by Roxie Ray
“And Terrox is one of them?” I asked.
“He is,” Quatix nodded. “The only one among my protectors who is privy to all my secrets.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Do you have many secrets?” I asked pointedly.
“I have many responsibilities as the leader of Svante,” Quatix replied, but I could sense that he was sidestepping my question. His eyes were veiled, and his expression was closed. He looked like how I felt sometimes.
“‘Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown,’” I quoted.
“Indeed.”
I smiled. “But I didn’t ask about your responsibilities as King,” I said, refusing to let him off the hook. “I asked about your secrets.”
Quatix smiled at me. “You want me to reveal them to you?”
I felt his eyes bore into mine, and I realized that if I wanted to hear his secrets, then he had every right to ask about mine. I tried to pivot quickly.
“That’s okay,” I said, standing up and walking around the four-poster bed. “Some things don’t need to be shared.”
Quatix raised his eyebrows curiously. “Is that because there is something in your past that you do not wish to share with me?” he asked bluntly.
I wished I had expected that question; I would have been better able to control my reaction. As it stood, I felt my breath catch and my expression change.
“I thought you said you couldn’t read my mind,” I said accusingly.
“I can’t,” Quatix replied softly. “But I’m getting better at reading your expressions.”
“Damn it,” I said, turning away from him.
I heard him chuckle from behind me, and then I heard the chair creak as he rose to his feet. I saw his shadow before I felt his presence at my shoulder. Every time he stood next to me, I felt as though I were two feet tall. I turned in place, enshrouded in his shadow, and looked up at him. There was about a foot between us, and many things that we were still leaving unsaid.
“I do not expect you to trust me right away,” Quatix told me gently. “I understand that this must be very… strange for you. But I hope one day, you will be comfortable enough around me to let down your walls.”
I thought about the shame and guilt that had followed me through my life on Earth. I had wanted to put it past me and never revisit it again. I had assumed that leaving Earth would simplify matters — so why did I feel as though I were lying to Quatix by refusing to tell him the dark memory I had run from?
“I wasn’t always a doctor, you know,” I blurted out.
“And I wasn’t always a king,” Quatix responded. “We have all lived our different lives.”
“Would it matter to you if I wasn’t as… uncomplicated as I seem?” I asked, realizing that I was frightened of his answer.
Quatix frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean… what if I were a broken human being with a broken life?” I asked.
“You are not broken any longer,” Quatix pointed out.
“Just on the surface,” I said, wondering if I was backing myself into a corner with this cryptic conversation. “But underneath it all, sometimes I feel so…”
“Fragile?” Quatix offered.
I raised my eyes to his and smiled. “Yes, exactly,” I said, feeling as though that word perfectly summed up my mental state. “Fragile. What if you need someone… stronger, to be your queen?”
Quatix was quiet for a long moment, and I genuinely started to wonder if he were having doubts about wanting to marry me. Then, out of nowhere, he reached out and took my hand. He held my palm against his own and stared down at our entwined fingers.
“You may not see your own strength,” he said softly. “But I do.”
My body felt as though it had been set on fire. Suddenly, his touch felt like it had the power to turn me to dust. I had never had a man look at me the way that Quatix was looking at me now. Why did he feel so strongly that I was the right choice for him? It made no sense, but at the moment, I wasn’t willing to think too hard about it.
The perfect moment was disrupted by a sharp knock on the door. I jumped, and my hand slipped out of Quatix’s.
He looked slightly annoyed as he moved towards the black door and pulled it open. Terrox was standing on the other side with a chest that I assumed was full of Quatix’s possessions and something smaller that I couldn’t identify. He handed it to Quatix, and then brought the chest into the chamber.
His eyes fell on me, and he gave me the respectful bow that I still had not gotten used to. I nodded back and gave him a shy smile before he turned back to his king.
“Quarm wishes to know about our plans,” Terrox told Quatix.
“That depends on how long the repairs for the Destroyer will take,” Quatix said. “Have you looked into it?”
“I just came from the repair port,” Terrox told him. “It looks like we will be ready to take off by tomorrow.”
“Perfect,” Quatix said.
I could tell that both Svantians were eager to get back to their own planet.
“Quarm inquired about supper,” Terrox said. “He wants to host a dinner for us in the grand ballroom.”
“Completely unnecessary,” Quatix said quickly. “We just need a good night’s sleep before heading off tomorrow. Send him my heartfelt thanks and ask if supper can be sent up to us in our chamber.”
“Yes, my King,” Terrox nodded, as he glanced back at me.
The moment he left, Quatix turned to me with the small object that Terrox had given him. “This is for you,” he said, holding it out to me.
I stared at the small, unassuming device in his hand. It was the size of a dime and looked like a black, oval marble.
“Um, what is it?” I asked.
Quatix smiled. “It’s your translator implant,” he said. “This way you will be able to understand and converse with every species within a twenty-one space jump radius.”
“Wow,” I breathed. “Are you wearing one?”
“I am,” Quatix confirmed.
“So, how does it work?” I asked, picking up the little marble and placing it on the palm of my hand. It was lighter than I had anticipated. “Do I just wear it like a pendent?”
“Uh, no… you wear it just underneath your skin.”
I raised my eyebrows, suddenly wary of the deceptively innocent-looking translator. “Underneath my skin?” I repeated. “That implies I have to cut myself open somewhere.”
“The translator will burrow itself under the first layer of skin behind your ear,” Quatix explained. “You need not fear… it is not painful.”
“Maybe to you,” I pointed out. “Humans tend to be far more sensitive.”
Quatix smiled reassuringly. “It has been used on humans,” he told me. “And they have compared it to a bee sting.”
I frowned. “Bee stings hurt.”
Quatix let out a low chuckle. “It will be over in a minute,” he said. “Trust me.”
I sighed and took a deep breath. People asked you for your trust like it was the simplest thing in the world to give. In my experience, it was the hardest. But there was something about this strange alien that made me feel safe. He was not the battle hungry beast I had imagined on first glance.
“Okay.” I nodded. “Show me how to do it.”
Quatix reached out and touched the translator right in the middle of its oval body. I watched as it shook slightly in my palm and started to move.
“Oh God,” I breathed. “What’s happening?”
“This is normal,” Quatix said, clearly amused by my reaction. “Watch.”
I watched as six tiny, spider-like legs emerged from the body of the translator. Then it crept up my hand toward my shoulder. I froze in place, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Thankfully, I didn’t have a phobia about spiders or this would have been impossible to suffer through.
The device landed on my shoulder and shuffled to my ear. I felt a bit of pressure just behind my ear, and then I gasped as a sharp pain shot through
my body. And just like that, the pain was gone and I felt completely normal. I reached behind my ear gingerly and touched the spot from which the pain had ignited. There was nothing there, not even a little bump that I could detect.
“Was that it?” I asked.
“That was it,” Quatix smiled. “See, it wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“I can’t really feel it,” I said, pushing at the skin behind my ear.
“You’re not meant to,” Quatix said. “That’s the beauty of the device. It was invented by a particularly eccentric Lerkin named Kuron.”
“Lerkin?” I asked, as I removed the black cuff from my wrist and threw it on the table unceremoniously. I wasn’t going to miss wearing it.
“Another race in our galaxy,” Quatix replied.
“Are they similar to you and the Xehrulians?”
“Not at all,” Quatix said immediately. “They’re shorter and much hairier. They’re not a race bred for war.”
I smiled. “There’s so much I still don’t know about the galaxy.”
“Then I will teach you,” Quatix said.
“You might regret that offer,” I said. “I have so many questions.”
“Then I will answer them all,” he said, without hesitation.
I walked back towards the bed and lay down on it. Then I patted the empty space beside me, inviting Quatix over to join me. I could tell from his expression that he was pleasantly surprised, and he wasted no time in slipping onto the heavenly soft mattress of the bed. There were still several feet between us, but I appreciated how respectful he was being about my personal space.
“What was your childhood like?” I asked.
He raised his eyebrows. I could tell he had been anticipating questions about the galaxy, about his people, perhaps even about the planet itself. Getting into the personal details of our lives seemed a bit risky, but I couldn’t contain my curiosity.
“It was… an isolated one,” Quatix admitted. “I was the heir apparent to the throne. I was my parents’ only child. I was groomed for kingship from the moment I was born.”
“That’s a lot of pressure to put on a little kid.”
“It was the only thing I ever knew,” Quatix said, as his eyes became fixed on past memories. “When I think back, I realize that even the games I used to play were lessons in disguise.”
“Like what?”
“The archery, the sword fighting, the hand-to-hand combat. I was a babe barely out of swaddling clothes when I was given my first Svetcor.”
“Your first what?” I asked, immediately intrigued.
“Svetcor,” Quatix repeated. “They are native to Svante… they are formidable beasts that were used in land battles back before the unification of the tribes.”
“So… they’re like horses?” I asked, trying to picture them.
Quatix frowned. “Yes, I know what you’re referring to,” he said. “They are similar, but Svetcors are three times as big, they have no manes or tails, and they can run at great speeds. And their hides are so tough that even a naked blade cannot cut through.”
“I’d like to see one,” I said, imagining a massive horse with no tail and no mane.
“I will take you to the royal stables once you’ve settled into the castle,” Quatix said. “And you can pick a Svetcor from the herd.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I don’t think I’ll be able to ride one.”
“Oh, I disagree,” Quatix insisted. “Svetcors are extremely intelligent. They can sense their riders emotions… many of our kind believe the beasts have psychic abilities themselves.”
I smiled at the thought of riding any animal. “I’ve always wanted to ride a horse,” I admitted. “I used to beg my parents to take me to the zoo just so that I could ride one.”
“The zoo?” Quatix asked, as his brows furrowed with confusion.
“Oh, um, it’s a place where animals are kept and people go to observe them,” I explained. It sounded strange to me as I was saying it, and Quatix looked positively bewildered.
“That is interesting,” he said.
I laughed. “You don’t have to be polite. It’s weird, I know. I suppose I’m so used to the concept of certain things that I forget how strange they must seem to an outsider. The zoos became necessary to keep certain species alive, though… we lost a hundred different species in the last decade alone.”
“Humans have never been kind to their world.”
“No,” I agreed. “You’re right about that.”
“Your parents didn’t take you to the zoo, to ride a horse?” Quatix asked.
I hesitated. “My parents had… other things on their mind.”
“Like what?”
I wished I hadn’t mentioned my parents at all. Quatix thought he was asking an innocent question, but talking about them felt like walking on thin ice.
“Getting food on the table,” I said evasively. “We were poor.”
“That must have been difficult for you,” Quatix said, and I could tell he was waiting for me to elaborate.
“We got by,” I said, with a shrug.
Quatix’s eyes were fixed on me. “What about the men who ruled over you?” he asked. “They did nothing?”
“They don’t usually concern themselves with the lower sectors very often,” I replied.
Quatix’s expression turned fierce, and for a moment I wondered if he was angry with me. His ice blue eyes had the power to burn, and I realized how terrifying he could look when he needed to, especially to someone who hadn’t seen the gentler side of him. I felt my pulse edge upwards — but it wasn’t because I was scared of him.
“How can they live with themselves?” Quatix demanded. “I would not be able to rest easy at night if I knew any of my people lived in hunger or suffering.”
The depth of his passion amazed me. I could hear the gravelly edge of outrage in his tone.
“Not every ruler is like you,” I said softly.
“Then what is the point of them at all?” Quatix asked. “A king who does not care for his subjects is no king at all.”
I felt goose bumps race along my hands. My heart beat a little faster, and I felt a tingle travel from my extremities up along my body. Before I had time to talk myself out of the sudden urge, I had closed the space between us and kissed him on the lips.
I felt him freeze underneath my hands, but a second later he relaxed, and his arms closed around me. It felt so wonderfully different than my experience with human men. Despite his size, Quatix was gentle and tender. He held me as though I were a fragile object, and I was willing to bet that in his hands, I could be.
His lips were firm and insistent, and despite the fact that I was the one who had initiated the kiss, he was the one who took control of it. My inhibitions were quickly being soldered away every time his hands came close to the waistband of my trousers.
His hand slipped up my shirt and explored my bare skin. I sighed and my mouth parted, allowing his tongue entry. I felt him lift me and pull me onto his lap so that I was straddling him. I explored the hard muscles of his stomach and chest, marveling at the marble-like quality of his skin. It was like he had been carved out of stone.
He pulled back a little to look at my face. My hair was tangled in his fingers, and he kissed the brown lock that had curled around his finger.
It was strange, but my proximity to him made me see how alike we were after all. Nothing about this felt wrong. In fact, it felt like we were two puzzle pieces with jagged edges that had finally found each other.
His cat-like eyes were less startling up close, where I could see my reflection in them. My hand slipped and fell onto the crotch of his trousers. The material was thick, but I could still feel the massive erection that was pushing up against the supple fabric.
As my hand settled over him, Quatix sighed with longing, and I felt myself moisten instantly at the sound. Was this what unadulterated lust felt like? I had never experienced anything quite so intoxicating before. It was like this carna
l hunger that cried out to be satiated.
He seemed to be able to anticipate what I wanted and fulfilled it almost immediately. His tongue pulled at the lobe of my ear, and my eyes rolled back in my head.
“I thought you said you couldn’t read my mind,” I said, half breathless and half accusing.
He chuckled low, and his breath tickled my neck. “Sex is instinctive… I don’t need to read your mind to know what you want.”
I pulled back enough to be able to look into his icy blue eyes. “What do you want?” I asked.
He smiled secretively. “You,” he replied simply.
8
Quatix
I woke up from the most peaceful sleep I had experienced since that day, decades ago, when the crown was placed upon my head on the ceremonial altar. I turned to find Rosa pressed up against me in our bed, the curves of her body perfectly nestled against me.
I placed my hand on her hip and slid up the sheets so I could admire her soft skin, her delicate shape… the intoxicating scent of her. I sat up a little and rested my upper body on my elbow so that I could look down at her. Her eyelashes fluttered subtly, and I could tell she was still in the depths of sleep. I realized that so much space travel in such a short time must have taken it out of her. She was not used to it like my people and I were.
If I looked closely enough, I could see a faint line of freckles dot her skin. Her lips were large and pouty, even in sleep, and I longed to lean in and bite that enticing lower lip. I settled for laying a feather light kiss on her lips before gently disentangling myself from her.
I would have loved to stay in bed with her all day, all week, all month if I could have, but I could not ignore my duties as King simply because I had found myself a queen.
I had just pulled on my trousers when I heard a small beep coming from my comms device. I picked it up and moved as far from the bed as I could manage so that I wouldn’t disturb Rosa.
“Terrox?” I asked.
“Good morn, my King,” Terrox responded.
“How’s my ship doing?” I asked.
“I have good news on that front,” Terrox informed me. “The repairs were completed early this morning. The ship is ready for takeoff whenever you’re ready.”