Epilogue Two.

Rayne Dracon sat on a large boulder at the edge of the mesa, watching the festivities below. So many changes had taken place in the past few weeks. The first time she'd stepped foot on Garza it had been a dry, dead world. Now, it was beautiful. A river now ran through the grassy valley below, and the mountain behind her was thick with a forest of thin saplings. Birds flew overhead, heading to their homes to roost for the coming night, and the sunset was breathtaking.

As she watched, Tani and Steel shifted into their enormous alter forms, a deep red dragon and a glossy black dragon, and flew away side by side. Tears pricked her eyes as she thought of the joy that now lit her youngest sister's face. Tani had been so sad for so long that it was almost a surprise to see her happy.

Their wedding ceremony had been beautiful in its simplicity, but the celebration afterward had been long and, for Rayne, exhausting. She'd been using her psychic ability to hide her presence for the past hour so that she could just sit and watch in peace.

When the dragon king and queen were gone, Rayne looked around for Salene. After a few moments she found her standing in the valley with her Gryphons around her. When they returned to Jasan there would be a mating ceremony for them.

Rayne was as happy for Salene as she was for Tani, but at the same time, she couldn't help wondering where her own male-set was, or who they were, or why they hadn't found her. She wasn't jealous of her sisters' happiness, but she very much wanted that happiness for herself. Maybe, when they got back home, she really would put in for a spot at Arima House.

She took a deep breath and started to sigh, then swallowed it when she heard footsteps approaching. She strengthened the psychic shield that prevented people from noticing her. It didn't make her invisible. It just made people overlook her presence. Not even Clan Jasani could smell her when she had her shield up, but it didn't work with sound, so she had to be very quiet.

She had to bite back a startled gasp when she saw the Bearen-Hirus reach the mesa. They were enormous, as all Bearens were, with broad chests and massive arms. But when had they become so devastatingly hot to look at? She thought back, surprised to realize that she hadn't actually seen them for years. How odd. She'd always thought of them as almost-uncles, like Jackson, Clark, and Rob Bearen, though she'd never known them very well. Landor, Condor, and Aridor were the heads of security for Jasani Spaceport, and used to show up whenever she and her sisters went through on their way to or from school. But they hadn't done that in years. She frowned, wondering why that was.

"Where could she have gone?" Landor asked with an edge of frustration in his voice.

"I don't know," Ari replied. "We've checked every cave for her scent, as well as the entire valley. I even went so far as to ask if she'd transported up to the Ugaztun already."

"How long are we going to play this charade?" Con asked.

"Its not a charade," Landor said. "She sees us as uncles. We all agreed to wait until she matures enough to see us as men."

"How long will it take for her to mature?"

"That I cannot answer."

"Do you intend that we wait forever?"

Of course not," Landor said. "Just until she grows up."

"In that case, we're in for a much longer wait than we expected because as far as I can tell, Rayne Dracon is as much a child now as she was when she was ten," Con said.

"I know," Landor conceded with a sigh. "Let's return to the valley. Perhaps she's down there somewhere and we just missed her."

Rayne sat motionless on the boulder as the Bearen-Hirus climbed down the cliff face, so shocked she could barely suck air into her lungs. It wasn't easy to wrap her mind around the fact that the Bearen-Hirus were meant to be her Rami. The moment she did accept it, pain followed. How long had they known? she wondered. A long time, from the sound of it. Probably for as long as it'd been since she'd seen them, which had to be six or seven years. Her eyes widened in shock. From all she'd heard, seen, and been taught, male-sets had a very difficult time staying away from their berezi once they identified her. But the Bearen-Hirus were all too clearly not having trouble staying away from her, and that hurt. That hurt a lot. So much so that she deliberately reminded herself of what they'd said about her being immature, relieved to feel anger grow over the pain.

She remained there, on the mesa, alone, until the celebration below began to wind down. When she stood up and pressed the transportation button on her wrist band, she'd made a decision. If the Bearen-Hirus wanted to wait, then she'd give them something to wait for. There was a spaceport midway between Garza and Jasan that her parents always stopped at because they had friends there. When they reached it, she'd leave the Ugaztun and purchase a ticket to whatever destination looked good to her at the time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

Laura Jo lives in the Arizona desert with her loving husband, their two children, one very large dog and two interesting cats. Laura Jo loves to hear from her readers. Visit her website at www.laurajophillips.com to see when the next installment in the Orbs of Rathira series is coming, and sign her guestbook. Or, email her directly at laurajophillips.books@gmail.com While you are there, take a peek at the ever growing Handbook of the Thousand Worlds which details lots of interesting information about the people, technology, governments, and other interstellar information about the worlds the Hearts of ICARUS, the Orbs of Rathira, and the Soul-Linked Saga take place in.

Other Books by Laura Jo Phillips.

The Dracons' Woman.

Book One of the Soul-Linked Saga The Lobos' HeartSong.

Book Two of the Soul-Linked Saga The Katres' Summer Book Three of the Soul-Linked Saga The Bearens' Hope.

Book Four of the Soul-Linked Saga The Gryphon's Dream.

Book Five of the Soul-Linked Saga The Vulpiran's Honor.

Book Six of the Soul-Linked Saga.

The Falcorans' Faith Book Seven of the Soul-Linked Saga The Tigrens' Glory Book Eight of the Soul-Linked Saga.

Quest for the Moon Orb The Orbs of Rathira, Book One Quest for the Sun Orb The Orbs of Rathira, Book Two Quest for the Heart Orb.

The Orbs of Rathira, Book Three Secrets Kept Mixed Blood, Book One.

(Available under the name Kathleen Honsinger) Secrets Told.

Mixed Blood, Book Two Nica's Legacy Hearts of ICARUS, Book One.

Tani's Destiny Hearts of ICARUS, Book Two Coming Soon Rayne's Story (Not yet titled).

Hearts of ICARUS, Book Three Books by Harvey Phillips and Paul Honsinger To Honor You Call Us.

Man of War, Book One For Honor We Stand Man of War, Book Two.