24. CHAPTER 24

Now I felt confused, and this little talk made me understand how selfish I was—or maybe that wasn"t the right word, perhaps na?ve. I pictured an invasion like a movie where all s would band together to fight a common threat, but maybe it wouldn"t be that way. Why would I think that?!

"Caspian, here is some honest advice." She touched my arm to draw my full attention. "Relax. Sometimes, you can"t control what happens at all times. Sometimes, it"s okay to ride the waves, too. I don"t think you can solve your entire planet"s problems."

"For a while, I felt that way, with this whole breeding thing."

"If impregnating you obsessed Lorvian, he would have passed you about, or he would be inside of you day and night to ensure a pregnancy."

"I"ll let you rest." I stood up to leave. I still needed to rest and didn"t want to take up too much of her time.

"Caspian." Lorvian waited for me outside the room. I hoped he didn"t hear all of that, but it doesn"t matter now. "We"re going to Wallachia to speak to the human colonists."

"I hope not aggressively."

"No, but that depends on your people. Of course, I will need you to translate."

"And if that Daruuk person is there? I remember you telling that Daruuk was looking for the human colony. You wanted him to go to rile them up to fight."

"Ah." He smiled. "You remembered and were paying attention even back then. I knew I liked your Wolcan self."

I laughed. I had no idea what that even was or how it related to my behavior. "Okay, I give up. What is a Wolcan?"

"A crafty and cunning animal back home."

"Wait. Are you calling me a weasel?" I put my hands on my hips in mock anger.

He threw his head back in laughter. "So, you have your own animal equivalent."

I waved him off and walked by toward the elevator, and I was glad he followed. "I can"t believe you think I"m a weasel."

"Is that an insult?"

"Back home, yeah."

"Sorry. But I don"t think there is anything wrong with being either of those things. The man who snuck onboard a colony ship defied everyone as he did and did whatever it took to succeed. That is what I admire about you and why I"ve fallen for you. I would like for him to stay."

"He isn"t going anywhere." I held on to his rough hands. "But that doesn"t mean I want my people enslaved or a war."

"My father has been alive for a long time. He no longer wishes to be King and will need a proper heir. He wants to go to sleep knowing he created a balanced and peaceful galaxy. You see, I know that the peace he holds is shaky. When he closes his eyes, everyone will fight again. There are many more aliens like Feion who will profit from war, those like Daruuk who won"t stop fighting for power, and those easily manipulated by both. Where do you think humans will fall if this happens? Every alien in this sector knows you exist now. They most likely have found your planet. What keeps them from raiding it? We do. Valisians. Or, more importantly, the fear of my military. And believe me when I say this: you would have more purpose and freedom under Valisian rule than you would under any of theirs."

"Then to have ultimate freedom is to get rid of you all." I couldn"t help but sneer. I still didn"t like the idea of mankind submitting like the others.

"Perhaps you could fight us all or fight the Valisians and rule in our place over all others. That would be a much more favorable outcome for humans. Try it if you think your people can win." He shrugged. "But be careful that isn"t erosion of your species" self-deification speaking."

"Um…"

"It"s a term we have for the narcissistic psychological thought processes of first-contact species. For centuries, you believed you were alone, that you were the beings who were conquering the stars, your own masters. Now you realize that millions of beings have already conquered it long before you, that there is a ruling government established here, and that we will expect your people to abide by our laws whether you like it or not. You"re now just one million and one, or more accurately put, fifty-two."

"And what would you do if that was the case?"

"We haven"t blown you to bits." He kissed me.

"Why convince me anyway? Why not go straight to Earth to convince my leaders?"

"Because I"m no diplomat, and I"d rather speak to you about it. I don"t believe men are above fighting or political matters."

"So, you want me to fight you?"

"You may not have a choice in fighting anyone." He sighed as if he said something he didn"t want to say. "Let"s take it one step at a time. I can"t control what you decide to do. I don"t want to do that even if I could. I want you with me because you choose to be, but I won"t paint pretty pictures to keep you happy." He walked away, done with the conversation, and how come I felt like shit!?

I headed to the bridge instead to watch the stars go by. But by the way Cormac was looking at me, and I was starting to think that was a bad idea.

"Well, shit." He gasped and turned to focus on... I want to say the road, but that would be stupid.

"I think I may need a mirror." I groaned.

"You look beautiful." Lorvian stood at the door. "Come with me to the cargo hold." He said before leaving. I followed, curious as to what this request was about.

He stood in the large and relatively empty space. The only items in here were a few old crates scattered about.

"How are you feeling?"

"The pain comes in waves, but I feel a bit better now."

"Good." He pulled a short sword from his belt and handed it to me.

"What is this?" I said, confused as I looked at the sleek black handle and smooth hard metal.

"You need to learn more than just how to shoot a turret. You need some melee combat skills, even if it"s just a little."

"Lorvian, I doubt I could do anything combat-related but shoot a turret, and I have hours of gaming to thank for that."

"I know Elvira didn"t hurt you, and I"m glad, but she could have just as easily done so. It would make me feel better if you learned something of self-defense, especially against my kind."

He looked serious, like he knew something I didn"t, or maybe, with the way I was changing, it wasn"t normal even for this place. Cormac still looked human, Kevin looked human. But the way Xil came after me once he saw my transformation… yeah, Lorvian was right, I needed to learn how to fight.

"Try to cut me. Don"t be afraid of hurting me; I want you to hurt me." He said in the most soothing voice I"ve ever heard from him. I wanted him, wanted to feel my arms around his strong body and to feel him pushing into me, but this wasn"t the time nor place… well, it wasn"t the time, at least.

I swung the weapon as fast as I could, and he dodged each attack while egging me on and giving me tips on my form. I needed to loosen up, let my weight flow with the blade"s movements, and keep the momentum. I couldn"t cut him.

We were both sweating, but I was more tired than him, and I spat up some bile.

"This is the first day; we"ll take it easy for now until you feel much better."