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“Oh.” That meant he’d be gone. It also meant I’d be alone again.

“Do you have an interest in inter and intra planet politics?”

“No. I was just curious about you, that’s all.”

“Ask away.”

“Your favorite color?”

“Green,” he replied.

“I should have figured. I think a crown of jade and diamonds would suit you’re well.”

“I trust your expertise in this. You are the master jeweler after all,” he said.

“Ghid? He is your older brother?” I asked.

“Yes. We had five more but they all died a warrior’s death. Except one. He had the brains and commanded ships. He crashed his shuttle on an unknown planet and was never heard from again. We couldn’t even find his ID in the wreckage. Everything was burned to ashes.”

“In the stories about both of you, you’re always together. The Xihran brothers. So you’ll lead this colony together?”

“I imagine so.”

“Peas in a pod then?”

He chuckled. “Just missing a handful of peas. I hate that my other brothers were separated from Ghid and I in death, but when we got together we usually wreaked complete havoc. We were hated, expect for when kings needed our service.” He reached for my tunic which I had hand washed and hung over a line to dry. “Now, about you…”

“What about me?”

“I think we were brought together for a reason. Your escape attempts are futile,” he said.

“Don’t remind me.”

“And yet…I can’t leave you alone.” He walked over to where I was sitting and circled the chair.

“You can, if you tried hard enough.”

He lifted some tendrils off my shoulder and spun them around his finger. “I don’t want to try. You see, I have always been successful at getting what I want. I raid. I defend. I conquer. I win.”

“You’ve never lost anything in your life?” I asked.

“No. Maybe in a fight with one of my brothers, but I don’t think that’s what you’re talking about.”

“I wasn’t. There’s never been anyone other than your brothers in your life that you wished you could still be with?”

“You’re talking about women?”

I nodded.

“No, I don’t hold onto feelings that may rob me of my judgement. I say that now, but ever since we crossed paths I can’t help but think that I’ve made decisions that center around my feelings for you.”

“But I’m in heat. Even some of your hordesmen were drooling after me.”

“I’ve been surrounded by dozens of pleasure slaves in the height of their fertile periods. I’ve never had a problem with constraining myself before. But after you, I come like a wild beast who hasn’t eaten in days.”

I swallowed as a blaze spread upward through my body. “I…I don’t know how to stop it from heightening.”

“You can’t.”