“And I made it all better?” She tried a big smile.
“And you made it impossible not to feel,” he said, his expression grave. “Every time I saw you, I felt the floodgates of feeling threatening to burst open. Now, beside you, I am risking my very sanity. But it is worth it to claim you. My kingdom had many jewels. None as precious as you.”
“Oh my god…” Tears sprang to her eyes. “That’s the most romantic thing anybody has ever said to anybody ever. It’s definitely the most romantic thing anybody has ever said to me.”
“You are precious,” he said in that voice like gravel. “In my court, I had many concubines. I laid with them often, spoke with them much as I am speaking to you now. Not one of them had even a hint of affection for me. They worshipped the crown and the throne, not the warrior who possessed them. But you are different. You are a wild little human who makes her own way, who survives against all odds. You must hate me for what I have done to you, and for the way I have treated you.”
“Does this mean you’re going to be nicer to me?”
“Nice is not a word I use often. It is one I embody even less frequently. I do not know how to be nice, human. I know how to be king.”
“You could learn to be nice. I could teach you.”
“And why would you do that?”
“Because you’re not as loathsome as you think you are. I think, underneath those scales, you have the capability to change.”
“How would you know that?” He was full of questions, and skepticism. She didn’t blame him. Even as the words came out of her mouth, she was left wondering if they meant anything.
“Human women always think they can change men. Sometimes they’re right. Sometimes they're not. It depends on the male. I think you want to change. Actually, I think you have to. You were a king. Now you’re something else.”
“Something else?” He smiled with surprising gentleness. “I don’t know if it is possible for a king to change, but if anybody could change me, it would be you.”
Chapter 10
On the third day, it was time to leave. The ship was refueled, glowing green across the surface of the welded plates showing that the phytocells beneath were at full charge.
Konan felt rare excitement at the notion of taking off. For the first time, there seemed to be possibility in the stars. He was beginning to leave the humiliation of being deposed behind and find a new future, one with his unique human bride by his side. A new family awaited. Perhaps even a new kingdom, born from the ashes of the old — perhaps even greater than the old.
“Are we ready?” he addressed his first mate.
“I am afraid not, sire.”
“The tents are packed; all seem to be aboard. What’s the problem?”
“Sire, the ship is refusing to unroot.”
“Excuse me?”
“The ship’s taproots have gone deep into the crust. They’re not coming out unless and until it decides it wants to leave.”
“Is that a thing that can happen?”
“Apparently, sire.”
The first mate looked defeated, and somewhat afraid. It was never good to be the bearer of bad news, especially not bad news of this magnitude. In the past, Konan might have vented his rage on his first mate. He might have accused him of ineptitude, or more likely, conspiracy. But his horizons had been broadened, his sprit gentled, so he contented himself with a string of curses and furious exclamations which made nearby birds take flight.
“So we’ve been stranded here by our own ship. Excellent. Why not. Bloody gremlin class planets!”
“That’s not all, sire.”
“It’s not? Of course it’s not. Why would that be all? Things cannot go a little bit wrong, can they? They must go all the way wrong.”
“Herk is on his way. He has tracked the ship, but we did not know that until we re-boarded. We estimate he will make landing here within a matter of hours.”
“Herk dares leave the throne? I assumed he would have glued his ass to it in case some other interloper takes it in his absence.”
“He comes in peace, so he says.”
“There will never be peace between me and him. If he lands here, I will kill him.”
Konan felt the emptiness of his threat even as he made it. He would not touch a hair on Herk’s head. Unlike his brother, he valued the ties of loyalty and blood.
Herk was also the definition of not being worth killing.
She was going to miss this planet. She thought about asking Konan if she could stay, but she knew he had designs on places greater than this one, and that he needed to visit inhabited planets to trade. Besides, if they stayed where they were, they would inevitably ruin the beauty of the place with their spreading presence. It was right to leave, even if it made her stomach sink with the thought of never gazing on this beauty again.