by Anna Zaires
By the time the examination was over, Korum was in a dark mood. “Well,” he demanded as soon as Haron put away his equipment.
The mind expert lifted his broad shoulders in a shrug. “I don’t know,” he said, giving Korum a puzzled look. “Her brain is healthy, but it does show signs of recent memory erasure. There’s also something else, something that I’ve never seen before.”
“The softening procedure,” Korum said. “Do you think it could be that?” He had told Haron about Saret’s claims, and the mind expert had been very intrigued.
“It could be,” Haron said. “I honestly haven’t come across anything like this before. If Saret says he invented the procedure, then that would make sense.” He sounded admiring, making Korum want to do something violent to him again.
“Can you fix it?” Korum already knew the answer but he had to ask.
Haron shook his head. “I don’t think so, not without chancing some real damage to her brain in the process. Whenever we come up with something new here, we do extensive testing in a simulated environment first, before experimenting with live subjects. I could try, of course, if you want –”
“No.” Korum could never take that kind of risk with Mia. “Forget it.”
As their ship headed back to Lenkarda, Korum held Mia on his lap. She was awake but a little groggy, and she seemed content to just sit there, with her head resting on his shoulder. He stroked her hair, enjoying the feel of soft curls under his fingers.
Their conversation yesterday had gone very differently than he’d feared. Mia had been shocked and disbelieving at what Saret had done, but what had upset her the most was the idea of leaving him. And Korum had been glad. He had been so fucking glad and relieved that she wanted to stay. He honestly didn’t know what he would’ve done if she’d said she wanted to go home. He wanted to think that he would’ve let her . . . but, deep inside, he knew otherwise. He couldn’t bear the thought of being apart from her for a day; how would he have survived a lifetime without her?
He wouldn’t have. It was that simple. He would’ve tried if that had been what she wanted, but the odds of failure would’ve been high. Korum had no illusions about himself. Altruism was not in his nature. He would’ve suffered for a while – out of guilt for letting her get hurt, out of desire to make up for past wrongs – but he would’ve eventually come for her.
She stirred in his arms, interrupting his musings. Raising her head, she gave him a sleepy smile. “Where are we going now?”
“Home, my darling,” Korum answered, the remainder of his black mood fading as he gazed upon her beautiful face. As much as he wanted to reverse Saret’s procedure and undo any damage done to this exquisite creature, he was happy to have her no matter what. Even if she didn’t truly love him now, he hoped she would develop genuine feelings for him over time.
And Korum would make sure her love didn’t turn to hate when she learned the truth about his plans.
Chapter 19
The next month flew by. Korum found himself busier than usual, with his designers finalizing the new shields for the Centers and the Council trying to decide Saret’s fate.
After several meetings, it was determined that a trial like that of the Keiths would not work in this instance. With Saret having been a long-term member of the Council, nobody was completely impartial and emotions were running high. Korum wasn’t the only one who had considered Saret a friend. The mind expert had been generally liked, with his seemingly laid-back personality and friendly manner. The magnitude of his attempted crime was beyond belief, and even complete rehabilitation seemed too mild of a punishment for what he had intended. Finally, the Council reached out to the Elders for guidance – an initiative on which Korum took the lead, since he had other things to discuss with the Elders as well.
Between that and his regular work, Korum barely found time to sleep – because he also wanted to spend as much time with his charl as possible. Mia’s attachment to him seemed to be growing every day, and Korum no longer doubted the strength of her feelings. As she’d said, whatever Saret had done to her, that was the way she was now – and they both had to accept it.
On the plus side, Korum kept getting surprised by how well Mia was adjusting to everything . . . and how independent she was becoming.
Prior to her memory loss, she had been hesitant to wander around Lenkarda on her own, wary of his people and intimidated by some of their technology. Other than going to the lab and to a few scenic places he’d shown her, Mia had usually stayed home with him. Her free time had also been more limited, given the rigid schedule Saret had set for his apprentices. Now, however, since she and Adam were largely learning on their own, Korum discovered that his charl appeared to have a thirst for adventure – and indulged it at every opportunity.
One day she went swimming in the ocean near the estuary, on a day when the current was relatively weak. Nonetheless, Korum – who had gotten into the habit of checking on her location every hour – felt his blood freeze in his veins when he saw that she was a good quarter-mile away from shore. He’d immediately gone straight there, only to find her swimming leisurely, clearly enjoying herself. By the time she came out of the water, he’d managed to calm himself enough to have a rational discussion about the dangers of this particular spot, and she had agreed to be more careful going forward – but Korum still felt shaken by the incident for several days after that.
Her other excursions were less dangerous. She developed a fondness for hiking and recording images of the local wildlife with her wristwatch-bracelet device. Howler monkeys, iguanas, even some large insects – she would record them all and send the images as photographs and videos to her family, to share more with them about her new home.
She also grew closer to Delia, frequently meeting her for morning walks on the beach. Korum encouraged the friendship, glad that Mia was building other relationships in Lenkarda. Maria came by sometimes as well, and Korum had made it a point to invite her and Arman to dinner a couple of times.
Their main disagreement revolved around Mia’s status as a charl. “Don’t you understand how that makes me feel, knowing that legally I belong to you just because I’m human and you said so?” she told him once. “Don’t you see how barbaric that is?”
Korum didn’t view it that way at all. Yes, she was his – his to protect, his to love and cherish. Taking a charl was a serious lifelong commitment. Under Krinar law, Korum was responsible for Mia’s actions. If she ever broke the mandate, for instance, he would be the one to answer for it to the Elders. Mia would never again be a regular human, not with the nanocytes in her system; even if she left him, Korum would always have to watch over her, to make sure she didn’t reveal any non-public information about the Krinar. A charl was neither a slave nor a pet, and most cheren thought of them as their human mates – something that Mia couldn’t seem to grasp.
“How could I be your mate when I don’t have any rights here?” she said, and her stubbornness made Korum want to bend her over his knee and spank her pretty little behind. “I never agreed to be your mate – or your charl – in the first place, did I? And besides, we can’t even have children together . . .”
Korum couldn’t argue with that last point, and the charl issue remained unresolved, hanging over their heads and occasionally popping up during some more heated conversations – although those were becoming increasingly rare as their relationship evolved.
Seeing that Mia was becoming comfortable with Krinar technology, Korum gave her a fabricator of her own – a more advanced version of what he had made for Maria’s birthday. It was powerful enough to create anything Mia needed in the course of the day, including a transport pod.
Her happiness at this gift had been off the charts.
“Thank you! Oh my God, Korum, thank you so much! This is awesome!” She almost smothered him with kisses, her eyes shining and her entire body vibrating with excitement. For the next several hours, she played with the fabricator nonstop, creating and un-creati
ng one thing after another, while Korum basked in her joy.
Shortly after that, Mia decided to go to New York – in an aircraft she created herself. Korum gave her the design for that; it was a more complicated machine than the transport pod that was used around the Center. She made the ship while he watched with a smile, proud of how much she had learned already.
They went to New York together, since Korum was reluctant to have her so far away on her own. He knew it was illogical; after all, she had lived in the human city for years before they met with no harm coming to her at all, and both Saret and the Resistance had been eliminated as a threat. Still, he couldn’t shake his irrational fear for her safety. It was either go with her or forbid her to go at all, and Korum knew she would not take well to the latter option.
On the morning of their trip, Mia used the fabricator to make them human clothes.
“Hmm, let’s see,” she said, grinning wickedly. “How about a pink T-shirt for you?”
“Sure.” Korum stifled a laugh at her crestfallen expression. “I’d love a pink T-shirt.” His people didn’t associate colors with gender, and he personally liked all pastel shades. He knew she’d been hoping he would bristle at what she viewed as a feminine outfit, but he couldn’t care less – as long as she didn’t make him wear a skirt. He would draw the line at a skirt.
“Fine,” she grumbled, “you’re no fun.” But she created a pink T-shirt anyway, which Korum put on without any hesitation. Thankfully, the jeans she handed him were of the regular dark blue variety.
“You know,” she said thoughtfully, studying him after they were both dressed, “pink actually looks hot on you.”
Korum laughed. “Why, thank you, my sweet. I’m flattered.” She looked very sexy herself, dressed in a pair of well-fitting jeans, high-heeled ankle boots, and a silvery tank top that showed off her newly toned arms and shoulders. With the nanocytes in her body, Mia had significantly more endurance when it came to physical activity, and her recent interest in hiking and swimming had done wonders for her slim body. Korum had always found her irresistible, but now he could barely keep his eyes – and hands – off her.
“You told Jessie we’ll be landing on her roof?” he asked as they entered the ship.
“Yep. She knows we’re coming and even got permission from the building manager.”
In order to save time, they had decided to go directly to Jessie, instead of flying to one of the designated Krinar landing areas. The idea behind these areas was to minimize disruption to the human population in the big cities. Even today, the sight of Krinar aircraft frequently resulted in car accidents. Apparently, frightened human drivers tended to be distracted drivers. As a Council member, Korum could get away with not following this landing guideline, but he still tried to be circumspect in large cities like New York.
Jessie greeted them on the roof when they landed. She was standing there with a young human male who could only be Edgar, her new boyfriend. Korum recalled seeing him once before, at the nightclub where Korum found Mia dancing with another man. That particular incident wasn’t one of Korum’s favorite memories.
Nevertheless, he smiled at Jessie and Edgar, determined to play nice. He knew Mia’s former roommate was concerned about her. She had been a witness to the rocky start of Korum’s relationship with Mia, and he still wasn’t her favorite person – something Korum planned to remedy today.
Mia smiled too, and he could see that she was genuinely happy to see her friend. She was also nervous, judging by the tight clasp of her fingers around his palm. For some reason, she still hadn’t told her friends or family about her memory loss. When Korum had confronted her about it, she’d given him some vague answer about not wanting to worry anyone and he’d had to be content with that.
“Mia!” Jessie flew at her as soon as they stepped out of the ship, and the two girls hugged, laughing and squealing.
Korum grinned at their exuberant reunion, then stepped forward, offering his hand to Edgar in a human greeting gesture. “Hello. I don’t think we formally met.”
“No, we haven’t,” Edgar said dryly, accepting his handshake. “The last time I saw you, your hand was wrapped around my friend Peter’s throat. I’m guessing that wasn’t a great time for introductions.”
“Indeed,” Korum said, his eyes narrowing a bit. This human dared to remind him of that day? Peter had been lucky Korum had been able to control himself as well as he had. Every time Korum thought of that boy kissing Mia, he saw red. Play nice, he reminded himself, and rearranged his features into a more friendly expression. “So you’re an actor,” he said, steering the conversation toward a topic the human would be sure to enjoy.
“I am.” Edgar took the bait. “I’m on that newest show on CBS. It’s called The Vortex. Maybe you’ve heard of it?”
“I’ve seen all the episodes,” Korum said. “I’m actually a big fan. I couldn’t believe what happened with Eva last week – I never would’ve expected her sister to turn up like that.”
Edgar’s eyes lit up. “Oh no way! You watch the show? Is it popular among the Ks?”
It was popular among one particular K who needed to watch it as preparation for this trip. “Sure,” Korum said. “We like entertainment as much as humans.”
Mia had finished hugging Jessie and came up to Edgar as well. “Hi, Edgar,” she said. “It’s great to see you again.”
Korum concealed a smile. Little liar. She didn’t remember the guy at all, but she was putting on a good show. Edgar wasn’t the only actor here today.
“Hi, Korum.” It was Jessie. There was a familiar look of distrust on her pretty face, and Korum inwardly sighed. Out of everybody, this particular friend of Mia’s would be most difficult to win over. He could see it in the stubborn tilt of her chin as she looked at him. She resented him for taking Mia away from her – and for his initial high-handed tactics.
It was a good thing Korum was always up for a challenge. “Hello, Jessie.” He gave the human girl a warm smile.
They went inside, to the apartment Jessie had shared with Mia. Korum knew that a number of NYU students lived in the building due to its proximity to campus and reasonable (for New York) rent, but Korum had always thought the place was unfit for habitation. The paint in the hallways was peeling, and he could smell the rot in the old, musty walls. When he’d first met Mia, he couldn’t wait to get her out of there and into his comfortable penthouse.
Jessie had prepared a veggie platter, beer, and some chips for them to snack on, and the four of them sat down in the living room. Later on, Korum planned to take them all out for a restaurant meal, but for now, this was as good of a spot to hang out as any.
Korum purposefully sat down next to their hostess. Mia sat on her other side, and Edgar made himself comfortable on a beanbag chair across from Korum. A couple of beers later, any hint of initial awkwardness had dissipated and conversation flowed freely. For a couple of young humans, Mia’s friends were actually quite interesting, and Korum found himself unexpectedly having a good time. Jessie and Edgar had great chemistry together, joking around and teasing each other, and he could see Mia’s initial tension draining away as nobody seemed to suspect anything about her lack of memory.
When everybody was sufficiently relaxed, Korum began his charm campaign against Jessie. He started off by inquiring about her summer, and then listened attentively as she told him all about her internship with a large pharmaceutical company. Korum already knew this, since he’d done his research prior to coming to New York. However, he also knew that people liked to talk about themselves, so he kept asking Jessie questions. In the meantime, Edgar was showing Mia posters of his latest show on the other side of the room.
“Is this company your first choice for full-time employment?” Korum asked Jessie, and she nodded, a hopeful look on her face.
“It’s the first choice of everyone who’s not going straight into medical school,” she explained. “Since I want to do research first, this would be the perfect place
to do it. It’s super-competitive, of course. They hire ten times as many interns as they need full-time research assistants for next year, so even having an internship there doesn’t guarantee an offer.”
And just like that, Korum knew what he had to do. “You shouldn’t worry,” he said gently. “I’ll put in a good word for you with the management.”
“You would?” Jessie looked at him in astonishment. “You know Biogem’s management?”
“I do,” Korum said. It wasn’t much of a lie, since he would know them soon.
“Oh, wow. You don’t have to do that, Korum,” she protested faintly, but Korum could see that her heart wasn’t in it. She wanted this very badly, and he was handing it to her on a silver platter.
“I want to,” he said firmly. “You’re obviously deserving of this opportunity, and I know Mia would want you to have it.”
Jessie smiled uncertainly. “Well, in that case, thank you. I would appreciate any help in that direction.”
And Operation Jessie was complete.
When the beer and snacks were no longer enough, they went out for an early dinner. Korum took them to a new French restaurant that was getting rave reviews – and that was known for serving traditional meat-based dishes at astronomical prices. He stuck to his usual plant-based diet, but Mia and her friends each ordered something from the animal kingdom. Korum didn’t mind if they indulged once in a while. The Krinar had been mainly concerned with the environmental impact of human dietary habits, and occasional meat-eating wasn’t nearly as disastrous for the planet as what humans in developed countries had been doing before.
After dinner, they went out for drinks. Knowing that the girls wanted some privacy, Korum unobtrusively maneuvered himself and Edgar toward the far end of the bar, letting Mia and Jessie be on their own next to the window. He still kept an eye on them, just to make sure they weren’t bothered by anyone, but otherwise, he focused most of his attention on Edgar.