Secrets

KENNA

"Get talking, Jared. You have some explaining to do. And if you don't come up with something good, your atoms will be scattered all over this sector," Sean added.

His hand twitched and I held my breath. One tap and Jared and I were dead.

"Sean," Jared said, his hands coming down a bit but still staying open to show that he wasn't up to anything. "You know that the AEA isn't what we thought it would be. I know you've been disillusioned for a while now."

Sean frowned.

"There's nothing wrong with that. Lots of us have come to realize that the AEA isn't the organization that we thought it was. You know what I'm talking about."

As Jared spoke, Sean's frown disappeared. He appeared to be considering Jared's words.

"I know you're loyal, just like me, but the question is whether the AEA is still faithful to its principles. Are they interested in humanity's destiny in the stars or are they just concerned with their petty power struggles?"

"The AEA has Earth's best interests at heart," Sean said, but we could see that he was making a half-hearted argument, and he didn't quite believe it.

"You think so, Sean?" Jared said, dropping his hands to his sides. "How about I give you a history lesson."

He paused for a moment as if waiting for an interruption. When none came, he continued.

"The AEA was built on the remains of another famous organization in human history. A group from North America known as the Ku Klux Klan. This group has been resurrected three times, with the AEA being its fourth incarnation."

Jared spoke with authority, and a higher level of language than he had displayed before, and I wondered what his background was. He sounded well-educated.

"The Klan, otherwise known as the KKK, were self-proclaimed racists and supremacists. They beat and killed people who were different from themselves. They destroyed the lives of people who they consider to be others."

"What?" Sean said.

"You heard me," Jared replied. It seemed the two men had forgotten that we were here, so engrossed were they in their conversation. "The AEA was built on that foundation. Do you even know what AEA stands for?"

Sean shook his head, all the bravado gone from his body. He looked wilted and beaten.

"It stands for Anti-Extraterrestrial Association." He glanced over at Dar, who remained impassive. "When they first discovered there were creatures out there, they turned their hatred from different humans on the aliens."

Dar did flinch when he used the word alien.

"That's what the great vision is. That's what we've been loyal to, Sean. A bunch of racists and supremacist bullies, just trying to get their violent kicks when they can."

"I don't believe it," Sean said, trying to gather the remains of his life around him, which Jared had just torn to shreds.

That's when Jared brought out the big guns.

"Healey was going to rape her, Sean. Right in front of us." Jared said this with his jaw tight and his mouth twisted. And I saw the pain in Sean's eyes when he heard this. "Just like he did to Sarah. Just like he did to Eileen."

"You're lying," Sean said.

"He's not lying," Dar said, his eyes intense as he remembered. My breathing sped up, and I tried to calm down. Trying not think about what had almost happened to me and how terrified I had been. "He was going to rape her, but I beat him to a pulp before he could. You clearly know what he's done before. Why would you deny it? And why would you continue to help and serve an organization that allows its members to commit such atrocities?"

Sean, who was a small man, looked over at Dar's large form. He was clearly thinking about Healey being beaten to a pulp.

Of course, he held all the cards since he could transport us into space at any moment and kill us. But I felt like Jared had turned the tide, and he wouldn't do that anymore.

Jared had appealed to his humanity. He had reminded him of who he truly was, and once someone remembers their true nature, they can no longer commit random acts of violence.

"Sean, please help us. You could come with us. Sarah and Eileen are..." He looked down at his hands, searching for some way of saying it that was not harsh and would soften the truth. "They're dead, Sean."

"No."

"Yes. They killed all the prisoners. There's no reason for us to stay anymore. Let's get out of here. These are good people. We can leave together."

Sean looked at all of us. He seemed disoriented and like he didn't know what to do. I decided we ought to capitalize on that, in case he changed his mind.

"Where are the shuttles?" I said, then modified my question. "The ones that aren't pre-programmed."

I looked at Dar, and he gave me a wry glance.

"I know where they are," Jared said, not looking at Sean. "And they have hyperdrive capability so we'll be out of here in no time." Sean would come or he wouldn't. As long as he wouldn't stand in our way, that was what mattered now.

Jared headed down a corridor, and we followed him. I looked back once at Sean and saw that he was sitting down, his face in his hands, lost in his grief.

DAR

Once I programmed the shuttle for a course to Susohn, I felt like collapsing. Recent events had caught up to me. I couldn't process them all.

Kenna had already showered and gone to bed, so I said goodnight to Jared and went to find rest for myself. I showered, changed, and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

When I woke up, the lights were still dimmed in my room. I sat up and felt disoriented. Then I remembered everything. The commander about to rape Kenna. The crazy feeling of rage that had overwhelmed me. The satisfaction I had felt in hurting him.

I felt sick to my stomach. I had enjoyed hurting another being. It went against everything I had learned about peace and harmony at my mother's knee. Our culture believed in non-violence. We believed that there was always another solution. We believed that there was good in everyone.

Oh, The Three save me. What I had done was so wrong on so many levels.

How could I look my mother in the eye again?

And now...now that I knew I loved Kenna, I was no longer worthy of her. I shook my head as I considered the irony.

I reacted violently to save her. And, yes, of course, I had saved her because it was the right thing to do. But part of me had also saved her because I wanted her. Now, because of the way I had gone about it, I didn't deserve to have her anymore.

Frustration welled up in me, and I had to let it out. I roared out my pain in one long yell. Then I lay back on the bed and put my hands over my face. I lay there until I erupted in another loud sound of despair before I got myself under control.

A light tapping on my door came a minute later. Oh great. Now my screaming I had disturbed someone. These people couldn't even sleep in peace, without me bothering everyone?

When I didn't answer, the door opened and then closed again quietly. I could smell her the moment she stepped through the door. Kenna. But what did she want? I couldn't even look myself in the face. I didn't want to see her.

"Dar?" she whispered across the darkened room.

I didn't answer, just lay perfectly still. Maybe she would go away.

"Dar?"

She turned to go out. I heard her mutter something about having imagined it. Then I coughed, and she froze. Shit. Now she knew I was awake.

She didn't say anything else and just came over to the bed. She stood there for a long minute, and I ignored her. The pain in my heart was too much. I didn't want to burden her with it.

"If you want me to go, tell me now," she said softly.

I couldn't speak. I didn't want her to go. I wanted her to comfort me. I wanted her to forgive me. I wanted to forgive myself.

When I didn't answer, she slipped into bed beside me. I was still lying on my back, and she curled up to me. She kissed me on my cheek that was rough with stubble and then laid her head on my shoulder. I didn't move to hold her, but I appreciated her touching me. The contact did comfort me a little.

"Dar?" she said, finally. "What's wrong?"

Well, that was easy.

"Me," I said.

"What do you mean?" she said, lifting her head. "We escaped. We're free. You're going home. You saved me."

"By nearly killing a man."

"You had to," she said, confused.

"Did I?" I knew my tone was bitter, but I couldn't help it. "There are always other choices than violence, Kenna. Always. Even if we don't want to make them."

"But, I don't..."

"Susohnnan believe that all life is sacred. The foundation of our entire culture is the principle of honoring the living. Violence is the greatest of crimes. Harming another is the greatest of all sins. But I enjoyed it. I gained satisfaction from it, Kenna. That is what disgusts me the most about my actions."

"There wasn't any other choice. Would you have let him rape me?" she said.

"No," I said strongly. "No. But there were other ways. And I could have stopped long before I did."

"That's true. Why didn't you stop? I had to pull you back from some weird place you had gone to."

I nodded.

"My rational mind and my conscience disappeared when the rage came up and took over. That's why I was barely able to stop. Allowing the fury to control me was a grave mistake and makes me wonder who I am."

"Dar," Kenna said, propping herself up on her elbow. There was no artificial light in the room, but the faint light of the stars from the viewscreen allowed me to see her silhouette. "I get that you come from a peaceful culture. I understand that you hold yourself to a very high standard, especially as the king. But listen to me. You are also just a Susohnnan, not a god. You're fallible, as we all are. You cannot destroy yourself about one mistake."

I winced at her phrasing.

"But to nearly take another being's life on purpose?"

"That would have been wrong. But you didn't. You stopped. You made the right choice."

"Only because you brought me back," I whispered.

"That's what...That's what friends do," she said. "They're there for each other."

"Friends?" I said, feeling a stab of pain in my guts.

"Aren't we?" she said.

"I had hoped we were more," I said, turning so that my back was to her. "But I understand. I hate myself. I don't blame you for doing the same."

"Dar, that's not what I meant. I didn't...Oh, now I've gone and put my foot in my mouth," she said, sighing deeply.

"You didn't really, did you?" I said, a little grossed out at the thought. I stretched my feet out and touched hers, confirming that they were nowhere near her mouth. "That's just an expression, right?"

She laughed.

"Yeah, it's just an expression, Dar. Sometimes it means that someone said something they shouldn't have that got them into trouble. This time, it means I screwed up my words and didn't say what I meant to say. Will you give me a chance to say them over?"

I just lay there, the heavy despair settling into my bones making it impossible for me to move.

She got up, and I felt like crying. She was going to leave. And I knew that if she left, she wouldn't ever come back to me.

But all she did was turn the lights up just enough so that I could make out her face in the dimness. I still felt covered and protected by the near-darkness.

She came back to the bed and lay down again on the other side this time, so she was facing me.

"We started out as lovers," she said, tracing her finger gently down my cheek. "Then we were prisoners together. Then partners, escaping. We've each saved the other more times than I can remember. And we are friends, Dar. I have fun just talking and laughing with you. But..."

She stopped then, and I held my breath.

"You're right." She searched my eyes. "There is more."

She bit her lip.

"Honestly, I don't know what I mean, Dar. I'm not very good at this kind of thing."

I dropped my eyes.

"But this I know for sure. I want to be with you. All the time. Until you feel like sending my sorry ass back to where I came from, I want to wake up with you and make love to you. And face whatever comes at us. Together."

"Really?" I said, feeling a little breathless. "Even after what I did?"

She hadn't said it, but what she had said was close enough. She wanted to be with me.

"Really. Look, I know you want me to say that other thing but I just..."

I put my finger over her sweet lips, and she stopped talking.

"Enough," I said. "No more words."

I pulled her to me, rolling so that I was on top of her and pinning her to the bed.

"Oh," she said, a little breathless.

"Show me how you feel, Kenna."

KENNA (A FEW MINUTES AGO)

Something had woken me. And thank god for that. I had been having a nightmare. Someone had me pinned on my upper body and was pulling down my pants. When I awoke, I was covered in sweat, and my nightgown was soaked through. I reached for the lights.

I shut my eyes when the brightness hit them, but I didn't care. I needed to chase the nightmare away. I hoped this was a one-time thing. I had heard of people being plagued by bad dreams after experiencing trauma, and I didn't want to be one of them.

My heart was still pounding. I sucked in a deep breath and let it out again slowly. I contemplated going to Dar, but he had looked beat when I had said goodnight to him. He had enough troubles and didn't need me adding mine to the pile.

My mind told myself again that I was safe, that I was far away from the danger, that Dar and Jared would protect me, if necessary. But my nervous system wasn't listening. My body still felt revved up and full of adrenaline and fear.

That was when I heard it. A sound of extreme emotional pain.

Was that Dar?

I got up immediately. My only thought was to go to him, to comfort him and to do something to help. Then I realized I was still wearing the sweaty nightgown. Gross. I took the old one off and threw it in the laundry, pulling a new one over my head. Then I let myself out of my room and went and knocked on Dar's door.

There was no answer.

I waited. He doesn't want to see me. That's why he isn't answering. I turned away, feeling sorrow in my chest. He didn't want me. He didn't need me. Just like everyone else. I was drowning in self-pity when I remembered the sound that I had heard. He was hurting. And maybe he THOUGHT he didn't want me around. But that didn't mean that he didn't NEED me around.

I would go in and ask. If he kicked me out, I'd go back to bed. I pressed the button on the wall, and the doors slid silently open. I stepped through and closed the door behind me. It was very dark, and there was no sound from the bed.

"Dar?" I whispered.

No answer.

"Dar?" I tried again.

I waited a moment longer.

Maybe I just imagined it, I thought to myself, turning to leave.

Then he coughed. So he wasn't asleep after all.

I padded over to the bed in my bare feet and stood silently. Would he say anything? I waited a moment longer. Nope.

"If you want me to go, tell me now."

He didn't speak.

Good. That meant he didn't want me to go.

I smiled and climbed into bed with him. I inhaled the smell of his clean pajamas and his scent. It all smelled like comfort to me. I pressed myself up against him, loving the feel of his body against mine.

I kissed his stubble-covered cheek and nestled my head down on his chest. I sighed, feeling better already. He has such a peaceful effect on me, I thought. I remembered how he had calmed me down when I had been flipping out (with good reason, as it turned out) about arriving at the space station.

Wasn't there a reason I was in here?

Eventually, I asked him about what was bothering him and like I had expected, it was about him beating up that good-for-nothing commander. I thought he was crazy to worry about that, but when I saw it through his eyes, it all made sense. In his culture, what he had done was equivalent to me killing the commander in self-defense.

If I had killed a man, I know that I would be all torn up and feeling guilty. It wouldn't matter that I HAD to do it. It wouldn't matter that he was an asshole that didn't deserve to live. I would be devastated.

For Dar, what he had done was the same as killing someone because the intent was there. Maybe if I hadn't stopped him, he would have killed him. Who knows? He had been really out of it. And that's what was troubling him. The fact that he had wanted to kill.

"To nearly take another being's life on purpose," he said.

"Would have been wrong. But you didn't. You stopped. You made the right choice," I reminded him.

"Only because you brought me back," he whispered.

"That's what..." I searched for the right word to describe our relationship. Finding nothing appropriate, I used the closest thing I could think of that made sense. "That's what friends do. They're there for each other."

That didn't come out right.

"Friends?" His voice was full of pain again, but this time caused by me. Oh, I was such an idiot in these situations. That had come out completely wrong.

"Aren't we?" I said, hoping to gloss over it.

Oops.

"I had hoped we were more," he said, turning his back to me. "But I understand. I hate myself. I don't blame you for doing the same."

I needed to explain. And I think I did. I told him I didn't know how to describe us, but I just wanted to be with him. I hoped that would be enough to fix the mistake I had made.

I didn't want him to think that I didn't care about him. I did care about him. A lot. And I would tell him when I was ready. But I couldn't say it yet.

"Really." How could he think that I wouldn't want to be with him just because he had beaten up the commander? If he hadn't, then I would likely be more traumatized right now if I was still alive.

"Look, I know you want me to say that other thing but I just..."

He put his finger over my lips silencing me.

"Enough. No more words."

Then he flipped us so that he was on top of me, pressing the air out of my body with his weight.

"Oh," I said, feeling breathless and aroused.

"Show me how you feel, Kenna."

Did he want less talk and more action? I could do that. In fact, I wanted nothing more right now.

My heart swelled, and I had to be as close to him as possible. I needed him filling me and surrounding me.

"Dar," I gasped, as he pinned me to the bed with his large body. God, I loved it when he did that. I loved the breathless feeling and how he seemed so powerful to me.

We kissed. And we were both so keyed up still with emotion and adrenaline that the intensity was overwhelming. I didn't care. I let my desire take over, my thinking mind disappearing completely.

He moved down my body, kissing and sucking and licking. I moaned as he stopped at my breasts that were ripe for the taking. I arched my back, offering them to him, and he took one nipple into his mouth. I let out another groan as he suckled me. I couldn't help it. It felt good.

But after a minute, he left my breasts and continued down. I held my breath when he got to my triangle of dark curls. What was he doing? He spread my legs and dipped his head down.

I felt his tongue on my clit and my hips bucked. He grabbed me with his big hands and held me down as he continued circling my clit with his tongue. I made little mewling sounds and squirmed with pleasure. He licked up my slit and then came back to my hard little nub, thrusting two fingers inside me at the same time.

"Dar," I said, threading my fingers through his hair.

He curled his fingers and rubbed my G-spot, as he continued to suck on my clit. Out of nowhere a massive climax hit me, rocking my body over and over. It was unbelievable.

He looked up at me, then, from where he was crouched between my legs and with deliberation rolled me over onto my side so that my left hip was facing up. Slowly, he leaned over and kissed the spot where a female Susohnnan's scar would be.

My breath caught in my throat and tears filled my eyes. He rolled me back over.

"Dar."

"Kenna," he said, his eyes serious.

He crawled back up my body and laid himself over me, enfolding me in his arms. We kissed for a long time and then I felt myself getting aroused again and wanting him inside me.

"Now, Dar. Please." I spread my legs, and he lined himself up with my opening. Slowly he pressed into me until he slid inside, embedding himself deeply.

He stopped when he buried his cock to the hilt in me and touched his forehead to mine. I closed my eyes, and we stayed that way for a long moment. He sighed.

Then he pulled out and thrust in deep. I gasped as he found a rhythm, sinking into me again and again. That felt so good. I tilted my hips a bit and took him deeper.

"Kenna," he said. "You're beautiful and sexy."

He didn't rush, just plunged into me steadily. I focused on my pleasure and felt it intensify. Heat bloomed all over my body as the orgasm built until I was hit over and over by the sensual waves. I thrashed beneath him in rapture as he continued to pound into me.

Suddenly he held still, and I felt it as he exploded inside of me. He groaned in completion as my muscles continued to clench around him. He went to roll off, but I held him to me. I wanted him inside me a little bit longer.

I had a feeling that things were going to change between us when he got back home. I wanted to remember — when everything went to hell — what it felt like to have him so close to me.

We slept the rest of the night in each other's arms, skin to skin. I had never felt anything like that before.

We would arrive at Susohn today, and I wondered what kind of reception we would get. I had suggested that he drop us off on Earth, but he would have none of it. He said we had to recover on Susohn because they have healing springs that would help us over our trauma. But I wondered if he thought we could somehow make this work, and that's why he was taking me home. Because he truly did want to be with me.

What if he did love me? And I wasn't even thinking about how I felt about him. That was a big can of worms I had no desire to open.

The hot springs sounded good to me. But the thought of facing a planet full of Susohnnan, all with the prejudice that Dar had shown when he had first met me? That made me a little nervous. And so did the thought that he was serious about me and maybe wanted to...marry me?

I laughed, but I couldn't stop dreaming.

I couldn't be the queen of an entire fucking planet. And what about the fact that I was human? There were so many roadblocks to us being together that it was ridiculous.

And yet, I was going to Susohn with him. I must be crazy.

We dressed when the lights came up in our room. And he gave me a long lingering kiss in the doorway before we went to find Jared. We needed to discuss what would happen when we arrived.

DAR

I tried to ignore how beautiful Kenna looked, dressed in a plain, beige dress that draped to her feet and swirled when she walked. Not because I didn't appreciate her beauty, but because I did, and it made me want to take her back to bed again.

The dress was standard issue, and she had chosen it because I had told her that it was the hot season back home. Usually, she wore pants and shirts, not dresses. Although, come to think of it maybe she wanted to make a good impression.

I imagined how I would feel if she had been taking me home to meet her mother or father. I immediately felt nervous at the thought, and she didn't even have any parents. I had a mother who just happened to be the former queen. Kenna must be anxious as hell. I would have to try to ease her mind though I didn't see how I was going to do it. My mother is a she-dragon and one of the biggest bitches I've ever known.

She loves me and treats me pretty well, but there's a reason our world prospered even after my father died. She had to deal with everything on her own.

She's strong. And decisive. And opinionated. She doesn't hesitate to speak her mind. And she knows how to make things happen. These are all good qualities when you're talking about a leader. Not usually the qualities that make a person a kind mother or friend, though.

I love my mom, and I don't usually take her sharpness to heart. I know she's lonely sometimes — or maybe even a lot of the time. I rule the planet now, but she can't help telling me how SHE would do it, which can be annoying. But I do listen because she possesses wisdom. And she was right more often than I care to admit.

I sighed deeply, thinking about the enigma that was my mother. All of that didn't change the fact that she was a scary, scary woman and if Kenna was anxious, she had every right to be. I didn't tell her much about my mother. I was saving us both the stress.

That was all without taking into consideration my mother's feelings about humans.

KENNA

I watched on the viewscreen as we approached Dar's home planet. It was a yellow ball with patches of blue and green.

He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing my cheek. I leaned back into him, loving the sense of peace he brought me.

"It's a sandy planet with lots of deserts. There are only small patches of water and vegetation," he murmured in my ear. "The Susohnnan all live around those green and blue spots because they're the only habitable places on the planet."

They had a tiny number of Susohnnan, in comparison with the overpopulation of humans on Earth.

"It looks stunning," I said.

"Keeping the planet beautiful and healthy is of utmost importance to us."

It reminded me of Gran and what she had believed. She should have been Susohnnan.

"I'm a little worried about going into the lion's den," I said. "It's a dangerous animal on Earth. A very long time ago, they would throw people into the lion's den as a punishment and let the lions eat them alive."

Dar pulled away from me, and I turned. He looked disgusted. Oops. I better watch what I say on this planet.

"I know. It was horrible," I said quickly, realizing that I had put my foot in it yet again.

"That's how you are thinking about this?"

"No. No. It's an expression that means someone feels they're going into a situation where everyone is going to be quite unfriendly, and there may not be a way out."

"Oh." He looked unsure of himself, which surprised me. Usually, he seemed quite confident. What could make him look like that? "Look, Kenna. I have to tell you the truth. I didn't want to make you more nervous, but I can't let you go into the lion's den unprepared."

"What are you talking about, Dar?"

This was definitely making me more nervous.

"People find her dangerous. She became queen after my father died. And she led the Susohnnan for many years before I became king. Our planet prospered under her rule. She's an excellent leader. She's just not so good at interpersonal relationships."

"Okay."

"And you know what I used to think about humans?"

"Yes," I said, giving him a look.

"Times that by..."

I waited as he considered.

"A hundred."

My mouth dropped open.

"You're kidding."

"Sorry. No. Where do you think I got my beliefs from?" He shook his head.

"Why are we even doing this, then? Coming here was insane. Just take us home to Earth, Dar."

I suddenly felt my lips covered by his, and it took my breath away. He kissed me until I forgot who I was and who he was and where we were. When he let me up for air, I stared at him, dazed. He gazed back, his face serious. I could see his chest rising and falling with his uneven breathing. Then he spoke.

"That's why we're doing this," he said, turning back to the viewscreen.

I blinked several times. My brain was totally scrambled.

He glanced sideways at me and noticed that I was still stunned. His face broke into a grin, and he put his arm around me and squeezed, laughing.

"All right, you big oaf." I said, and I couldn't help smiling too. "You do have a point."

"I hate to interrupt you lovebirds, but I need you to land this thing, Dar." Jared said, coming up behind us. We both turned. "Hey, Kenna."

"Hey," I said, smiling.

"The readings I'm getting on the atmosphere are like nothing I've ever seen. I have landed shuttlecraft before but never in conditions like this. So, I think it would be better if..."

Dar interrupted him.

"No problem, Jared. I haven't done it a million times, but I'm trained, and I have landed on my planet before. I'll see you later," he said to me and gave me what was probably supposed to be a fortifying smile. I smiled back and watched the two men walk out of the room.

Then my smile disappeared.

I felt oppressed by the sight of the planet, now completely filling the viewscreen, and getting closer and closer. It looked menacing, and I shivered. I understood why Dar wanted to do this. I honestly did. With such strong feelings between us, we couldn't just ignore them. And it seemed silly because I had just met him, but already I didn't know what I would do without him.

Still...

I also couldn't see how this could ever work. He had just told me I had about a million strikes against me with his mother. She wasn't the kind, old, queen mother that I had pictured her, and would also be actively against me, trying to save her son from the off-world human slut.

I cared about Dar and wanted to be with him. And he clearly cared for me and wanted to be with me. But we had this whole thing between us where our cultures despised each other and his mother would probably hate me on sight before she even got to know me. Even if she did get to know me, I was no charmer of mothers. I couldn't be convincing or winning, or whatever it takes to get your partner's mother to like you.

I didn't even know why Dar seemed to like me so much. No one had ever paid me much attention before. Gran had loved me, but she was my Gran, she had to love me. I doubted if Dar's mother would even bother to look at me, never mind love me.

I laughed at the thought.

It was all so pointless. I continued to stare at the intimidating yellow planet growing ever larger on the viewscreen. No matter how much we cared about each other, we could never overcome the barriers between us.

The universe doomed our relationship from the start.

DAR

I walked into the throne room that had been the Susohnnan royalty's place to greet visitors. I supposed it had also welcomed home prodigal sons for hundreds of years. The room was immense, and once we were through the large double doors, a servant closed them behind us with an ominous thud.

There was a long yellow carpet that lead up to two thrones set upon a dais. Kenna stood on one side of me and Jared on the other. I didn't look at either of them as I began the long walk to my mother, seated on the left throne. She wore a long traditional yellow Susohnnan dress. She had pulled her black hair back and tucked it away underneath her crown.

She looked terrifying to me, and I knew and loved her. I couldn't imagine how the others were feeling. I glanced at Kenna, and she looked back at me, eyes wide. She looked completely out of her depth. I wanted to give her a smile, but I couldn't.

I didn't spare a glance at the numerous courtiers who were milling about in the open area on either side of the carpet. They had probably heard that we'd landed and had come to get the first bits of juicy gossip. The vultures.

When we arrived before my mother, I made the sign of The Three, and the others did too, as I had shown them — making a triangle with their hands and touching it to their foreheads.

Jared and I, then, dropped to one knee and touched our foreheads to the bent knee in a Susohnnan bow. Kenna made a Susohnnan curtsy, which she managed quite nicely, from what I could see out of the corner of my eye. It involved sweeping the skirt of her dress back and forth three times and then swirling in a circle to the floor until she was sitting.

When we completed our bow, she was getting up as gracefully as any Susohnnan female and gave my mother a tentative smile.

My mother didn't return it.

"Hello Mother," I said, going up to the dais and kissing her on the cheek. She did smile then.

"Darvish, what's this you've brought with you? And how did the negotiations go?"

I gave her a look and stepped back down into line with Kenna and Jared. She did not overlook this gesture of solidarity and looked more sharply at my companions.

"The negotiations were terrible as you predicted, and I'm sure you're already aware. The terrorists did not arrive for the negotiations. The humans came earlier than expected. They trapped us on the planet and then bombed us. We barely escaped with our lives. These are my friends." I glanced at Kenna, but she didn't react to my use of her word.

My mother examined her more shrewdly, looking back at me with a mildly displeased look on her face.

"They helped me escape and saved my life more than once. This is Kenna DeAndrea," I gestured at Kenna.

"Hello," Kenna said.

"...and Jared McKinnley."

"Nice to meet you," Jared said, giving a curt nod.

My mother nodded politely at each of them.

"I haven't heard those names before. So I am assuming that you are not Susohnnan. Which descendants of the Great Race are you?" My mother looked deceptively innocent when she said this, but I had a feeling she already knew who they were. Her spies were everywhere and had probably told her the whole story.

Kenna glanced at me and drew herself up.

"Human," she said meeting my mother's eyes directly with what could only be called a look of defiance. I felt my face light up at this display of courage. The room went silent.

My mother's only reaction was a tiny tightening of her lips.

"Ah," she said, with no expression on her face. Then I watched her turn on the charm and charisma that had made her such a great leader for so long. She smiled, and her beauty showed through her age. For a moment, part of what had enchanted my father shone through her tough exterior. "I am very grateful for your valiant efforts on my son's behalf. We will provide you with whatever provisions you wish and safe passage anywhere in the galaxy as a token of our appreciation."

She gave Kenna and Jared her benevolent monarch look, not meeting my eye.

"Mother, I have invited my friends to stay here at the palace to recover from our ordeal. It is customary," I said, playing on her sense of tradition. There was murmuring among the courtiers. "I will be taking them to the healing springs."

"Very well, Darvish, I would not want you to have to break your word. And, of course, the offer for provisions and safe passage still stands, once you have recuperated," she said to the humans.

I narrowed my eyes at her, but she ignored me, lifting her voice and addressing the people who stood in groups of five or six, here and there throughout the room.

"Court is adjourned for the day. Thank you all for coming out to welcome the king home." Then she turned her glance to me. "Darvish, will you join me for tea once you've got your guests settled?"

"Certainly, mother," I said respectfully, knowing that it had been an order, not a request.

"That went well," Jared commented as we made our way towards the guest wing of the palace. His voice dripped sarcasm.

"I think I'm going to throw up," Kenna said, holding her stomach. She did look a little green.

"Are you serious?" I said, looking for an urn or something.

""Kind of," she said, sighing. "Your mother is a dragon." At my look of confusion, she explained. "A fierce mythical beast that breathes fire. No offense."

She gave me an apologetic look.

"None taken. I could have told you that, but I didn't want you to be any more worried than you already were."

"Does your mother know you're sleeping with a human?" Jared said, apparently enjoying the conflict, seeing as it wasn't his.

"Shh," I said, looking around. "She doesn't. But she has spies everywhere, and I don't want her to find out through them." A thought occurred to me. "How do you know I'm sleeping with a human?"

He had the decency to look a bit embarrassed.

"You guys aren't exactly quiet. That was an awfully small shuttle craft."

Kenna turned beet red and put her hand to her face.

"Oh geez," she said, and he laughed out loud.

I would have been offended but to see him smile was great. He had been quiet and quite depressed since we left the space station. I was taking any signs of life as a positive. Live had put Jared in an awful situation. Both Kenna and I were hoping that he'd be able to move on from it.

We walked up a flight of stairs and arrived at their rooms.

"This is the guest wing. Here's your room, Jared. And Kenna, yours is across the hall. You will find an en-suite bathroom where you can get cleaned up. The servants should have already stocked your drawers with Susohnnan clothing in your size. I have to go for tea with my mother now. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Kenna said. She stood up to give me a peck on the cheek. Her eyes were sympathetic.

I sighed. The interview at court had been mild compared with what getting chewed out by her in private was going to be like. I wasn't looking forward to this.

"I'll see you both at supper tonight, okay?" I said, looking from one to the other.

"Sure, man," Jared said, clapping me on the shoulder. "If you make it out of this tea alive."

I grinned.

"Sounds good," Kenna said. And I could tell she would rather not be left alone but she knew that I had to do this. I hoped we would be able to spend some time together once I convinced my mother that them being here was a good idea.

Could I possibly convince her?

"But mother, you don't understand."

"I know that you have brought humans to our home, and I don't like it. You know that they are inferior and violent. What would possess you to bring them here? You could have dropped them on Earth as you went past."

"I couldn't, mother, because they are my friends. I was following protocol." But she was having none of my excuses.

"You're not making sense. There are no protocols that say to bring humans to our planet."

"No, but there are some that say when people have done a great service to others, they are to be treated with respect and honored in the home as if they were one of the family. I want to take them to the healing springs."

"That's people who have done us a great service, not humans. And there is also a statute that dictates that a Susohnnan king may not associate with members of an inferior species."

"What?" I said, looking at her like she was crazy. I had never heard of such a law.

"Look it up. You had an ancestor who thought she could take up with a Neeran. Her father thought otherwise. He outlawed her behavior and made sure none of the royals would ever make the same mistake again. She and her Neeran partner were separated. It states very clearly that Susohnnan royalty may not consort with the descendants of The Great Race that have regressed. And humans, as you well know, are one of the descendants that have regressed quite horribly. Look at those awful terrorists. They nearly killed you."

I just stared at her, not saying anything. I didn't know what to say.

"The law is quite clear. Investigate it for yourself if you would like," she said, picking up her teacup and taking a tiny sip. She was oozing satisfaction and victory.

I tried not to show how horrified I was. She was a lawyer, and she would not lie to me, so there must be such a statute.

Our situation was more dire than I had thought.

"Mother..."

She interrupted me before I could say anything.

"So, what is your relationship with this...female?" Her nose twitched in disgust as she said the word.

I felt anger rising inside of me.

"That female's name is Kenna. And I care about her a great deal."

"Oh dear, that's what I thought. You're infatuated. She is pretty. I will give her that. But she's not right for you, Darvish. She's human. She will prove treacherous in the end."

"Mother," I said, barely holding on to my temper. "I am not infatuated. I genuinely care about Kenna. Listen. Humans are not what we thought they were."

"How can you say that?" My mother looked at me incredulously. "Humans nearly killed you, took innocent lives, and destroyed their own kind's property, all in the name of greed. They are inferior in every way to our kind. You cannot possibly be considering this female as anything more than a passing fling. Humans are what we thought they were."

There was that word again — fling. I certainly hoped that Kenna didn't see us as just a fling anymore, after what we had been through together.

"And those humans also saved my life at the risk of their own. In fact, they have saved it more than once since the terrorists attacked. You are conveniently leaving that out of the equation, aren't you, mother? They can be as noble as we are. Just give them a chance. Get to know them. Kenna and Jared are both admirable examples of their species."

"Give them a chance?" She looked at me as if I were insane. "A chance to what? To steal from us? To betray us? A chance for that female to cast a spell on my only son and the king of our great nation? I don't think so, Darvish. I did not raise you to socialize with the lower classes. If humans aren't low class, I don't know who is."

I looked at her with sorrow in my eyes.

"Mother, we have been prejudiced and racist. And we have not even seen it."

She was taken aback by my harsh words. But it was the truth, and she needed to hear it.

"I have realized that over the past weeks. We pride ourselves on not having any racism on our planet, and yet we look down on off-worlders who are the same as us."

"They are not the same."

"You don't know any humans," I said, sharply. "You may not judge."

"Their actions speak louder than words. They have on the verge of expulsion from the union multiple times." She knew as well as I did that the terrorist group was the reason for the continual problems with the union. She was grasping at straws.

"Enough," I said, making a sharp gesture with my hand. "I am the king, and I say that they will remain until they wish to leave, as is our custom. And you will treat them with respect, mother." I stared at her without blinking.

There was a conviction in my voice, and she knew I was serious. She studied me, uncertain how to proceed and still get her way.

"Very well, son," she said mildly. "But do tread carefully with those humans. Or you may find yourself in a situation where you will wish you had never brought them here."

There was a threat in her voice that I knew I shouldn't ignore. But something in me knew that I couldn't be the son that did everything she asked anymore. My life belonged to me, and I had to live it the way I thought best. She would not determine my choices.

And yet, there was a look in her eyes that made me apprehensive. My mother was a female used to getting her way. I wondered how far she was willing to go to get it this time.

"I'll keep that in mind, mother. Now, if you'll excuse me, we have guests that I should not ignore."

I turned and walked out without giving her a kiss. That would show her how much she had displeased me. I had never left my mother's presence without kissing her.

Mothers are held in the highest respect on our world because they give life. I knew that she would be deeply offended at my flaunting of tradition. I wondered uneasily about the repercussions of my actions.

KENNA

I relaxed in the tub and wondered how Dar's conversation with his mother was going. I had taken a shower to scrub off the space dirt and wash my long hair. Then I filled up the bathtub to the top and added some fantastic smelling Susohnnan oil.

It was a terrific scent, and as I let the hot water soak into my sore muscles, I wondered again how a relationship with Dar could ever work. We had everything against us. And I mean everything. His mother hating me on sight was just the icing on the cake.

I shivered when I thought of how she had looked at me like I didn't even exist. But somehow I couldn't find it in my heart to hate her back. It had seemed to me that underneath that cold and somewhat cruel exterior was a lonely old heart that was worried about losing the affection and attention of her only son. All I felt was compassion for her. But what can I say? Gran raised me up to always look for the reasons why people might be doing unkind things.

Once I complained about a clerk being rude to me, and she had told me to look deeper. Do you think that the person was feeling happy inside when they did that? And I would have to say no, of course not. Someone who's happy doesn't act that way.

What might have happened to make the person behave that way, she would say, making me see things from the other person's perspective.

Another customer might have just been rude to the clerk. They might be having a bad day. Their feet might be sore. They might have been about to get off shift and then their boss asked them to work another hour. Maybe it was their child's birthday, and they couldn't be with them because they had to work. Maybe someone had just died, and their grief overwhelmed them and they didn't know how to deal with it.

I couldn't look at another person without trying to see life through their eyes, even if only for a moment. It was ingrained into my perspective now. Gran had made sure of that. She would say, You can't know another person, Kenna, until you walk a mile in their shoes. I had only walked a few steps in Dar's mother's shoes before my feet got terribly sore.

There was a sound in my bedroom and I held my breath. Who was in my room? I sat up, being careful not to spill the water over the edge. Footsteps were moving towards the bathroom, and I wondered if Dar's mother's animosity extended to kidnapping. Surely with all their talk of non-violence, nobody would hurt me.

"Kenna?" It was Dar. I lay back in the tub, letting my breath out in a rush.

"Jeez, you scared me to death, Dar," I called out. "I'm in here."

The door opened, and I lifted an eyebrow at him.

"I was sure I locked my door."

He stared at the floor and then back up to me, and I could see he was unapologetic.

"Both of our retinas open these doors," he said.

"Sure they do," I said. "Is Jared's lock keyed to your retina, too?"

He gave me a look and sat down on the toilet.

"No, but I have a slightly different relationship with you than I do with Jared," he said, his eyes darkening as they glanced down at my breasts floating near the top of the water.

"Ah, ha," I said, feeling suddenly hot. "Do you?"

"I do."

The way he was looking at me was making my heart rate speed up, and my nipples tighten. I hoped he hadn't noticed. I wasn't sure we should be doing what we were both thinking about doing while under his mother's roof. I decided to change the subject.

"How did your little chat with your mother go?" I said.

That broke the mood. He tensed up immediately, sighing deeply.

"That good, huh?" I said, sympathetically.

"I understand her perspective. She gets taught a certain viewpoint from birth and everyone she knows and respects has the same opinion. And she's never met any humans to challenge her beliefs. But if she were telling me to reconsider something I believed, I would at least try. Because I respect her opinion."

"Did you tell her about..." I trailed off, not sure what to ask.

"About us?" he said. "Yes."

"What did you say?" I was a little scared. Surely he wouldn't have told her we were sleeping together. Then she would think I was a disgusting human and a slut.

"Just that I cared about you a lot. She wasn't impressed."

I wrinkled up my nose.

"What did she say?"

"She threatened me. She said I would regret it if I continued 'consorting' with you."

"Threatened you. With what?"

"Some old statute. I don't think it's anything serious. Once the government is back in session, I'll have it repealed."

"Don't kiss that woman under penalty of the law!" I giggled hysterically. "And somehow you think we are still a good idea?" I said, unable to believe it.

"I'm not sure there's anything that could convince me otherwise," he said, with a look in his eyes that stopped my heart. I held my breath as the moment lengthened.

Then he shook his head as if to clear it and stood up.

"Enough, Kenna. I'll have you flat on your back before you know it if you keep looking at me like that. Obviously, for my mother to invoke the statute, there would have to be proof that we've been 'consorting'."

"Maybe we shouldn't be doing anymore consorting then, until you get that nasty little law cleared up," I said, batting my eyelashes innocently.

He stood up and stalked over to the bathtub, with a look on his face that gave me goose bumps. He dropped down beside the tub and leaned over, his face inches from mine.

"My mother will not tell me with whom I may sleep. I am a grown man." He said looking deeply into my eyes. "That said, I will not be taking any unnecessary risks."

He closed the distance between us and kissed me thoroughly. Then he pulled away.

"Now get out of that tub before I end up in there with you. I have something I want to show you."

DAR

I set the hovercraft down outside the city at an oasis that was exclusive to the royal family. Tonight my mother was entertaining the heads of state at the palace. I had bowed out, saying I was exhausted from my ordeal.

I was tired, to be honest. But I was also not going to miss a chance to show Kenna my home and have some alone time with her.

I had invited Jared, but he had said he was going to bed right after supper. He was tired and needed to sleep. Losing his girlfriend had affected him deeply and I was afraid he was still depressed. I recommended he see our family healer.

No one else would dare enter the oasis of the king, so we were guaranteed to be left alone. Kenna drew in a breath when she stepped out of the hovercraft and saw the double sunset.

"Dar," she said, her face breaking into a grin. "You didn't say your planet had two suns."

"You're right. I never thought of it. There isn't always a double sunset. It depends on where the stars are in their orbit around each other."

"It's beautiful," she said, gazing at the two orbs as they dropped towards the horizon. "Did you bring me out here to see this?"

I smiled.

"That's one of the things I brought you to see."

She beamed at me, and I reached out and took her hand.

"Come on."

As soon as we walked into the oasis, we were met with cool, humid air. It was an enormous contrast from the hot, dry wind that was blowing out on the dunes. Kenna looked at me in surprise, and I smiled at her.

I led her deeper into the foliage. Large trees spread their branches overhead, and flowering bushes and shrubs surrounded us on either side of the path. Small birds flitted everywhere, perching for a moment and then hopping to another branch. They each gave their unique call, which I knew by heart. My grandfather had been a great bird watcher and had taught me everything he knew.

I whistled the call of the night maiden and immediately heard one of them answer. Kenna looked at me, and I smiled shyly. I hadn't shown anyone my bird calls since I was a child.

"What's that you just did?" she said, curious.

"It's the call of a night maiden. It was my grandfather's favorite call. He taught me everything I know about birds."

She tried to imitate it.

"No, like this," I said, whistling again. She listened carefully and after a couple more tries got it right. "That's it. My grandfather and I used to use it with each other as a signal. It can be a greeting or a warning. Night maidens only sing after the sun has set. That's how we used it as a warning; you know, when my mother was about to catch me eating cookies in bed or something like that. He would make the call, and I would know to watch out. It wasn't a real night maiden because the bird wouldn't call during the day."

"That's so cool," she said, making the call again. It was amazing that she could do it so perfectly.

I kept walking, not looking at her, but I couldn't keep the enormous grin off my face. I felt like a young boy again. For so many years, I had been only the king of Susohn. A person to be feared and respected. Sure, females had wanted to mate with me, but none had wanted to get to know me — other than getting to know how deep the king's coffers were.

I was happy that we had a mutual interest. I hadn't shared this with anyone since my grandfather had died, and it made me feel as light as a feather.

"What?" Kenna said, tilting her head to look at my face. I squeezed her hand.

"I'm just glad you're here," I said, unable to keep the love I was feeling from showing in my face.

She studied me, her eyes full of wonder.

"I'm glad I'm here, too," she said. "In spite of everything."

In spite of everything. That brought me back to the other reason I had brought her out here.

"Yes." I said. "Come. I need to show you more than just sunsets and bird calls."

KENNA

About twenty minutes later, Dar ducked under some vegetation that hung between two huge boulders, and we were in a shallow cave.

"What is this place?" I asked. But he didn't answer. He felt around on the left-hand wall until he found a triangle carved into the rock. He pushed it hard, and a small doorway appeared. Dar ducked through it with me right behind. A moment later, we were standing in a huge cavern lit by swirling colors on the ceiling.

"Where the heck are we?" I said, looking up at the beautiful colors on the ceiling.

"A haven," he said.

"Why would I need a haven?" I said, frowning.

"It's just in case. My mother is a woman who gets her way. I don't know how far she is willing to go to save her only son from making a huge mistake."

I looked at him, feeling troubled.

"That's how she sees it, Kenna."

"I know that. You're going through a lot of trouble for me. I'm not sure why." I looked down at the floor. It consisted of shiny black stone that reflected the dancing lights from the ceiling. "I'm nothing special, Dar. Why would you jeopardize everything in your life for me? It doesn't make sense."

He gazed into my eyes, and I could see he was not troubled. Not in the least. His eyes were full of something. Was it love? He was looking at me the way my Gran used to. I felt like I was the most amazing thing in the universe, and he would never stop loving me. Oh God. If I fucked this up, he was going to get badly hurt.

"Kenna." He took my face in his large hands.

"Yes?" I said, a little breathless.

"I. Love. You."

"Oh," I said, drawing in a shaky breath and unable to look away from the intensity in his eyes.

"You are amazing. You are special. And it will never be any trouble for me to be with you, to protect you, and to make sure that you're safe from harm. Do you understand?"

He dropped his hands to my shoulders and placed a reverent kiss on my forehead. I swallowed hard.

"Yes. But Dar..."

He waited.

"I never told you that I loved you back."

He just looked at me.

"I never asked you to, Kenna."

"But what if I don't love you? I don't want to hurt you, Dar."

"I am willing to wait until you know one way or the other, Kenna. And I will accept your decision either way. It is far too late for me to stop loving you now."

"Oh," I said in a small voice. I looked down again at the pretty colors moving in complicated patterns over the floor of the cave. "Honestly, Dar. I don't think that I'm good enough for you."

His eyes flashed, and his hand came under my chin, forcing me to look up at him.

"Don't you ever say that again, Kenna. My mother is wrong in every way when she says that we are not equals. If anything, I am not good enough to deserve an angel like you. But I'm not going to quibble. No one that's going to keep us apart."

I felt breathless and a little in awe of Dar, so filled with righteous indignation for us.

He pulled me to him until our bodies were touching along their entire length.

We were made for each other.

I thought about that for a moment. Through all of the years that we spent light-years apart, divine power had been closing the gap and bringing us to this moment when I couldn't tell where my body ended, and his began.

There is no one in the universe that is going to keep us apart.

At this instant, I felt the truth of those words in my heart, though my mind still refused to believe them.

"Kenna," he whispered, his face buried in my neck. His hands tangled in my hair. "Do you want me?"

Ah, he was back to Susohn tradition, now that we were on his home turf, asking my permission to make love to me. I had to admit that it made me as wet as the first time he had asked me, a lifetime ago when we had first met on Dobu.

"Yes," I said into his ear, my hands exploring under his shirt and running up and down his muscular back.

He dropped then and lifted the Susohnnan skirt I had put on. Then he planted a firm kiss on my left hip.

I hissed at the sensations that kiss produced.

"Why do you do that?" I said, a little breathless. "There's no scar."

"It is a tradition on my planet that there is no mating without the proper respect being shown. It is how I show my respect for you as a woman and as my partner," he told me. "It doesn't matter that there is no scar. The intent behind the kiss is important."

For a moment I wished I had a scar. If I had a scar, it would mean that I would feel like less of an impostor. Nothing could make me Susohnnan, but I would scar myself to please him. If it would please him. I didn't know if it would, after all. He seemed to like me just the way I was, unscarred human and all.

All thoughts of scars were pushed out of my head when he pulled his shirt off. My heart rate sped up just looking at those finely chiseled abs and his well-formed biceps. I swallowed hard. He was so handsome and sexy. How could he possibly love and desire someone like me?

He pulled my shirt off next and kissed me again. I pressed our bodies together, and I loved the feel of his hardness pressing into my soft breasts.

"You are so beautiful," he said as he bent down and suckled my breasts. My legs became unsteady as the pleasure flowed over me. He took off my skirt and his pants and laid them all on the floor before we lay down.

He worshiped my body, and I had never felt so desirable before. My heart felt full to overflowing with some emotion that kept bringing tears to my eyes. I was afraid to name it, even though I couldn't ignore it.

When I was wet and panting, he came between my legs, but I pushed him, forcing him to lie down instead.

"It's your turn to relax today," I told him and he lifted his eyebrows but lay back.

I sucked his big, beautiful cock until he made me stop. Then I climbed on top of him and eased myself down onto him.

"Kenna," he groaned as I joined our bodies, taking all of him until our hips were pressed tightly together. I supported myself on my hands and began to move up and down over him. I closed my eyes. Oh, that was so good. I needed him inside me. I needed him to be so close to me that I couldn't tell us apart.

After what seemed to be a long time of me grinding my pussy against him, I felt myself starting to come. The climax was slow to begin but unbelievably intense. Waves of sheer ecstasy rocked me, and I cried out, my voice echoing in the enormous cavern.

"Kenna," Dar said, as he waited till I was still. Then he drove up into me hard over and over, seeking his release now that he knew I had mine. I felt his passion building, and he held my hips hard against him while he exploded inside of me.

I moaned and came again from the intolerable pleasure of him thrusting inside me deep and hard and fast. It was the first time I had ever come twice in a row.

When we were both still, he spoke softly in my ear.

"Did you come twice?" he said.

"Mmmm, hmmm," I murmured.

"Damn, I'm good," he said, and I laughed lazily.

"Yes, Dar. You are."

Dar and I lay in each other's arms for a long time, talking about nothing in particular until he regretfully said that we had better get back to the palace.

When we arrived, we parking the hovercraft and entered one of the side doors of the building.

"I talked to Mana and Jared before I came to see you, and we think we have a plan for stopping the terrorists for good," Dar told me.

Suddenly, a group of imperial guards appeared around us, blocking our path.

"Excuse us," Dar said, waiting for them to step aside. But they didn't.

Dar frowned. "Please get out of our way."

He was clearly not used to his servants not listening to him.

"Sorry, your majesty. Queen's orders."

"I am the ruling king. My orders take precedence over the queen's. Please let us pass, Narrin."

The guard looked uncomfortable.

"I'm very sorry, sir, but I've been ordered to arrest you, sir."

"Arrest me?" Narrin's words shocked Dar.

"Yes, sir," the man said, looking completely miserable.

"For what?"

Narrin closed his eyes and then looked at Dar. I realized that he had not looked at me at all.

"For consorting with inferior species, sir."

To his credit, Dar didn't blush. But the guard did.

"The old harridan," Dar said under his breath. "I never thought she'd invoke it."

I looked at him.

"The statute I was telling you about." He looked back at the guard. "She has no proof."

"She has a witness that is willing to testify that she saw you going into the oasis. And that you were alone there for some time. It is enough to cast considerable doubt, sir," he said, apologetic now.

"Who is willing to testify?" Dar demanded.

"Salya Mayerova."

Dar's breath hissed in at the name, and I heard him mutter, "That jealous bitch."

He turned to me, wincing.

"She's a former lover. One who hoped to be queen and was not pleased when I told her that was never going to happen."

The guard wasn't done. "The queen mother also said…" he paused, swallowing audibly. "That if you were to refuse to come with me that I was to tell you we will seize the female."

He looked over at me.

"And a sample taken from inside of her, as proof that you hadn't had sexual relations."

All the bluster drained from Dar's body, and he looked beaten. He would never let them test me like that, would he?

He held out his hands so Narrin could handcuff him. No, of course he wouldn't. Besides, it would only prove their case, seeing as I still had his seed inside of me. We were trapped. And it looked as though Dar was going to be arrested.

"You admit to having sex with her?" the man continued what was clearly a distasteful mission to him.

Dar nodded sadly.

"Well, I admit to making love to her," he said, looking the man straight in the eye. "She is my sheeranla," he said. He had dropped out of Unified, which was the common language that was used all over the galaxy, and back into his mother tongue.

I wondered what the word was that he had used to describe me.

"I'm so sorry, your highness," he said, as he placed the handcuffs on Dar's wrists. "I'm following orders."

"I know, Narrin. I never thought she'd do this to me. Will you take care of Kenna and make sure she gets the safe passage back to Earth that my mother promised?"

My heart clenched at the thought of leaving him. I didn't know if I loved him, but I knew that I didn't want to separate from him.

Narrin sighed deeply.

"I'm afraid that's out of the question, your majesty."

"What do you mean?" Dar said, looking even more upset than before if that was even possible.

"If you admit to having sexual intercourse with this female, she is to be taken into custody with you."

"What is to be done with us?" I said, unable to keep silent any longer while these men talked about me as if I wasn't even here.

The guard now avoided both of our gazes as he put handcuffs on my wrists.

"Well, the statute calls for the highest penalty."

"What's the highest penalty?" I said, looking at Dar in fear now. The situation was quickly getting out of hand. "Death?"

"No. We would never kill another Susohnnan, no matter what they had done," the guard said. "That's what humans do."

He looked down his nose at me.

"What then?" I said, looking to Dar for an answer. But the guard quickly spoke before Dar could tell me.

"We can avoid this, your majesty, if you admit that you do not love her and say that you will never see her, ever again. There is no need for the penalty to be enforced," the guard said, and there was pleading in his tone. I assumed that Dar knew the man well. There seemed to be a subtext of this whole conversation that I wasn't quite picking up.

"I can't say that, Narrin. It would be lying. I do love her."

"But your majesty..."

"Okay, stop right now both of you," I said, and there was an authority in my tone. I wasn't going to be kept in the dark any longer. "Supposing that Dar is unwilling to tell the queen what she wants to hear. What then? What is this highest penalty if it's not death?"

The guard looked me in the eyes. His face filled with sadness, and I wondered how long he had known Dar.

"We will take you to Mount Shassin," the guard said.

"And?" God, it was like pulling teeth.

"It is an active volcano."

I blinked, not sure I wanted to know any more. Maybe I would be happier in the dark. Didn't they say that ignorance was bliss?

"There is a platform that overhangs the volcanic crater. You will be placed on this platform using a hovercraft. There is no way off of it."

Narrin hesitated a moment.

"And we will be left there, Kenna. My people wouldn't actively take another's life. But for the…" His jaw tensed. "…worst criminals in society, we are content to let them die, if circumstances so dictate." Dar said.

"Will you swear before the court that you don't love this female and that you will have nothing more to do with her, your highness?" Narrin said, trying one more time.

"Never," Dar said, stepping over to me so that our arms touched. The tiny bit of contact comforted me. "Take us to the volcano."

The time for conversation had ended. The guards escorted us back to the landing area and forced us to board a hovercraft.

It was HOT. I was sweating already, glistening really, and smoke filled the sky.

The hovercraft hung in the air over a small platform near the top of the volcano. How had they ever built this thing?

When I looked down at the volcano, the platform appeared to be about the size of a postage stamp. Below us, molten lava moved lazily. I glanced at Dar with fear in my heart. They were putting us down there? Why was it so important that he maintain his integrity, again? All of a sudden, a little white lie about his feelings for me didn't seem bad. Maybe he should say whatever they want him to say.

"It's always a little tricky getting prisoners onto the platform," the pilot said. Was this guy talking to himself? "Sometimes we drop them a wee bit to the side. Not good."

I didn't say anything and prayed that he wasn't going to have an accident and drop us in the volcano. I supposed for a Susohnnan, an 'accidental' death was totally different than intentional murder.

My mind could barely focus on anything, but the pilot was giving us instructions on how to survive getting onto the platform. "When you jump, now, mind that you aim right for the center of the platform. Sometimes we're all lined up but then the prisoners can't even exit the ship correctly. Not my fault."

I looked at Dar, my eyes wide with alarm. I was no acrobat. How could I jump off this hovercraft and land on that tiny area?

If anything, the heat had increased as we approached the lip of the volcano. "Okay, I'm in position," the guard informed us. "Get to the door, you two. And may The Three be with you… because there isn't anyone else who is."

Another guard had been holding a gun on us the entire time. He gestured with the gun, and we climbed over.

"Kenna, listen," Dar said, taking my cold hands in his own. "Just keep your eyes on the platform. It won't be that hard. Just make sure you're looking where you want to go, okay?"

"You've done this before?" I asked.

"I just wanted to be encouraging," he said.

The wind was blowing off the desert, and the heat from the volcano was oppressive even from this height. What had we got ourselves into?

He kissed me quickly, and I readied myself.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and sent a quick prayer to whatever deity might be watching over me. Then I fixed my eyes on the platform and without thinking, jumped.

I hit the wood hard and slammed my knees. I hoped I avoided bruises but that might not matter anymore. With a grunt of pain, I got up and moved quickly to the side, so that Dar could jump. I couldn't watch. I didn't want to see if he didn't make it.

There was a loud thump and a groan and then Dar was beside me, pulling me to him. We were safe.

Hooray.

The hovercraft pulled up and flew away.