“It is,” Derek assured her. “I tested it. So did Kayel.”
Her face contorted, and she swung toward him, groping for support. She found his shoulder and buried her face in it, clinging to him, her nails digging into his back as she strained closer. “Take me away! Derek, take me away. I can’t stand having them read my mind—every thought I ever had, every wish…Derek!”
He reached up to disentangle the hands that were trying to dig through his backbone. “Siryl—” he began.
She flung herself from him and groped toward the door. But Kayel was there, his tortured face sympathetic. The little man caught her, and she dragged herself against him. He drew her closer while she sobbed, standing the pain of her hysteria as if he were being knighted.
“I’ll protect you, Siryl. Some way I’ll protect you.
