“Excellent. Marvelous! I have heard of this planet—in fact, my sister spoke almost incessantly of this place. I do believe she was rather fond of the place, if not obsessed with it.”
Para gulped, knowing from her visions and dreams that Suja was this man’s sister. But was that accurate information? They did not look anything alike.
“So does your family rule over your quadrant of the universe?” Zvarin asked.
“No,” Para responded. “We just maintain the peace and protect our home.”
“Peace. That’s an interesting concept. So do you defend your home from foreign attacks or try to quell civil unrest?”
“Neither, at the moment. We’re truly peaceful, but prepared for anything.
“Ah. So how long has it been since you have engaged in war?”
Para frowned and did not respond. Would the comet Suja launched be considered an act of war? She was distracted from her thoughts as Zvarin approached and stood very close to her. He hooked his thumbs in his belt and bent slightly forward from the waist. His face stopped inches away from hers.
“I see you are becoming frustrated. You do not enjoy speaking about politics? No one does. Let us turn the conversation to lighter subjects.”
Zvarin’s face was transformed by something that Para could only describe as a smile. A good-natured, friendly smile. She was stricken by the sudden realization that she found him quite handsome when he smiled.
“You are exceptionally beautiful,” he said. “This is a glorious gown.”
Para felt more chills of discomfort run through her body. She probably would have shuddered if her shoulders could move, for his voice was filled with ominous foreign tones she could not quite identify.
“My sister would have complimented the quality of this garment,” Zvarin mused as he reached out to rub his thumb over the crystals. “It is too bad that I executed her not long ago.”
Para’s eyes grew wide as she observed the empty expression on her adversary’s face. A rush of heat, like a sudden monsoon, swept through her stomach and left nausea in its path. Gritting her teeth together, Para willed her insides to stop revolting at this information. Her chest felt strangely constricted and she had a sudden difficulty catching her breath. “You killed Suja?” she whispered.
He smirked and nodded, savoring her reaction. The green mist of the force field swirled around her slowly, and she stared through the toxic haze at his heartless expression. This man had murdered his own sister—a woman of unfathomable power. Closing her eyes, Para tried to remember how to breathe.
For the first time, she was truly paralyzed in fear.
Chapter 23: Raging Violet Infernos
She was not quite sure why this information had affected her so acutely. Suja had been her enemy; an enemy who had tried to wipe out her planet just to prove a point. Someone who had either ripped her apart from the man she loved, facilitated their breakup, or watched and laughed. Suja was potentially behind her mother’s death—maybe even directly responsible for Bridget Burnson’s murder—and she enjoyed using her shapeshifting technique to rub this loss in Pax’s face.
So why would Para feel any remorse for Suja? For one thing, no one deserved to die at the hand of someone they cared for, especially a blood relative. Para could not imagine what it would feel like to have her own brother turn on her in this way. Although Suja had been a world-class bitch, she had exposed such sensitivity that Para could not help caring for her in some small degree. Suja had been a staunch proponent of the arts, championing creativity and passionately loving beauty, even in the worst of times—even when she had been in great pain.
“I have some gifts for you, Princess Para.”
She swallowed, unsettled by the strangeness of being addressed in this way. It sounded like mockery at first, or perhaps a threat, but then she realized that Zvarin was calling her by her “title” because some of his servants were in the room. He had sent them away to retrieve items for him in a language that Para did not understand. Now they returned, carrying ornate jewelry armoires.
While Para felt her mouth water at the thought of what exotic treasures might be inside of the drawers of such fine encasements, she would not allow her feminine curiosity to overpower her common sense. “Lord Zvarin, the only gift I wish is that you will free me from this force field. It is tremendously uncomfortable.” She inwardly congratulated herself at remembering to call him by his title in front of his servants. She needed to lull him into a sense of comfort and casual familiarity so that she could get what she wanted; and all she really wanted was to be able to touch her stomach.
“Alas, that is the one thing I cannot give you,” he answered. He spoke to his servants in the foreign language once more, and they clapped their wrists to their foreheads in salute before departing the room. Para squinted at the silly-looking salute as the emperor perused his armoires. He opened a few drawers before finding what he had been seeking. He lifted out a burgundy velvet box.
Para’s breath caught in her throat.
Zvarin approached her with the box, and when he was before her, he held the box open so that she could see what was inside. Her gaze fell upon not one, but two slender, simple rings. They were made, not from gold or silver or even platinum, but from a substance Para could easily identify—a substance that had recently been the bane of her existence. The rings were crafted from a translucent mineral which sparkled like diamond. She had never seen the material properly cut and polished before. The result was a stunning cross between opal, pearl, and crystal. There were no other adornments or designs on the rings, but there need not have been any. The exotic, otherworldly quality of the quartz was breathtaking in itself.
Para was surprised when Zvarin removed a ring from the box and reached forward to take her hand. He lifted her wrist (it still surprised her that he was able to control her body although she was not) and he carefully slid the ring onto her index finger.
“A perfect fit,” Zvarin remarked. He proceeded to remove the second ring from the velvet box and echoed his actions, placing it on the index finger of her other hand. He stepped back and examined the rings carefully.
Para remained frozen with her arms stretched out before her, and a new clear ring on each of her index fingers. She was extremely confused. She hoped that this wasn’t some strange ritual of marriage in this part of the universe. Zvarin reached out and took both of her hands gently. He rubbed his large thumbs over the backs of her hands. His touch sent shivers all the way up her arms.
“Do you know what these rings are?” he asked.
“No,” she answered softly and warily. Please don’t be wedding rings. Please don’t be wedding rings.
“They serve a purpose which—one which I believe you greatly need.”
Para frowned then, unable to conceal her confusion. “What do you mean?”
“The rings are made from fjuyen, the densest known substance in the universe. It is forged in the core of a white dwarf star. You know, I am used to receiving more gratitude for my generosity.”
His voice was laced with a peculiar tone. She didn’t quite understand the significance of his gift, although he seemed to think he had given her the holy grail. She stared down at the bands, thinking of the beautiful ring that Thornton had gotten custom made for her. How much more well suited that had been to her hand! How much more comfortable it had felt than this foreign, extremely foreign metal, from an extremely foreign man!
“Thank you for the rings, Lord Zvarin,” she said, looking up at him in confusion.
He regarded her fixedly. His large gloved hands drifted from her hands to just over her wrists. He encircled her wrists, seeming to feel how small the bones were. Para suddenly was seized by the notion that if he so decided he could probably close his fists and crush her wrists without much effort. She was strong, but his prana was so intense that merely standing this close to him was difficult. The aura emanating from him contained a bizarre heat and heaviness. Yes, it was as though this man had
a gravity all of his own. He was a small sun. He was a powerhouse.
She felt uncomfortably caught in the tow of his atmosphere.
It was terrifying, but a warm feeling in her stomach betrayed to her that it was exciting too. His hands drifted slowly up from her wrists along her forearms, settling just at her elbows. His hands were so large that they still could fully encircle her elbows. She felt heat spread throughout her body at his growing proximity, and the unusual combination of terror and excitement. In her frozen state, her deva senses began to work overtime. Mixing in with the jade mist, she was surrounded by the masculine scent of Zvarin—it was not a familiar scent which she understood, and her body seemed to have difficulty processing and reacting to what it meant. She could hear the slow and steady rate of his heartbeat. It was the slowest heartbeat she had ever heard! She could count over five full seconds between each massive thump.
Twelve heartbeats per minute? Was that possible? Was that possible for any creature? Any creature that wasn’t hibernating? She remembered that she was a demigoddess, and she allowed her sensibilities to strain themselves to learn more. Her telepathy began to stir back to life and zone in on his thoughts and feelings as his hands slid up from her elbows to her shoulders. She felt the sudden urge to break whatever spell she was under, and whatever connection was being established between them.
“You know, Lord Zvarin, you’re not the first man to have ever given me expensive jewelry in my lifetime.”
“I can imagine that may be true,” he answered. “However, I am rather confident that no man has ever fulfilled your innermost wish as much as I just have.”
“My innermost...?” Her brow wrinkled in confusion.
He took a step back suddenly, removing his hands from her arms. The abruptness of his movement and the sudden removal of the warmth and pressure just above her elbows startled her. She felt her diaphragm strain against the force field as she tried to take a large intake of breath to calm her nerves.
“You want me, Para,” he observed as though it were a simple fact. “You want me to keep touching you, don’t you?”
She glared at him warily, restraining herself from making any kind of response.
“Forgive me; I believe that was an inappropriate comment.” He smiled. That handsome smile again. “Para, what you do not know about me is that I am a practical man. The crystal rings I just slipped onto your fingers do not merely constitute an expensive gift.” Zvarin removed a glove from one of his hands, and then from the other to reveal that he was also wearing these clear fjuyen rings.
“What’s so special about them, then?” she asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.
“Those rings, my dear, will maintain your coalescence as long as you wear them.”
“What?” she whispered after a shallow little gasp. “I’ll stay fused together?”
“Yes. I assume this is desirable to you?”
She could only nod vigorously, trying to steady her quickening breaths. Oh my god. Sakra, this can’t be real. Hours upon hours in the laboratory! Experiment after experiment, and he just gives me the solution! It’s too good to be true. It can't be true. The news physically affected Para. Her body began to hum and tingle with pleasure, and her prana began to warm and rise without her even noticing it. Jiminy Cricket! This is my innermost wish! I can stay merged! I can stay united!
The inquisitive scientist within her began to overpower her giddy excitement about the new treasure. “But how does it work?”
“Ah,” he said, holding up a single finger, encircled by the band. “A phenomenon, really. This mineral is challenging to acquire, but once a sample with the purest properties is recovered, it must be prayed over by a secret sect of Zvoran monks for several years to infuse it with magickal properties. The natural density of the fjuyen combined with divine consecration has the power to keep several bodies joined as one.”
Para exhaled in wonder. “For how long will I remain united?”
“For as long as you live. As long as you have placed these rings of Holy Fjuyen on your index fingers.”
“Why my index fingers?”
“It is the touching of fingertips which initiates coalescence. The fingers are the key.”
“Ahhh,” she murmured, wishing she had figured out the solution on her own. “Of course!” The hum of energy that had enveloped her body with her initial excitement began to calm. Now if only I could find a way to get home. No more lies. No more running away after thirty minutes. I’d be a real person. A real, whole person. But there’s no point if I can’t get home.
“You will find that the elite Zvoran warriors wear much more Holy Fjuyen jewelry than just the rings to further safeguard and strengthen their bodily mergers.” He pulled back his forest-green hair to reveal his ears, which also had crystal rings going through them.
“I don’t take you for anything less than an elite warrior. Would you like a few more pieces of jewelry?” he asked.
“Yes, please,” she answered.
“Would you like a new set of clothes as well? I could conjure something more comfortable if you wish.”
Para observed how he had raised his hand, ready to do as she wished. He has the same skill that Suja did, she thought regretfully, remembering how the Asura queen had often given her new outfits in the midst of battle, as per her random whims. Now that is a very handy skill to have. I would happily trade my malfunctioning telepathy for an unlimited wardrobe. Anyway—the dress. Do I want to change it? But it’s my wedding dress…
“No,” she answered, with a small, sad smile. “The dress may be a bit damaged, but it has sentimental value.” If things somehow go awry, I would prefer to die in this dress than anything else. It has connections to both Thorn and Ash—made to be worn for one, purchased by another, and used to dance with both of them. Suja considered the final outfit one wore at their death to be of some significance. I wonder what she was wearing when Zvarin killed her? Para felt more miserable than she had imagined she would about Suja’s demise. She knew that if she ever made it home, she would need to be the one to tell Sakra. He would be heartbroken.
“As you desire,” he said, returning to the jewelry chests. “Would you like to know the history of Zvora?”
“Sure,” she answered in a reluctant voice.
He had selected a matching bracelet and begun to tie it around the wrist of her already outstretched hand. “It is rumored that Zvora is the birthplace of the coalescence technique. Many powerful people have visited the planet in the last few centuries, including devas and Asuras, and various other spiritual beings. You might consider it an export.”
“Wow. I first read about coalescence in an ancient Babylonian text,” Para mused.
“Sorry, I do not understand this word. Babylonian?”
“It’s a place on Earth—or it used to be. The book was almost four thousand years old.”
“That seems about correct. That would have been around the last period that the Zvorans had contact with devas. There was a peaceful trade, exchanges of information between spiritual men, as it were.”
“That’s mind-blowing,” Para said in wonder.
“For us, it is. So much has been lost,” said Zvarin as he gently lowered her arms back down to her sides. He moved very close to Para and gently threaded simple fjuyen earrings through the empty piercings in her ears. “Perhaps I should give you a slightly more modern history of coalescence. The technique has evolved, you see.”
As he infiltrated her earlobes, she thought of her rental diamond earrings which were probably still clutched in her Grandma Amelia’s hand back at home. Para was sure that she would not have been able to remain still as the alien touched her so intimately if not for the powerful force field around her. She felt herself often flinching and shuddering inwardly, but it was not completely from fear or revulsion. It was also partly from curiosity and intrigue. The adventurous young girl within her was beginning to awaken, and she was ready to face the consequences of choosing to ride
a proverbial test spaceship into the unknown beyond—like she had done so many years ago with Thornton.
“Until about a century ago,” he began, “coalescence was in its infancy—in the form that you now use. But massive widespread war and disease on this planet forced the native people to be innovative. It became a way to increase one’s resilience against disease by increasing the genetic diversity of a single body.”
Para nodded in amazement. It was a good idea.
“If not for fusion, the Zvoran humanoids would have been wiped out completely.” He paused, fingering a fjuyen pendant on a chain. “After the war, we learned that the technique also made you more desirable to the opposite sex. Bodies became traded as currency. Coalescence became a stepping stone for those who lacked confidence or good looks to improve their chances of finding mates.”
Para nodded. It made perfect sense. This was the solution to besting natural selection. It was an answer, a weapon; it was artificial selection for humans.
“If a male was of excellent stature but had some other defect, like balding, he might choose to join with a shorter male with a more productive scalp. If a female was too thin and boyish, she might choose to join with a more curvaceous female who was more suitable for reproducing. People would put out personal ads citing their strengths and weaknesses, and they would seek matches to create a better person.”
“How bizarre,” Para exclaimed. She couldn’t imagine permanently assimilating with a complete stranger simply because she wanted to change something about the way she looked.
“Coalescence also became a ritual of friendship—the best of friends would often merge, for many reasons. Sometimes when one or both friends had suffered a trauma in their life, it became a way for them to move on. The fused being was not just physically stronger, but mentally stronger, and was not as susceptible to depression. Most of these best-friend unions would end up being joined until their death, often forgetting that they were ever two people to begin with. The merger offered them so many advantages it would have been foolish to separate again. This is similar to your situation."
Thirty Minutes to Heartbreak Box Set (Books 1-3) Page 91