Chapter 5

Gravon forced himself to break the kiss. He was still ravenous with hunger for her, but this was not the place. He wanted to bed her at home in his castle so he could take his time with her.

But most importantly, he didn't want a ship of people listening in on their lovemaking. The Imperial Nirum was a relatively small ship, and he preferred to have privacy. He didn't want anyone else to hear the perfect screams he would elicit from his Azha.

It was obvious that Azha did not want to stop, but he refused to continue. He picked her clothes up off the floor and handed them to her. She looked confused but didn't question him as she dressed.

He could still taste her all over his mouth, and that alone made abstaining from anything more incredibly hard. But he savored that taste and forced himself to keep his hands to himself until they were in his home. Her new home.

Gravon hadn't told her what to expect when they reached Nirum. He didn't think he needed to. She would be staying with him, and he would give her no choice in the matter.

The truth was, though he wasn't sure if she knew it yet, he didn't do this for her. He didn't sneak her off of Noxxa to save her from her fate with the Jorvlens. If she had been anyone else, he would've turned her over.

He was doing this because he knew one thing with absolute certainty. She was his. And his alone.

The two of them sat next to each other, him in the pilot seat and her in the adjacent one, for the rest of the trip. Once they got closer to Nirum, he strapped her in once more before switching the ship out of autopilot and preparing for landing.

"When we land, you are not to speak to anyone but me," he told her.

"Okay," she readily agreed, not arguing with him.

"We will be landing at the Niri royal orbital hub. From there, we will take a shuttle to the castle."

Azha had no time to reply before the ship reached top speed as they began entering Nirum's orbit. He had done this about a thousand times, so it was second nature to him.

After a few minutes, they smoothly landed at the royal terminal. His staff were already waiting for him on the ground—most to unload his belongings, though some to update him with any news he had missed while he was off-planet.

Gravon turned to Azha, who stared at the world around her in wonder. He didn't blame her. Nirum looked nothing like Noxxa. They were both spherical planets, but the similarities ended there.

"Welcome to Nirum, Azha."

"This is the shuttle you told me about?" Azha's jaw dropped open.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"It's just not what I expected. Noxxa doesn't have anything like this."

"Sure it does. Just in very limited parts. Nirum has actually traded some of our own technology with Noxxa."

He watched her marvel over the bright blue hovering object that was shimmering in front of them. The entire thing appeared to be holographic with two jets located on its rear end.

"How does it work?"

"It's operated solely by blue plasma, which you'll see coming out of the jets once we take off."

"And we just… sit on it?"

"Yes."

He was trying not to laugh at the uncertain look she gave him, like she thought he was lying. Gravon decided to show her. He slithered forward and mounted the shuttle, taking his place in the "driver's" seat.

Her jaw dropped even further. "It almost looks like you're sitting on nothing!"

"Come on." He patted the spot next to him. "We have places to be."

She approached the shuttle, still looking uncertain. He found it kind of adorable, but he didn't appreciate the stares they were attracting from the Niri nearby. He knew it was mostly because he was their king, but seeing him with a human girl definitely made their focus more intense.

Azha faced her fears and stepped aboard the shuttle, seating herself next to him.

"I thought for sure I'd fall right through it." She giggled. "This is so cool."

Gravon pressed a button and a screen popped up in the air in front of him. He typed in a few things before the screen disappeared and the shuttle began moving.

"It's just going to take us to the palace?" Azha murmured.

"Yes, it does not need to be driven. In fact, it cannot be driven."

The shuttle took them to a gate made entirely of shining opal, which opened for them as soon as they approached. Once the gate opened and they entered the capitol, Azha seemed to forget entirely about her fascination with the shuttle. Now, she was fascinated by something else.

"The trees, they're…"

"Alive, yes. Did I not mention that earlier?"

"No, you didn't. I most certainly would've remembered that!"

Her head turned from side to side, looking at the trees that lined the road that would lead them to the Niri castle.

"They're called fire willows."

The trees were tall, with long, reaching branches, some of which stood straight up, and some of which hung low. The branches were unique, as they did not carry leaves. Instead, glittering fireflies buzzed around them, glowing in shades of green, blue, and some even purple.

But perhaps the most unique part of the trees were the trunks. The color on each one remained the same, a soft red that just barely glowed. Each one seemed to be moving, swaying almost. The trunks rippled like waves and emitted a soft humming sound.

"Are they sentient?"

"No one knows. But my guess would be no. Regardless, we still respect them. These particular ones only exist in the capital. We have no idea when they got here. We actually know very little about them. But in the colder months, the fireflies all die and fall to the ground, turning into dust. I'm not sure how our kind figured this out, but the dust has healing properties, so we collect it and distribute it to the hospitals."

"I can't wait to see them at night."

"Oh, they're very hard to miss at night. Just look out your window. They light up the entire city."

"They're beautiful."

He supposed they were, though he was used to them, having grown up in the palace.

Gravon thought back to a time when he was a child, and his friends would try to climb the trees to capture the fireflies in their hands. He never joined in because his father had warned him to treat the trees with respect. He had thought stealing the fireflies would be the opposite of that, so he stayed put on the ground.

His friends never could reach the top. They usually fell about halfway up because the trunks would always begin swaying faster than normal, as if they did not want anyone on them. So maybe in a way, they were a little sentient. The Niri would probably never know for sure.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the castle. He led her inside and up to his wing, which was on the topmost floor. There, two females of his staff waited for them as ordered. Gravon had made arrangements for the two of them to wait here for Azha as soon as they had landed on Nirum.

"Azha, I'd like you to meet Vespira and Xenia, two of my servants. They will be at your disposal should you need anything. They will wash your clothes and make sure you have everything you need, including making sure you are fed when I am not present."

Azha didn't respond, and she barely looked at the females. Gravon dismissed them and led Azha down a wide hallway.

"This is a guest suite that will be yours for the time being. My own quarters are not far."

She nodded to show that she understood, but she appeared to be uncomfortable.

"What is wrong?" He frowned. "Is it not to your liking?"

"No, no, this is all very beautiful, and much more than I'm used to. It's just… am I going to be living here?"

"Yes, of course."

She stared at the ground. Gravon was confused. What did she think would happen once they landed?

"Azha?"

Her big brown eyes found his, and he could see the uncertainty in them. He did not like it one bit.

"To be clear, this is your home now. You will not be returning to Noxxa, not ever. You may start off in your own room, but eventually, I'd like to transition you into mine. None of this is up for debate. Do you understand?"

She gave him a small nod. He felt a surge of annoyance that she was not immediately embracing her new life, but he reminded himself that it was only the first day.

"Okay," she finally replied.

"Very well. Vespira and Xenia are going to come in and help you clean up and change into something more suitable. Afterward, they will take you down the hall to my personal dining room, where we will share a meal."

She nodded. The two Niri servants appeared around the corner just then, and the three of them disappeared into Azha's new room. Gravon turned and headed to his own room to clean up, as well.

He felt hopeful and excited for the meal to come. He was sure Azha would take no time at all to settle in. Once she had food in her belly and had gotten a good night's sleep, she would realize this was where she was meant to be.

Not that she had much choice. She would have to learn to love it sooner or later.

Once he was done polishing his scales to a gleam and changing his coverings, he slithered to the dining room, taking his seat at the head of the table. A few minutes later, Azha entered the room.

She wore a long evening gown that was made of a white almost completely see-through fabric that clung to her dark skin. The fabric had a wet appearance, but it was not actually wet. Her hair was pinned up, her tiny curls perfectly placed.

She looked so absolutely stunning, so perfect that he almost canceled dinner at that moment.

His servants led Azha to the seat closest to him and waited until she sat before leaving the room.

"You look marvelous," he told her, his mouth salivating as he scented her natural flavors. Now clean of the dirt of her slavery, her natural aroma shone through the scent-less soaps his kind used.

"Thank you," she said, looking a bit shy. "I've never worn anything like this before."

"It looks very natural on you. I'd like to see you in something like this every day from now on."

She swallowed and met his eyes. "The fabric is very unique."

"It originated on Nirum."

A male servant entered the room, a tray floating in front of him. On it were two bowls and some petals. Once the servant was next to them, he plucked the bowls and petals off of the tray and placed them in front of Gravon and Azha. The tray floated back to the door they had come through though the servant remained.

"Celadon, would you please explain to Azha what is in this soup?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. The soup is made from hydrapules, a cactus that is native to Nirum. The cacti hold a liquid inside, which is the broth you see, and the actual skin of the cactus is chopped, boiled, and placed in the broth."

"Thank you, Celadon. You may leave us now."

Celadon bowed and swiftly left.

Azha looked to Gravon for direction. "How do I eat it?"

He smiled. "I'll show you."

Gravon picked up the petal next to his bowl and shaped it with his fingers until it resembled the end of a ladle. He dipped it into the soup and brought it to his mouth, drinking the warm liquid.

"These are merkshade petals. They change the taste of whatever is placed on its skin. The soup alone doesn't taste like much at all, but we eat it because of its nutritional properties. The merkshade provides flavor."

"That's fascinating," Azha said, before picking up her own merkshade and mirroring what Gravon had done.

Once she swallowed the soup, her face lit up. "That's delicious!"

He smiled at her before taking another sip of his soup. He was sure of it now. Azha would fit in well here.

He couldn't wait to show her all Nirum had to offer.