I traced our faces with my fingertips. Such a happy day. We had no idea what was coming for us. I wondered what my mom would think of her two girls living on another planet? Married—mated—to a couple of aliens? Would she approve of Kai? Like him? Would she be happy for us or appalled?
“I think you’d like him, mom.” I carried the framed photo and the photo album to the long gray table and set them down. Climbing onto the sofa, I pulled the photo album onto my lap and opened it to the first page. Baby pictures gave way to pictures of us in front of birthday cakes and riding tiny tricycles. We played dress up and stomped around in our mom’s high heeled shoes. One day, I’d convinced Lavender to let me do her make-up. I thought red lipstick made her eyelids pretty and drew matching, bright red hearts on each side of her cherubic face. We’d had fun together. Still did.
What would it be like raising children here? Would they run around in a park and play in the grass? Did the aliens have tricycles and toys for their little ones? I’d never given much thought to what I absolutely wanted my children to experience because I’d taken everything on Earth for granted. Everything. From birthday cake to blue skies and catching fireflies. Despite the fact that my future as a mother had always been a hypothetical, seemed like everything I’d thought I wanted was totally out of reach.
On another planet level, out of reach.
“What are you looking at?” Kai’s voice startled me and I glanced up to see him standing in the doorway of the bedroom wearing nothing but a soft pair of black shorts that hugged his hips and thighs. I stared. Who wouldn’t? The silver streaks in his skin on top of his ripped muscles gave him an almost magical quality. He looked too perfect to be real. Too handsome. Too many muscles. Too interested in me.
“A photo album.” I patted the sofa next to me. “Come. I’ll show you.”
Kai walked over to sit next to me. The second his body heat registered, I realized I was cold. “Just a sec. I’ll be right back.” I set the photo album down and hurried to the S-Gen machine where I ordered a king-sized, fuzzy blanket. When I returned with my arms full, Kai frowned.
“Are you cold? I will adjust the temperature.”
I put my hand on his shoulder to stop him. “No. Cuddling under a blanket is nice. It’s cozy.” I plopped down next to him and arranged the blanket to cover us both. “Haven’t you ever snuggled under a blanket and watched your favorite movie? Or show?” I turned to look up into his face.
“No. A warlord must be prepared for battle at all times. My armor keeps my body the optimal temperature at all times.”
“You’ve never snuggled under a blanket? Even when you were little?”
“No. We did not have such things at the academy.”
“How old were you when you went to the academy?”
“Five years.”
Five? “You didn’t live with your parents?” Fuck that. I was not sending any baby of mine off to some stupid academy when they were five freaking years old. Is that what he expected?
“They were dead. I did not have any living relatives to assume the expense of my care and training. My father was well known on Atlan. Quite famous, even more so than most warlords. Due to his stature, and our family’s wealth, I was allowed to enter the academy early.”
“You were five. What kind of academy is this? Like a boarding school?”
“Military training.” His shoulders straightened as if he was extremely proud of the fact that he’d been training to fight a war since he was a mere child. “I was on the front lines by the time I was fourteen. My beast developed early. I had my first Hive kill three weeks after my fourteenth birthday. I made commander at twenty. I was the youngest commander in the sector.”
“How old are you now?” I studied the lines around his eyes, the deep creases in his forehead. He was handsome, in a rugged, bad boy kind of way, but he was definitely older than me. A lot older. A decade? That would make him in his early thirties? At least? How long did Atlans live?
“Twenty-four.”
What? I glanced at the photo album and thought of the silly pictures it contained of me and Lavender when we were little, playing with balloons, eating cake and ice cream, chasing butterflies at the park, dressed up as little princesses for a schoolmate’s birthday party. We weren’t rich, but we loved each other, and our mom always made sure we were warm and had something to eat. I’d been jealous of the rich kids with their new clothes and latest cell phones. But Kai? He’d had nothing. Why?
“What happened? To your parents?”
Kai’s pride melted away and he turned his face away as if it hurt him to look at me. He was silent so long, I was afraid he wasn’t going to answer the question.
When he did speak, I almost wished he hadn’t.
“My father was a famous performer, a singer of the ancient songs, as was his father before him. My parents traveled extensively after I was born, leaving my in the care of nannies. They would transport to active military zones and they insisted it was too dangerous for me to accompany them. My father had a beautiful voice. He sang for the Atlan leadership council, the leaders of our planet. His performances always sold out to huge crowds. He was always in demand and would sing at venues all over Atlan.”
“Do you sing, too?”
“I have the gift, but I do not sing the old songs.”
“Why not?”
Kai took a deep breath, as if bracing to say the more difficult bits. “I know all the old songs, trained to follow in my father’s footsteps since before I could walk.”
“But?”
