“Don’t be sorry! It’s your first time.”
I take my next turn, and this time my ball veers off to the left before knocking over four pins. Khesan gives it another try, releasing his bowling ball a little lower to the ground. But he also puts much more force behind it, and it rolls straight to the right, bouncing off the gutter guard before veering back onto the lane. It hits the opposite gutter guard, then slams into the pins, knocking over six of them.
“Karakka!” Khesan crows, and a laugh bursts out of me. It was a terrible throw, but we’ll take what we can get.
“What does that mean?” I ask as I pick up my ball.
“Ah, it means… I am very thrilled. To be playing this game, and to play it with you.”
Khesan is standing right in front of me when I turn around, and it startles me. But he doesn’t back away. Instead, he leans down closer to me and tucks a stray strand of my hair behind my ear.
“It is my absolute pleasure to spend time with you, Fiona,” he goes on, “without that Shathar around.”
I wish these two didn’t despise each other so much.
“Have you tried making friends with him?” I ask, peering up into his alien face. “What if you didn’t have to be at odds all the time?”
Khesan scoffs and takes a step back so I can make my next throw.
“I have nothing in common with a liar like Shathar.”
Frowning, I reel back my arm and then hurl the bowling ball as hard as I can, putting all my frustration behind it. The ball rolls straight and true, slamming into the pins and knocking them all over.
“Woo hoo!” I say, raising a fist and pumping it in the air. “Strike!”
The computer overhead plays a fun animation for me, then I head back to where Khesan is waiting with his bowling ball.
“Why do you two keep insisting that?” I ask. “That one of you is lying about being my fated mate.”
“Well, traditionally, Arshurians only have one fated mate. So if I am fated for you, then he is lying. It’s simply logic.”
Khesan positions himself in front of the lane and tries to throw again, this time launching the bowling ball downward a bit more. It still hits the lane with an exceptional noise and rolls to the right, scraping one pin on the way out. Khesan hisses something and backs away from the lane.
Now I understand some of their animosity, I suppose. Each of them thinks the other is lying.
I tap my finger on my chin. “But what if… what if you both did bond with me?”
“It is unlikely,” Khesan says in a guarded tone, “but I suppose it’s possible. There are tales of bonded Arshurians who have more than one mate, but it hasn’t happened in a long time. Many, many years.”
I consider this as I pick up my ball and take my turn. I don’t get another strike, but I manage to knock a few off the side.
What if Khesan and Shathar did both go through this change? Would they maybe back off of one another if they knew they were both telling the truth?
My face turns red-hot at just the suggestion of what that would take.
Our conversation turns elsewhere after that, which is intentional on my part. I ask Khesan more about his life, where he came from.
“I received a message from my parents earlier today,” he says. “They are very happy that I’ve found my fated one, and perhaps someday, you could meet them. They suggested a trip to visit in the future.”
“I’d love to meet your parents,” I say. I wonder what they’re like. “Are they also fated mates?”
Khesan nods. “Yes. My father walked past my mother on the street in the market and smelled her immediately. She came from a well-to-do family, so it wasn’t easy for her family to accept him, but no one denies the true mate bond.”
Interesting. So he grew up with parents who were destined for each other, too.
“What made you decide to pursue the military?” I ask.
“I was a troublesome child.” He winds up for his next throw. “I needed some… correction. I was forced to join, but then I enjoyed it much more than anyone expected.”
