CHAPTER 13
Korban carried his little sweet to his shuttle and tended to her during the short voyage to his ship. He had to admit that his female didn’t seem to be any worse for the wear. It rankled him that she paid such attention to a clone. Then again, once he spent some time with them, he realized something about them.
“What are you thinking so hard about, My Prince?”
Looking down into Selene’s adorably human face, he responded honestly. “I was thinking of the clones. Their thought processes, much like my own, are flawed when it comes to leading our people into the future.”
“We’re all just people, even the clones.”
“I can see what was once obscured by my own arrogance.”
“I happen to like that you own up to your mistakes. It gives me hope that you’ll own up to the ones you made with me some day.”
“Shar Jalon told you, did he not?”
“That you paid Koal for me and turned him into the Galactic Council as well? I wasn’t too thrilled about that, to tell the truth.”
“Then you’ll be even less thrilled to know that I have not once regretted that decision.”
Sitting up, she backed away slightly. “Maybe you’ll learn your lesson with the next woman you manipulate the entire verse to get your hands on.”
“Do not play games with me, my sweet. I know in my heart that you are mine. I knew it the first time I ever saw you. Would you force an apology out of me, when I am anything but remorseful?”
Fire flashed in her eyes. “Hell, yea. I would have you lie to me. Why not? You lie to me all the damn time anyway. Why not tell a little white lie to make me feel better about the situation?”
Korban was taken aback. This reunion was not going at all the way he had imagined it would. He had dreamed of her flying into his arms, swearing her undying love for him, and giving him the best sex to be had in all the verse. Instead, she was angry and shouting at him about his devious ways. The same ways that had gotten him exiled from his home world. Holding up two hands, he backtracked on his previous words.
“I can now see that perhaps I should explain my thinking around the decisions I made regarding your abduction from Earth.”
Looking at him earnestly, she replied politely as she smoothed down her gown. “That would lead me to believe I’m more than just an object to you.”
“You are everything that I hold dear. When you were taken to the Candorian vessel to complete your contract for the mining business they hoped to set up there, Earth’s ozone layer collapsed. The devastation was rapid and shocking for the Candorians. They lost their own planet when their sun went supernova, so they are extremely cautious about extinction-level events. As you know, they felt ethical qualms about returning you to your dying world. Instead, they scoured the galaxy for planets with ongoing mining operations. Mine was at the top of the list.”
“I know all that from speaking with Ambassador Kredor.”
“What you may not know is that I accepted responsibility for the miners out of compassion for their situation. I never knew one was female. Maybe Kredor said, but I don’t remember. I just know that during a routine check in with the Candorian freighter, I saw you. You sat alone in a room. You looked so lost and sad. It tore at my heart. I inquired about your needs and told myself that I had done my duty by ensuring all your needs met. The only problem was, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. No matter where I went in the verse or whose company I kept, you were never far from my thoughts. I found myself checking in on you several times a week, then every day, and towards the end, several times a day.”
Selene’s expression softened and she slid a little closer. “That’s kind of sweet.”
“I was thrilled when they adapted the multi-language bacteria for you. I had my scientist meet the Candorian vessel so you could be inoculated right away. Only instead of being happy or grateful, you ran from me. It was demoralizing. I worried about all the things that could befall an innocent female on Lortex Station. I could not eat, for thinking you were going hungry. I could not sleep for fretting over where you were forced to lay your head. It felt like we were inextricably linked. Only how could that be, if you chose to abandon me?”
Selene’s hand came out to his chest. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you back then. Nothing in my life was as it had been. I was scared and so far from home.”
Grasping her hand, he brought it to his lips. “I know. That’s why I sent my military to look for you. I could bear being rejected by you, but I could not bear thinking of someone harming you.”
Suddenly, she was curled up on his chest again. “Why did you cut your lovely hair off and leave it for me? It terrified me, for I didn’t understand the message you were trying to send in doing that. I thought perhaps because I had always loved your hair so, you severed it to rid yourself of me. Then I saw how tenderly you treated me before leaving my side during the battle and could not bring myself to believe you did not care for me.”
Looking up at him, she smiled. “On ancient Earth, cutting your hair was a sign of mourning. I wanted you to know how much it pained me to be separated from you. Also, men on my world used to cut a small lock of their loved one’s hair as a keepsake when they were to be separated for long periods of time.”
Reaching his hand into his uniform, he pulled out the loop of fiery red hair, still neatly braided. “Many nights, I wrapped it tightly around my hand, as I whispered my prayers to the gods. My words to them were always the same. I wished only for your safe return.”
“It just feels wrong that all the people of my world are destined to pass into nothingness, while I am gifted with life. Surely, I’m no more deserving than the males of my world to live. Because I have a womb, I am valuable.”
“You grieve for the males of your world, though few of them have been kind to you?”
“Remember how we talked about us all just being people and people make mistakes? Well, it falls into that category.”
“What would you give to see the human race survive for all times?”
“What do you mean?”
“Would you give the lifetime of luxury I offer you in return for the continuation of the human race? I honestly want to know.”
“Of course. I wasn’t drawn to you for the wealth you possess, or for your fancy titles. I’d be happy to just be a regular person, as long as we are together.”
“Beware what you wish for, my little sweet. You could find yourself living your life at my side, enjoying the life of a pauper or even a space pirate.”
Selene’s giggles hit him square in the chest. Korban had to admit that he would cheerfully spend his days doing whatever fate demanded of him, if he could come home to her smiling face every night. Wrapping her close to his chest, he allowed the love to flow freely between them once more.