8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

H alf a century. That's the only thought circling Jenna's brain. She was waiting for someone to say gotcha, April Fools. She didn't hear anyone saying trick-or-treat. People didn't live this long except for the aforementioned biblical characters. If they were real. Who was she to judge? They died a long time ago. No one was walking the earth claiming to be centuries old or more.

She was sitting on SaKura's lap, wrapped in a blanket and cuddled in his arms. How had this day gone from bad to worse? The problem here was she didn't want to move. When was the last time someone other than her sister held her? She was drawing a blank, and rightly so. She'd never be this vulnerable with a male.

Lions and tigers, men, and liars. Was there any difference between the two?

"Five hundred years?" She would live and die, and he would do this again. Picking some poor, unexpecting woman to make her life miserable. Is that what was going to happen to Bella? She was going to die, and Rakha would force someone else to marry him.

"I don't understand." Another shiver went through her. It wasn't like she was cold. It was more like her mind refused to believe what he said. Which was silly. After all, she lived through all the visions she had. "How can you not be old and decrepit?"

Common sense told her SaKura wasn't human. His longevity could have something to do with the sun on his planet or the rotation of his planet in his solar system. Maybe a day to them was like a year on their planet. Had something gotten lost in the translation? Whatever it was, there was no way he was five hundred earth years old. It didn't make sense. She tried to chuckle, but it came out sounding like a meow from a half-drowned cat.

"You're asking me to explain Diza's biology to you, but I'm no healer. I doubt you can explain human biology to me."

Humans were born, grew up, paid taxes, lived terrible lives, and died. The circle of life. Okay, he was right. She wasn't up on human biology or why they aged the way they did. She'd seen some women in their sixties who looked like they were in their thirties. People would say that they took good care of themselves. He was right. She couldn't tell you why people grew old if you paid her. Radiation from the sun? It was the best guess she had other than taking care of your body was hard no matter who you were or how much money you had.

"I'll give you that one. I don't know why we age and die. Still…" What was there to say after that?

His fingers stroked her black hair as he contemplated what he wanted to say. "Before we advanced enough to leave our planet, we thought everyone in the galaxy was like us." The height of hubris. The shock came when we met our first race whose life span is half of the life span you enjoy. They not only lived but rejoiced in each day they lived. That was before I was born in my…" He floundered, looking for the earth's word. "Grandfather's time. My father was a youngling, but he remembers the time and meeting a male his age. He watched him mature and watched him die. The encounter touched his heart. He still talks about him a millennium later. This universe is made of wildly different species that have different life spans. All we can do is respect them."

She knew better than that. If he was all so altruistic and wanted to respect people's life spans, then he wouldn't have tried to bind her to him. Her life was to be forfeited and for what?

"You can talk all that sugar honey iced tea to someone who isn't me. I'm out of here. If you respect others and their culture, there's no way you would have tried to bind me. Making me a slave for the rest of my life, knowing you get to do this repeatedly." She struggled in his arms until he let her up. "I'm leaving. Don't follow me."

Jenna hadn't wanted to be here and didn't ask to be the object of his obsessive desire. She was getting out and would disappear until he left. She'd become one of those people who lived in the mountain, raised pigs, and conveniently forgot to take a bath. Stereotyping much Jenna? Her nose wrinkled at the thought of smelling herself. She was going to need a log cabin with running water and a working toilet, but the thought of living away from humanity made her feel good.

"I wouldn't do that." He hadn't moved, but he looked worried before acting calm. His body language said it was her choice.

"Of course, you wouldn't because you're used to being in charge. I bet the females on your planet worshipped at your feet. The crown elect. Here comes the next king, lay prostrate before him."

"The next king should have been a queen in your language." She grunted because she wasn't listening to him. All she could think about was the men in her life who wanted to keep her down. They wanted to use her as a slave or a pleasure worker, and some of them liked a little blood for their pleasure.

"My oldest sister was to be queen. Our planet loved her, and she was my father's pride and joy. I knew I would never wear the crown, but I would support her. She was going to be a great queen whenever my father tired of ruling. Then the Tan-ge came. I was with her when the attack on our planet happened." His voice broke and the hollow place in his heart, where his sister and the other females from his planet lived, ached, tearing him apart on the inside. What good was being crown-elect if you missed the treachery of those around you and couldn't save those you loved? Those thoughts were like a cold dagger to his heart. He never wanted the weight, this responsibility."

"Hold on," SaKura cried, rocking his sister. He called for a healer. His cozan (cousin) ran into the room, falling to his knees. He laid his hand on Traure's cheek.

Zylar was a healer. He worked on Traure while telling SaKura that there was no cure. Every female on their planet, from the youngest to the oldest, was dying. Some were stronger than others and held on longer, but so far there were no reports of one female surviving.

Not his sister, anyone but her, Sakura's heart cried.

"SaKura, my baby brother. I was there when you were born." She placed her hand on his cheek. Her beautiful claws had grown black and brittle, like she contracted a disease they couldn't fight. That's what was happening, but his mind was muddled by that point. "I'm going to need you to be strong. You will wear the crown one day."

"No." It was a growl from the depths of his heart. His amazing sister, who could best him in everything, was born for the crown. "Fight, you're a fighter." Her head moved in agreement, but he could see how that simple movement brought her pain.

"Listen," she whispered. "The life you know is about to change. Our Papan." They didn't shed tears, but sorrow was something that emanated from the center of their being and was felt by those around them. "He will change wondering how he missed this. How could he have embraced our enemies?" SaKura often wrestled with that same question, feeling like the females died because he wasn't more observant.

"He couldn't have known," she went on. "They showed us the good while keeping the devious locked on their planet until they were ready to strike. Their plan developed over several thousand years."

It took them close to a thousand years to develop that air-borne virus in a lab. They worked on it for so long because the Diza were hard to kill. They would only get one chance, so they went after the females. The ultimate betrayal and kick in the face.

"You will be the next to wear the crown. We both know our brother doesn't want it."

"Traure, you need to fight not to talk of things that may never come to pass."

"You always were a bit of a dreamer, it's beautiful SaKura. I can see the next world. One day we may be together again. Until then, you must find a race that can mate with our males and pass the tests. The females must be our equal or the Tan-ge have won."

"There are none."

"There are." She gave him a beautiful smile. "The ones who have gone before me say there is one, maybe more than one, look for them brother, and refill our planet with the laughter of females and the tiny feet of the young." Her eyes closed and her breathing became shallower and ragged.

"Traure!" Her eyes popped open, but they were opaque, and he didn't think she saw him anymore.

"I glimpsed your future, and it was glorious, but not without trials and tribulations." SaKura gripped her hand, holding on tight. How could he lose his sister and his queen? "I'll always be close watching over you, little brother."

His sadness burst from within him, meeting the sadness of those around who were trying to save their loved ones. Grief and an underlying anger shrouded the king's domicile, growing over the days and years to come.

Her sightless eyes bore into him. "Don't disappoint me Awayn (the familial version of my heart.)" She'd called him that from the day he was born. Her hand went to the center of his chest. "My wisdom, my love, and my understanding I now impart to you. I transfer the mantle of leadership from my shoulders to yours." He felt the weight of the crown weighing him down. SaKura took her into his arms and rocked. Singing to her the way she used to sing to him. His head bent in sorrow when she took her last breath.

SaKura pulled out of the memory of his sister to see Jenna standing in front of him, frowning. The suitcase her sister brought was at her feet. She wore jeans and a shirt with something called flip-flops on her feet. Bella had astounded him with the amazing things she called shoes.

"This isn't going to work. Why should I have to give up my life when you get to live thousands of times longer than I do? I should be allowed to have a life as well. Don't." She stopped him when he tried to reply. "I'm not your servant or your slave, and I'm not your whore. I never wanted to be in a relationship with a man or, I guess, in your case, a male. If I ever broke my vows, I would choose someone who would worship me. I won't be reduced to a glorified baby maker, sitting around the house, being lazy and indulging in bonbons."

"Is that what you think of your sister?" He watched her face twist and knew she didn't see his question as legitimate. His mate had baggage of which he was unaware. That didn't stop the pull he felt for her. Should he doubt his initial actions? Being a king, he understood that once he took a stance, he couldn't say sorry. He'd made his decision. He needed to stand by it. His father had taught him that sentiment.

He never thought it should be that way between mates. Traure taught him that. She wasn't mated, but the ceremony was approaching and as crown-elect all the power was hers, but she felt like a relationship needed to be balanced. She needed to show her mate rather than tell him.

Jenna wouldn't hear words all she would hear were actions. The predator in him, along with the mated male, howled at the thought of her walking out that door, knowing what she would face. As crown-elect, he wanted to forbid her to move. He did nothing of the kind.

"Jenna, you can only get so far away from me before you experience great pain. If you stay away too long, you will die." So would he, but it didn't seem prudent to tell her that.

She laughed. "You're so full of it." Picking up her suitcase, she walked out the door.