue eyes.”
    “Phitons? Is that the purple part of your eyes?”
    “Yes.” It was obvious her questions were annoying him, but she wasn’t sure why his mood was so dark. “Word reached the Harbinger Guild, as it always does, and they came to claim the child.”
    “Wait a minute. The parents had no say in this?”
    He confirmed her conclusion with a stiff nod. “By law, anyone born with harbinger coloring belongs to the guild. The man and his mate were compensated generously for their son, but neither of them ever saw him again.”
    What a horrible story! Why had he thought this would make her more sympathetic toward the battle born? “I’m sorry things like that take place on your planet but I’m not sure I see what is has to do—”
    “The story has barely begun.”
    She took a quick sip of wine as his mood grew even darker. “Sorry. I’ll try not to interrupt.”
    He pushed to his feet and crossed to the food generator. After issuing several commands he continued his story. “The resources gained at the expense of his son made the man greedy and discontent. He now had just enough comfort to make him long for true wealth. His mate was cold and