Amid Stars and Darkness (The Xenith Trilogy #1)

“We were in a shaky peace with them already when she left,” he said. “And we had weekly face-to-face check-ins. She lived in secure buildings with guards, and had a phone I could connect to whenever I wanted.”

“If not the Kints, what about the Tars?” She leaned back on her arms, getting comfortable. “You had to think there was a chance they’d make it to Earth and try something.”

“It’s not as easy to get to your planet as you believe, Delaney.” He smiled over at her. “Not even the Kints allow unauthorized personnel into space, and if they happened to let a group of Tars through, they’d easily be found out. It would have meant war.”

“Why don’t the Kints want war again?” She’d never really been told. Seemed to her if they wanted Earth so badly, they wouldn’t just roll over. “Trystan despises Olena, and he really doesn’t like the fact that he has to marry her. Why would he agree to that?”

“Because his father told him to,” he explained, as if the answer were obvious. “He’s the Rex, remember? As a Kint, you don’t defy your Rex, even if you’re the Zane. Especially then, really.”

“Okay.” She could buy that. “So then does Trystan have any siblings?”

“No, why?”

“Then he’s the heir?”

“Yes…”

“And the Rex is fine with forcing his only child, and the future ruler of his people, into marrying a woman he hates?”

Heaving a sigh, Ruckus detached himself from his search and came over to sit next to her. Their knees bumped when he turned to better face her, but if he noticed, he made no sign of it.

“The Rex knows that war would mean great losses on both sides. He doesn’t want to risk the lives of his people. It’s his hope that by forcing a merger between us, his son will come to this conclusion as well.”

“You’re saying he does know how Trystan feels; he just doesn’t care?”

“Once they’re bound, it’ll be Trystan’s duty, by both Vakar and Kint law, to protect her. Because she’s a Lissa, that protection must also fall on her people. By making them marry, the Rex is ensuring that his wish for peace is upheld. Even once he’s gone, and Trystan takes the throne, he’ll still be constrained by the binding law.”

“That’s what it’s called here?” She quirked a brow. “A binding? Gee, how romantic. What do you guys call divorce?”

“We don’t.” He shook his head. “We don’t have it. We mate for life.”

She stared, suddenly feeling her cheeks begin to color.

Knowing her train of thought, he chuckled and stood to return to his task of finding her something else to wear. “I don’t mean sex, Delaney. We can have sex before being bound to someone.”

She couldn’t see his face now, but she thought she heard a note of humor in his voice.

“We just take our vows more seriously than humans do. For us, a binding is more than merely marriage. Our species isn’t as fertile as yours. When we bind with someone, we also undergo a practice that syncs our bodies together, sort of calibrating them to fit reproductively.”

Um, what? She sat up and dropped her chin against her palm. “As in, you have to be programmed to have children with someone? That’s what you’re saying?”

“Yes,” he agreed. “Unless we decide to choose a human to bind with, we do.”

She shifted in her seat, suddenly uncomfortable. “So … if you wanted to procreate with a human…?”

“We wouldn’t need to worry about the genetic programming,” he confirmed, not nearly as bothered by this conversation as she was. “It’s only difficult for us if it’s a coupling with our own people. Human biology seems to accept us without the need for such extremes. It’s one reason many of us have chosen to remain on Earth. Here, your only option is to sync your body with another. And it can only be programmed into our systems once.”

“You’ll only be able to procreate with one person?!” She didn’t know why she felt so grossed out by that. Wasn’t it technically the point? You married someone with the intention of being with them and only them for the rest of your life. You wouldn’t even need to think about having children with someone else. Unless …

“What if one of them dies?”

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “We don’t age the same way as humans. Our life-span is longer, and our medicine has advanced to the point where we virtually can’t get sick.”

“But you can still die, right?” She shifted to the edge of her seat. “In an accident, or in battle.” Otherwise, why be so freaked out about the possibility of a war?

“Yes,” he clarified. “We can still die. To answer your question, if one person bound to another does so, then the one left living is, for all intents and purposes, considered barren.”

“Well,” she said, and let out a slow breath, “that’s shitty.”

“That’s why we take binding with someone very seriously.”

“Not if you’re the Rex,” she corrected, shrugging when he glared. “What? He’s forcing his son to marry a woman he hates, and taking his chance of having children with someone he actually cares about. That sucks.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Please tell me that’s not sympathy I hear in your voice.”

“Of course not.” She waved him off. “It’s pity.”

“Delaney—”

“I feel bad for him,” she said. “Come on, in light of what you just told me, how can you expect me not to? And I thought I was the prisoner here. Nope. That guy is as screwed as I am. No wonder he’s such a jerk.” She held up a hand to stop his approach. “I’m not saying his being a total douche bag is justified, only that I see where he’s coming from, that’s all.”

“Trust me,” he assured. “once you get to know him better, you won’t feel that way anymore.”

“Yeah,” she said, letting the word drag on pointedly, “I really have no intention of getting to know him better.”

“Finally.” He sighed dramatically. “You say something intelligent.”

“Hey!”

Finding what he’d been looking for, he tugged a garment off a rack and turned to hold it out to her.

“Here. Go put this on.”

She stood and gave a mock salute before snatching it from his hand and leaving for the bathroom. His rich chuckle followed her.





CHAPTER 12

The Zane’s rooms were all the way on the other side of the castle. It felt like they had to leave a half hour early just to make it on time, not that it mattered, because Trystan wasn’t even there.

Instead his man, Brightan, had let her in, ordering that Ruckus was to remain outside. The only reason either of them had agreed was because Brightan would be waiting, too. The Kint had mumbled something about the Zane being delayed and then had swiftly sealed her in the massive suite alone.

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