Still smiling, he looped an arm around her shoulders and began strolling toward the lake. “Give it time. I’m sure you’ll find plenty not to like.”
She made a scoffing sound. “Like what? Name one thing. I dare you.”
He thought about it for a moment, then gave her a sly smile, his eyes dancing with mirth. “You won’t like being in an enclosed space with me after I eat mamitwa.”
She laughed.
When they reached the lake, he halted and turned to face her, keeping her close.
Her heart raced at the expression on his face.
“I hope you won’t find anything you don’t like,” he murmured as he brushed some loose strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail back from her face. “But I fear overlooking the darkness of my past would prove a monumental task.”
Simone took the comment seriously, her gift allowing her to feel both the burgeoning love he felt for her that made her heart beat faster and the worry that it would somehow all be taken away. “My past is dark, too,” she offered softly.
“It isn’t the same.”
“Isn’t it?” she prodded gently. “I’ve slain thousands of men, Janwar. It’s all I did, night after night, for nearly three-quarters of a millennium. Hunt down men infected with a bioengineered virus that ate away at their healthy brains, depriving them of impulse control and all knowledge of right and wrong. Some of those men embraced the madness, thrilled by the power their heightened speed and strength gave them over ordinary humans and relishing the violence they inflicted, the fear they bred. But others fought the madness. They were good men until they turned vampire. They didn’t ask to be infected. They clung to control by their fingertips. And I killed them anyway.”
“No,” he replied. “You spared them. You kept them from turning into the monsters they knew they would become. Your motive was altruistic. Don’t make the mistake of believing my motives have always been the same.”
Gripping the front of his shirt with both hands, she gave him a little shake. “You did what you had to do to survive and keep Krigara fed and clothed and safe from Chancellor Astennuh. You avenged your parents’ murders. And I know you’re fine with the rest of the galaxy thinking you’re a self-serving, narcissistic bastard who’s only in it for the money, but I see you for who you are.” She held his gaze. “I see you, Janwar. You found Taelon’s missing sister when no one else could and after everyone else had given up.”
“For a reward. I found her for a reward.”
She arched a brow. “Did you even ask Taelon what the reward would be before you began searching for her?”
He hesitated. “No.”
“Ha!” she crowed triumphantly and poked him in the chest, wringing a smile from him. “And when you found Taelon, Lisa, Abby, and their Yona guard after the Kandovar was destroyed, did you offer to take them to Lasara for a price? Or did you just bring them on board and do it?”
“Taelon gave us a reward when we reached Lasara.”
“That’s not what I asked. Did you offer to rescue them and take them home for a price, or did you just bring them on board?”
He sighed. “Brought them on board.”
“Then you came out here to look for more of us.” Leaning up, she kissed his bearded chin. “You see? I was right. You’re a teddy bear.” Simone grinned up at him as they reached the lake. “A teddy bear who will eat my dust.” She took off running up the path they’d intended to jog along and called over her shoulder, “Catch me if you can!”
Laughing behind her, Janwar gave chase.
Later that afternoon, Janwar lounged in the commander’s chair on the bridge and stared at the image Simone’s cellphone screen displayed. “A teddy bear is a toy?” In the picture, a beautiful red-haired child of no more than two or three orbits played with a fluffy brown bear twice her size.
Simone grinned from the chair she’d positioned beside his. “Yes. Is there any way we can view this on the big screen?”
“T,” Janwar ordered, “project Simone’s images onto the view screen.”
Simone’s eyes widened as a large, clear screen descended from the bridge’s ceiling. Seconds later it lit up with the image of the child, blocking the view of the stars beyond the windshield.
The rest of the crew glanced at the screen.
“Who’s the little girl?” Krigara asked.
“She reminds me of Abby,” Soval murmured.
“That’s Adira,” Simone said with a smile. “She’s Ami’s daughter.”
“Princess Amiriska’s?” Janwar asked. He could see the resemblance. She looked like a tiny version of Taelon’s sister.
“Yes. I think the Lasarans want to keep that quiet for a while. But I’m not sure how they’ll manage it. Everyone on the Kandovar knew about it, so I’m sure word will spread.”
“Every Lasaran and Yona who serves on a warship commanded by a member of the royal family is completely loyal,” Janwar murmured. “If their sovereigns ask them not to mention that there are two new royal heirs rather than one, no one will disclose it.”
“Why would revealing that Ami has a daughter even be a problem?” she asked, her brow furrowing. “Taelon and Lisa have a daughter. That’s certainly no secret.”
He shrugged. “The king and queen may worry about word of a royal heir residing on Earth spreading.”
“Why?” She swiped her finger across her cell phone, causing the image on the big screen to cycle through more photos of the child.
He smiled. The next photo included Princess Amiriska, and she looked well. Janwar was pleased to have played a role in uncovering her location and dispelling her family’s grief. “Because Earth is so far behind us technologically. It would be too easy for someone to sweep in, take the child, and hold her hostage in exchange for untraceable credits.” Once the words left his lips, he winced inwardly, afraid she might feel insulted.
Instead, she smiled. “I can see how you’d think that—or how the king and queen might—but I guarantee you, that won’t happen.”
He arched a brow. The notion seemed to amuse her. “How can you be so sure?” Plenty of unsavory characters in the galaxy considered the kidnapping and ransoming of important personages a lucrative business. And they would have no qualms about kidnapping children.
Her smile broadened into a grin. “Because these are her bodyguards.”
The next picture displayed a room similar to the lounge here on the Tangata but seemed to be in more of a home or family environment. Boasting high ceilings and a wood floor, it was filled with many plush sofas and chairs. End tables and what Simone called coffee tables were sprinkled throughout. What appeared to be a large viewscreen hung on one wall, but none of the individuals present paid attention to it.
Leaning forward, Janwar stared. At least twenty-five or thirty Earthlings occupied the sofas and chairs. The males were tall and similar in size and bulk to Janwar. The females were Simone’s size or smaller, appearing petite and delicate beside their male counterparts. Almost everyone present had dark hair and was dressed in black, their garb similar to that which Simone preferred: slim-fitting black shirts, coupled with pants that boasted many loops and pockets, and boots.