Kel D'Rek; His To Claim

by Theodora Taylor

  This is not how a Kel should conduct himself.

  Hours after pressing the sedation disk to my hu’man’s neck, I still cannot reconcile what I have done. I should be done with the Breeding Ceremony at this moment. Spent and fully committed to going over the negotiation points for our upcoming peace talks with the Kaidorians.

  As the newly ascended Kel, I am expected to lead my people into a new era of peace and prosperity. In order to return us to the merchant race we were before the Three Generation War, my main goal should be the peace talks with the Kaidorians and ensuring that our scientists have all the resources they need to return Xalthuria’s females to fertility.

  However, I’ve done the opposite of that with my actions last night. I have not opened the holo screen of negotiation points my prime minister sent shortly before I boarded that ship to New Terrhan. I spilled like a Xalling adolescent instead of properly breeding the defiant hu’man.

  And as I stand in my throne room alone, I am not thinking of how to make an appropriate Xalthurian female fertile, so that I might take her as my Qel.

  No…my body still throbs, still aches with the need to breed the defiant hu’man female. And instead of assessing the Kaidorian negotiation points, I review every single moment of our second encounter.

  The smell of her, nearly crazing me as I hunted her down like an animal. I’d been so determined to make her pay for her defiance, both then and now. Fuck her hard and fast—that had been my plan. Finally show her my word is law.

  But then she’d stopped running…

  The sight of her facing me fully and without any sign of fear in her fierce, round eyes had temporarily immobilized me. Instead of advancing, I found myself re-memorizing her dark features, my diijo, giving painful rise underneath the ceremonial cloth as I took in every line and curve of her beautiful face and body.

  I might have stood there mesmerized for many moments longer if not for the sudden prick of her tiny dagger, piercing my skin. The blade had come nowhere close to either of my hearts. Truthfully, I had barely felt its sting, thanks to my warrior training, which had taught me how to endure any blow, and automatically channel the pain elsewhere during the heat of battle.

  But still rage rose anew inside of me, because my hu’man could not have known her blow would inflict no harm to me. She had struck me with the intent to kill, effectively reminding me that this was indeed a battle. A battle of wills.

  One I fully intended to win.

  Determined to subdue her once and for all, I wrestled her to the ground. But then something unexpected happened as she struggled underneath me, her cloth-covered slit pressing into my diijo. A new scent infiltrated my nostrils, heady and even sweeter, and wholly different from anything I had ever smelled.

  And it completely undid me. Waves of mindless lust took a hold of my body, causing me to hump against her like a rutting beast. It was unlike anything I’d experienced with a Xalthurian female.

  The sweet hot.

  I’d wondered then if this was what the males who’d participated in prior Breeding Ceremonies had spoken of, often for solars after their successful matings. The sweet hot that could only be found between a hu’man female’s thighs, an enveloping heat that left even the strongest warrior weak with need.

  According to the Breeding Ceremony manual, some hu’man females produced a cream that made entry more accommodating. Was that cream what I had smelled?

  Even now in the throne room, as I stare out the window to the lush fields of my Keldom, my nostrils flare at the memory of that scent…and the memory of how she’d started to move with intent beneath me. Technically, I’d known I needed to get inside of her, and I’d tried to gain control of my body. But she wouldn’t stop moving, and I couldn’t stop moving.

  She had devastated all my practical senses, causing me to release upon the thin barrier of fabric separating us as opposed to inside of her.

  She had looked up at me then, and for a moment, I had thought her happy. As gleeful as me, even though I had released outside her sweet hot. But then, she had once again began to fight me. Screaming at me in her strange throatbox language, as if she were not the one who had pushed me over the edge.

  In the end, putting the sedation disc to her neck did not even feel like a choice made. She had become crazed with her defiance, but I had not yet penetrated her sweet hot.

  And I already knew…I wanted more. Needed more.

  Three hours would not be nearly enough.

  “Tell me you have not brought a hu’man back to the palace!”

  Our people are not like hu’mans. We don’t have needlessly distinctive tones to differentiate one voice from another. Yet even though I stand with my back to the door, I immediately know who is speaking behind me.

  “Greetings, P’rm N’Ure,” I say, with my back still turned.

  “Are the rumors I am hearing true?” N’Ure asks. “If so, what were you thinking to bring a hu’man to our planet? This is simply not done.”

  As both my father’s and now my own prime minister, I have often granted N’Ure some latitude. But this day, I slowly turn to face him, narrowing my eyes. “You forget your place, N’Ure.”

  N’Ure’s green skin pales several shades. He is a proud man, but he knows better than to speak to his Kel in such a manner. Resetting, he places both hands over his ridges, and bows his head in a sign of utmost respect.

  “My Kel, it is just that bringing this hu’man to the planet has filled the palace with clicks. Many on the council are already saying that you have broken our accord with the hu’mans.”

  I understand his worry. The last thing a new Kel needs is a council set upon by gossip. I should explain myself, if only so that N’Ure can set minds at ease. But how?

  How can I put into words the way she’d felt beneath me, her intoxicating scent? The incredible heat. Or how I’d spilled myself onto her like an untried Xalling. The truth—that I cannot think rationally when it comes to this particular hu’man female, would not alleviate the council’s worst fears.

  That I have become unhinged over one hu’man. That I have not only failed to secure my line through the proper channel of the Breeding Ceremony but have possibly endangered our accord with the hu’mans. That I have failed to live up to every Kel’s motto: Xalthuria First.

  No, any excuse I could think of to explain my actions to N’Ure, would only confirm those fears. So I settle for a stern look as I answer, “Remind those concerned ‘many’ that to speak against their Kel is considered treason.”

  N’Ure’s ridges stiffen. But he quickly smooths them and says, “It might alleviate some doubts if we were to explain why the hu’man female was brought here in conjunction with an announcement of your upcoming marriage to a suitable Xalthurian female. We might even begin the courting ritual while you…secure your heir. A’Ry would be very willing to step in should you decide to go forward with such a plan.”

  My ridges stiffen with the mention of the prime minister’s daughter. He has been pushing a union between us, since the female came of what used to be considered breeding age among Xalthurians. But… “Courting is not high on the list of my priorities at the moment.”

  “My Kel, you will need a strong Qel, to rule by your side. One whom the people will respect. One with good pedigree. A new Kel such as yourself could do no better than A’Ry. She is, after all, the daughter of your prime minister, cousin to your esteemed general and a great beauty besides. She has already received many offers for her hand in marriage.”

  “It is a surprise, then, that she has not accepted any of these other offers of marriage,” I reply, not bothering to mask my boredom for this subject.

  Despite my prodding words, the prime minister’s expression remains static. “As her father, it is my job to direct her to a more suitable match. For the reasons I have stated, I believe you would make the perfect fit.”

  In truth, he is correct in all he says. A’Ry is quite beautiful, and as her father stated she is coveted by man
y. She is also even-tempered and well-trained in matters of diplomacy. Everything I could possibly want in a Qel.

  However the only female I can think of, the only female I have thought of, since returning to my castle, is currently inside my rooms, being prepared for my claiming.

  “I will think on it,” I reply non-committedly.

  “Perhaps you could spend some time with A’Ry, so that you can get to know her better…”

  “I said I will think about it,” I answer, cutting him off with a look that tells him I will speak no further on this topic.

  A moment of considering silence. Then N’Ure presses a hand over his bottom heart. “I admit, though I was too old to participate in the Breeding Ceremony at its inauguration, I have enjoyed the tales my now departed son and the other Breeding Ceremony males have brought back. They say the hu’man females are different betwixt their legs. I admit, even I am intrigued by this and would not mind sampling such a treat for myself. Perhaps when you are finished with your hu’man I might—”

  I grab the older male by his neck.

  It takes little effort to lift him off his feet. N’Ure is not warrior built. He is lanky, and it gives me an inexplicable pleasure to see him struggle for breath as I tighten my fingers around his throat. His feet dangle off the ground and his eyes nearly bulge from the sockets.

  I know I’ve gone too far with such a revered member of my council. But even as I note this, I cannot stop. The thought of anyone else touching my chosen…my ridges flatten with rage.

  “My Kel,” he wheezes. “Mercy.”

  I flare my nostrils…and release him with a sharp hiss. As he falls to the ground, coughing, I move to the other side of the throne room. Putting distance between us, so that I will not do something foolish.

  Like kill him for daring to suggest he get to taste what is mine.

  I turn my back to him and stare out the window. Often this view has steadied my mind during difficult conversations with N’Ure and other members of my council.

  The palace, and most Xalthurian structures stand on the sun-facing side of the planet. This means the majority of my subjects enjoy warm to very warm weather all fourteen months of the year. In the distance f’rond trees sway among a collection of crystalline buildings, inviting my mind to calm and enjoy the lushly colored and twinkling view.

  Yet I cannot calm down, cannot unflatten my ridges, or even apologize, though I know I acted irrationally. An apology would show weakness not becoming of a Kel.

  “Is that all?” I hiss when I don’t hear N’Ure leave my throne room.

  “I mean no disrespect, my Kel. But before I leave, I must tell you that perhaps bringing her back to our planet may not have been such a bad thing. Many on the council think you have broken our accord with the hu’mans, but I believe you have actually opened a door for further negotiations.”

  His statement piques my curiosity, but I keep my back to him.

  Which he takes as an invitation to continue. “As I stated, our males talk often about the pleasure these hu’man females provide them during the Breeding Ceremony. We could add an addendum in the accord to bring a certain amount of hu’man females back to our planet. Males beyond breeding age like myself could use them as comfort females. We could also give them as gifts to our fiercest warriors and the sons of the families who generously donate money toward our coffers and military efforts. We might also use them as part of upcoming negotiations with the Kaidorians. According to my intel, they have been plagued by similar fertility problems due to the extinction virus…”

  I furrow my ridges, understanding, but for some reason not liking the plan he’s put forth as I turn around to face him. “I wonder what you believe the hu’mans would get in exchange for having their most fertile females taken away.”

  “They wouldn’t be taken. It would all be voluntary of course, like the Breeding Ceremony. Perhaps in exchange for living on our planet as comfort females for a period of time, their families could be granted extra rations? Or…”

  He pauses, his expression considering, before he says, “We could threaten to lessen their rations. After all, your father could not have known the value of these hu’man females when he negotiated for only three hours once a solar. Our planet should not be punished forever by his understandable short-sightedness. Also, the hu’mans cannot rebel if they are starving. Besides, they have no weapons. We are both larger and stronger than them, and it is only because of our generosity that they have managed to survive this long.”

  Again, his words do make a kind of sense. My current situation is further proof that the three hours my father negotiated was not enough.

  A holographic screen suddenly appears in front of me, cutting off my consideration of N’Ure’s proposal. Upon it, my personal attendant, S’Lei waits with his head bowed for permission to address me.

  “Hold,” I tell him. Before issuing an equally sharp, “You may go now,” to N’Ure.

  Perhaps sensing my impatience to have him gone quickly, the prime minister scurries out of the throne room.

  When the large gem-plated door closes behind him, I turn back to the screen and ask, “Is she ready to receive me?”

  “Yes, my Kel,” S’Lei answers. “She has been fully readied and prepared, and the servants have departed the room as ordered.”

  Dark anticipation thrums through me. “I will be there shortly.”

  “Yes, my Kel.”

  The screen blinks away and I rush toward my sleeping quarters, nearly unable to keep myself from running, even though I have captured her and there is no longer any need to hunt.

  It would end this eve. I would have her. Take her. Consume her. Own her.

  As I palm the golden door to my rooms and barrel toward my sleeping suite, thoughts of mounting the brown beauty fill my head. I imagine riding her back, not just penetrating her sweet hot but spilling my seed deep inside. Fucking her and fucking her until—

  I stop short in the open doorway of my sleeping suite.

  Not because I am having second thoughts, but because…

  She is not there.

  6

  Kira

  I smell like shit. Literally. Which means my hasty Plan B may have worked.

  Sneaking out of the crystal palace wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.

  Every door I touched, opened immediately, giving me the impression that the Kel wasn’t all that worried about security. Other than having to duck behind large inside plants and various pieces of furniture when I heard people coming, clearing the palace had been pretty easy—even dressed in a skimpy robe.

  The gardens themselves had been a little trickier. They were teeming with Xalthurians of all colors in shimmering robes. I’d had to crouch and sometimes even crawl along a row of black bushes to keep from being seen. But it had worked. I made it halfway through the garden before my luck ran out and an alarm sounded as an overhead voice commanded all non-essential personnel to vacate the public gardens.

  Yeah…pretty sure that “get the moons out of here now” order had something to do with me. So I ducked into the nearest structure, a squat but precisely curved building that turned out to be a horse stable.

  Okay, well, as it turns out, the Xalthurians don’t have horses. The animals in the stables or more like these two-legged sea horse looking things that deep purr instead of neighing.

  Doesn’t matter. They’re just as nice to me as horses are to young women in animated entertainments. Also, they smell to high heavens and poop in huge stinking piles in their stalls.

  The smell is wretched, and though I’m hiding in an empty stall, I’m sure it’s permeated my skin, which I hope will be enough to mask my smell.

  I’m so glad Amethyst and Citrine had also gossiped about that while prepping me. “I heard that our Kel had to chase her into the woods. My sister’s husband who went to help gather our Xalling males from that ghastly planet said she ran, and he was forced to hunt her down like a big game animal! Can you imagine runn
ing from one as handsome and powerful as our Kel? She is lucky to be bred by him.”

  No, no I’m not.

  I think of my sister jumping off that cliff and I shiver, happy to have gotten away from him. At least for now.

  However, as the sun sinks in the sky, reality sets in. I’d hoped to sneak away to the crystal city under the cover of night, and try to find a ship to fly back to New Terrhan. True, I don’t technically know how to fly, but I’ve always been good with technology. I even figured out how to fix the viewing screen in the colony ship when the forever battery stopped engaging with the holo projector. My parents are always insisting that I’m a natural engineer and might even have gone on to higher education if we hadn’t been so poor on the old planet.

  But the three moons that replace the sun in the sky nip that plan right in the bud. Moonlight floods my empty stall, nearly as bright as the day time. No way, I’ll be able to sneak around in that.

  So yes, I got away. Yes, I still haven’t been found. But shit can’t be consumed as food, and neither, I suspect can the hard pellets that come down from machines for the sea horses to eat, with just a press of their noses.

  I become desperate enough to try after another few stomach grinding hours pass by, though. After checking to make sure the one stable manager who came in earlier to run poop scooping machines over the floors of the occupied stalls isn’t around, I tentatively stand and creep over to the stall next door.

  I greet the sea horse with a pat on her bumpy nose before palming the machine, but nothing. Dammit, it must be programmed to only accept a horse’s nose. Or maybe it only gives out a certain number of pellets a day.

  I’m trying to figure out how to get the sea horse to put his nose down for more pellets when a voice says, “Oh good, I thought you had already gone home for the eve. Attendant, please bring my faun out. I will saddle her myself.”

  I freeze, not sure what to do. Whoever it is has already partially spotted me and I can hear their footsteps coming this way. Should I run? Push them out of the way as soon as they see me? Maybe I’ll have to—no. I shake my head at the thought of killing another being so they won’t send up an alert even before it can form. I’m not a Xalthurian. I could never treat someone else so callously.