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Kate was about Carrie's height, her pleasant round face framed by a mass of short mid-brown curls. The male, Taynar, was barely older than her. He'd obviously inherited the warm gray-brown pelt coloring of his family. "What did the Chemerians want?" he asked, though he could make bets on what the answer would be.

"Why should we tell you?" demanded Kate. "You're one of them, a U'Churian."

Kaid glanced at T'Chebbi who raised a sardonic eye ridge in reply.

"I haven't told them," she said, reverting to lowland Sholan like Kaid.

We're Sholan, he sent to the girl and her Leska. Posing as U'Churians. We were sent to rescue you.

Taynar hissed his disbelief as Kaid joined them at the dining table. "Telepaths can't fight."

"He's your bond-brother," snapped T'Chebbi. "Show a Clan elder proper respect!"

"My bond-brother?" Taynar was startled into sitting up. "How? My sister died years ago!"

"So your father would have you believe," said Kaid. "Khemu died only a few months ago, bonded to me. Our son lives on the Valsgarth estate. Like us, he's a member of the En'Shalla Aldatan Clan now."

"Your son? But how..."

"The Chemerians wanted a mixed Leska pair for themselves," interrupted Kate. "Taira said he'd met Carrie and Kusac on the Khalossa. "

Kaid nodded. As he'd thought. Ambassador Taira had shown an unhealthy interest in his Triad partners while on board the Khalossa. Opportunity had presented itself, and Taira was not one to let it slip by. "How did Tirak get involved?" He watched the female's jaw tighten as she lifted her chin defiantly.

"I made him," she said shortly, gray eyes flashing. "We thought they were Sholans at first."

He raised his eye ridges in respect. "No wonder they were so wary of telepaths. I presume you gave them their mental blocks."

"I was as much to blame as Kate," interrupted Taynar sullenly. "He promised to return us to Shola. I thought it a fair price."

Kaid ignored the challenge in the youth's voice. Faced with few alternatives, they'd had little option but to agree to Tirak's demand. "No one is faulting you," he said. "You handled a difficult situation very well." He turned his attention to the other side of the room where Rezac sat. This was his first real opportunity to meet the male, who, despite being half his age, was his father.

They weren't that alike, he thought, surveying the younger male. How could Jaisa have seen a resemblance? There were superficial similarities, true, but they were just that. They both had the distinctive broader and lower set ears of the highland Clans, and the brown pelt, but....

"Are you related?" asked Jo suddenly, looking from one to the other. "You look very alike."

"Hardly," snapped Rezac. "I'm from his far past! Fifteen hundred years ago to be exact."

Kaid could feel T'Chebbi's gaze burning into him as she waited for his answer. "Highland Clans always tended to breed among their own. It's a possibility," he said, trying to avoid her scathing look. He touched the edges of Rezac's mind with his, instantly aware of the link between him and Jo. "You've formed a Triad," he said, surprised, glancing back at the dark-haired Human female.

Jo flushed and looked away.

"You know about these links?" Rezac's antagonism was quiet for now in his desire to learn more.

"We have two mixed Leska Triads back on the estate."

"That's why you can fight," said Taynar. "I knew telepaths with a Human Leska were able to fight, but I hadn't realized it affected the Triads as well."

He was getting drawn in deeper than he wanted here, but there was no point in dodging the issue. A simple answer would do for now. "That's so," he admitted.

"With Carrie and Kusac?" asked Jo, concern in her voice. "How awful for you. You must be feeling pretty bad right now with both of them in cryo."

"What are these Triads?" demanded Rezac impatiently. "What causes them?"

"The bonds began forming after the Cataclysm for a mixture of reasons. For the better protection of small breeding groups of