Riding in one of the speedy Pentaban boats was much different than clumsily maneuvering one myself. Khrel was much more practiced and only needed to tug the cord several times during our trip, either because his strength exponentially out-measured mine or because he was simply very familiar with the mechanics of it, and it was a smooth, exhilarating, and somewhat relaxing experience. Only when the cord was pulled was there the slightest turbulence, and, even then, it was minimal as he knew the perfect moment to do so without disrupting our momentum.

We flew through the water along the coastline, never so far out to sea that we could no longer see land but not nearly close enough to see other boats or civilians. Though we were relatively out of sight, I still felt nervousness about our venture.

“Aren’t you going to get into trouble for taking me out of the house?” I asked anxiously.

Khrel shrugged noncommittally. “I was told to keep you in my sight. You are in my sight, unharmed and protected. Deeming you house-bound was my own doing, not that of the Council.”

“Thanks for that,” I retorted dryly.

He raised a brow. “It is not as if it was a tactic that worked anyhow,” he shot back, the left corner of his lips twitching with hidden amusement.

“I don’t think I’m one for containment.”

“Neither am I.” His body was stretched across the boat’s wooden bottom, his legs extended fully before him and his back pressing into the cornered end. In the white afternoon sunlight, he looked like someone had sprinkled him in glitter even though the shimmer in his skin was usually no more than a hint. I was reminded of sparkly vampires and rolled my eyes, and he crossed his arms over his buff chest. “Is something bothering you?”

“You’re like someone threw Avatar and Twilight into a blender,” I remarked with another eye roll.

Khrel squinted at me through the glaring sun and said, “There is very little about that sentence I understand.”

“Never mind,” I said, waving a dismissive hand. He grinned, and then tilted his head back to rest against the lip that encircled the boat’s edge. It was the most relaxed I had seen him; if it wasn’t for his teal skin and strange white eyes and long locks of silvery hair, he almost could have passed for a carefree guy from Louisiana on a summer’s day.

I was sprawled across the two seats under which Khrel’s legs were resting, lying on my belly with my own legs splayed out behind me and my arms crossed beneath my chin. Our faces were only a foot or two apart, and, when the thick aroma of salty ocean water wasn’t wafting across my nostrils, I caught whiffs of his intoxicating scent. If I hadn’t been imprisoned in his house for two weeks and then captured by rogue Novai last night, and if we weren’t speeding along the coastline right now to try and absolve Khrel of his transgressions, it would have felt like a very romantic date. My life had become very strange.

He yanked the cord again, causing a very slight jerk through the boat, and a gust of wind caught my hair. I tried to calm the fray by running my fingers through it as a makeshift comb, but I accidentally brushed the large lump on the back of my head and cringed. Khrel’s face stiffened.

“How is your head?” he asked with genuine concern. “I should have taken you to the infirmary before returning home.”

“No, it’s just a bump,” I scoffed. As I tenderly massaged it to assess the pain level, however, I winced again. “We’re lucky I woke up this morning, though. I probably had, or have a concussion.”

His lips thinned, and he narrowed his eyes at me. “I will see to your treatment the moment we return.”

“That’s not necessary. If nothing’s happened by now, nothing’s going to happen.”

“Lena.” His eyes narrowed further until they were little more than dangerous slits, and I recoiled a bit. “I did not chase you in the middle of the night and negotiate your release from a cage only for you to fall ill with injury. You will go to the infirmary.”

“Yes, Sir,” I said with a sarcastic salute.

He stared at me critically for a moment, and then leaned forward to kiss the tip of my nose. “Such a large attitude for such a small human.”

I tossed my head cockily. “Actually, I’m the average height for a female,” I joked. “A female human, anyway. Female A’li-uud are basically Amazons.”

“You are speaking in tongues again,” he murmured. His lower lip grazed my upper, and he teased my mouth open. I felt his teeth close around my tongue suggestively, and desire tumbled in my belly as he suckled. When he released me from his sensual hold, I had to restrain myself from lunging at him and begging him to take me right there on the boat. I hadn’t been with a man in so long, months before I even arrived on Albaterra, and it hadn’t seemed like a problem until now. When he’d kissed me last night, Khrel had unknowingly roused my inner nymphomaniac from hibernation. I felt like I was constantly craving him.

“Let’s never go back,” I mused, running my fingertips over his sculpted abdomen. “To the Capital. To Pentaba. Let’s just live on this boat forever where no problems exist.”

“Problems always exist, beautiful one. It is only a matter of when they are found.”

“Now is not the time for logic,” I chided with a shake of my index finger as rebuke. “Now is the time for dreams and fantasies and wishes and hopes.”

He chuckled, a low and rolling sound that sent bumps of pleasure up and down my arms. “Dream and fantasize and wish and hope quickly, then. We are nearing Finiba.”

I twisted until I sat upright as my heart sank and my stomach buckled. Though Khrel had reassured me that Vi’den was kind and wise and very good-natured, my only experience with an Elder had been Sevani, and he was rather intimidating. I was also concerned that, no matter how kind Vi’den was, his attitude would change upon learning of all Khrel’s infractions. I couldn’t help but fear that this Elder would react the same as Sevani, without sympathy or understanding, and Khrel would be doomed to rot in A’li-uud prison. When I’d arrived in Pentaba, the new colonists were all briefed with a day-long orientation and an A’li-uud ambassador of sorts to help answer questions and guide the way until we learned the ropes. One of the things we’d been taught fairly early was Albaterran law. Much like Earth and its many countries, murder was considered the most grievous act an A’li-uud, and now a human could commit on the planet. Other acts of violence were next on the list. Khrel had violated those statutes more than once, and I couldn’t help but feel his outlook was bleak.

He, on the other hand, seemed almost jaunty about the trip to Finiba and the meeting with Vi’den. Obviously he knew better than I did what Vi’den was like and what the potential outcome of the meeting was, but I was still astounded that he appeared to have left his worry back in the Capital. For someone facing the possible charges that he was, I would have expected him to be tense and edgy.

“Hold on,” Khrel said. He straightened up and pulled his legs toward him until he was practically squatting, and he jerked his head at the seat beneath my arms. “It is best you sit. I am going to bring us to shore, and we may need to exit the boat quickly.”

“Why?” I asked, scrambling up onto my butt and sitting with my fingers clamped around the seat beneath me.

He became serious as he said, “They do not know we are coming. The Finiban warriors may try to kill us.”