by C. F. Harris
I took a moment to work through what she’d just said. I wasn’t familiar enough with human language to know all of their insults or exactly how she’d pieced that one together. It seemed like a play on titles they used for their ancient royalty and a slang term for the bit of anatomy humans used to defecate. It was her tone of voice more than anything else that told me it was meant to be an insult.
I decided to ignore that. For the moment. It wasn’t terribly likely the emperor had managed to sneak a listening device into this room, and if he had it’s not like he needed more of an excuse to try and kill my bonded mate.
“What happened to you today is actually considered quite normal with the Livisk,” I said. “It’s called the mating challenge.”
“I’d gathered that much,” Talia said. “Now could you please explain why being mated to you means people are going to try and kill me?”
I thought for a moment. It was difficult trying to explain a cultural concept to an alien who had no idea of what proper behavior was. She was like a savage brought to civilization for the first time, and I had to remember that when I tried to explain proper behavior to her.
“Think of me as a savage one more time and you’ll understand what truly savage behavior is, sparkly,” Talia said, a warning undercurrent to her tone.
I arched an eyebrow. “You have my apologies.”
Talia smiled and for a wonder she leaned down to brush her lips against mine which provided a welcome distraction. “And you’re a terrible liar when you don’t have your mental barriers up, but go on. You were telling me about why it’s normal that your family is trying to kill me?”
“The mating challenge is something that goes back thousands of years. When a man or woman decides that they are going to take a bondmate it is traditional for that man or woman’s family to test the suitability of their chosen mate,” I said.
“By trying to kill them,” Talia said, her voice flat.
“Well, yes? How else would they be able to tell if a mate was suitable?”
“So what does that have to do with assassins?” Talia asked.
“That’s simple,” I said, trying to think of a truly simple way to explain this to her. Obviously she was having trouble with the idea of the mating challenge, so adding complicated Livisk politics on top of that didn’t seem like the best course of action for encouraging understanding. I was going to try, though.
8: The Challenge
I was careful to shield any thoughts about describing things in a simple manner. She seemed to be insulted when I pointed out just how uncivilized she could be. Humans. They didn’t know a good thing when it hit them, which is a big part of the reason why our first invasion of their sovereign space didn’t go as well as planned.
“It’s simple. The mating challenge is meant to determine whether or not a mate is appropriate, and in your case that means they need to test whether or not you have the skills necessary to be bonded to a high ranking general of the Livisk Ascendency,” I said.
Talia blinked. No understanding there. Okay. Time to explain it a little differently.
“If I were a commoner then the mating challenge would likely be something simple. My family would show up at your place of business or jump you in a place where you thought you were safe and do their best to kill you,” I said. “You would then fight them off and after that my family would deem you suitable to be my mate.”
“So is it like ceremonial or something? I’ve heard of people on earth doing similar things, but they were never playing for keeps.”
“Playing for keeps? Why would it be anything less than serious? We’re talking about choosing someone who will become part of the family and raise future generations.”
Talia rolled her eyes. “Of course you would be serious about something crazy like that. Now please. Continue.”
“Right. I am no commoner. I am one of the highest ranking generals in our society even if I’ve fallen on disgrace recently,” I said. “That means that anyone who is mated to me would have to be able to handle all of the challenges associated with Livisk high society, and that includes assassins coming for you.”
“Great,” Talia muttered. “I’ve married into the craziest family in the galaxy.”
“But we aren’t married yet,” I said. “That is a completely different ceremony. If you’re deemed worthy by my family, who unfortunately for you is the emperor in this case, then we would go through with a ceremony to make it permanent.”
“You mean being bonded so that we can read each other’s thoughts isn’t permanent enough for you?” she asked.
I looked away for a moment. Off to the palace in the distance. I felt that tug again between my obligation to my people and the feelings I had for Talia.
“Admittedly in this case the emperor has mixed up the order of things. Typically the ceremony would be first and then the bonding, but we will make do with this as best we can given the circumstances. And to be fair you did quite well with your first test.”
“You mean the one where they cheated and used energy weapons?” she asked.
“Again, you must be confused. Even the emperor would not risk dishonor to that level,” I said. “I believe that you using one of those weapons could be forgiven for the first time since you’re unfamiliar with our people and our customs, but it’s still something you should avoid in the future. In fact it would perhaps be best if you avoided stealing weapons from me at all in the future.”
“Uh-huh, and if you believe I’m going to do that I have the slagged and irradiated remains of a bridge under New Brooklyn to sell you,” Talia replied.
I decided to ignore the language difficulties this time around. I’m sure those words made sense to someone raised on earth, but I didn’t have time to puzzle them out now.
“Can you at least promise that you won’t steal energy weapons and use them when you’re attacked?” I asked.
Again she fixed me with a look that told me I was dreaming. I sighed. That was about what I’d expected, but it was still a disappointment.
“Look, Jorav. You’re going on about your people’s traditions, but I’m not your people. I’m human, and I’m going to do whatever I need to do to survive. If that involves bringing dishonor on myself then that’s just fine, because I don’t buy into your system so it’s not like I can be upset that your system doesn’t like me,” she said. “Besides, you can’t tell me that this whole mating challenge isn’t just the perfect excuse for his royal dicklessness to conveniently kill me off. He’s been trying since the first time I met him.”
“That does make a certain amount of sense,” I said.
I could see that this was going to be more difficult than I’d imagined. It was all down to those warring desires. My people versus my mate. Did I want to adhere to thousands of years of tradition, or did I want Talia alive for certain? My sense of loyalty to my people wasn’t sure, but I knew what my mind thought.
Talia above all. That thought scared me, and I wasn’t one to scare easily.
“So if I pass this challenge are we actually getting hitched?” she asked.
“Hitched? Could you explain what ancient farming techniques have to do with anything?”
Talia giggled. “Getting married. Going through with the bonding ceremony. It’s slang in Terran.”
“Ah. I suppose that makes some sense. I am willing to go through with it if you are,” I said.
Talia rolled her eyes. “So romantic. I’m sure that’s just how every girl dreams of her man popping the question. ‘I’m willing to marry you if you’re willing to marry me.’ You even sound stiff when you say it.”
“So is that a yes?”
“That’s me telling you that you aren’t even close to asking that question the right way. The jury’s still out.”
More confusing local earth slang. I got the gist of what she was saying though. That was neither a yes or a no. Earth women. They were just as confusing and frustrating as Livisk women. Though again, that was par
t of why I was so drawn to this one in particular.
“I will tell you one thing,” she said, her tone suddenly frigid.
“What’s that?”
“I’m going to prove to the emperor that I’m more than worthy of you, and I’m going to kill anything he sends at me until he’s satisfied.”
“You really don’t care for the emperor, do you?” I asked.
“You do?”
I opened my mouth and was about to tell her exactly what I thought of the emperor. That he was a spoiled brat who was carrying on the flawed policies of his father without any idea of why that was a good or a bad idea. That he was in competition with a dead man trying to prove that he was as much a leader as his father because he was going to finish what his father couldn’t and destroy the humans. That he was a spoiled brat who surrounded himself with sycophants who told him what he wanted to hear and as a result he didn’t seem to know or care that the war was grinding to a halt across the galaxy and the humans were even pushing back at us in some spots.
Almost I said all of that, but I managed to stop myself at the last moment. It wouldn’t do to completely throw out my loyalties. I couldn’t do it. I’d sworn to the emperor years ago, and disliking an emperor was no excuse to not do my duty.
“He is the emperor,” I said. “That’s all I need to know.”
Talia rolled her eyes and leaned down to kiss me again. Only this time she didn’t stop at kissing me. She slid forward until she was sliding off my desk and into my lap. My eyes widened in surprise but I responded by wrapping my arms around her. When she pulled back she had a very odd look on her face, but I enjoyed it. It was obvious she’d enjoyed that kiss.
“I’m going to cure you of that eventually, you know,” she said.
“What’s that?”
“Blind loyalty to a corrupt system,” she replied.
This was dangerous territory. Particularly in a city where there could be an imperial listening device attached to anything. I needed to get away from this line of conversation, and fast. So I settled on the one thing that I thought might throw her off balance.
“So do you care to tell me what you were doing down in an alley next to a bakery that’s known to house a pro-human sympathizer?”
Talia went pale. I smiled. Now I was the Trovargh Beast once more and she was the prey in my sights.
“You knew about that?” she asked.
“I did not, but your reaction told me all I needed to know. A baker that specializes in human delicacies? They’re always under suspicion. You will tell me where you discovered he was working for the Human Manumission Society and why you were going to talk to him,” I said.
“I’m going to tell you nothing of the sort on the first score, and on the second I was trying to get information about the people in my crew,” she replied simply enough.
I blinked. Surprises piling on top of surprises. “I thought you hated your crewmates? Blamed them for getting you in this position in the first place?”
“I might not like them for getting me into this situation,” Talia said. “That doesn’t mean I’m cool with just leaving them to suffer on your world either, though. I still have that much loyalty to humanity, even if it doesn’t seem like there’s much else left for me with my species.”
I frowned. I turned around and looked at that long expanse between my palace and the emperor’s. A long expanse that seemed short because of the massive sizes involved in the different buildings. I could sympathize with what she was going through right now, and perhaps partly because I could sympathize with that I knew I was about to do something very stupid.
“What would you say if I told you I could arrange a meeting with someone from your crew?” I asked.
Talia pulled my head around and stared at me for a long moment. Her eyes searched my own and I knew she was looking to see if there was any truth to my offer. I almost felt insulted that she felt the need to look in the first place, but if the positions were reversed I could understand why she would have a difficult time believing me.
“You would do that for me?”
I tightened my grip on her waist. “Of course I would. You are my mate, even if you do seem a little hesitant about going through with the ceremony.”
Talia didn’t reply in words. No, instead she leaned down and kissed me, and this time it wasn’t a short and quick kiss of someone showing affection. No, there was passion burning there. Passion to equal the desire I’d felt when I was with her in the alley. Passion that made me feel as though I was truly alive in a way that I rarely felt outside of combat.
Then again, there were times when it felt like every moment I shared with Talia was combat on some level.
Still I couldn’t shake the thought that what I was doing was dangerous. So very dangerous. Even mentioning a meeting with a member of her crew bordered on treason. If we were found out then the emperor would be fully justified in having me liquidated, though I wouldn’t go without a fight and it would probably spark at least a minor civil war as warriors who were loyal to me rose to my defense.
Not that their rising to my defense and dying for me would do me a damn bit of good if I was dead while they did their pointless avenging. Much better for me to stay alive, if for nothing else than because I found I quite enjoyed these side trysts with Talia.
No, I was going to have to be careful about this. Very careful. This was leaving the realm of war and entering into the realm of espionage and political intrigue where I was far less experienced.
But I would do it for Talia. For that intense kiss. For that desire as she pressed against me.
It worried me to think that for that, for her, I would do almost anything. Loyalty, honor, and desire all swirled around inside me in a confusing storm that I carefully masked from Talia, though it became more and more difficult as her kisses grew more and more insistent.
9: Old Friends
Talia:
I paced back and forth feeling more unsure of myself than I had since I first came to this world. There were so many dangers out here. So many ways that I could get myself killed. The assassins in that dark alley had proved that well enough even if I had been able to break free.
And now I could look forward to more of them coming after me. I had a feeling that no matter what Jorav said they would continue coming for me until I was dead. There would be no proving that I was worthy in the emperor’s eyes.
No, the only way I was going to break free of that death sentence was if I killed the emperor. Not that I would breathe a word of that to Jorav. I was careful to keep those thoughts well and truly hidden from him as well. That was the sort of thing that might stretch his already conflicted loyalties to the breaking point, and I didn’t need that right now.
I felt bad for manipulating him like that, but I had to do what I had to do to survive. To help him survive. If the ultimate plan for helping both of us survive involved toppling his government and killing his precious asshole of a sovereign then he didn’t need to know about that until it was too late.
Never mind that I still had no idea how the hell I was going to pull that off.
“You are nervous,” Jorav said.
I jumped. I’d been working so hard to mask my thoughts from him. If he could feel I was nervous then there was a chance he could feel other things. Like my long term plans that involved regicide in the messiest and most painful way I could come up with.
“How do you figure?” I asked, careful to keep my voice neutral and doubly careful to keep up those mental barriers I’d put up between the two of us. I didn’t know anything about this stupid bond, and if there was some way for him to sense my thoughts when I thought he couldn’t…
Jorav waved a hand and let out a dismissive laugh. “You don’t need to worry that I’m reading your mind right now. That’s quite safe.”
I narrowed my eyes as I stared at him. No amount of him saying I didn’t need to worry about him reading my mind was going to keep me from worrying that he was doing ex
actly that. Particularly when he said things that echoed what I’d just been thinking!
“So how do you know I’m nervous?” I asked.
“Because you’ve been pacing around this room and searching it as though looking for any escape ever since you stepped in here,” he said. “It would be quite amusing if I wasn’t worried about you trying to do something stupid.”
I rolled my eyes. “And what could I possibly do to cause trouble even if I did decide to do something stupid? You took away all of my weapons before we came here.”
Jorav shrugged. It was a surprisingly resigned shrug. As though he was accepting all of the difficulties that the universe had piled on his massive shoulders that were always so very distracting whenever I stopped to really get a good look at them. Those were shoulders that I loved watching hovering over me as he…
No. I was not going to think of that right now. I was having a hard enough time keeping things together without thinking about the sexy alien who had a terrible habit of turning me on at the worst possible moment.
“I might have taken away all of your weapons before we came to this meeting spot,” he said. “But I don’t for a moment think you’re unarmed. I just choose not to ask what else you have on you or how you managed to hide it from my thorough search.”
I smiled and walked over to pat him on the cheek. “You learn so fast.”
I also blushed thinking about just how thorough his search had been. It was the sort of search that would’ve left anyone else thinking I didn’t have a single weapon on my person, but there was still a focused energy weapon I’d hidden in the one place he didn’t search when he was doing that thorough search.
I wasn’t sure whether I was happy or disappointed about that.
Jorav put one of his massive hands on my own and patted it. I cocked an eyebrow at him for that. That was a gesture that came very close to patronizing. I wasn’t sure I appreciated patronizing gestures from him, but in this case I decided to let it slide. There was a lot going on here today, and to be perfectly honest I welcomed the comfort. At least I thought that’s what he was trying to provide. I decided that’s how I was going to take it.
