Chapter 9:
Renall strode to his chamber, his body tingling and his brain whirling. He’d made love to Clara! The long seated ache he had felt for her had not abated either. If he had not left when he had, he might very well have made love to her yet again!
What the hell was I thinking? I can’t stay with her, not without breaking that pact. Not without putting everything we have all worked so hard for at risk.His mind tussled with that, and his heart plummeted as a new thought occurred to him.
He didn’t want Laria. He wanted Clara. He was emotionally entangled with Clara, something he had not expected and something that was true and had been true before he had made love to her.
He felt nothing for Laria, and he doubted very seriously if she felt anything for him either. Other than duty and her obligation to her father.
Her father.
Renall realized that it was growing close to the time for that interface meeting. He quickly stripped and bathed then donned a fresh tunic and trousers. He didn’t bother with boots, just sat in front of the module and waited for the call. His mind kept going back to Clara though. To her ability to listen to him talk. To his willingness to talk to her about his past. To the way her skin had felt below his fingers and along his flesh.
The interface crackled. He took a deep breath then answered, “Hello, Morilan.”
Morilan frowned at him. He spoke without preamble. “Laria has stated that she has already told you about the temple costs.”
“She has.” His leg tightened, the muscles flexing hard. “I feel as if…” He paused. What did he feel?
Nothing. Not for Laria. Not for that far too expensive temple. Was that alliance truly worth the staggering amount of credits and, what was more, was it worth the cost of having to live with a being who saw him simply as a convenient piggy bank to redeem the temples on her home planet?
No, think. What you are really buying is the military mettle and might of their planet.
Morilan grunted. “You stopped speaking.” The implication that he clearly thought that Renall had stopped thinking was clear. Renall wasn’t thinking. At least not of the situation at hand. He was thinking of Clara.
The conflict just grew with each passing second.
He cleared his throat. “Forgive me. I seem to be overly tired. We had a problem with a Terestrial attacking one of my dealers.”
A dealer I feel strongly about and would not see harmed. A dealer, a carder, who makes me want so much more than the bargain I signed onto with you and your daughter.
Morilan grunted again. “I need at least a one hundred and twenty thousand credits to begin the work.”
Renall blinked. “To begin it?”
Morilan looked very pleased. “It will be the finest temple in all the system. That means it will be the costliest as well.’
It’s not worth it. Renall tried to tamp that thought down but couldn’t. Instead, he said, “I fear we have an issue. You see, I am already coming up short on purchasing the planet, even though all of my brothers and myself are combining our coffers. We will, of course, need a vast amount of credits even after the purchase. To keep spending in such a way, well. I fear I may not be able to afford the temple of your dreams.”
There was a warning in Renall’s voice when the words were spoken, but there was a larger one in Morilan’s. “Oh? Then perhaps we should rethink how soon you might purchase the planet.”
Renall’s anger rose. “I can’t. You see, the planet is highly coveted. It is but one of four remaining unsold private planets in the entire galaxy.”
And the others were not only not suitable for his race, but also expensive beyond his means. Not to mention he would have to do atmosphere work in order to live there if he did get one of them. Which would prove even more expensive.
“I do not understand why you are balking.”
Renall’s brows drew together at Morilan’s words. He spoke without thinking. “I am sure you do not. However, if I wish to have a planet, which I do, and must in order to keep faith with the pact I made with you, then I must have credits. I cannot give you any more for the temple.” A vein beat in his forehead. Rage spiked upward, heating his already volatile emotions. “I will not give you any more money for that temple. I agreed to three hundred thousand credits. You have exceeded that by three hundred percent as it is, and now you wish more?”
Morilan’s eyes narrowed, a sure sign that he was angered by Renall’s words. He said, “I do. I offer you my daughter. My army. Yet you balk at a small sum?”
“Small sum? We’re past a million credits now.” His anger kept his tongue moving long after he knew it should have halted. “I am not able to keep funding your temple.” A thought came. His breath hissed inward. Why had he not seen it before? He added, in a low and deadly voice. “I would hate to think that perhaps you have been storing my wealth away in the form of the temple, and in an effort to enrich yourself at my expense.”
Morilan recoiled, and in that instant, Renall knew that that was exactly what was happening. The planet was small and poor, and the people, while capable of great warfare, not part of the outer systems moneyed Federations. Morilan was obviously socking away the funds. So why?
Renall asked, in a sotto voice. “Are you unhappy with our pact, Morilan?”
Morilan’s lips compressed. His face paled. “No. I have but one daughter, however. She is worth much to me.”
