The Krinar Code

by Emma Castle

  His hand slipped higher up, almost touching the juncture of her thighs. Dear God, was he going to get her hot and bothered right there in front of his brother and his brother’s wife? In a public restaurant?

  She blamed the slit in the dress. It made it way too easy for him to reach her bare skin. Which he no doubt knew, since he’d picked out the damn thing. His fingers drew slow circular patterns on her inner thigh, and though it was difficult, she did her best to ignore him while she ate. The salad was really good. It still didn’t compare to a good old greasy cheeseburger, in her opinion, but it was certainly an interesting choice. As Soren explained to her, aquine was a type of edible flower. The petals were plucked while in bloom and sprinkled over the salad. When she tasted the bright-purple petals, they were a lot like lemon. The citrus flavor blended well with the freshly cut romaine lettuce and the light balsamic dressing.

  Soren and Sef talked while she and Bianca ate their dinner, mostly in silence. The brothers discussed their friends back on Krina and laughed about old memories that were from thousands of years ago. Harper hadn’t thought to ask how old Sef was, but she made a note to inquire later. When dessert came to the table, Harper had grown used to Sef’s teasing touches and could almost ignore how inappropriate it was. She focused on the small parfait-shaped glass that was filled with a creamy substance that reminded her of sorbet with tiny pieces of fruit in it. It was delicious.

  “I think this is my favorite Krinar food,” Harper said, and Sef chuckled.

  “I shall remember that. It’s called hoola ice. You can ask Linda for it at any time.”

  “Hoola ice?” Harper repeated, determined to remember the name.

  “Wait, who’s Linda?” Bianca asked.

  “My central core device at home,” Sef explained.

  “You named yours?” Bianca looked to Soren. “Can we do that too?”

  Soren looked puzzled. “It never occurred to me that you would want to. Is it normal for humans to name their machines?”

  “It is if they talk to us.” Bianca winked at Harper. “Ours has a masculine voice, so I’m thinking Bob…or maybe Eustace or maybe Chris Hemsworth”

  Soren cleared his throat. “Bob would be just fine.”

  Bianca grinned back mischievously at Soren. “Or maybe HAL, like in 2001: A Space Odyssey, in case Soren gives me a hard time and I want to lock him out of the house.”

  As the dinner continued, Harper found she really enjoyed Bianca’s company and already considered her a friend. She hoped she would get a chance to see more of the other woman. They teased Soren and Sef with their Earth trivia and mentioning their favorite movie stars, using their shared experiences as a code of sorts between them. After all, she understood what Bianca had meant about naming the central core computer HAL, but Soren hadn’t. But some references elicited puzzled questions from the Krinar brothers.

  “Wait…let me see if I understand this,” Soren said as he cut in on Harper and Bianca’s discussion of Pop Rocks. “You put this…crumbling candy into your mouth and it…explodes?”

  Harper laughed at Soren’s shocked expression. “Not explodes. Pops.”

  “You find this activity enjoyable?” Sef asked.

  “Yeah, it’s weird and fun,” Harper explained. “The one thing I’ve always been afraid to try is Mentos and Diet Coke in my mouth. When I was little, my brothers told me it would make my stomach explode, and as stupid as it sounds, I still kind of believe it might be true.”

  “Me too! Never tried it except in a Diet Coke bottle.” Bianca giggled.

  “Okay, I’m lost. What are Mentos, and how does a beverage factor in?” Sef asked.

  “You put these small Mentos candies into a Diet Coke bottle, and like the second you drop them into the bottle, it shoots up a plume of foam, sometimes as high as ten feet.”

  “It’s really fun. It’s a rite of passage for grade school kids,” Bianca added.

  “Sounds like we missed out on quite the childhood.” Sef chuckled as he looked to Soren. They shared a warm, familial smile, and Harper couldn’t help but remember what Sef had said about the way their relationship had felt strained after Soren’s escape from Zaruth, but it seemed they were growing close again.

  “It’s time we should retire, Bianca. My parents are arriving tomorrow, and I’m certain Mother will wear you out.” Soren stood and pulled Bianca’s chair back.

  “I’m really not ready to meet the in-laws,” Bianca muttered, but she was still smiling. “Harper, it was so nice to meet you. Perhaps you and I could meet tomorrow and explore the Center?”

  “She doesn’t have her freedom yet,” Sef said flatly, dropping his hand from Harper’s thigh as he stood.

  “Freedom? Wait…what are you talking about?” Bianca looked between Sef and Harper, worry knitting her brows.

  “Come, Bianca, I will explain at home,” Soren said as tucked her arm in his and gently led her away. Harper listened to the other woman’s protests until they exited the restaurant.

  “Would it really have been so bad to let me wander around a bit? Bianca’s nice, and having a friend here would make me a lot less lonely. And where exactly am I going to go? It’s not like I can just waltz out of the Center.”

  Sef cupped her chin with one hand. “You’ve done well tonight. I will take you to see your brothers tomorrow morning. After that, we can discuss an outing on your own with Bianca.”

  Harper bit her tongue. She still couldn’t believe how medieval he was behaving when it came to her freedom. Did he honestly think she was dangerous? She wasn’t going to hurt any of the Ks.

  Of course…if she was able to crack the key to Krinar technology, she could bust out of the Center and rescue her brothers.

  “We should go.” He offered her his arm, and she took it. They left the restaurant and began walking back through the Center using a different route. Sef showed her all of the strange life of the K Center, from the farmlands to their shopping venues. Though it all looked alien to her, it also looked familiar, and Sef pointed out that human influences were integrated into their designs to make the transition into human society easier. He even brought her to one of their parks, where she saw a few K children playing.

  “So few?” She nodded at the handful of children playing on the jungle gym equipment that look like a very fancy version of what human kids played on.

  “We don’t conceive easily, and given our lifespan, it’s wise not to overpopulate. Most of my people only ever have a few children over the millennia. It makes them very precious.” Sef’s lips curved in a tentative smile as he watched a little girl chase a bigger boy around.

  “Do you have any children?” Harper asked, her heart tight as she wondered if perhaps he’d had a wife and possibly children in the past.

  “No. I’ve never taken a mate or a charl, and I’ve never had children.”

  “Do you want children?” she asked.

  “I do. Very much. It’s strange. I’ve lived eight thousand years, and until now I’ve had no desire for children, but all that’s changed.” Sef looked her way, his gaze unbearably tender. “I want children with you.”

  “W-with m-me?” she stammered. He pulled her into his arms, kissing her gently, sweetly.

  “Yes, if you want them, it would be a great honor to have them with you.” She saw the open sincerity in his eyes as he said this. “Our people are still trying to find a way to make our mating with humans compatible. It is a genetic puzzle, if you will, but we are very close. We predict it will be possible perhaps within the year.”

  “Wow…kids with the Ks.” Harper wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Not horrified, but worried. What lives would those children have as half-human? Would their lifespans be different? Would they be viewed as inferior for their human blood? Would full K children not want to play with them? She knew how humans would react, with fear and prejudice, but perhaps the Ks were more accepting. She could only hope they were.

  Sef curled an arm around her waist. “I thin
k it’s time to go home.”

  He led them back until they were in familiar territory, and then she recognized the street his house was on. When they got back to Sef’s house, he suddenly froze. “Stay behind me.”

  His tone scared her. “What? Why?”

  “Someone is in my house. Linda did not alert me of an intrusion.”

  “Who is it?” she asked as he crept toward the door, still shielding her. He curled his hand around the knob and pulled hard and fast, whooshing the door open. There was a long moment of silence, but she couldn’t see around his tall muscled body to tell who or what was inside.

  “Mother?” Sef said in shock.

  15

  His mother was seated on his couch, and his father was in the kitchen preparing two glasses of Krinar wine.

  “Sef, my dear,” Sarina said in Krinar. Her eyes widened as she noticed who was behind him.

  “Who is this?” His mother stood, her pale rose gown displaying her natural beauty. She looked as young as Sef and Soren, even though she had to be older than them.

  “This,” he said as he gently pried Harper off his back and guided her in front of him, “is Harper. My charl.”

  “You have a charl?” His mother’s head tilted slightly, puzzled but not displeased.

  “It’s a recent development.” He felt his face flush with embarrassment. No matter how old he was, explaining his romantic entanglements to his mother would always be awkward.

  “Well, let me see her.” Sarina beckoned Harper forward with a nod. Sef felt her stiffen in panic, so he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

  “Don’t worry. She won’t bite.”

  Harper stepped bravely forward, and Sef closed the door as they all began to gather in the living room.

  “Harper?” Sarina asked.

  “Yes. Harper King, ma’am.” Harper smiled, but Sef saw the worry on her face.

  “Ma’am? Oh, my dear child, call me Sarina.” His mother smiled broadly, and her brown eyes twinkled with curiosity. “Sarket, come and meet your son’s charl.”

  Sarket left the kitchen and offered his wife and Harper a glass of wine.

  “It is lovely to meet you, Ms. King,” his father replied. His voice was solemn, but Sef knew his father approved, even if he acted distantly polite. “Sef, I hope you don’t mind that we invited ourselves in.”

  “I was wondering how you got in. I have security protocols in place.”

  His father’s lips twitched. “You have lived too long as a guardian. I only needed to tell your system that I was a family member. The system immediately confirmed that and allowed us in.”

  “Good point. I assumed only enemies would ever try to breach my home, not family.” That was a loophole he would have to see to.

  His mother’s smile faded. “Enemies? Are you expecting trouble here? I thought the Centers were very safe.”

  “They are, but I am in a dangerous line of work. It is my duty to anticipate threats at all times.”

  Sarina relaxed a little. “Ah, I see.” She turned her attention back to Harper. “Come and sit, Harper. I would like to get to know you better. You must be quite extraordinary to attract my son’s interest. He has been alone a very long time.”

  Sef started to go with Harper as she and his mother sat down on the couch, but his father caught his arm. “Let your mother have a few minutes with her. If you sit there brooding about our unexpected arrival, your charl will be nervous.”

  “I’m not brooding, Father,” he protested, then cursed because he sounded like a child.

  “Of course not, son,” Sarket said with a smirk. He placed a hand on his shoulder. “Now, come and tell me what troubles you. I see quite clearly something is bothering you.” They moved into the kitchen, giving his mother and Harper some space.

  As always, his father could see right through him.

  “My assignment to uncover an anti-K resistance cell met with some unexpected revelations,” he explained. “One of them, a clearly dangerous man, said he was working with a K inside our own Center. A K who wants to betray us. That’s what has me worried.”

  “One of our own?” Sarket’s eyes widened. “Do you have any idea who?”

  “Not yet. I am going to interview the human prisoner I suspect knows the identity of the Krinar betraying us. But the important thing is that we stopped the attack they were planning. Still, this Krinar traitor is a loose end that has to be stopped.”

  “You strive so hard to protect those around you, all because you failed to protect Soren when he was captured.” Sarket’s eyes filled with emotion. “But what happened to Soren was not and will never be your fault. You must put it past you.”

  Sef studied his father, seeing the wisdom in his face.

  “I suppose you’re right,” he admitted. He had served his people for so very long, to the point where he often didn’t think about what he wanted for himself…until recently.

  Sarket looked to Harper now with approval. “So, you have taken a charl, and just a few months after Soren. I suppose that was a twin decision?”

  “Definitely not.” Sef briefly turned aside and asked Linda to make two more drinks for him and his father. “But it is an amusing coincidence that we both found females within so short a time.”

  “How did you meet Harper?”

  “Through my assignment. She is the sister of two of the humans I arrested.”

  Sarket paled. “What? Is she safe? Should I warn your mother?”

  “Mother’s fine. Harper is not a rebel. In fact, she’s more special than you realize.” He motioned for his father to come into his office upstairs. He brought up copies of Harper’s designs, converted into hologram form.

  “What is this?” His father peered closely at the designs, his face illuminated by the blue glow. “You’re not saying she designed these?”

  “I am. Her understanding of our flying technology is remarkably close, yet she’s never been near our technology. She created these based on observation and instinct.”

  “This is impressive.” Sarket’s gaze drifted to the designs again before settling on him. “I suspect you are drawn to her because she’s like you in many ways.”

  “Yes and no,” Sef confessed. “We share many of the same interests, but she’s also very different. She lives life boldly, beautifully. She’s shown me how restrained I’ve lived in all my years. There’s a fire in her that burns bright, and despite her small size, she’s strong and bold, yet she isn’t foolish.”

  Sarket sipped his drink and smiled warmly. “You finally found a mate, my son. And she sounds like a perfect match to you in all ways that matter.”

  Sef agreed. But he didn’t tell his father that Harper was here under duress, that she’d only come here to save her brothers from their fate. Sef knew his actions toward her weren’t noble, but after what they’d shared, he could not let her go.

  “So, you and Mother have officially left Krina? You’re not going back?”

  “No, we will not return. The future of our people is here now, and we wish to help make it happen. And seeing as how our sons have both settled down with mates with ties to this planet, we see no reason to return to Krina.”

  “Which Center will you move to? Do you have a specific city in mind, or will you stay here?”

  “As to that, I’m not certain.” Sarket leaned back against the counter and watched Sarina, who was in an animated conversation with Harper. Harper suddenly burst out laughing, and Sef found himself smiling at her open amusement.

  “If you remained in Kansas City, I would not mind,” he offered to his father.

  Sarket’s eyes gleamed with amusement. “Then perhaps we will stay here. I promise to keep your mother away from you and your charl, at least enough so you might have sufficient time alone.”

  Sef touched his father’s shoulder in love and appreciation. It’d been a long time since he’d seen his parents. So many years had been filled with pain and tension after Soren had gone missing. Sef had walked away
from his love of engineering to pursue what he believed to be his duty, but now that he was with Harper, he saw a future where he could let go of all that and return to something he adored almost as much as his rebellious charl.

  “Well, I think your mother has told quite enough stories about you to Harper. Why don’t we go rescue her?” Sarket suggested.

  “Agreed.” They walked over to the sitting room, and Sarket caught his wife’s attention.

  “Oh, it seems I’m being summoned,” Sarina teased and opened her arms. “May I hug you, Harper? That is what humans do in greeting, isn’t it?”

  Harper laughed. “It’s fine.” She got up and embraced Sarina. Harper was so short compared to his mother, who stood at just over six feet, but it didn’t seem to bother Harper at all.

  An odd, fuzzy feeling swelled inside his chest. It wasn’t an unwelcome feeling at all, but the more he watched his parents with Harper, the stronger it became, like coming home to everything he loved, everything that felt right.

  After they bid his parents good night, he locked the front door and turned to Harper. She was putting the used glasses on the kitchen counter, looking puzzled. He would have to explain to her that they didn’t have a traditional dishwasher. There were cleansing units inside the wall for both clothing and dishes, neither of which needed water.

  Sef walked over to her, and before she could react, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her up the stairs.

  “Sef, what—?” she started, but he silenced her with a kiss. Soon he had her in his room and laid her down upon the bed, rolling on top of her.

  Her lips softened beneath his and parted so he could taste the sweetness of the wine upon her tongue. He fisted his hand in her hair, gently coiling his fingers over and over through the silken strawberry-blonde strands. They covered the bed like pools of afternoon sunlight, which only made his hunger to kiss her stronger. Harper curled an arm around his neck, her fingers playing with his hair at the base of his neck. It sent a wave of tingles down his spine.