She hated him? He didn’t realize her animosity wentthatdeep. But that would be all the more reasonnotto get married. If he married her, he’d lose the chance of meeting the love of his life. He couldn’t do this—could not be tied to a virtual stranger who hated him.
“You will marry tomorrow.”
“I’ll go back to Earth,” Karma said.
The king’s blue brows arched. “And how do you intend to get there?”
“I—uh—” Panic flashed on her face as the realization hit.
She would need help to book a space flight. She probably didn’t have the means to pay for it, and without the king’s permission, she couldn’t leave the planet.
“Let her go. This isn’t her fault,” he argued. They were both innocent victims here, but if not for his less-than-discreet past, he doubted his father would be doing this.
“Leaving would cause an even greater scandal,” the king said. “They’ll think you used and discarded her, and then we tried to get rid of her.”
“I don’t care about that!” Karma said.
“But I do. It would reflect badly on the crown. My decision is final. You two will marry, and that will be the end of the scandals.”
Mother, please.With a silent plea,he looked to the queen, the only person who could change his father’s mind.Help!
For a heart-sinking moment, she said nothing. Then she said, “Kaldoran marriages are forever. There is no such thing as divorce. Karma had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I feel partly responsible. If I hadn’t suggested she see more of the planet, she wouldn’t have gotten snared in the scandal. For her sake, may I suggest a compromise?”
“What kind of compromise?” the king asked.
“Instead of a Kaldoran ceremony, they could marry through Cosmic Mates. The marriages are provisional—they spend one year as husband and wife, and at the end of the period, they may annul the union.”
“I’m not in Cosmic Mates,” Falkor said.
“Karma is. And I’m sure with a request from the king, Cosmic Mates would agree to send an officiant to perform the ceremony.”
“That’s still a year of my life!” she protested.
“I can accept that,” the king said.
“I can’t,” Falkor said.
“Me either,” she said.
“Those are your options. A permanent marriage or a Cosmic Mates one. The ceremony will take place tomorrow.” The king dismissed them with a wave of his hand.
This is bad. Worse than bad. My life is ruined.He and Karma fled the library.
“He can’t really force us to get married, can he?”
“I’m afraid he can,” he answered glumly.
* * * *
“Are we doing the right thing?” Rullok asked when they were alone. “They seemed adamant about not wanting to marry each other.”
“They doth protest too much. They’re crazy about each other. They just haven’t admitted it to themselves yet. And it’s high time Falkor settles down. He’s not getting any younger.”
Queen Myka had been wondering how she would get those two to recognize their disagreements resulted from chemistry and not animosity when the Gods of Kaldor intervened. Falkor and Karma caught “together” by KCN provided Myka with the excuse she needed to nudge them in the right direction.
The scandal would pass. It always did; people had gotten used to her younger son’s indiscretions. But as soon as Myka saw the news report yesterday afternoon, she realized they could use it for their son’s benefit.
“I will trust your decision, then,” Rullok said. “You are often right about these things.”
