Lena blinked, her mind filling with images of Vor in a room full of naked Nethren, fucking woman after woman until he was sated.
“Yes.” Vor laughed as he watched her expression change. “It's exactly what you're thinking. We find a partner and satisfy our lusts together. It's very reasonable. As all things are underground. We have a need, and we take care of it. No nonsensical attachments.” He sighed. “But that's not what I want anymore. This path that Tech has put me on has shown me that any satisfaction coming from such interactions is minor. It's tasteless. It doesn't last. Reason isn't always the best choice. Sometimes, being unreasonable and following your instincts is far more satisfying.”
“I am not your path to emotions!”
“I think you are. Moreover, I think you want to be.”
“Fuck you!”
Vor laughed boisterously. “What happened to your delicate sensibilities,darling?”
“They're leaving me under duress. I don't feel like a lady anymore. So, speak freely, Commander Vor. Use all the foul words you want. Because I'll hurl them back at you. They're the only weapons you've left me.”
Vor bent his head. “I don't want to fuck women mindlessly in a dark room full of strangers. It's not enough for me anymore. A week with you—even the silent, sullen you—has already shifted things inside me. I know with absolute certainty that once I'm inside you, I will never want another woman again.”
Lena's breath stuttered in her throat as those words shivered down her belly to tingle in places words shouldn't be able to go.Inside you. How did he make those two words sound thrilling, terrifying, and possessive all at once?
He lifted his gaze to hers. “I'm sorry that I had to take you as I did. I didn't have another option available to me. I couldn't court you as you deserve or bring you flowers to make you smile. I don't want to fight with you, not with words or my body. I need your help, Lena. I need you.”
“I can't help you,” she whispered.
“Yes, you can. You already have. I'm changing every day. I'm seeing things differently. I know now that we were never meant to live only underground. We were meant to go back and forth, to form relationships with those on the surface and in the sky. We've cut our world into thirds when it was meant to be whole. That's what the Sources want. Unity. You know that. You're a Medean. Your entire culture is based on convergence. Hasn't it ever occurred to you that our three races need to converge as well?”
Lena didn't like the feeling blooming in her chest. Sympathy? Agreement? What was this warmth that softened her muscles? It didn't belong in her. Not now. Not while she faced this man who had taken her from her family. But she wasn't a Nethren. She didn't handle her life with cold reason. Lena merged reason and emotion, as every Medean did naturally. Reason said that this man was her enemy, and Vor was tricking her into bedding him. But emotions saw deeper. It gave her a view of the hollowness in his chest. The ache in his eyes. He wanted more for himself and his people, and Lena could only find that admirable.
“I would very much like there to be peace among the races,” Lena finally said.
“That's what I want as well.” Vor leaned forward.
“But you will not get it like this.” She motioned to the window.
“Then how? We can't even speak to the other races unless we break down the barriers they constructed over our homes. How do you suggest I negotiate with them? And even if I could, what would get them to listen?”
Lena frowned.
“Yes, you see now. Tech has shown me the only path available. I don't want to fight your people or even the Aethari. But I will if it's the only way to bring my people back to the surface. They need to be up here, Lena. We don't have to live on the surface, but we must be allowed up to balance the technology in our bodies with magic.”
“Do you really think that will help your people?”
“Yes! I said we don't love, but that's not entirely true. We can form bonds with each other. Married couples usually join to have children, but after years together, they form a partnership beyond what single Nethren feel. I think that's the seed of love. If they could just come up once in a while, magic could grow those seeds inside us. I can already see my soldiers changing after only a week here. It's not just me, Lena.”
Lena sighed. “I understand.”
“You do?” Vor's expression turned eager.
“But it doesn't change how I feel or what I can do for you. It's magic that's changing your people, not me. I'm not what you need. You need to speak to Paradefense and negotiate a truce. That's what will help your people.”
“I agree that I need to speak to your commanders. But first, we need to establish enough footholds up here that they will be inclined to listen. Regardless, that is only one part of our unearthing. You are another branch of the plan. A personal branch. You will show me how—”
“To love,” Lena cut him off. “Yes, I heard you.”
“Lena, you're already changing my soldiers. Your song had them all in its grip. They felt something! Do you know how incredible that is? They—”
“What do you mean?” Lena cut him off. “They heard me sing? But I was . . .” Her gaze went to the open window. “Oh.”
“Everyone in the courtyard heard you, and some soldiers were even drawn outside to listen. You touched them with your song, Lena. You touched me.” Vor leaned closer. “I've never heard anything so beautiful. I was struck dumb, and thensomething burned inside me, and I ran to you. I ran to you, Lena.” He ran a shaky hand over his face. “You have magic in your voice, and that magic reached into the hearts of my people—into my heart. I'm more certain than ever that you are the key to changing the Nethren. You are our path to the surface.”
Lena gaped at him. Her song had done that to Nethren? It was hard for her to believe. Yes, she knew she had a lovely voice. That, and her talent for music, were all she had to offer. But was it lovely enough to make a Nethren feel emotions they had never felt before? No. No, Vor was trying to trick her again.
