moment but right as I’m about to ask the next obvious question he raises his head and opens his eyes. “He is very angry with me.”
“No shit?” I ask, rolling my eyes.
“No, no shit,” he says, waving his arms under the water.
“What happened?” I ask.
Anzil stares at the water, watching the waves his arms are making. Finally he takes a deep breath and sighs. He cups water in his hands and splashes it on his face then leans back, placing his arms along the side of the tub. We shift around so his feet are to either side of me.
“You are very beautiful,” he says, his attention on my chest.
“Right, nice dodge,” I say. “How about that cousin?”
He chuckles and shakes his head.
“You know,” he says, still staring at my tits, “it is not your beauty that I fell for, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Kiara, I love you,” he says. “I did not know I had the… what…” he looks off into the distance thoughtful. “The capacity to love. You awakened that part of me that I did not know I had lost.”
I lean forward and touch his face. I trail my fingers down his cheek then cup his chin in my hand. My heart thumps so hard the water is vibrating with it. A tight band constricts around my chest.
“I…” I hesitate, close my eyes, and remind myself to be honest. “I love you.” He jerks his eyes up to meet mine, and we stare into each others eyes, grinning like two fools. “Now tell me the story.”
His smile fades, but he nods.
“My home planet was devastated during the times of trouble, you know of them?” he asks.
“I’ve heard the phrase,” I say. “It sounds bad.”
“It was… worse,” he sighs. “Galactic war that resulted in the entire galaxy being effectively destroyed. Our once beautiful cities, our culture, all of it destroyed. I didn’t actually know any of it. It was long before I was born, but we lived in the remnants of the past. Of what was before.
“Broken buildings, dregs of what once might have been a city. Our lives were hard, but what other life had I ever known?”
Emotions storm across his face, writing large a tale of tragedy and loss. His words conjure images in my mind as he describes his home. Once beautiful but now a broken, bombed out shell of what was. He talks at length about it, and I let him tell me the story in his own way. In his own time.
“I was young,” he says at last. “Barely a man, but as one of the oldest males, the responsibilities fell to me. I advised the Elders that we were ready. I made the decision because I was the War Leader.
“What did I know of war? We were hunters. Nomads. I was full of pride and the confidence that comes from arrogance. When they came, I thought we were the strongest warriors in the universe.
“I was a fool.”
“I understand,” I say, my own pride and foolishness stinging deep in my chest.
“You do,” he says, a statement of his recognition.
Our pains are similar. We’ve both failed those who depended on us. We were both arrogant and undeservedly so. I nod, biting my lip, unable to form words past the emotions locking my throat closed.
“My cousin blames me,” he says. “And he’s right. I was stupid. I made the call and we were wiped out. They…”
His voice breaks, and he looks away. I scoot across the tub and take his face in my hands, turning him to face me.
“It’s okay,” I say, kissing his cheeks then his lips. His eyes glisten, and he nods.
“My family, all but the young, able males, were killed,” he says. “The able males were brought to Krix and sold to various Houses to continue the games.”
We sit in uneasy silence. I open my arms to him, and he pulls me in so we hold each other. I kiss his neck and stroke his face, and he lets his hands run idly over my body. Our lips meet, and we kiss. It’s different than any kiss I’ve had before. It’s more fulfilling. A kiss of dedication. A kiss of acceptance. A kiss of sealing.
A kiss of love. True, deep, soul stirring love.
We break the kiss, resting our foreheads together, eyes closed, touching each other deeper even than our bodies.
“We can’t change the past,” I say. “We’ve known pain. We’ve failed those who counted on us. None of that matters. It’s made