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He shook his head. “No, not born. Our standing is earned over time. It’s based largely on our achievements and how much we contribute to society. Our government is almost like an oligarchy of sorts – but based on meritocracy.”
This was fascinating and somewhat intimidating. Korum must’ve contributed to the K society quite a bit, to have as much influence as he did.
“So how many of you are on the Council?” Mia asked, watching him ladle the stew-like dish into bowls for both of them. It didn’t look as exotic as the shari salad, although she could see something purple among the reddish-brown vegetables.
“Currently, there are fifteen Council members. The number fluctuates over time – it’s been as high as twenty-three and as low as seven. About a third of us are here on Earth, and the others are still on Krina.”
Bringing the bowls back to the table, he sat down and moved one bowl toward her. “Go ahead,” he said, “I’m curious if you’ll like this also.”
Temporarily shelving her questions, Mia tried a spoonful of the stew. To her surprise, it tasted rich and savory, as though it contained some kind of meat products. “This is all plant-based?” she asked, and Korum nodded, observing her reaction with a smile. His expression was warm again.
Mia tried another bite. The texture was soft and a little mushy, almost as if she were eating potatoes, but the flavor was completely different. It reminded her a bit of Japanese food with its subtle seaweed-like undertones, just much more nuanced. After the second bite, Mia suddenly felt ravenous, her tastebuds craving more of the rich flavor, and she quickly downed the rest of the food on her plate. “This is really good,” she mumbled between the bites, and Korum nodded, finishing his own portion.
After they were finished, he repeated the process with the dishes, bringing them toward the wall and letting the house take care of cleaning them. Mia observed him carefully, taking note of his exact actions. It didn’t seem difficult, the technology even more intuitive than some of the newer iPads, and she hoped she remembered how to do it if she ever needed to clean the dishes herself.
“Thank you – that was delicious,” she said when Korum was done.
“You’re welcome,” he replied casually, sitting back down at the table. The look on his face was amused and slightly mocking, as if he suspected exactly what she was going to say next.
Mia’s temper began to simmer again, and she decided not to disappoint him. “So why are charl not within the Council’s jurisdiction?” she asked stubbornly.
“Because that’s the way it’s always been, Mia,” he replied softly. “Because humans are only accepted in Krinar society on those terms – as belonging to one of us. The only exception are those like Dana, who choose to leave their former life behind in order to become pleasure givers on Krina. So you see, my sweet, the Council cannot go to you directly. They have to go through me because, under Krinar law, you’re mine.”
Mia sucked in her breath, feeling like there was insufficient air in the room. “So I was right,” she said quietly. “The Resistance didn’t lie to me – you did.”
He leaned toward her, his eyes turning a deeper shade of gold. “They did lie to y
ou. A charl is not a pleasure slave, or whatever it was they told you. It’s very rare for us to have a charl, and when we do – these are genuine and caring relationships.”
“How can a genuine and caring relationship exist when the two people are not considered equals in your society?” she asked bitterly.
He laughed, looking genuinely amused. “Those types of relationships exist all the time, Mia. Just look at your human society. Are you going to tell me that you don’t care for your children, your teenagers, or even your pets? Not to mention that your so-called developed nations have only recently accepted the idea of women’s rights, while many regions of Earth still don’t –”
“Is that what I am to you? A pet?” Her stomach churned as she waited for his answer.
He shook his head, looking at her intently. “No, Mia, you’re not a pet. You’re a twenty-one-year-old human girl who still has quite a bit of growing up to do. I wish I could leave you alone, so you could meet someone like that pretty boy from the club –”
He was talking about Peter, Mia realized, surprised.
“– but I can’t.”
Getting up, he walked around the table and sat down on a chair next to her. Raising his hand, he gently stroked her cheek while Mia stared at him, unable to look away from the golden heat in his eyes. “You’ve gotten under my skin,” he said softly, “and now I want you, in ways that I never thought were possible. I know you still have a lot to learn about me, about your new home here, and I will do my best to make things easier for you, to help you with your adjustment. But you need to stop worrying so much and fighting me at every turn. It can be very good between us, Mia . . . especially if you give it a chance.”
Chapter 4
That night – her first night in Lenkarda – Mia had strange and disturbing dreams. She was flying somewhere again, only this time Korum held her on his lap for the duration of the trip. Her body felt unusually heavy and languid, and she couldn’t move – could only lie helplessly in his arms as he carried her somewhere after they landed. In her dream, he brought her into a strange white building where everything seemed to float and walls dissolved on a regular basis. Suddenly, she was lying on one of these floating objects, and it felt incredibly comfortable, as though it had been made for her body and her body alone. There was a mellow light illuminating everything, and a beautiful woman spoke to her softly, gently touching her face with elegant hands. Mia dreamed that she spoke to the woman too, told her how beautiful she was, and the woman laughed, telling Korum that his charl was charming.
And then there was only darkness and Mia slept deeply for the rest of the night, the dream fading from her memory.
As soon as she woke up the next morning, her mind immediately began replaying the conversation from yesterday and she groaned, burying her face in the pillow. Right away, the bed began a soft massage regimen designed to relax her suddenly tense muscles.
Sighing with pleasure, Mia let it do its thing while she lay there, trying to make sense of Korum and their relationship.
After his little speech last night, he had carried her to the bedroom and spent the next few hours showing her exactly how good it could be between them. Her genitals still throbbed delicately when she thought of everything he’d done to her, the many ways he’d made her scream in mindless ecstasy.
She still didn’t understand what Korum really wanted from her. Did he truly think she could just calmly go along with everything? From what she’d learned thus far, being a charl in Krinar society was not all that different from being a slave. As far as their law was concerned, she was Korum’s possession – something that belonged to him. How could a genuine and caring relationship arise from that? He held all the power; he could do anything he wanted with her, and nobody would interfere.
And even if she were willing to accept that kind of dynamic, there were so many other issues to overcome. As he’d said, she was a twenty-one-year-old human girl – immature and inexperienced compared to a K who’d lived for two thousand years. How could he ever regard her as anything but naive and ignorant? Not only did his species have far more advanced science and technology, but Korum himself must’ve also gathered tremendous knowledge over his centuries of existence. How could a human ever come close to that over a mere eighty- or ninety-year lifespan? Not that he would even want her when she got older; however strong their attraction was now, he would definitely lose interest in her when she started getting wrinkles and grey hair – if not much sooner.
