Page 29 of Scars & Starlight (Of Blood and Conquest #1)
KAIREN
T ara’s round, brown eyes are filled with wonder as she gazes at the planet the humans call Jupiter.
It’s the closest one to where this planetary system’s QEA particle is currently positioned, and I did promise her detours so she could see more of the universe.
This is only the beginning of the experiences I have to give her.
We spent the last rotation making love or playing Drazhani cubes and Nerai rings, sometimes simply looking at the blackness of space and Tara’s galaxy bisecting it, talking about our pasts and our future together.
I often rested my hand on her flat stomach, waiting for my nanites to tell me that conception had been achieved, though I know that will take more rotations than have passed since she became fertile.
We will be on the other side of the universe when that occurs.
“You know,” Tara hums from where her face is pressed against the viewing pane.
“Humans used to be obsessed with finding alien life. We looked for it everywhere we could. And we used to think we might find it in the oceans of one of this planet’s moons.
” She rolls her head so her forehead stays against the pane, but her eyes shift to me.
“Bet if we’d known the Ghorvek were out there to be found, we’d have been burning the scientists looking for alien life on a stake like we did in the Middle Ages. ”
I frown at her. “You were burning the people bringing progress and new discoveries? No wonder you haven’t employed antimatter propulsion yet.”
She snorts and looks back outside. “We did many horrendous things in the name of religion. Do Avaren not worship any gods?”
Even though she can’t see me, I shake my head.
“Primitive Avaren worshipped our sun, Vireon, and our moons, especially the largest one, Seris. They brought light and warmth to the planet, and we eventually learned to harvest both.” I check our course and bring us back on the right path.
“We still invoke them in curses and exclamations, though we now know there is nothing mystical about them.”
“I bet humans were demystified about a lot of things these last four years,” she mutters, slowly pulling away from the pane as we shift away from the gas giant’s orbit.
She approaches me and sits on my lap, her arms entwining behind my neck.
“How long until we poof out of here and poof back into existence somewhere else?”
The corner of my lips twitch at her description of QEA travel, though I hear the worry underneath the words, too. “Just a couple of marks, my love.”
She looks down at her belly. “And our… sprout will be okay?”
I hide my face in her neck and choke down my tears. The baby isn’t even there yet, and she already loves it and worries for it. I nuzzle against her, taking deep breaths of her warm scent. I wonder if she’ll smell any different once she’s pregnant.
Finally, my throat relaxes enough to speak. “Our little podling will be just fine. Everything will transcribe with exact fidelity.”
“Good, good,” she says with barely hidden relief. Then she tenses again. “Think we’ll run into any Ghorvek at the particle thing? You all use it to travel, right?”
“We passed a few Ghorvek destroyers already, but at such distances, the Talon would have been indistinguishable from space debris,” I explain.
“How come they haven’t tried to shoot the Sovereign down?” she asks next. “They can’t miss it.”
I grin into her neck before pulling back so I can look at her. “They tried. Don’t worry about the Sovereign. It will take more than a few paltry destroyers to break its shields.”
She smirks. “If you say so, Commander.”
“I say so,” I agree, then take her mouth with mine, unable to resist any longer when her soft lips are this close.
I kiss her long and thoroughly, enjoying every hitch of breath, every shiver against me.
I don’t think I could ever get bored of kissing my beautiful match.
When the Talon beeps, warning about another Ghorvek patrol in the distance, I’m forced to pull back so I can adjust our bearing once more.
“Hey, Kairen?”
My lips stretch into a grin, already anticipating whatever hilarity will come out of her mouth next. “Yes, Tara?”
“You taught me a bunch of games to play, but do Avaren not do TV?”
TV?
TELEVISION: A PRIMITIVE FLAT-SCREEN DEVICE USED BY HUMANS TO OBSERVE PRE-RECORDED OR LIVE VISUAL MATERIAL FOR ENTERTAINMENT, EDUCATION, OR IDLE TIME CONSUMPTION.
“You mean visual media for entertainment, Princess?”
She nods a few times, her head bobbing. “Yeah. I wanted to know what kind of movies you like to watch. And what kind of music you like to listen to.”
“I haven’t had much time for watching things these last few cycles. But we can look up some of my old favorites while we make our approach.” I pull up the entertainment dashboard. “As for music,” I murmur, scrolling through the lists. “I prefer instrumental to vocal. How about you? ”
“I listened to very loud things that you’d probably loathe.”
My eyes shift to her when she giggles, and I smirk. “We’ll have to see if we can retrieve any when this war is over.”
“Oh no,” she says teasingly.
Finally, I find an illustrated show that was very popular a few cycles ago. The posters in her room reminded me of it, and I think she’ll appreciate it.
“This is called Velu'Shara, after the smaller sister moons orbiting Avaris: Shaela and Aelura. It follows the myth of their creation.”
The projection takes over the viewing pane and – unlike the images my nanites showed me of the human TV – offers depth, scents, and certain tactile experiences too.
“Mind if I use the synth module to make some popcorn?” my match asks hopefully.
I throw her a sideways glance. “Will this napalm substance be involved?”
She chokes. “What? Why would… You know what, never mind, I don’t want to know.”
A few moments later, she comes back with the expanded seeds. My nanites tell me they are high in salt and saturated fats, but when my Princess attempts to feed me a few pieces with her fingers, I dutifully open my mouth. I chew and give her a strained smile. Disgusting .
Over the next mark, my match eats more popcorn than should be able to fit inside her diminutive form, her eyes wide open as she takes in the Avaren show.
The first time a fresh-smelling wind blows through the cockpit, she nearly jumps out of her seat, making me laugh uncontrollably.
When we reach the QEA particle, I decide not to ruin her relaxation.
Just as I predicted, she’s too busy munching and laughing at the projection to notice the barely-there sensation of the Talon and everything in it being transcribed to my home galaxy, Sha’rekai.
It’s not until we’re near enough to see the planet Tavrix that I interrupt her viewing .
“Princess? We’re in my galaxy, and there’s a planet you can look at.”
Tara blinks at me a couple of times, her mouth half open. “You sneaky little… Did you give me something to watch to distract me from the poofing?”
I give her a droll look. “You’re the one who brought up entertainment media, my love. I just took advantage of it to make you more comfortable.”
She rolls her eyes and waves her hand. “I’m not really mad about it. I’m just complaining because I feel I should.”
“Who am I to disallow your rights to complain?” I tease with a smirk, then pull down the projection to free the viewing pane.
“Oooh, it’s gnarly,” Tara gasps when she spots Tavrix. The red planet is full of craters, a few of them not from celestial objects.
“We test new weapons here since the planet is incompatible with life,” I comment.
She gives me a wide-eyed look. “Do you have any weapons that could destroy a planet?”
I bob my hand in a so-so motion. “Theoretically, we could build one, but we would never use it,” I begin. “Destroying a planet would have ramifications that echo across the universe, and I don’t see any scenario where it would be warranted.”
Tara purses her lips. “So, not even if there was a planet full of Ghorvek, all conveniently in one place?”
I shake my head at the scenario. “A planet full of Ghorvek would still have animal and plant life that’s endemic to it. The species we would send into extinction would be countless.”
“I guess I didn’t think about that,” she murmurs.
“You never had reason to.” I tug on a strand of golden-brown hair. I wonder what color our children’s hair will be.
We watch Tavrix getting smaller in silence for long moments, when I hear Tara’s breathing pick up speed, becoming choppier. “Princess? What’s wrong?”
She attempts to wave me off nonchalantly, but she misses the mark. “I just realized how far away from home I am right now. How do you do it? Don’t you miss your home when you’re on the other side of the universe?”
I don’t answer right away. Instead, I approach her and pick her up into my arms, before sitting down again.
“In the past, home was always only a few rotations away,” I begin. “A constant I could rely on being there when my work is done… at least for a moment.” I put my hand on the center of her chest and count the slowing beats of her singular heart.
“You said in the past?” she whispers. “What about now?”
My lips stretch into a wide smile that nothing can contain. “Now, my home is here.” I pat her chest, over her heart. “Now, my home is you.”