Aaronmon and I thanked the dancing Aríenoms. There were many Emréians that came to give us gifts or performances as part of the bonding festivities. It had only been a few weeks since the announcement, but there was no time to waste since there were only two Hurmon moons until the ceremony.
After the Aríenoms, a man approached us who introduced himself as Sougle. He was tall, slender, and his head was somewhat square.
“As an Ominus, there is not much that I can create with my powers, but I wanted to pay my respects like everyone else,” he said. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small leather case.
Sougle opened the box and revealed two necklaces. Both had light silver, round, and flat pendants, about the size of a nickel. I accepted the box and found that they were smooth, but with an engraving on the front of each one.
While I could speak Emréian fluently, I still had problems reading the symbols, but I was learning. Aaronmon looked at the box and smiled.
“It says, ‘Even apart, our bond will keep us close,’” Aaronmon told me, then picked them up and held them side by side.
“They are attracted only to each other.” Sougle smiled.
“They are beautiful,” I said, touched by his gift.
“Here, let me put yours on for you.” Aaronmon unhooked the necklace and lifted it up to my neck. He leaned in and started to snap it into place, giving me a whiff of his sweet scent. I smiled, feeling the butterflies dance in my stomach.
The audience whistled and applauded. Then I noticed the camera orbs circling around us, trying to get a nice shot of the event. I was getting so used to them that I almost didn’t notice.
“It’s really beautiful on you,” Aaronmon whispered.
“Let me put yours on,” I offered. Aaronmon nodded as I took the necklace from him. I placed it around his neck, noticing that once I got closer, the necklace pulled toward mine. After I secured his necklace, I had to detach his from mine when I pulled away.
“You two are such a lovely couple,” Sougle said as he left.
The festivities went on until the sunset. During those few hours we were showered with gifts, participated in several dances, and feasted. Dancing on Emréiana reminded me of the choreographed movements of dancing in the 1800s on Earth. I had participated in a few events there in Emréiana and had only learned a few dances. I was grateful to have Aaronmon as a partner to teach me. I also jokingly thanked the citizens for not poking fun at me while I was still learning. Fortunately, most of the citizens who came to the festivities wanted me on the throne.
When we made it back to the palace, it was dark, and a light rain was getting heavier. Aaronmon had already made his way back to his chambers, but I stayed behind, watching the patters of water fall on the window sill and down to the garden. There was hardly a night or morning when the rain was not falling. Sometimes when people needed relief, the Aríenomes would get together and stop the rain for a few hours, much as they had done today for the festivities. But without the Aríenoms, there was nothing to stop the rain. No power could permanently control the weather. That lack of control was a scary thing, sometimes.
“Was the festival fun?” Kyle asked in English, interrupting my thoughts.
“Yes,” I told him, starting to feel uneasy in his presence.
A week after his arrival, I had secured his freedom, and now he was treated like any other guest in the palace. It had taken me a while to get used to his presence; after all, I had believed him to be dead. But there was nothing that cured the awkwardness I felt around him. My feelings were not black and white but a shade of gray, unsure of which way to go.
“I’m sorry I didn’t go.” His voice was steady. “But I didn’t think I could bear to watch it.”
“I’m tired. I think I’ll go to bed.” I started to leave.
“You’re avoiding me,” Kyle accused.
I hesitated before turning to face him. “You still have feelings for me. I can’t ignore that,” I said quietly. “I’m engaged to be bonded, and the citizens trust me. I can’t lose that.”
“But do you still love me?” Kyle’s question was stern and blunt.
Even if I found an answer it would not matter. If there was love left, it would all disappear when I bonded with Aaronmon.
“Goodnight, Kyle,” I said and left without turning back.
I made it to my chambers without any disturbance. I threw myself on the bed, buried my face in the pillow, and moaned. I cuddled another pillow up to my stomach. Kyle should have never returned. My feelings were finally starting to sway toward Aaronmon. Everything would have been simple. The bonding would have been easy. But now everything was a confusing mess.
I took a deep breath and reminded myself, You made your decision. You are going to bond with Aaronmon. That fact alone made me happy. It would be easier to forget about Kyle after the bonding had taken place.
My abula started to ding, informing me that I had an incoming call. The holographic screen lit up: Jase.
After the virus, I had not returned to Tau Annonun and instead would finish my studies at the palace. Jase, herself, stayed behind but we still talked nearly every day.
“So I saw the celebration on the screen! It looked like a lot of fun,” she said, beaming.
“It was a lot of fun. There is a lot that happens for a bonding ceremony that we don’t have on Earth,” I told her.
“I think the dances here are confusing. Back on Amara dances aren’t so… organized.”
“Well, that is one thing Earth and Amara have in common,” I pointed out with a laugh.
“Aaronmon could not keep his eyes off of you!” Jase smiled brightly on the other side of the abula. “Look!” On the abula screen, she sent a recording of us dancing to prove her point.
I watched it in awe, seeing us sway back and forth in unison, never taking our eyes off each other. I remember vividly the emotions the bond was sending both of us at that moment. It was hard stepping away from those.
“You two looked as though you were about to go home and proceed with the bond right away,” she said suggestively.
“Don’t get any ideas. That didn’t happen,” I assured her.
“But what about that night a few weeks ago?” Jase reminded me. “Things have to be harder now!”
“They are,” I agreed. “But he wants me to love him.”
“Don’t you?” Jase asked.
I shifted uneasily.
“I didn’t mean to push you on your feelings,” she began. “But you just seem so happy when you are around him.”
“That could just be the bond,” I told her.
“True, but you told me about the memonai when you were sick, you cared a lot for him since you did not want him to get hurt by your passing.”
“I’m just confused, that’s all. I do care for him, yes, but it’s hard to tell the difference between love and the bond.”
“And what about the human… not human.”
“Kyle!” I corrected.
“Can you tell the difference between past love and your feelings now?”
“No,” I admitted.
“But you’re still willing to go through with the bonding ceremony even if you may still love Kyle?”
“Don’t judge me, okay? I have a lot of other people doing that,” I said.
“I’m sorry. I was just trying to help you understand your own feelings. You’re my friend, and I don’t want you to get hurt later.”
“I know, and I’m sorry I got angry. It’s just that a lot is weighing me down. But there is one thing I know for certain and that is that I need to go through with the bonding ceremony. Love has nothing to do with this. I need to be able to end the war with the Bremoir, and maybe that is all I need to focus on. I shouldn’t let any feelings I have get in the way of that.”
I could tell that Jase was worried about my decision, but I didn’t know for sure as she took advantage of the fact that my empathy doesn’t translate through technology.
; “Emréiana is one lucky planet to have a future Krea like you,” she said with a smile.
“You have to tell me that because you’re my friend,” I said.
“No, I have to tell you that because you’re royalty,” she joked.
“So how are classes going?” I asked her, trying to get off the Krea and love topics.
“Well, it’s boring without you. I don’t have garnix following me around anymore. Although many people do recognize me as the Lenai’s friend and ask me how you are feeling and about the bonding ceremony.”
“Sounds busy.”
“Not really, since many of the students are from other planets, and you don’t matter that much to them. It’s mainly the Emréians that ask.”
“You sound so disappointed.” I laughed. My door buzzed. “Jase, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Yes, because we need to discuss how the ceremony works,” she added.
“Night,” I said before shutting the abula off.
My door buzzed again, and I went to open it. On the screen I saw it was one of our captains.
I opened the door and greeted the Emréian.
“Sorry to bother you tonight, Lenai, but we have an urgent matter we need you to attend to.”
“What is wrong?” I asked him.
“I’m not sure, Lenai. I was just asked to come and get you.”
“I understand.” I followed him out into the hall.
As we walked down the hall we were soon joined by my mother and Aaronmon. Relief washed over me when he was at my side.
In the Honure room, Admiral Radeon was projected on the canvas wall.
“Admiral Radeon,” my mother greeted him.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Krea and Lenai, but I wouldn’t have done so if it weren’t urgent.”
“No need to apologize. What has come up?” she asked.
The side of the screen pulled up an image of a Bremoir ship out in space.
“We captured a POW ship just outside of the edges of the galaxy. It’s the first Bremoir ship we have managed to capture before it self-destructs. We have and taken hostage some Bremoir, and Borain Warriors. We are hauling the ship to one of the barren planets for imprisonment.”
My mother nodded, “This is a huge accomplishment. Interrogate the captives. Learn as much as we can from them.”
“That won’t be easy.” Aaronmon stepped in. “The Bremoir are relentless and have no fear of interrogation or torture.”
“Aaronmon’s right, Krea Mannannala,” Radeon said.
“I don’t care what we have to do. We need information. Every Hurmon moon another planet is taken. We can’t protect them all, and we never know which planet is their next target until it is too late,” Krea Mannannala said sternly to the admiral.
“We will do everything in our power,” Radeon responded. “But Krea, there is another issue.”
We all looked at him waiting for him to go on.
“The ship was a POW ship and had many, many prisoners on board. Most of them were from planets captured by the Bremoir. We believe that most of them were citizens who retaliated.”
“How many prisoners?” I asked.
“Thousands,” the admiral answered.
“What state are they in?” Aaronmon broke in.
“Honestly, it’s not pretty. Some of them were subjected to experiments, others were tortured by the Borain Warriors. Almost all of them are malnourished. They fed them just enough to survive.”
“Be sure to treat them all. Get them anything they need,” my mother ordered.
“Many of them will need counseling to help them cope,” the admiral suggested.
“Then get them counseling,” my mother said.
“Where shall we send them? We can’t send them back to their homes,” Aaronmon said.
“We will give them refuge here on Emréiana and ask other planets to help as well,” my mother told him.
“We have two days before they reach the barren planets. Once they arrive they will detain the Bremoir Prisoners, and the survivors will be sent to individual planets after you have made arrangements with them,” Radeon said.
“You have worked hard, Admiral,” Mother told him.
“Thank you, Krea, but I am just helping to do my part.”
I listened for a few minutes as my mother and Admiral Radeon discussed details. This was big. Never had we been able to capture a Bremoir ship. If we even got close, they would self-destruct, leaving no survivors to interrogate.
Even better, we had retrieved a POW ship. We were able to save thousands of people. I hoped we could also recover their planets from the Bremoir. I had experienced firsthand what the Bremoir and Borain Warriors were capable of. I could not bear the thought of what they went through, probably worse than my graduation back on Earth. Then something occurred to me.
“Admiral, do we know all of the species that are on that ship?” I asked him.
“Not yet, Lenai,” Radeon said.
“I see. Can we have an Emréian on board the ship look into something for me?” I folded my arms and took deep breath.
“Of course, Lenai.”
“I would like to know if there are any humans on that ship,” I told him.
“Lenai, from my understanding the attack on the planet Earth was Bremoir ships with the exception of Alice. I doubt they took any hostages, especially with your miraculous feat over the Borain Warriors.”
I pressed my lips together.
“There was one,” Aaronmon said. I turned and met his eyes. He knew who I was searching for: Karlie.
“I see.” Radeon cleared his throat. “I will contact the ship to find out if she is there.”
The holograph closed, and the screen turned blank.
My mother walked over to me and reached for my hand.
“Your friend?” she asked me. I nodded.
She gave my hand a tight squeeze before releasing it.
“I felt so bad,” I said. “I feel like it is entirely my fault.”
“It’s not your fault.” She attempted to soothe me. “I wish I had your empathy so I could make your pain go away. You hold so much regret that is not yours to carry.”
“Isn’t it? People on Earth lost families. Karlie was taken, and Kyle almost died. It was all because of me.”
She smiled weakly. “I blamed myself for your aunt’s death. The garnix wanted to get me to safety first, but as a result, she was killed. I watched you cry for days after the attack. I’m your mother by birth, but you barely knew me. There was no comfort that I could give you. But in order to protect you now, I have to let go of the guilt I felt when she died instead of me.”
I stood quietly, unsure of what to say. I hadn’t expected any confessions from her, but not even my empathy could have detected everything she was bottling up inside.
“She is right,” Aaronmon put in. “You can’t beat yourself up for things outside of your control.”
“I know, but it’s hard when my friends are suffering,” I said and tried to relax.
“It is going to be hours before they can do a thorough search. I should take you to your chambers,” Aaronmon told me before turning to my mother. “Krea Mannannala, I’ll take Lenai Carsona. You just get some rest.”
“I want to stay and wait for Admiral Radeon to call back.”
“My daughter, rest,” my mother said softly. “When another transmission comes through Aaronmon or one of the others will relay it to you.”
I nodded and left with Aaronmon. We took advantage of the rain’s absence on my room’s balcony as we waited on the details of any human prisoners. The clouds had dissipated enough that I could see the stars that shone overhead. Just seeing Earth’s star made me long for Karlie to be on that ship. I could not imagine what she had been through.
“Carsona,” Aaronmon spoke, breaking the silence. “I know this means a lot to you, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”
“You don’t think that she is on that ship.” I tried not to
allow my heart to drop at the thought.
“There are a lot of prisoner ships, but that isn’t my concern.”
I turned away from the stars and found his eyes, looking to them for an answer to my confusion. I allowed my empathy to take in his essence. My stomach jumped, and a lump formed in my throat. I turned away quickly and closed off my empathy.
“You think she’s dead.” The words came out choked.
“It’s been over a year, and who knows what they did to everyone on that ship?”
“You don’t think that I didn’t think of that? Every day that we didn’t rescue her I knew was one more day she came closer to death. But I have to believe she is alive. If everyone we try to rescue is already dead, then what is the point of this war? We shouldn’t just protect the other planets; we should also rescue the prisoners that have already been seized.”
“And I agree.” Aaronmon put his hands on my shoulders to comfort me. ”But in this particular case, I don’t want you to get hurt if we can’t bring Karlie back.”
I was about to protest when I heard my door buzz. I saw on the screen that it was Kyle. I took a deep breath. He wasn’t allowed to come to my chambers, but I knew he had heard about the ship. I opened the door, and Kyle quickly came in.
“I heard you captured a POW ship,” he said.
“We did.” Aaronmon responded in English, a familiar oddity for me.
The room’s atmosphere shifted into a tense war of male hormones. I looked from Kyle to Aaronmon, who were staring each other down like lions during a territory battle. Aaronmon and Kyle had mostly avoided each other, and when they couldn’t—dinner, for instance—they were around other palace guests and had to bite their tongues to hide Kyle’s past as my boyfriend. It was a rare thing for them to be this close to each other privately.
“How did you manage to capture it without it self-destructing?” Kyle asked.
“Our admiral just told us about it. We won’t get the details until later. Why? What do you know about it?” Aaronmon asked.
“Nothing, but I do know that the Bremoir are very strict about that.”
“Do you think it’s a trap?” I asked.
“He should know since he was on their ship for the past year. Of course, he could still be a trap himself.”
Gemini the Heir Page 7