Page 9 of Captured By The Alien (Starbound #2)

He stared in shock.

“ Kalehsha ?”

“Don’t call me that,” she said, her voice shaking with rage. “And don’t touch me again.”

She slid off his knee and he made no attempt to stop her.

“Vannla’s Sword, you’re being unreasonable. I have apologized for my deception.”

“It doesn’t change what you did. You strung me along for months.”

“I’m sorry that I lied to you. I will regret it to the end of my days. But I don’t know what else to say. Shall I perform farnor? Is that what it will take to earn your forgiveness?”

“You still don’t get it, do you?”

“Explain so that I may understand.”

She looked him in the eye.

“It’s not that you lied about who you were. It’s that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me.” Her voice shook. “All that time we spent together. Everything we shared. Saving each other’s lives, falling in love. And yet you couldn’t tell me the most fundamental thing about yourself. You didn’t have faith in me. In us .”

Vahn heard her utter desolation and knew he could never undo the hurt.

“If I could change what I did, I would,” he said quietly.

Kara was jolted by the sadness in his voice. Her anger faded, leaving her bone-weary. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to untangle both it and her emotions.

The silence stretched, every second that passed widening the gulf between them.

“What’s done is done,” she said at last. “Let’s concentrate on the job in hand.”

“You are absolutely sure you want to take part in shaa’baara? ”

“I said so, didn’t I? Tell me how it works.”

Vahn struggled to gather his thoughts.

“There will be three rounds of challenges, each of which will eliminate a proportion of the competitors. The nature of the rounds is yet to be decided, but at the end there will be three Potentials left. I will then choose which of those will be my mate.”

“So I don’t actually have to beat all twelve opponents, as long as I end up in the final three.”

“Yes, that is the crux of it. You must be one of the finalists, Kara. I will do my best to ensure you are.”

“What’s the final choice based on?”

“It’s irrelevant. Obviously I will choose you.”

“Yes, but I mean how would you make a choice if I wasn’t in the picture?”

He didn’t answer and when she looked at him she saw his scales had darkened. Her eyes narrowed.

“Vahn? How do you make the final choice?”

“In shaa’baara the male would… that is to say, he would… um… he would thoroughly vet the remaining Potentials to see which one he was most… er… compatible with.”

Kara blinked.

“Sorry, you what now? You vet them? Do you mean you sleep with them to see who scores highest in bed?”

Vahn shifted uncomfortably.

“It is how it is done. It is tradition.”

“Bloody hell. And you call yourselves more advanced than humans.” She snorted. “That is the most archaic thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

“I agree with you.”

“Then change it. You’re the Emperor. Make it illegal.”

“It’s hard to change something that has existed for centuries.”

“Bollocks. We used to burn witches on my world. We managed to stop doing that.”

“Hardly a fair comparison,” he pointed out. “We don’t incinerate our Potentials.”

Kara scowled.

“When I’m Zhaalini there are going to be some changes around here. And I’ll tell you something else. There isn’t going to be any ‘vetting’ of any kind on my watch. The whole thing is fucking demeaning. What? Why are you smiling? Are you laughing at me?”

Vahn hurriedly rearranged his face.

“No, not at all . I just like hearing you say you’ll be the Zhaalini.”

“Well, that’s the whole point of all this, isn’t it?” She folded her arms. “So what happens now?”

“Now I finalize the plan with my advisors and prepare a diplomatic message for Earth announcing our unilateral ceasefire and inviting them to peace talks. Your President – your mother – will receive it via sub-space channels.”

“You said your father once offered a peace deal and she ignored him. I still don’t know whether to believe you, but if it’s true, what’s to stop her ignoring you as well?”

“Because I won’t make the same mistake as my father. My offer won’t go to your mother alone. I intend to broadcast it on all your communications channels so that everyone on Earth knows our intentions.”

“That’s… actually, that’s really clever. She’ll be under huge public pressure to say yes.” Kara raised a brow. “Sneaky.”

He bowed his head.

“I learned from the best.”

It was easier to talk to him like this, she realized. About plans and logistics rather than emotions.

“I’ll need to speak to my mother as well. She’ll want proof I’m alive.”

“Of course. Once I have sent the diplomatic message, Ela will arrange for you to make contact.”

“Ela? She hates me.”

His lips twitched.

“Perhaps. But I assure you, she can be trusted.”

“And Rhyn and Baelon? Are they trustworthy too?”

Vahn hesitated.

“That is for me to worry about, not you.”

“Fine. I’ll leave the politics to you. So what do we do next?”

“For you, nothing. You need to rest. Bathe, eat, sleep.” He looked her up and down. “And possibly get some new clothes.”

“Yeah, Vraxian tailoring doesn’t exactly work for humans.”

“I’m sure we can find something.”

“Will I… will I be staying with you?”

His mouth quirked at the corner.

“Would that be so bad?”

“I only want to know where I’ll be.”

“Once shaa’baara starts, you’ll be housed in the Potentials’ quarters.”

“And until then?”

He looked away, suddenly uncomfortable.

“For now you’ll be kept in a prison cell here in the Imperial Palace.”

Kara couldn’t believe her ears.

“You’re locking me up again? You have got to be fucking kidding me!”

“Oh good. The temper’s back.”

“Fuck you, snake-boy. I’ve only just got out of the last shitty cell you threw me in. If you think I’m agreeing to one more minute behind bars…”

“Kara, there are things that have to be done. Arrangements to be made. I have to announce the peace plan to my people. I have to inform the nobles that a human will be taking part in shaa’baara. ”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about your schedule.”

“And I have to bury my father.”

She pulled up short. The sadness that flitted across Vahn’s face punctured her anger like a balloon.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“The funeral is tomorrow. Then the coronation. After that we can put our plan into motion. I will make a planet-wide announcement about my intention to broker a peace deal with Earth. But until then, my priority is to keep you safe.”

She smiled tightly.

“I guess you can’t have a human running loose on Vraxos.”

“Not until everyone knows who you are and why you’re here. Please try to understand, kalehsha. ”

She did understand. Prison was the most secure place for a human to be, at least until everyone was on board with the plan. Didn’t mean she was happy about it.

“I’ve told you before,” she said shortly. “Don’t call me that.”

Vahn surveyed her blazing eyes and sighed.

“Two nights maximum. You have my word. Then you will join the other Potentials for shaa’baara. The accommodation will be much more comfortable, I promise.”

She shrugged.

“Whatever.”

He gave up. Reaching for his belt, he touched a finger to a slim comms device she hadn’t noticed before. Immediately the door opened and Ela walked in.

“Escort Kara to the holding cells on level two,” he instructed. “Make sure she’s treated with respect, general.”

“Of course.” Ela cast Kara a look which suggested she wanted to do anything but. She raised the restraints she still carried and Vahn shook his head.

“No need for those. The human is co-operating.”

“It is protocol. And besides, you wouldn’t want anyone to think you were treating her favorably, would you?”

Vahn looked at Kara apologetically and she gritted her teeth. It just kept getting better and better.

“Do it,” she said tersely. She held out her arms.

The general attached the restraints with a gusto that made Kara want to smack her in the teeth. The bitch is enjoying this.

“Kara?” Vahn’s voice was soft. “When you speak to your mother, make sure you tell her…”

“Yes, I know. Tell her I was rescued by the Vraxians and everyone here is lovely and sweet and deep down you all just want to be friends.”

“I was going to say, prepare the ground for news of our union. Speak well of me.”

“Sure. I can do that.” She followed Ela to the door. “I’m good at lying too.”