"What?" Philip turned away from the console. "No way."

Lyssa frowned, remembering the men she had seen in the other rooms. They didn't look anything like the Elders in the gray robes.

"I want Lyssa out of here," Aidan said roughly. "Take her back."

"No!" She reached for his arm, which tensed to rock-hardness beneath her fingertips.

He looked down at her with icy blue eyes. " To my knowl-edge, your life is in danger outside of your slipstream. You shouldn't have risked yourself for me."

"But you can risk yourself for me?"

Aidan said nothing, his gorgeous face set in tight, hard lines and his beautiful eyes—the ones that had looked at her with such love a moment ago—were now emotionless. Ancient. "I need you alive, Lyssa. More than I need you with me."

Connor handed his sword to Aidan, then grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off her feet.

As they moved toward the doorway, Lyssa called out in confusion.

"Don't make this more difficult than it already is." He looked away, his jaw tight and nostrils flaring. "Give me something to work with, Wager."

Connor stepped out of the room. "Don't take it personally," he murmured, his lips to her ear. "He has to shut off his emotions or he'll never be able to think of the next move."

Using that impossibly long-legged stride of his, Connor quickly ate up the distance to the cavern. There she saw the Elders restrained in the corner, some injured, others tossing out dire warnings of retribution. Aidan's men appeared unnerved by the situation, but they kept the tips of their swords aimed at i the huddle and didn't waver.

At the console, one man worked with rapid keystrokes. He looked up as Connor stepped into the space. "Captain, can you take a look at this?"

Connor nodded, and set her down. "Don't move," he warned.

He took over at the touchpad, and she was suddenly forgotten by Aidan's men while still getting the death stare from the creepy Elders. The air was humid due to the large body of water just beyond the rock edge, but she was cold, chilled from the inside.

The two men at the console worked industriously for long moments, and in the interim Lyssa's attention turned inward, focusing on the need to keep herself together until she was alone. She fought the nearly overwhelming desire to run back down the hall to Aidan. Knowing he was so close was torture. She wanted him with a soul-deep longing she doubted would ever be appeased, but she understood his motives. She couldn't bear it if something happened to him, either, which was why leaving him was killing her. He was going through all this alone, and she wanted desperately to be of help to him.

She was so lost in thought, she didn't immediately notice how unnaturally quiet the room had become. It was only when she felt heat at her back and inhaled the sexy, luscious scent that belonged to Aidan alone that she became aware of the change.

Lyssa stiffened.

"You're still here," he murmured. He stood unmoving behind her, nearly touching, enough that she felt him breathing, slow and deep. She could sense the struggle within him, the fight to keep his distance. Her eyes squeezed closed and her hands fisted.

She understood why they had to part this way—cold turkey. He couldn't afford to let his feelings out. The affection he had shown when he first exited the tube was a liability now. Once a dam was broken, the flood wouldn't stop until there was no water left. She was also holding back, knowing that when she grieved over his loss, the initial despair would last for days.

But she couldn't leave without telling him, at least once… "I love you."

The shudder that moved through him rippled across the space between them. His hands circled her wrists, but he maintained that provocative distance. His thumbs stroked over her pulse. "Cute outfit," he whispered back.

A tear formed and then fell, quickly followed by another. Lyssa was grateful that he couldn't see how his reply affected her. Friendly, no intimacy. She opened her eyes, refusing to let her torment be witnessed by the Elders.

"Remember your promise," he said softly. "Don't take the pendant off. Ever."

She nodded, unable to speak.

Connor approached, his demeanor subdued. She wondered what he saw when he looked at them, especially when he glanced away with a wince. Aidan released her and moved to the console.

She swallowed hard and turned her back to him. "Let's go."

Every step away from Aidan crushed her further, until she was gasping in agony Connor stepped into the water on the shallow ledge and held his arms out to her. Catching his outstretched fingers with hers…

… she stifled a scream as she was grabbed from behind in a crushing, but instantly familiar embrace. One steely arm lashed around her waist, another pinned her between her breasts.

"I love you," Aidan said hoarsely, his lips to her ear, his body wrapped around hers with a tangible desperation.

"Tell me you know that."

Her hands came up to clutch at his forearms. "I know." Lyssa almost told him to dream of her. Instead she held her tongue and felt her heart break.

Waking with a start, Lyssa jackknifed upward, her heart racing so swiftly, she felt it against her ribs. Sweat coated her skin, and her chest heaved with panting breaths.

The space beside her in the bed was empty, the pillow still retaining the shape of the man who had rested there so recently.

"Aidan." Tears welled and fell in a constant stream.

Lifting the pillow to her face, Lyssa breathed in the lingering scent of his skin, and cried.

* * *

Chapter 17

Stance wide and hands clenched at his lower back, Aidan faced the Elder-in-training in the tube before him, but it was Lyssa's face he saw—wide, dark eyes filled with pain and confusion. He pulled a deep breath into his lungs and clung to his sanity by a thread. Endless days stretched out before him, an eternity without Lyssa.

"Cross, damn it!"

He turned his head, his gaze meeting Connor's scowl.

"Fuck, man," Connor muttered. "I've been standing here calling your name for the last few minutes."

Aidan shrugged, uncaring. "What do you want?"

Connor sighed and ran a hand through his blond hair. "I want you to be happy. In lieu of that, I'd like you to at least not be miserable "

"Did you do as I asked?"

Stepping deeper into the room, Connor nodded. "Aside from Lyssa, no one on Earth knows you ever existed."

"Lyssa's still fighting it?" he asked quietly.

"I'm sorry." Connor shrugged lamely. "She's too strong."

Aidan looked away, his throat tight. It killed him to think of Lyssa being in the same agony he was. He was barely managing to breathe, and she was far more sensitive. It was that empathy that first drew him to her. "Keep working on it."

"Wager's doing his best."

Connor was silent for a long time, then he asked, "Would you forget her, if you could?"

"No." Aidan smiled ruefully. "Better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all."

"I don't know about that, man," Connor said gruffly. "I'm kinda liking this side of the fence. To be honest, it looks a lot greener than your side."

Connor left, his footsteps nearly silent on the stone floor. Unasked questions remained heavy in the air long after he departed, and Aidan was grateful that his friend hadn't pressed him to answer them. He couldn't talk about Lyssa now or what he had done while he was with her. It was too painful.

Squeezing his eyes closed, he tried to focus his mind on the tasks yet to be accomplished rather than the piercing ache in his chest. He had no idea how much time passed. It didn't matter.

"Cross."

Moving on instinct, Aidan caught up the glaive resting against the tube before him and spun in a lightning-quick but tightly controlled arc. Sheron barely leaped back in time to avoid being cut in half.

The Elder held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "I am unarmed, Captain."

Aidan's gaze narrowed. "How did you get in here? "You weren't with the others."

"You disappoint me. I thought I taught you better than that."

"'tbu taught me enough to hurt you. At the moment, that's all I need to know."

"Really?" Sheron looked around the room. "Then I take it you don't care to hear about how you can return to your Dreamer and be more productive in her world than you can be here?"

Catching a glimpse of a smile in the shadows of the cowl, Aidan lunged forward, pinning his former master to the rough stone wall. His forearm pressed hard against Sheron's windpipe. "When I move my arm, I suggest you start talking."

Sheron managed a slight nod, and Aidan eased up slightly.

Gasping, the Elder said, "There are Earth legends about dreams."

"Get to the point."

"Certain human cultures have worked to control dreams using various items—dream catchers, dolls, or symbols."

Aidan's focus sharpened. "Go on."

"Where do you think the ideas for such items came from? There is a kernel of truth behind every legend."

"I know. And?"

"There are places around the Dreamer planet where the original artifacts that sparked the legends remain. They have been kept there until the Key was discovered. The possibility existed that the Elite would fail to kill her, or be unable to, and the Elders wished to have a recourse."

The blood in Aidan's veins turned to ice. "What do they do?"

"Everything you need to know is in that book you took with you." Sheron's voice lowered, became more urgent. "They'll send someone after those items now. While you're here, they will have someone working against your Dreamer there."

"Why should I believe you?"

"What benefit would I claim by lying to you?"

Aidan arched a brow. "You'd get me out of the way for awhile."