by Zaires, Anna
Seeing the surprised look on Mia’s face, Korum explained, “I don’t like to clean up, so I am using some of our technology to take care of that part.”
“So the dishwasher is strictly decorative?”
“More or less. You can use it if you like, but you saw what I just did, right?”
Mia nodded.
“You can do the same thing if you’re here on your own. Or just leave the dishes on the table, and the house will take care of them after a few minutes.” Walking back to the table, he sat down across from her and smiled. “The main dish will be ready in a couple of minutes.”
“I can’t wait to try it,” Mia told him, smiling back in anticipation.
So far, being in Lenkarda was proving to be a fantastic experience in every way, and she felt an intense wave of happiness washing over her as she stared at Korum’s beautiful face. It was hard to believe that only this morning she thought he would be deported to Krina, and now she was sitting in his house in Costa Rica, conversing with him in Krinar language, and enjoying the food he’d prepared for her again.
As her mind drifted to the earlier events, her smile slowly faded. She could’ve lost him today, she realized again. If Korum was right about the Keiths’ intentions, then he could’ve been killed if the Resistance had succeeded. A sickening cold spread through her veins at the thought.
It hadn’t happened, she told herself, trying to focus on the present, but her mind kept wandering. Even though the rebels had failed, the fact was that she’d participated in the attack on the K colonies. And now they wanted her to testify, she remembered with a chill going down her spine, to go in front of their Council and the United Nations and talk about her involvement. Korum seemed to think that he had the power to protect her from the Council, but she didn’t understand how something like that worked.
“What’s the matter?” Korum asked, apparently puzzled by the suddenly serious expression on her face.
Mia took a deep breath. “Can we talk about what happened this morning?” she asked cautiously. “And about what happens now?”
His expression cooled slightly, the smile leaving his face. “Why?” he asked. “It’s over. I want us to move past it, Mia.”
She stared at him. “But –”
“But what?” he asked softly, his eyes narrowing. “Do you really want to talk again about how you betrayed me? How you nearly sent me to my death? I’m willing to let it go because I know you were scared and confused . . . but it’s really not in your best interests to keep bringing this up, my sweet.”
Mia inhaled sharply, trying to hold on to her temper. “I only did what I thought was best,” she said evenly. “And you knew everything all along – and you used me. And now it seems like your Council wants to use me too, so excuse me if I’m not quite ready to ‘move past it’.”
“The Council doesn’t have any say where you’re concerned, Mia,” Korum said, looking at her with an inscrutable amber gaze. “They can’t tell you what to do.”
“And why is that?” Mia asked, her heart beginning to beat faster. “Because I’m your charl?”
“Exactly.”
She stared at him in frustration. “And what does that mean? That I’m your charl?”
He regarded her levelly. “It means that you belong to me and they don’t have any jurisdiction over you.”
Before Mia could say anything else, he got up and walked over to the pot on the stove. Lifting the lid, he stirred the contents slightly, and an unusual but pleasant aroma filled the kitchen. “It’s almost ready,” he said, coming back to the table.
The two-second pause helped Mia gather her composure. “Korum,” she said softly, “I need to understand. You, me – I feel like I’m part of some game where I don’t know the rules. What exactly is a charl in your society?”
He sighed. “I told you, it’s our term for the humans that we’re in a relationship with.”
“So why doesn’t your Council have jurisdiction over charl? It’s like your government, right?”
“Yes, exactly,” Korum said, answering the second part of her question. “The Council is our governing body.”
“And you’re part of it?” Mia remembered John telling her something along those lines once.
“When I choose to be. I’m not a big fan of politics, but it’s unavoidable sometimes.”
“How can you choose something like that?” Mia asked, staring at him in astonishment. “Are you an elected official or does it work differently on Krina?”
“It’s very different for us.” Korum got up and walked over to the stove again. “We don’t have democracy the way you do. Who gets to be on the Council is determined based on our overall standing in society.”
Mia’s eyebrows rose. “What do you mean? Like you’re born into the upper class or something?”
He shook his head. “No, not born. Our standing is earned over time. It’s based largely on our achievements and how much we contribute to society. Our government is almost like an oligarchy of sorts – but based on meritocracy.”
This was fascinating and somewhat intimidating. Korum must’ve contributed to the K society quite a bit, to have as much influence as he did.
“So how many of you are on the Council?” Mia asked, watching him ladle the stew-like dish into bowls for both of them. It didn’t look as exotic as the shari salad, although she could see something purple among the reddish-brown vegetables.
“Currently, there are fifteen Council members. The number fluctuates over time – it’s been as high as twenty-three and as low as seven. About a third of us are here on Earth, and the others are still on Krina.”
Bringing the bowls back to the table, he sat down and moved one bowl toward her. “Go ahead,” he said, “I’m curious if you’ll like this also.”
Temporarily shelving her questions, Mia tried a spoonful of the stew. To her surprise, it tasted rich and savory, as though it contained some kind of meat products. “This is all plant-based?” she asked, and Korum nodded, observing her reaction with a smile. His expression was warm again.
Mia tried another bite. The texture was soft and a little mushy, almost as if she were eating potatoes, but the flavor was completely different. It reminded her a bit of Japanese food with its subtle seaweed-like undertones, just much more nuanced. After the second bite, Mia suddenly felt ravenous, her tastebuds craving more of the rich flavor, and she quickly downed the rest of the food on her plate. “This is really good,” she mumbled between the bites, and Korum nodded, finishing his own portion.
After they were finished, he repeated the process with the dishes, bringing them toward the wall and letting the house take care of cleaning them. Mia observed him carefully, taking note of his exact actions. It didn’t seem difficult, the technology even more intuitive than some of the newer iPads, and she hoped she remembered how to do it if she ever needed to clean the dishes herself.
“Thank you – that was delicious,” she said when Korum was done.
“You’re welcome,” he replied casually, sitting back down at the table. The look on his face was amused and slightly mocking, as if he suspected exactly what she was going to say next.
Mia’s temper began to simmer again, and she decided not to disappoint him. “So why are charl not within the Council’s jurisdiction?” she asked stubbornly.
“Because that’s the way it’s always been, Mia,” he replied softly. “Because humans are only accepted in Krinar society on those terms – as belonging to one of us. The only exception are those like Dana, who choose to leave their former life behind in order to become pleasure givers on Krina. So you see, my sweet, the Council cannot go to you directly. They have to go through me because, under Krinar law, you’re mine.”
Mia sucked in her breath, feeling like there was insufficient air in the room. “So I was right,” she said quietly. “The Resistance didn’t lie to me – you did.”
He leaned toward her, his eyes turning a deeper shade of gold. “They did lie to y
ou. A charl is not a pleasure slave, or whatever it was they told you. It’s very rare for us to have a charl, and when we do – these are genuine and caring relationships.”
“How can a genuine and caring relationship exist when the two people are not considered equals in your society?” she asked bitterly.
He laughed, looking genuinely amused. “Those types of relationships exist all the time, Mia. Just look at your human society. Are you going to tell me that you don’t care for your children, your teenagers, or even your pets? Not to mention that your so-called developed nations have only recently accepted the idea of women’s rights, while many regions of Earth still don’t –”
“Is that what I am to you? A pet?” Her stomach churned as she waited for his answer.
He shook his head, looking at her intently. “No, Mia, you’re not a pet. You’re a twenty-one-year-old human girl who still has quite a bit of growing up to do. I wish I could leave you alone, so you could meet someone like that pretty boy from the club –”
He was talking about Peter, Mia realized, surprised.
“– but I can’t.”
Getting up, he walked around the table and sat down on a chair next to her. Raising his hand, he gently stroked her cheek while Mia stared at him, unable to look away from the golden heat in his eyes. “You’ve gotten under my skin,” he said softly, “and now I want you, in ways that I never thought were possible. I know you still have a lot to learn about me, about your new home here, and I will do my best to make things easier for you, to help you with your adjustment. But you need to stop worrying so much and fighting me at every turn. It can be very good between us, Mia . . . especially if you give it a chance.”
Chapter 4
That night – her first night in Lenkarda – Mia had strange and disturbing dreams. She was flying somewhere again, only this time Korum held her on his lap for the duration of the trip. Her body felt unusually heavy and languid, and she couldn’t move – could only lie helplessly in his arms as he carried her somewhere after they landed. In her dream, he brought her into a strange white building where everything seemed to float and walls dissolved on a regular basis. Suddenly, she was lying on one of these floating objects, and it felt incredibly comfortable, as though it had been made for her body and her body alone. There was a mellow light illuminating everything, and a beautiful woman spoke to her softly, gently touching her face with elegant hands. Mia dreamed that she spoke to the woman too, told her how beautiful she was, and the woman laughed, telling Korum that his charl was charming.
And then there was only darkness and Mia slept deeply for the rest of the night, the dream fading from her memory.
As soon as she woke up the next morning, her mind immediately began replaying the conversation from yesterday and she groaned, burying her face in the pillow. Right away, the bed began a soft massage regimen designed to relax her suddenly tense muscles.
Sighing with pleasure, Mia let it do its thing while she lay there, trying to make sense of Korum and their relationship.
After his little speech last night, he had carried her to the bedroom and spent the next few hours showing her exactly how good it could be between them. Her genitals still throbbed delicately when she thought of everything he’d done to her, the many ways he’d made her scream in mindless ecstasy.
She still didn’t understand what Korum really wanted from her. Did he truly think she could just calmly go along with everything? From what she’d learned thus far, being a charl in Krinar society was not all that different from being a slave. As far as their law was concerned, she was Korum’s possession – something that belonged to him. How could a genuine and caring relationship arise from that? He held all the power; he could do anything he wanted with her, and nobody would interfere.
And even if she were willing to accept that kind of dynamic, there were so many other issues to overcome. As he’d said, she was a twenty-one-year-old human girl – immature and inexperienced compared to a K who’d lived for two thousand years. How could he ever regard her as anything but naive and ignorant? Not only did his species have far more advanced science and technology, but Korum himself must’ve also gathered tremendous knowledge over his centuries of existence. How could a human ever come close to that over a mere eighty- or ninety-year lifespan? Not that he would even want her when she got older; however strong their attraction was now, he would definitely lose interest in her when she started getting wrinkles and grey hair – if not much sooner.
Closing her eyes at that painful thought, Mia tried to think about something else, to distract herself from such depressing reflections.
On the plus side, physically, she felt amazing. Despite the dreams she vaguely recalled, she must’ve gotten great sleep because she was filled with energy, and her body was completely free of the soreness that usually accompanied their long sex sessions. Korum must’ve used some healing thingy on her again, she decided.
It was difficult to believe it was only Saturday. Was it only last week that she was frantically writing her papers? It now seemed like a lifetime ago, with everything that had happened in the last couple of days.
On Monday, she was supposed to start her internship in Orlando, working as a counselor at a camp for troubled children, and instead . . . Well, Mia had no idea what she would be doing instead – or what the future held for her, in general. Her life had taken such an unexpected turn that any kind of planning was impossible.
She was also supposed to be packed and out of her room on Monday, she suddenly remembered with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Mia had made the arrangements to sublet her room out for the summer several months ago, and the subletter – a very nice girl named Rita – was supposed to move in at the beginning of next week. However, given Mia’s sudden departure from New York, all of her stuff was still there.
Jumping out of bed, Mia ran to the small table where her purse was sitting. She’d brought it with her from New York, and it contained something extremely valuable: her cell phone. She needed to call Jessie as soon as possible. Her roommate was probably already getting worried since she hadn’t heard from Mia yesterday, and she would definitely freak out if all of Mia’s belongings were still in her room when Rita moved in. Jessie would never believe her to be so irresponsible as to forget about the sublet.
Pulling out her cell phone, Mia held her breath, praying that she had reception. But, of course, her hopes were in vain – there were zero bars. Not only was she in a foreign country, Mia realized, but the Ks’ shielding technology likely blocked all cell tower signals.
Sighing, she put on a robe and went to brush her teeth before looking for Korum. If she didn’t contact Jessie this weekend, her roommate could easily have the police at Korum’s TriBeCa apartment by Monday.
Entering the living room, Mia saw Korum sitting on the couch with his eyes closed. Surprised, she stopped and stared at him. Was he sleeping? Hesitant to disturb him, she just stood there, using this rare opportunity to study her alien lover with his guard down.
With his eyes closed, the bronzed perfection of his face was even more striking. High cheekbones blended synergistically with a strong nose and a firm jaw, forming a face that was as masculine as it was beautiful. His eyebrows were dark and thick, slanting straight above his eyes, and his eyelashes looked incredibly long, spread out like dark fans above his cheeks. His hair had grown in the month that she’d known him – he’d probably been too busy chasing after the Keiths to get a haircut, Mia thought wryly – and it was starting to brush against his ears.
As though sensing her gaze on him, he opened his eyes and smiled when he saw her standing there. “Come here,” he murmured, patting the couch next to him. “How are you feeling?”
Mia blushed slightly. “I’m fine,” she told him.
He just continued looking at her with a mysterious expression on his face, almost as if studying her for some reason. Feeling a little uncertain about where they stood after yesterday’s conversation, Mia cautiously approach
ed him. Even though she’d spent most of last night writhing in pleasure in his arms, there was still so much unresolved between them. Pausing a couple of feet away, she asked, “Were you sleeping just now? I’m sorry to interrupt if you were . . .”
“Sleeping? No.” He looked surprised by her assumption. “I was just taking care of some business.”
“Virtually?” Mia guessed, and Korum nodded, patting the couch again.
Mia came closer, and he reached out with his hand, pulling her onto his lap. Burying his hand in the dark mass of curls, he tilted her head toward him and kissed her, his mouth hot and demanding, his tongue stroking hers until she forgot everything but the incredible sensations he was provoking in her. Barely able to breathe, Mia moaned, melting helplessly against him, her loins filling with liquid heat despite the fact that she should be wrung out after the excesses of last night.
Apparently satisfied with her response, Korum raised his head and looked down at her with a half-smile, releasing her hair but still holding her tightly in his arms. “You see, Mia,” he said softly, “it really doesn’t matter what labels are placed on our relationship. It doesn’t change anything between us.”
Mia licked her lips. They felt soft and swollen after his kiss. “No, you’re right. It doesn’t change anything,” she agreed quietly. Learning more about her role in K society didn’t lessen her attraction to him one bit. Her body didn’t care that, as a charl, she had no say in her own life.
Korum smiled and got up, placing her on her feet. “I have to leave in about thirty minutes for the trial. Would you like to watch it from here?”
Mia’s eyes widened. “Like on TV?”
“Through virtual reality,” he told her. “I don’t want you there in person in case the Council tries to pressure you to testify.”
“What would happen if I did? Testify, I mean?” Mia was suddenly curious why Korum was so determined to protect her from that. She wasn’t exactly eager to go in front of the Krinar Council, but he did seem unduly worried about it.