“Songs are memories, and my memories cause me pain.”
I scooted closer and tucked the blanket around us both, making a cocoon as he continued.
“My father often transported to battlegroups to sing for the warlords fighting in the war. He served for several years before he found his mate, and he knew that sometimes, when a beast struggles to maintain control, it would help to remind them what they were fighting for, what they had to look forward to after they were matched to an Interstellar Bride.”
“Your mom was an Interstellar Bride?” Whoa. I knew human women volunteered to be brides, but I’d never really thought about the fact that women—females—from other planets volunteered, too.
“Yes. They were matched soon after my father qualified for the program. He was lucky. Some males wait years.” He turned to me and lowered his head so our foreheads touched. “Some never find a mate and succumb to mating fever.”
I didn’t know what to say to such a terrible truth. The thought of males like Kai being executed just because they couldn’t find a mate their beast would accept? Heartbreaking. “I’m glad you found me.” The thought of Kai dying alone was beyond my comprehension.
“As am I, mate.”
“But what happened to your parents?”
“The war took a heavy toll on my father’s beast. Once he found his mate, he could not bear to be separated from her, so she always accompanied him to his performances. She was a beautiful Atlan female and totally devoted to my father. Her presence soothed his beast and gave the other warlords hope.”
“It sounds romantic.”
“Indeed. Yet none of them saw the small boy left home alone. None of them anticipated the way their story would end.”
11
Larkspur
* * *
I wanted to squeeze the story out of him. Instead, I wrapped my arm around him and leaned my head against his chest, bracing him the best I could with my much smaller frame. He arms surrounded me and pulled me into his lap. His chin came to rest on the top of my head as I let him hold me. “So, what happened?”
“They were on a battleship when a Hive fleet attacked. He survived, but my mother did not.”
“Oh, god.”
Kai shuddered and I could practically feel the despair radiating from the darkest parts of his soul. “He chose to follow her. His beast could not accept the loss and he went mad.”
Tears for this lost, little boy filled my eyes and dripped onto his bare chest.
“Do not cry for me, love.” He adjusted me in his arms so my head rested in the crook of his elbow. I looked up into his handsome face. He lifted one hand and gently wiped the tears from one cheek. “I was angry with him for many years. I thought he chose to leave me. I did not understand the power of the beast.”
“And now you do?”
“Now I do. I found you when I had nearly given up hope. My beast is strong and full of rage. I am my father’s son. My devotion to you is absolute. I will care for you, pleasure you and protect you until my dying breath. I understand his choice now. I would not survive your loss.”
I was shaking my head before I could put my thoughts into words. “You’ve only known me a day. I don’t understand how that’s possible. You don’t know me at all.”
His thumb abandoned my drying cheek and moved down to trace the fullness of my lower lip. “I know you are curious, taking all your pictures. I know you are courageous and sometimes reckless?—”
I opened my mouth to protest but he grinned and covered my mouth with three fingers.
“You sneaked into an illegal fight club run by human criminals. You faced off with three Hive and did not panic. You watched me destroy your attackers and still accompanied me without hysterics. When that reptile attacked Carmichael, and we were faced with human snipers, you remained calm.” He lowered his fingers and stared at my lips. “You are amazing, mate. I do not deserve you.”
He lowered his head. The kiss was soft. Slow. So different from the wild hunger of the beast. This kiss melted my bones. I wanted him, like this, himself. But I also wanted something else.
“Will you sing for me?”
“What?”
“You don’t have to, if it’s too painful. But I would love to hear you sing one of your mother’s favorite songs. Did she have one? A special song your father would sing to her? Or to you?”
