Page 35

VOLAN

I step into the sunlight, relishing the warmth on my skin. For too long my people hid beneath the surface, claiming the light brought only danger. Now as I emerge from the tunnel entrance, pristine white snow blankets the world around us, transforming the landscape into something pure and untouched. The last time I emerged from my underground kingdom, I was searching for a way to prove myself worthy of leading my people. Now I step forward with the crown of a king, but more importantly, surrounded by companions I’m proud to call friends. Companions that I never truly expected to have, but find myself treasuring all the same.

My luminae pulse with satisfaction. I’ve always known we were meant for more than cowering in shadows. The light doesn’t blind me - it illuminates possibilities.

Behind us, Tanis emerges from the tunnel entrance. My friend—and yes, I can finally admit that’s what he’s always been—surveys the snowy landscape with careful attention to detail. Even now, he’s analyzing potential threats, mapping escape routes. Old habits die hard.

“Most of the council has pledged their support,” Tanis reports, ever focused on duty. His luminae pulse steadily, a familiar rhythm that speaks of his contentment. “Even those who initially opposed change are beginning to consider the benefits of coming up to the surface.”

I nod, pride filling me.

“And my father?” I ask, the words catching in my throat.

“Confined to his chambers and under watch as per your orders,” Tanis’s expression darkens. “He asked about you this morning. I’m hesitant to say it, but I believe he truly thought he was doing the right thing.”

“Fear can break even the strongest warrior,” I reply. The words taste bitter, but I refuse to let uncertainty rule me as it did him. He isolated himself from everyone, paranoid to lose any and all control. I’m going to embrace those around me, taking their opinions and advice to heart. “At least now he has a chance to heal.”

I turn to face Tanis fully. “I never properly thanked you,” I tell him. My luminae dim with regret. “Not just for supporting my claim to the throne, but for all these cycles of being more than just a guard.”

“I merely did my duty,” Tanis replies, his own markings flickering with embarrassment.

“No,” I correct him firmly. “I was so focused on proving myself to my father that I didn’t see what was right in front of me - someone who already believed in me. Who stayed by my side not out of duty, but friendship.” I meet his gaze directly. “I’m sorry it took me so long to recognize that.”

Tanis shifts uncomfortably, unused to such openness between us. But his luminae pulse with pleasure he can’t quite hide. He’s never been particularly adept at hiding his emotions.

“Well,” he says gruffly, “someone had to keep you from getting yourself killed all those times you snuck out.”

“Speaking of near-death experiences,” Maya interjects with a pointed look, “What exactly are you planning to do about the fight pits? You know I’m not all that comfortable about sacrificing animals.”

“I brought up this issue with the council and several prominent guests last night,” Volan replies. “I proposed that we convert several areas into training grounds where warriors can test their skills without the risk of death. The harkcana that were present seem particularly enthusiastic about the new arrangement.”

“Of course they are,” Melvall mutters as he steps from the shadows and joins us. “Bunch of battle-hungry brutes.”

“By the Gods, it’s freezing!” Maya hisses as a gust of wind sends soft snow brushing against us. She wraps my thick cloak tighter around herself and steps closer to huddle. I can’t help but wrap an arm around her, drawing her against my side. She fits perfectly there, as if the universe designed us to complement each other. The gods knew that we were two lonely souls, and could be completed by each other.

If it was just us, I’d suggest a variety of ways to keep her warm… it’ll have to wait until I return home with her. As a king, I get what I want, and I want Maya. I intend to take her home, even if she’s screaming. Ideally, she will be screaming, and breathless, and panting, and moaning…

“It did get cold rather fast, didn’t it?” Melvall comments, looking completely unbothered by the cold. The blue male actually seems more comfortable out here than he did in the warmth of the underground tunnels.

“I can hunt you some pelts!” Zoran offers enthusiastically. “I’m excellent at hunting. Just ask Melvall - I’ve brought him dozens!”

“Please don’t encourage him,” Melvall groans. “I already have more pelts than I could possibly use. My entire dwelling is practically buried in them.”

“You know who else gets cold easily?” Zoran says with a sly grin. “Human females. Like Eve and Ariana. I’ve seen how you watch them from afar, all envious-like...”

“I am not envious!” Melvall’s fins flare. “And I certainly don’t need your help providing for a potential mate.”

“After all,” Zoran continues as if Melvall hadn’t spoken, “what male doesn’t want a mate to provide for? To keep warm with all those lovely pelts...”

“I am perfectly capable of providing for myself and any future mate!” Melvall snaps. “I’m a respected trader, not some novice hunter bringing random pelts to every female he sees.”

“And yet you keep accepting them,” Zoran points out with a grin.

“Because you won’t stop bringing them! What am I supposed to do, turn away perfectly good pelts?”

“You love them,” Zoran’s grin grows impossibly wider. “Just like you love me. Just admit it; we’re basically brothers.”

“I hate you,” Melvall declares, but there’s no real heat in his voice.

“He likes the pelts a lot, he just won’t admit it,” Zoran whispers overly loud to us, knowing full well Melvall can hear. In response, Melvall’s eye twitches. It’s amazing the two haven’t killed each other. Yet.

“The path to the human settlement should be clear,” Tanis reports, professional as always. He seems to ignore the duo as they continue bantering about the valuable purpose of pelts, but then his lips twitch and he raises his voice, “Though I must admit, the weather provides excellent cover for our approach.”

“See?” Zoran exclaims. “The snow is perfect! Just like I said it would be. You know what else would be perfect right now?”

“Don’t,” Melvall warns.

“A nice warm pelt!” Zoran finishes triumphantly. “You know, like the ones I so thoughtfully provided?—”

A snowball catches him directly in the face, cutting off his gloating. We all turn to stare at Melvall, who’s already packing another projectile.

“I changed my mind,” the blue male declares. “I don’t hate you. I despise you.”

Zoran wipes snow from his face, his expression shifting from shocked to delighted. “Oh, it is ON!”

“They’re like younglings,” Tanis remarks, though there’s fondness in his voice. A curiosity. For someone who’s lived the last few cycles spending day and night guarding me, never having the opportunity to get close to another, he’s no doubt interested in Melvall and Zoran’s friendly banter.

“Good,” I reply firmly. “Our people have forgotten how to simply enjoy life. Everything became about survival, about maintaining power through fear.” I watch as Zoran attempts to stuff snow down the back of Melvall’s clothes. “This is what I’ve always wanted for them - the freedom to choose their own path.”

I should probably stop them. As king, I should maintain some sense of dignity and decorum. But watching Zoran and Melvall chase each other through the snow, pelting each other with increasingly large snowballs while hurling increasingly creative insults, I can’t bring myself to end their fun.

This is what I wanted for my people all along—the freedom to simply exist without fear. The ability to play in the light rather than hide in darkness. The right to choose their own path rather than follow ancient traditions born of pain and fear.

“Even if that path involves throwing snow at each other like younglings, acting like complete fools?” she asks, watching as Melvall successfully tackles Zoran into a snowbank.

“Especially then.”

Maya’s expression turns thoughtful as she watches the chaos unfold. I recognize that look - she’s working through something in that brilliant mind of hers.

“What are you thinking?” I ask softly.

“About the medicine,” she replies. “My friend Stacey has been studying medical biology, both human and alien. She’s clever, maybe even more than me when it comes to understanding how things work. She might be able to help us understand the nanobots better, make it safer to use. You know, not creating super-soldiers in the process.”

I consider her words carefully. “You’d trust your people with such power?”

“I trust that if we work together, we can find a better way. I believe that most people just want to help others and to live in peace.” She glances at Melvall, who’s now perched atop a snow drift, raining frozen projectiles down on a sputtering Zoran and Tanis. “Look at Melvall - he’s already proving that trade works better than force. Did you know that he’s been trading with all manner of tribes on the surface? They are thriving because of him. Melvall could have exploited them all, but instead he’s helped them by giving the medicine to help those who need it most. It doesn’t have to be a weapon.”

“Is that what you want? To study it? I could… if you want, I could order the machines destroyed entirely.” I don’t voice that it’ll likely be the end of everyone on the planet - there’s too many dangers and threats for any of us to survive without the aid of the medicine and its uncanny strength.

“I recognize we need it, so I want to understand it,” she says firmly. “It can be a tool, not a weapon.” She turns those fierce eyes on me. “What do you want?”

“Peace,” I tell her honestly. “A future where we don’t hide in darkness or force others to fight for basic needs. I never agreed with my father’s methods, but until you, I never saw another path.”

Maya’s expression softens as she gazes up at me.

“You’re going to be a good king,” she tells me. In the last few hours, I’ve had plenty of people tell me so, but from Maya it’s entirely different. Her words penetrate deep, enough that my knees feel weak and my breath hitches. She doesn’t tell me this simply because she wants to manipulate me; I trust that she tells me what she truly believes.

I pull her closer, pressing my forehead to hers as emotions burn the back of my eyelids. My luminae pulse with the depth of my feelings for this remarkable female. “And you’ll be an amazing queen. You taught me that sometimes the best way to protect people is to let them fight their own battles.”

“I haven’t agreed to be queen yet,” she reminds me, but there’s no real protest in her voice.

“Yet,” I agree, smiling down at her. She’s so small compared to me, yet she contains more strength than anyone I’ve ever known.

A particularly loud whoop draws our attention back to the ongoing snow battle. Somehow Tanis has been drawn into the fray, his usual stoic demeanor cracking as he precisely calculates trajectories for maximum snowball impact. The sight fills me with joy—my most serious guard, finally letting himself simply enjoy life.

“Your father would have a fit if he saw this,” Maya comments, watching Tanis dust snow from his armor with dignity despite his disheveled appearance.

“Good,” I reply firmly. “Change isn’t always comfortable. But it’s necessary.” I gesture at the winter landscape around us. “Look at this world, Maya. It’s beautiful and dangerous and absolutely worth exploring. We can’t hide from it forever. My people were born to protect, it’s time we took back that title for ourselves.”

“We can face it together,” Maya says as her small hand slips into mine. Her fingers are cold, and I immediately wrap mine around hers to warm them. It’s not because both of us are nervous, still learning to be vulnerable with each other.

“We should probably stop them,” Maya says, though she makes no move to do so. “We do have a colony to save, after all.”

“In a moment,” I tell her, drinking in the scene before us. The pristine snow, the laughter of friends, the way the light catches in Maya’s dark curls. “Let them have this moment. They deserve it. We all do.”

She nods, understanding as always. Then a wicked grin crosses her face. “Or we could join in.”

Before I can respond, she’s scooping up snow and lobbing it at me with surprising accuracy. The cold impact against my chest startles a laugh from me.

“You dare challenge your king?” I demand in my most regal voice. It would probably have more impact if I could repress the smirk covering my face.

Maya’s only response is another snowball to my face, her laughter echoing in the air.

“Oh, I’m going to get you,” I declare, chasing after her. I’m a king, and I always get what I want in the end. Maya might not admit it aloud, but she’s already mine.