by Anna Zaires
Putting down her tong-like utensil, Mia studied her lover as he conversed and joked with her family. It seemed impossible that there could be something sinister hidden beneath his beautiful exterior and warm smile. Could he love her and simultaneously want to destroy her people? Just how far did his ambition extend?
Taking a bite of her food, Mia tried to think about it rationally. Surely she would’ve known if she had fallen for a monster. Nobody could hide such darkness for so long. Korum was no angel – and he didn’t necessarily hold her kind in the highest regard – but he would never go so far as to take their planet away.
Or would he?
The food she just swallowed sat heavily in Mia’s stomach. Excusing herself, she got up and went to the restroom to freshen up. Splashing some water on her face, she stared in the mirror, seeing the poorly concealed look of panic in her eyes.
She needed to talk to Korum and she needed to do it now, before the old doubts and suspicions got a chance to poison their relationship again. If there was anything Mia had learned from the Resistance fiasco, it was the folly of jumping to conclusions and assuming the worst. She was no longer the girl who was too scared to talk to her K lover for fear of betraying her people. Korum now belonged to her as much as she belonged to him – and one way or another, she would know the truth.
Breakfast seemed to last forever. Mia smiled and chatted with her family, all the while squirming with impatience inside. She could see Korum giving her occasional questioning glances, and she knew he could tell that something was wrong, that her smiles had a brittle edge to them.
Finally, it was over. Marisa returned to her room to take a post-meal nap – something she’d started doing recently to combat pregnancy-related tiredness – and Connor joined her, not wanting to be separated from his wife. Mia’s parents retired to their room as well, to read and watch some shows about Krina that Korum had set up for them.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” Mia asked Korum as soon as her parents were out of the earshot.
His eyebrows rose. “It’s not too hot for you right now?”
“It should be fine.” Mia had no idea if it would be fine or not, but she wanted to get out of the house – and out of her family’s earshot.
“Okay, sure.” Korum got to his feet as smoothly as only a Krinar could. “Let’s go.”
The blast of heat hit Mia as soon as they exited the house. It was around eleven in the morning, and the sun was incredibly bright in the cloudless sky. All around them, Mia could hear the chirping and singing of insects, birds, and other creatures – some seemingly familiar, others strange and exotic.
They walked for a few minutes toward the lake, following the same path they took yesterday. In the light of day, their surroundings were even more beautiful and striking than they had been at twilight, but Mia couldn’t focus on that now. Her stomach was twisted into knots, and she felt nauseated, as though she’d eaten something that didn’t agree with her.
“All right, Mia.” Korum stopped in a shaded area when they reached the lake and pulled her down to sit beside him on a thick patch of grass-like plants. “What’s wrong, my sweet? What’s going on with you this morning?”
Mia looked at the man she loved more than life itself. “I want to know if there’s any truth to what Saret said.”
His gaze was steady and unblinking. “Which part?”
“The part –” Her voice broke mid-sentence. “The part about you wanting to take Earth from us.”
For a moment, there was only silence, during which they stared at each other. Then he said softly, “We want to share your planet with you. I told you that.”
“Then why did Saret say you want to take it from us?” Something didn’t ring true. “Is he completely deluded, or is there something I should know? What are your real intentions, Korum? How exactly are you going to share our planet when your sun finally dies?”
He was again silent for a few seconds, his face hard and unreadable. “You still don’t trust me, do you?” he finally said. “After everything, you still think I’m the bad guy.”
Mia drew in a shaky breath, the unpleasant feeling in her stomach getting worse. “No, Korum. I don’t think that. I don’t want to think that. I just want to know the truth. All of it.” He still looked implacable, so she added, “Please, Korum . . . If you truly care for me, please tell me everything.”
Chapter 28
“All right.” His voice was colder than anything she’d heard from him in a long time. “Keep in mind, though, my sweet, no one outside of the Council and the Elders knows what I am about to tell you. You can’t share this with anyone else, do you understand me?”
Mia nodded, holding her breath.
“We’re not going to take Earth from you,” he said. “We’ll take Mars. And then we’ll give humans the option of relocating there, once we have created the proper conditions for life.”
Mia stared at him in shock. “What? Mars? But . . . but that’s uninhabitable.”
“It is uninhabitable now,” Korum said. “Once we’re done with it, it’s going to be like paradise. The planet already has water in the form of ice. We’ll warm it up, create an atmosphere, and give Mars a magnetic field to mitigate solar radiation and keep the atmosphere from escaping into space. Even the gravity differential can be fixed; our scientists have recently come up with a way to enhance surface gravity and make it similar to that of Earth and Krina.”
“But –” Mia found herself at a loss for words. “Wait, so you want Mars, not Earth?”
Korum sighed. “No, Mia. We want a place for our species to continue flourishing once our sun begins to dim. It’s unfortunate, but we can’t keep our star from dying. Maybe one day we’ll discover a way to fix that too, but for now, we have to plan for the worst. Earth would be our second choice, after Krina, and Mars would be our third.”
“So you do want Earth?” Mia felt like she wasn’t getting something.
“Yes.” His amber gaze was cool and even. “Of course we do. At least the warmer parts of it. But we’re not going to kill humans for it, or whatever it is Saret implied. We’ll give your people the option of remaining on Earth or relocating to the newly transformed Mars in exchange for significant wealth and other perks.”
“You’ll bribe humans to leave Earth?” Mia stared at him in disbelief.
“Yes.” A small smile appeared on his lips. “You could call it that. There are plenty of regions on Earth that are poor, where daily existence is a struggle. We’ll offer those people the option of moving to a place that’s very much like paradise, where all their basic needs would be met and they would live like kings. Don’t you think that would be appealing to someone in rural India or Zimbabwe?”
Mia blinked. She could see his logic – but she could also see a big problem with what he was saying. “If Mars is going to be so great,” she said slowly, “why wouldn’t the Krinar want to live there themselves and leave our planet alone?”
“Some of us will probably want to live on Mars,” Korum said. “It’s not out of the question that you and I might move there at some point. But there will always be those who are uncomfortable with what they view as artificial nature, those who would much rather live on a planet that’s gone through billions of years of natural evolution – even if that planet has been somewhat polluted and damaged by humans.”
“So they will come live with us – with humans, I mean – on Earth?”
“Yes,” Korum said, “exactly. We’ll build more Centers on Earth, so that some Krinar can live there. And in exchange for humans ceding us that space, we’ll give them a much more luxurious environment on Mars. It’ll be a win-win for both species.”
“And if humans would not want to cede that space?”
His eyes narrowed. “Why wouldn’t they? Do you really think a subsistence farmer in Rwanda would object to never having to do back-breaking work again? To being able to feed his family every day with tasty, nutritious food? Whoever comes to Mars will hav
e access to free healthcare, education, housing . . . whatever they need. We’re not going to do to your people what Europeans did to Native Americans. That’s not our way.”
“You didn’t really answer my question,” Mia said slowly. “If people don’t want to go, are they going to be forcibly transported to Mars? Are you going to take their land from them no matter what?”
“We’re going to do whatever is necessary to ensure the survival – and continued prosperity – of our species, Mia,” he said, his eyes cold and bright under the dark slashes of his eyebrows. “Just like your kind would.”
A chill ran down Mia’s spine. “I see.”
“What did you expect to hear, my sweet?” His tone was softly mocking. “Did you want me to lie to you, to tell you that we would never take what we need if we couldn’t get it some other way?”
“No,” Mia said. “I didn’t want you to lie to me. I never wanted you to lie to me.” Getting to her feet, she went to stand by the water, staring at the dark blue surface with unseeing gaze. She didn’t know what to think, how to even begin to approach this situation.
What Korum had just described sounded relatively harmless, even generous compared to what human conquerors had done throughout history. Yet Mia knew it wouldn’t be so simple. The Krinar arrival several years ago caused a major panic that spawned the Resistance movement and resulted in thousands of deaths. It was folly to think that the same thing wouldn’t happen when people learned about the Ks’ intentions for Mars. Even if the Krinar relocated only those who went willingly, the general population would be deeply suspicious – and likely with good reason. Once the Krinar had a place where they could move humans with a clear conscience, what would prevent them from doing so?
Korum came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her chest, pulling her up against him so that the top of her head was nestled under his chin. “I’m sorry, Mia,” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean to be harsh with you. Of course you have a right to know – and I shouldn’t blame you for not trusting me after the way we first met. I don’t want to harm your kind. I truly don’t – especially now that I’ve fallen for you and met your family. We’ll do our best to ensure that everything goes smoothly, that all your governments are fully on board and informed about what’s going on. Nobody has to get hurt. We’ll make sure everybody comes out ahead in this.”
Mia wanted to melt into his embrace, to let him reassure her that everything would be all right, but she couldn’t be an ostrich hiding her head in the sand. “When are you going to do this?” Her voice sounded dull, empty. “When are you going to transform Mars?”
“Soon,” Korum said, his arms tightening around her. “I have just received the final go-ahead from the Elders to proceed.”
“But why Mars?” Mia couldn’t understand that part. “Why don’t the Krinar just take some planet in another solar system? If you can do this, this kind of thing –”
“Terraforming,” Korum said. “It’s called terraforming.”
“Right,” Mia said. “If you can terraform Mars, why not just do it to a planet elsewhere? Why does it have to be in such close proximity to Earth?”
“Because the proximity to Earth will make the project easier,” he explained quietly. “We’ve never done something of this magnitude before, and we’ll need a base from which our scientists and other experts can operate. Earth can serve as that base for now. This won’t be an easy task. It will take years – possibly decades – to make Mars habitable, and it will be nice to have our Centers on Earth close by in case of any emergencies. Once we’ve worked out all the kinks in the process, then we can terraform other planets located in habitable zones throughout the different galaxies.”
“Other planets besides Earth and Mars?” Mia turned in his arms, meeting his gaze. For the first time, she realized the full depth of his ambition – and it shook her to the core. “You’re building an empire, aren’t you?” she breathed. “A real-life intergalactic empire . . . Earth, Mars, these other planets in the future – the Krinar will rule them all, won’t they?”
“Yes.” His eyes gleamed brightly. “We will.”
* * *
Korum could see the shock on her face, and he softened his tone. “Would that be such a bad thing, my sweet? Your people will benefit from this as well. If anything were to happen to Earth, humans would survive and prosper at our side.”
He could feel the tension in her delicate frame, and he cursed Saret for planting doubts in her mind that day. Korum had planned to tell everything to Mia in due time, to explain his intentions in the most reassuring way possible. He’d known there was a possibility she would question him after she regained her memory, but he hadn’t anticipated his own reaction to her questions. Her distrust, her propensity to think the worst about him – it was all too reminiscent of the beginning, when she had spied on him and betrayed him to the Resistance. The wounds from that time were still too fresh for him to be able to remain as calm and soothing as he’d hoped to be.
“At your side – and under your control, right?” She made a move to free herself, and Korum let his arms drop, taking a step back to give her some space. He didn’t bother responding to her question; the answer to that was obvious.
An intergalactic empire . . . He didn’t usually think about it in such terms, but it was not a bad description for what he hoped to accomplish in his lifetime. Ever since he could remember – ever since he had been a small child – Korum had dreamed of exploring and settling other planets. He saw it as their destiny. As beautiful as Krina was, it was also just one tiny planet among trillions – a piece of rock dependent on its star and vulnerable to various cosmic disasters.
Earth had always fascinated him, with its Krina-like characteristics and a species that was strikingly similar to the Krinar themselves. In his youth, Korum, like many others, had regarded humans as inferior, with their weak, fragile bodies and primitive way of living. It wasn’t until the recent centuries that he’d begun to understand that these beings were as intelligent and resourceful as the Krinar themselves. In the past, what Mia feared would have been a legitimate concern: Korum of a thousand years ago wouldn’t have hesitated to simply take Earth away from her people. Now, however, he didn’t want to deprive humans of their planet; he just wanted to ensure that the Krinar had a place on it too.
He had never thought his ambition was particularly outrageous. He knew that other people did, however. Even his own father seemed intimidated by Korum’s drive at times, not understanding that his son merely wanted what was best for their species. A group of planets populated and controlled by the Krinar was a logical next step in their evolution, and Korum saw nothing wrong with working toward that goal.
Now he just had to make his charl see things from his perspective. “Mia, listen to me,” Korum said, watching her intently. “I know you’re afraid, but I’m not lying to you. I didn’t tell you any of this before because it’s the equivalent of classified information – not because I was trying to conceal something evil. I just received final clearance from the Elders for Mars, and we’ll reach out to your governments next, to inform them about our intentions. That way, they can adequately prepare the population and nip any potentially dangerous rumors in the bud. Nobody has to get hurt in this – and we’ll do our best to ensure that it doesn’t happen.”
Her sexy little tongue came out to lick her lips, and he found his eyes glued to her mouth, picturing that tongue licking something else entirely. Damn it, focus. With effort, Korum lifted his gaze to meet hers, ignoring the stirring in his cock. Now was not the time to think about sex; he had to convince her he wasn’t about to exterminate her kind or steal their planet.
“Do you swear?” Her voice was soft, tremulous, and he could see hope warring with doubt on her face. She wanted to trust him, but she needed more reassurance. “Do you swear that you don’t intend my people any harm? That when you build your empire, it won’t be at the cost of my species’ well-being?”
“Y
es, my darling,” Korum said. “I swear it. Unless humans strike at us, we won’t do anything to harm them. Those who wish to leave Earth will be well compensated for their choice, and we’ll live alongside your people on Earth, Mars, and whatever other planets we find. It won’t be so bad, my sweet. I promise you that.”
And stepping toward her, he drew her into his embrace again, exhaling in relief when he felt her arms sliding around his waist as well.
Chapter 29
Mia put on the shimmerstone necklace Korum had given her and surveyed herself critically in the three-dimensional mirror located in the bedroom. She was dressed in formal Krinar clothing, a gleaming white dress similar to the one she’d worn to the fight. Her hair was pinned up and covered with a silvery net that matched the sandals on her feet. She looked festive – and ready to face the Elders.
By all rights, she should be nervous. After all, she was about to meet the oldest Krinar in existence, whose names were legend among Ks and whose mandates determined the fate of humanity. The Krinar who were about to decide her family’s lifespan. Yet she felt strangely calm, as if nothing could touch her right now.
Her mind kept dwelling on this morning’s conversation with Korum, going through it over and over again. Mars, Earth, an entire intergalactic empire . . . There was really no end to her lover’s ambition. Mia had no doubt that Korum would ultimately achieve his goal – and that he would be at the helm of this empire he was about to build.
And she would be at his side. Her head spun at the thought. She, who had never wanted anything more than a quiet, ordinary life, would be there to watch the Krinar empire taking shape, at the side – and in bed – of the man who was going to make it happen.