by J. M. Page
The Prince chuckled and his fingers curled into her flesh, ever-so-slightly. “No, it’s not a trait of my race. Not exactly,” he said.
She turned to him, her mouth slightly open, a question on the tip of her tongue, but she let it fall, not sure how to phrase it. He stared at her, his eyes flicking to her lips, seeming to pull closer. Ever closer.
Jen held her breath, expecting a kiss. Bracing for it. Dare she admit it? Hoping for it.
If it wasn’t his race, was it just him? Whatever this connection she felt towards him?
Just when she thought he was going to do it, he turned away, back to the window.
Disappointment washed through her. Was she reading the whole situation wrong? Was there some difference between their races that she didn’t understand? Flirtation and romantic subtext could be entirely different on his planet.
It was too much for her to deal with at the moment when she needed to be worried about work.
With more willpower than she thought she had, Jen pulled away from him and returned to her seat.
He stayed by the window a moment longer, his back turned to her. Jen didn’t know what it was about this strange alien that drew her in. She liked him. She liked being with him. But he was a Prince! She had no business even thinking things like that about someone of his standing.
Zak returned to the seat next to her and she couldn’t help smiling that he was by her side again even if she was still confused about what just happened. “So, you wanted to hear about Granota?”
She nodded, glad for the change of topic. “Tell me everything.”
Chapter Eight
Zak
“Where do I even start?” he said, trying his best not to look directly at her. It was painful to. He should have just kissed her when he had the chance, but she didn’t know what it meant. She didn’t know about the Kiss or the Change. It wasn’t right to force that upon her without her consent. She may want to kiss him — she might even want to Kiss him — but until she knew what it meant to do so, he couldn’t allow it.
Still, there was a part of him — a large part — that cursed himself for not taking advantage of the opportunity.
They’d been so close, his heart hammering, his lungs tight with anticipation. She’d looked at him so vulnerable and beautiful, open and willing…
And he’d turned away. Like an idiot.
He saw the disappointment that flashed through her when he did and had to admit there was a small bit of consolation in that. But not nearly enough. It would never be enough with Jen — not when he needed so much more.
“Well, I’ve noticed that — at least with your entourage — there’s quite a bit of diversity amongst your people. I hope that’s not insensitive to say?” she fiddled with the hem of her shirt, plucking the end of a frayed thread.
Zak took a sharp breath. This was his chance to tell her. But once he did, it was up to her to act on it. To accept him or not.
His stomach filled with the buzzing of angry hornets, but it was now or never. She needed to know.
“Of course not. It’s one of the hallmarks of my kind.”
She turned to him, eyes wide and interested now. “What is?”
“The Change,” he said. She looked confused, which he’d expected, so he continued on, not pausing, afraid he’d lose his nerve if he did. “Every Granotan has a perfect match chosen for them by the cosmos. We’re hatched from the still waters of the Crystal Sea and come into our life with no knowledge of who our One is. But, legend says, everybody has a One made specifically for them, somewhere.”
He wanted to look at her, to gauge her reaction, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he stared at a point on the floor ahead of him, focusing on the tiny bumps on the walkway and the way the interior lights reflected off of them.
“When you find your One, and you Kiss, there’s a biological reaction. Scientists have tried to figure out what it is in our DNA that’s so malleable, but no one has been able to pinpoint it. The Kiss sparks a Change — the Granotan DNA morphs to match that of our One, leaving us new and Changed.”
Jen was silent for a moment and he finally chanced a glance at her, hoping to be able to read her reaction in her expression.
“It sounds like a fairy tale,” she said. “So you never date? Or divorce? There’s no heartbreak on Granota because everyone’s with their soul mate?”
He shrugged. “It’s not that easy. Relationships still take work. Everyone has their issues and sometimes differences are irreconcilable, but it’s very rare. We know it’s supposed to work, so everyone does their best. But I think most everyone is beyond pleased with their One.”
Her eyes drifted toward the back of the cabin where Golbath slept and Doran pored over papers. “So they—”
“Have Changed, yes. Doran and I were mistaken for brothers quite often before he met Alinya.”
A frown pulled at the corners of her mouth. “That sounds… confusing,” she said.
It wasn’t at all what he’d hoped to hear from her. He hoped that she’d make the connection, that she’d understand she was his One. Maybe he hadn’t done a good enough job of explaining it. Or maybe, she didn’t want to be with him.
Maybe his One didn’t want to be his at all.
“Does everyone find someone on another planet? Of a different species?” she asked, now jotting down notes on the blank paper from earlier.
Zakrom sighed. She was a scholar — she just wanted the knowledge. It had nothing to do with him at all.
“No, there are some that find their One within our kind. The odds are about equal, I’d say.”
“That’s so fascinating. Does anyone ever not find their person?”
A lump formed in Zak’s throat, his chest tightening. Before today, he’d have said ‘of course, just look at me,’ but now that wasn’t entirely accurate. Now he’d found her, he just didn’t know how to make her see it.
Or maybe she did see it and she just chose to ignore it.
That made him feel queasy.
“Yes, it happens. Generally, the Change happens sometime between ages fourteen and twenty-one. It sometimes happens later, but not by much. The cosmos tends to be very precise with these matters.”
Her head tilted to the side and Zak saw a question behind those wide blue eyes. A question he knew he wouldn’t want to answer, just by the hesitation he saw sparkling on the surface.
“How old are you?”
It was like a punch to the gut. A grim reminder of how long he’d ached and pined for his One. It shouldn’t be so grim now, but it still was. His confidence that this would all work out was waning and he wondered why he thought bringing her to his homeworld was a good idea. What exactly had he hoped would happen? That she’d hear about the Kiss and fling herself at him? That she’d take one look at Granota and never want to step foot on Earth again?
Foolish. Utterly, completely, hopelessly foolish.
“Twenty-seven,” he answered, his voice dark, his eyes back on that spot on the floor.
“Oh,” she said. That one syllable said everything and nothing all at once. “And you haven’t…?”
There was no humor in the laugh he gave her. “Clearly,” he said, gesturing to himself.
He tried looking at her, but the pity and sadness in her oceanic eyes was too much to bear. He couldn’t. He had to look away. Even he couldn’t make light of something that burned him to the core so thoroughly.
“I’m sor—”
“Your Highness, Granota approaches,” Doran said from behind them.
Jen jumped, startled by the interruption to their intimate conversation, but then she realized what Doran had said and jumped to her feet, racing to the windows.
“She is enthusiastic, isn’t she?” Doran said in a low voice, mirth tinkling in his tone.
Zak sighed. “In all aspects except that which counts,” he answered, his eyes lingering on his One as she bent to look at his homeworld. She had that paper in hand still, and fu
riously scribbled down notes, muttering things to herself as she did.
“Have you told her of the Kiss?” Doran prompted.
Zak gave him a long-suffering look. “Yes, of course.”
“And?”
Zak stood from his seat, not wanting to rehash his failures for his friend’s benefit. “Does it look like I’m Changed?” he hissed, brushing past Doran to join Jen at the window.
Maybe that was callous of him, but he couldn’t stand the constant needling reminders. All he wanted was to have this beautiful woman as his, by his side, forever, and he just couldn’t figure out how to make it happen.
Perhaps the welcome dinner at the palace would be enough to convince her. If anything could woo a woman, it would be the royal treatment, right?
Chapter Nine
Jen
She stood by the window, her heart in her throat, her intestines twisting in on themselves.
There it was. Granota. A planet so far away from her own that it was unfathomable. The Granotan technology had made the trip feel short, like a day trip to the coast or something, and that felt even stranger to Jen.
But technology aside, the planet itself was breathtaking.
Zak wasn’t lying when he said it was similar to Earth. But also, it wasn’t anything like Earth. Granota was a crisp Caribbean blue, dotted with vibrant green islands, large swaths of clouds striping the surface like a scarf.
She watched as one of the three moons passed in front of the planet and spotted the lights of a city on it as it orbited out of sight again.
“What do you think?” Zak asked, coming up behind her. Jen was surprised to hear his voice so close, to feel his warmth behind her, but she was starting to get used to it. She was starting to miss it when it wasn’t there.
“It’s incredible,” she said. “I’ve never been to another planet, but I’m sure I’d be awed by it all the same if I had.”
He gave her a tiny smile that didn’t quite reach his neon eyes and Jen held back a frown. Something had changed between them since he told her about his people. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she was sure something was different.
She kept thinking about all his talk of Kissing and soul mates and it made her pulse race hot in her veins. It made her want to kiss him to see if she was his One. It was a crazy idea, one that she’d only barely been able to keep in check, but she couldn’t let go of it. She couldn’t get it to leave her alone.
But surely, if she was his, he’d know it? He’d tell her? There would be some indication other than this strange magnetic pull that she’d felt from the moment they met. Right?
“I’m quite fond of it,” he said. “And not just because it’s my home, though I am biased.”
She smiled, looking back at the majesty of the blue-green planet, nervous energy rising up inside her, making her feel like she might be sick. In just a few minutes, she’d be on that planet. Stepping foot on the surface. An alien world.
“I can’t believe it,” she said, her voice soft with wonder.
“Believe what?” he asked, gentle and comforting as always.
“I’m going to an alien planet! That’s crazy!”
He chuckled, and this time the joy did reach his eyes, sparkling there in the most captivating way. Jen had a hard time looking away from him with that happiness glittering in his eyes. “You’ll be the first Earth person to visit us,” he said.
“Your Majesty,” Doran said.
Zak turned and nodded. “Right. We should return to our seats and get harnessed for landing,” he said.
Jen took a deep breath and went along with him, her mind racing. The first human to step foot on this planet? That was a lot of weight on her shoulders. A lot of pressure to not screw up.
She remembered her mission — get the treaty signed by any means necessary. How had she almost forgotten she had a job to do? She was so wrapped up with the Prince and his romantic fairy tales and this mysterious gorgeous planet, that the thought of the treaty had slipped her mind entirely.
She sat down and buckled her harness, nervousness pushing acid up her esophagus again. Was she crazy for thinking she could pull this off? What would Tully say if she failed? She’d lose her job for sure.
She needed to forget all these distractions and focus on the task at hand. Focus on doing her job, not flirting with alien princes.
The shuttle jerked and her hands tightened on the armrests, her knuckles going white with the grip. Then Zak’s hand settled over hers and squeezed.
“Don’t be nervous,” he whispered.
As soon as he said that, she wasn’t. It was like magic. The combination of his presence, his touch, his soothing words, and knowing he’d be there with her was enough to make Jen realize she’d be okay. If Zak was there, she’d be okay and he’d stop her from making a fool of herself.
“Thanks,” she said, flipping her hand to lace her fingers with his, squeezing her eyes shut tight as the shuttle screamed through the atmosphere.
Jen was pretty sure she held her breath through the whole re-entry, but then, they touched down and the shuttle cruised to a stop.
Her eyes sprang open. “We’re here? We did it?”
Zak laughed. “Was there ever any doubt?”
She gave him a sheepish look that gave her away and he laughed again, unbuckling his harness.
“Come on, I want to show you the palace,” he said.
Her eyes went wide. “The palace? You’re that kind of Prince?”
He nodded, smirking. “What kind of Prince did you think I was? I’m clearly not a warrior or barbarian.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip, feeling embarrassed for her surprise. “Well, no… But you don’t seem to be…”
“Pompous? Arrogant? Pretentious?”
Jen frowned. “I was going to say ‘traditional,’ but… Sure, those things too.”
He stood and took her by the hand. She knew she should pull back, but she didn’t. She couldn’t. It felt too right to hold onto him like this.
“Come on, I think you’re going to like it.”
They de-boarded the shuttle and Jen was instantly hit with the warm damp air. In no time at all she was shedding her jacket and sweater, the chill of the Earth winter left trillions of miles behind them. There was a soft breeze that reminded Jen of being on a beach somewhere, carrying the scent of water with it. She took a deep breath and felt it seep into her all the way down to her toes.
It wasn’t just Zak that relaxed her — his whole planet did. Her nerves were long gone now, and in their place, was pure unadulterated wonder.
All around, there were lush tropical-looking plants, green and vibrant, stretching up to the sky, larger than life.
“Do you see that, up there?” Zak asked, pointing toward a steep hill in the distance. It too was covered with lush greenery, but amongst the trees, there was something else. Something glittering like crystal. She had to squint to see it, but she nodded.
“That’s the palace.”
Chapter Ten
Zak
He had to admit, he couldn’t have asked for a more enthusiastic response from his One — at least when it came to his homeworld. She ooh’d and ahh’d at even the most mundane things. Things like the plants and the clouds. She marveled at their architecture as they drove through the town, up the mountain, to the palace.
And at the palace, her jaw nearly hit the floor.
Even having spent his entire life within its confines, Zak could admit that the palace was a glory to behold. Made of materials from the Crystal Sea, it glimmered in the sunlight, casting prisms of light all around. And that was just the outside.
Zak had been to many palaces in his time, but he’d never found one that rivaled his own. No other palace was built around a natural waterfall, with a river flowing beneath the clear floors. No other palace was crafted to fit in perfectly with the landscape, molding and shaping to the mountainside.
“When the ancient builders created this palace, they took every p
recaution to not destroy the mountainside in anyway. They didn’t carve into the rock or dig out great piles of land,” he said, explaining to Jen why some of the walls were sheer cliff sides.
“It’s amazing,” she said, running her hand over the damp rocks, where water trickled and joined the river rushing below their feet.
“It doesn’t feel real,” she said, her head thrown back, gaping at the impossibly high ceilings, afternoon light reflecting and refracting from the facets in the crystals. “I feel like…” her voice died down and her face turned pink as she shook her head.