by Phoebe Nix
Jocelyn looked nervous. She hid her trembling hands behind her, and she lightly rocked back and forth. She couldn’t seem to fix her eyes on the King, Karlol, or the bounty behind them.
Mendius noticed that she was looking at the food, and gestured toward it. “Please,” he said. “Make yourself at home, as your people would say.”
“I’m sure once you’ve said that to them, they ended up never leaving,” she jested, pulling her mask off before she ambled to the table.
The King waited until she was far enough to not hear them and said, “She’s surely not one of them.”
“She isn’t. Even Lore, who knows who the girl might be, has said it herself. She poses no threat,” Karlol agreed.
“I would never think of her as a threat. I meant to say she doesn’t quite think like them. This creature is like no other I have ever met,” he dawdled as he stroked his beard. “I could certainly see her as the savior.”
Karlol shifted his gaze to Jocelyn, who had stockpiled a mountain of fruits on a folded arm, taking a bite out of everything she came across, the food bulging out of her cheek.
“Could you, really?”
Ever since the Prince had laid eyes on her, all he could see was a ridiculous being, who not only lacked wings, but had no filter that would sift out her absurd remarks. Maybe the only redeeming quality about her unwonted gaiety was the innocence it exuded – and sometimes witty retorts that made him smile.
But it seemed that King Mendius saw beyond that. And seeing as Karlol would blindly trust his father’s insight, he was inclined to regard this human in a different light.
The sound of clashing plates echoed in the throne room as Jocelyn accidentally stepped on the tablecloth, pulling it off the table along with all the plates and steins on top of it. She slowly turned to them, swallowing a ball of unchewed fruit that bulged in her throat as it slid down her gullet.
Or at least I’ll try.
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry.” Her face had turned a deep shade of crimson.
“That’s alright!” the King hollered with an elaborate wave. “You look tired, my dear. Why don’t you let Karlol here make himself useful and show you to your room? We can resume this when you feel better.”
Mendius leaned over to Karlol’s shoulder. “And that’s not your bedroom.” He winked.
“Father, she’s a human.” Karlol faked his disgust.
“Who might be the savior,” his father added, giving him a powerful pat on the wings that hurled him forward.
Jocelyn seemed surprised that the palace had stairs.
Karlol went on to explain that they had formerly been adopted from human architecture, and built in hopes of them following the peace treaty to the letter. The steps, however, were too high, and climbing them was laborious enough to have her panting after one flight.
The Prince noticed and scooped her up, beating his wings lightly as they soared to the upper floor. He put her down in the hallway, where the gold-hued glow of the torches shone brilliantly.
“I’m definitely going to get lost here,” she said as she followed his quick steps.
All the guest rooms were empty, so Karlol picked the closest one to his bedroom. He nonchalantly flung the door open and ambled inside, turning around to face her.
It’s a bed and an armoire. She already knows what to do.
“Alright, so this is your bedroom for now,” he blurted. “I’ll be in my room, which is at the end of the hall. Try to get some rest.”
He spread his wings and was about to fly out the door, but Jocelyn tugged on his arm, and he landed back on to his feet.
“Yes?”
Her smile had fallen into a confused frown that knitted her eyebrows together. “I wanted to thank you for everything,” she said. “I’ve been so terrified. I thought I was going to watch you die. I didn’t even know who you were. I saw this beautiful creature for the first time, and I was about to watch it being shot to death, and I thought I was going to be next.” She was rambling, and her words were barely audible.
Karlol walked up to her, concerned by her sudden grief. She must have been containing it this entire time, which explained her irrational behavior. He gently grasped her shoulder, and gazed at her watering eyes.
“I guess, I just wanted to say that I’m so grateful. For everything. For fuck’s sake, I’m practically your enemy, and you saved my life and brought me to your home. You’ve been so generous and so kind, I would have been dead on a post if it weren’t for you,” she bawled, wiping her tears.
“Jocelyn, you’re not my enemy,” Karlol sighed. “And you’re not-”
The human pushed herself to her toes, interlacing her fingers at Karlol’s nape and pulling him closer. With his eyes lost in hers, he leaned closer, his eyes wide open as he felt her soft lips on his.
A wave of warmth flowed through him as her lips played against his. He quickly pulled away as he felt himself stiffen in his pants. With widened eyes he said, “Goodnight, Jocelyn,” before swiftly turning away and trotting to his room.
What the hell just happened?
He looked down at where his organ bulged.
How can I be attracted to a human?
Karlol shook his head as he turned the handle on his door and rushed inside before anyone saw him. He leaned against the door, his chest heaving wildly. He couldn’t comprehend his emotions or how quickly that woman was able to stir something in him – something so pure, yet so intense that his body had no choice but to react to it in some way.
He combed his hair back as he paced to the bed and flopped onto it.
And as eloquently as his mind could construe the situation, Karlol mumbled to himself, “I guess I’m attracted to a fucking human.”
Chapter 15
Did I scare him away?
Jocelyn sat quietly on the round bed. The room looked a lot like Lore’s cabin with a bigger armoire and a wide, rectangular mirror leaning on the wall across the bed.
She rose to her feet and walked toward a sliding door that she thought was another closet, but it revealed a washroom, where there was a wide stone bench with a round hole. Jocelyn carefully looked through the hole. It looked like a portal to oblivion. Water ran along the chute that likely led to a sewage system. The sink was a granite bowl that resembled a small fountain, where she could wash up with fresh, running river water.
A matching round bathtub was big enough to double as a Jacuzzi. There was no tap, just a rectangular stone tucked in the wall with a handle which, when pulled, supplied a flow of running water that quickly filled the granite container.
The water was lukewarm when she dipped a foot in before immersing herself fully and resting her head on the curved rim.
Why do you have to be so stupid, Jose? You made a fool of yourself in front of the King, and you had to top it off with kissing the goddamned Prince.
She had done it on the spur of the moment. She was never one to think of the consequences of her actions when it came to speaking her mind or following her heart. If she had, she would have never ended up in Egypt. She would have gladly stayed in New York and unwound at the local bar by gulping down gin and tonic the way she was used to.
But there she was, on planet Lookar, kissing a Prince and choking on plums in the King’s presence.
Water dripped behind her feet, forming a trail as she walked toward the armoire. She opened one of the doors, and her eyes widened. The wardrobe was filled with short coats, which resembled kimonos. She pulled one out, waiting for the air to dry her trembling body, and quickly put it on before she flopped on the bed.
She was weary from her long and arduous journey, and had thought that she would fall asleep the moment she placed her head on the plush pillow and shut her eyes, but she tossed and turned for hours before she was able to get a wink of sleep.
A knock at the door startled her awake.
“Jocelyn?” Karlol called out.
Moaning softly as she rose with half-shut eyes, she stopped at the m
irror, patting down her wayward hair before she paced to the door. She took a lungful of air and gave her head a quick shake, as though that would brush away the grogginess. She slowly opened the door and peeked through the open slit.
“H-hello,” she stammered.
“Do you have something on?” he asked with a smile.
Jocelyn nodded, opening the door.
“I was just-” she began before being interrupted.
“I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted last night. I turned away and left so abruptly, when I should have at least given you a proper tour around the Palace,” he swiftly said, walking past her and taking a seat on the bed. “But it’s just been such a long day. I hope you can forgive me.”
Well, what do you know? Maybe, I’m a good kisser after all.
“It’s nothing, really. I haven’t given it much thought,” she casually replied.
I’m such a lousy liar.
Karlol shot her a grin. “Were you too busy thinking about toppling over a whole feast?”
“Oh, shut up.”
Karlol laughed. His teeth were bright, sharp and dangerous like the sword he wore on his hip. Something about how powerful he was drew her to him even more, knowing that even though he could end her with a single blow, he would only use such ferocity to protect her.
And he already had.
“So what brings you here after I’ve completely embarrassed you?” She asked with her hands on her hips as she slowly sauntered in his direction.
“Oh, you know,” he shrugged. “I thought I’d give you the tour around the palace. It’s the least I could do, anyway. But if you need more time to rest...”
“No!” she boomed, then cleared her throat to speak in a lower, more feminine tone. “I mean, I would love to take a look around.”
Jocelyn’s heartbeats thrummed in her chest as she watched him playfully kicking his feet on her bed. He wore nothing but baggy pants, his torso perfectly sculpted and lean. She thought back to when she had pressed her cheek against his chest – he had smelled so musky, so intense, that it made her stomach flutter just thinking about it. She spaced out as she gazed into his eyes, which stared back into her soul and entrapped her in his overpowering allure.
They locked eyes for a moment that felt like an eternity before Jocelyn quickly averted her gaze and smiled faintly.
He rose from the bed, stopping at the mirror to comb his hair back, but a wavy lock slipped from his fingers, landing back on his forehead.
Dammit, I’m completely smitten.
“I got you something I think you’ll love me for,” Karlol teased, slipping his hand into his pocket as they walked down the hallway.
“Did you fit a spaceship back home into your pocket?” she asked.
He snickered. “No, even better.” He pulled out a wooden box and handed it to her.
She took it, turning it over to study its anatomy. “Oh, Karlol. You shouldn’t have. A tiny wooden box.”
“Open it.”
She clicked the lid open and let out a chuckle. It was a baked delicacy that smelled like a donut. “Do you think I could be bribed so easily with food?”
“You have the most voracious appetite I’ve ever seen. I’m honestly baffled by how much food you can fit in there, and still look...” He stopped.
She turned to him. “Look what?”
“Let’s go upstairs,” he urged, picking her up as his wings extended and he soared a few feet above floor level, and up the spiraled stairs that led to the roof.
As soon as he put her down, she pulled herself away and trotted to the railing.
“Oh, my goodness,” she exclaimed. “It’s beautiful.”
Karlol ambled up beside her, leaning over the railing, his eyes caressing her.
From where Jocelyn stood, the torches that lit the thousands of houses ahead of and beneath her looked like fireflies. She heard distant flapping of Vogel wings, which blended harmoniously with the whistling of the wind.
“Why did you have to take me here?” She was suddenly stricken by a wave of grief.
“I’m sorry?” he queried.
“Now I don’t really want to leave this paradise and go back home,” she confessed. “But I can’t just stay here. Well, provided I’m given the chance to leave.”
“Why can’t you? My father seems to be already taken with you, and even Lore has developed a liking towards you.”
“Because I need to find my friends. Because, even though this is real, in a way, it’s not. You’re a Vogel. Your people are designed to be one with nature, and mine inherently have a desire to destroy. No matter what I think, I don’t believe it’s possible that I’d ever be viewed as more than an outsider.”
“That’s not true,” Karlol said as he shook his head. “You don’t know my people. We’re quick to take someone in and love them as our own. That’s how we ended up in this mess in the first place. We haven’t always been this hostile towards intruders. We’ve just been compelled to when they started hunting us.”
“But my friends. My girls. I don’t even know if they’re still alive. I don’t think I have it in me to just pretend they never existed and carry on with my life on a different planet,” she sighed. “What if they’re still in Egypt, wondering where the hell I am? It’s just not that simple.”
Karlol let out a sigh and moistened his lips. He pulled her chin to him and smiled. “We’ll find your friends. If they were around the same wormhole, I’m quite sure they’re still alive. They may not be on Lookar, but wherever they are, if they’re half as brave as you are, I’m positive they’re still out there.”
Something about Karlol’s presence was otherworldly, as though he emanated an aura that filled her with palpable warmth whenever he spoke or looked her in the eye. The sight of him alone was reassuring; she knew everything would take the right course. She was never much of a spiritual person, but something inside her itched at her, telling her that she had found her way here for a much greater purpose than she could now comprehend.
She gazed at his green eyes, smattered with gold specks. She was tempted to plant another kiss on his lips, but quickly brushed the thoughts away lest she ruin a promising friendship.
Karlol cupped her cheeks in his hand, and she closed her eyes, letting out a soft moan as she took a whiff of his scent – that scent that made her world swirl, distorted by her inexpressible feelings for him. She could feel an arm wrap around her waist, and she turned in his grasp, curling her fingers over the railing.
I think I could fall in love with you.
Her eyelids slowly parted and she gently pulled away.
“Will you take me around the city?”
Faster than her eye could decipher, Karlol gathered her up and leaped atop the railing. He bent his knees and kicked himself into the sky at a tremendous speed, his wings spread like a white cape, casting a dashing shadow on the city beneath them.
Her stomach lurched, like she was on a roller coaster drop, but she soon adapted to the feeling. And it was the most liberating sensation she’d ever felt. Karlol curled his wings back, slowing his descent to the fringe of a pebbled pathway, which forked into a dozen or so more paths leading to a creek.
She hadn’t seen the ground since she was flown to the Vogel city.
“I didn’t even know you could wander down here in your city,” she said, taking Karlol’s hand and walking toward the stream.
“We don’t,” he softly replied, with grief in his tone.
Running water lapped along the edge of the creek, which was cavernous enough to make them feel isolated, but serene nonetheless. Beneath the translucent river, darting shadows of colorful marine life could be seen hurtling past. Karlol had to cut his way with his talons through the thicket that bordered the stream, before they hoisted themselves on the bank.
The rocks beneath them were damp and cool, the air frigid and still. Her fingertips were cold, but she was otherwise warm under her coat. The rising sun cast gleams of gold on the rive
r. The water glittered brightly ahead of them and ever-so-slightly glinted in the shadowy distance, where a waterfall ran along a gradual slope and collected at a pristine plunge pool.
“You’re not allowed to be down here?” she asked as she turned to him.
“It’s our territory, but it’s not safe. This is where humans sometimes linger to hunt us for sport.” He paused. “It used to be for sport, now it’s for some sort of message,” he lamented. “But enough about that. Our conversations can be really grim sometimes.”
Jocelyn softly chuckled. “Life can be really grim sometimes,” she intoned.
“As a human guard once told you, knock it off,” Karlol jested.
“You saw that?”
“Saw it? The whole human kingdom must have heard about it. You don’t pack much muscle, but you can put up a fight. They took longer trying to drag you out of that cell than they did with me.”
Jocelyn’s laugh resounded in the forest. “See? There’s much more to me than stuffing my face with food.”
“I highly doubt that, but I’ll pretend to take your word for it,” he teased.
Jocelyn nudged him in the arm, and he guffawed, tucking back his wings.
“I like the way your wings are expressive,” she noted. “I’d like to see you try to lie with wings that flap behind your back when you’re nervous.”
“You’re observant,” Karlol replied. “We can sometimes control them, but never when we’re overwhelmed with emotions,” he said slowly, moving closer to her.
“What kind of emotions?” she said softly.
He shifted his gaze to the stream and playfully shrugged. “Fear. Worry. Panic.” He turned to her. “Attraction.” His wings twiddled.
Jocelyn felt a lick of warmth run down her chest again, the way she had always felt whenever she was physically close to this magnificent being. She no longer questioned why she was attracted to him and succumbed to her emotions as she leaned in closer to him.
As their lips touched, Jocelyn knew this kiss was different.
Time seemed to stop as he gently nibbled on her bottom lip, giving her gentle nips that lightly tugged on her lips before his tongue slid into her mouth and darted out in playful maneuvers.