"We?" Paula asked, lifting her head at last, looking at him with those maddeningly beautiful eyes of hers. "You'd come with me?"
He gave her a long look.
"My gesha," he said, his voice filled with promise. "Wherever you go, I will too. There is nothing in the world that could make me leave you."
"What about your general?" Paula asked, confused. "If he calls you back to the flagship, aren't you supposed to obey?"
Kerven frowned. The question was fair and there was no easy answer.
Brions had been reclusive for many, many years. They hadn't been members of the Galactic union for very long now. Only recently had their Elders had started promoting peace and uniformity with the rest of the species in their galaxy. Before that, Brions labeled others mostly as enemies of various degrees.
Those days were gone now and called the dark ages for a good reason.
As such, the very concept of a non-Brion gesha was new and complicated. It helped that the first brides, Terran women of exceptional character, had all been the fateds of the feared generals. No one dared to question those warriors or the women they shared their lives with now.
Several years had passed since that first fated pairing and Isolde, the first of the human geshas, had been an ambassador on Briolina for many years.
Therein lay a problem, however.
The fated of the generals had all joined them rather than making the warlords abandon their people for Terra and its pursuits. The women weren't tied down by account, but the generals had something the captain didn't.
They were free, more so than any other Brion. Bound to obey only the will of the Elders, the generals roamed the galaxy pretty much as they liked.
Kerven knew that General Braen would be as understanding as he possibly could be. A gesha came first in a warrior's life, there was no doubt about that. She was the center of their world, their everything. The general himself would have destroyed all in his path to make his own gesha happy and to be with her.#p#分页标题#e#
It wasn't so easy for Kerven. While his position as captain allowed him much, Kerven couldn't imagine leaving the flagship. Brions simply didn't break with their own. Despite their considerable skill as warriors, there were no Brion mercenaries. Their lives were bound to their home world, Briolina, and their kind.
Still, Paula changed everything for him.
He looked at her seriously. His gesha's eyes were wide and the gorgeous smile had fallen from her lips as she realized how seriously he was considering her question.
"I am what I am," Kerven said. "I would give you everything that's in my power to give. On the flagship, you'd be treated with every respect and given all the freedom you desire.
“Since you're not a Brion, you're not bound to obey the general. If you insist on staying with the union 's forces, I will stay for as long as I need, as long as it takes to take you with me."
Her eyes narrowed and a warmth that had been in her gaze before washed away. She pulled the blanket up to cover herself from him, never a good sign in a female. It said with absolute certainty that she was feeling vulnerable, that she felt like she'd given too much of herself to him.
It hurt to see, much more to know there was little he could do to change that.
"So that's how it is?" she asked. "That's the only possible outcome? I come with you to live in your world, not the other way around."
Kerven stilled for a moment, choosing his words.
"If I left the general's command, I would barely be a Brion anymore. I am a warrior of my species. To abandon them is to give up that part of me. I would be incomplete. That's not the man you deserve."
"What about me, then?" Paula demanded, sitting up. "I am a surgeon, why does that mean less?"
"It doesn't," Kerven stated with confidence. "Nothing would stop you from practicing your skills on the flagship. On the contrary, the healers would appreciate the chance to compare our ways to yours. There would be plenty for you to do.
“We are warriors. Wounds come by often."
His attempt at humor fell on deaf ears as Paula glared, her eyes throwing daggers at him.
"I would still be leaving everything behind," she stated. "My kind. My work."
The words left Kerven's mouth before he could consider them.
"Are you that close to other Terrans?" he asked. "As much as I've seen, you barely tolerate them."
A heavy silence fell as Paula stared at him, her lips parted as though she was going to say something.
Whatever it was, it never came. She got up slowly, the sheet still wrapped around her in a makeshift dress.
"Find me some new clothes, please," she said, her voice shaking with emotion. "While you do that, please also get me a transport down to the planet where I belong. And my dear gerion... I don't want to see you anywhere near that ship or anywhere near me again, do you understand me?"
Her voice was pure ice, the blue eyes looking at him with equal coldness.
The captain considered arguing, knowing it was futile. Terran women didn't forgive slights like that easily. They loved their freedom as well as their pride.
He'd ruined it, and so easily.
The bond, his fated... They had been at his fingertips and he'd let her slip. Too late, the captain realized she'd been trying to have an argument with him while he only told her the outcome, allowing no room for other possibilities.
There were none, only it didn't make any of it better.
He had to trust in fate to bring them together in the end. Brion bonds were unbreakable, but they reaped a heavy price almost every time. No relationship that started with an ultimatum could progress without bumps along the way.
Despite knowing that, Kerven couldn't shake the feeling he'd let them fall too deep too fast.
Perhaps it had been a mistake to act on the bond without giving her time to digest it. He should have known better.
Then again, so should have she.
"I will send a unit to guard you on Jumel," he said in the end.
"Let me guess," Paula replied coldly. "That is not optional either."
"No. You are my gesha. I will protect you until my dying day. They are coming with you. I will tell them not to bother you or get in your way."
Paula's lips were pressed together into a thin line as she regarded him with barely restrained anger. Then, she nodded reluctantly, clearly figuring it wasn't worth the argument.#p#分页标题#e#
Her need to get rid of him as quickly as possible was more painful than any wound Kerven had ever suffered.
He left her in his rooms, sending a crewmember to fetch Paula something to wear. With a heavy heart, the captain walked away from the woman he'd loved from the moment he first laid his eyes on her. It was that much worse that every word she'd spoken, every spark of her temper had only made him fall for her faster.
The image of her came with him, unshakeable from his mind’s eye even if he'd wanted to forget about her.
He tried to tell himself it was all for the better. It was actually customary for the geshas to fight their gerion, so that when they finally bonded, it was a testament to the fact that they were meant to be.
Paula wasn't a Brion, though. She didn't send him away because she was playing her part. Her fury was real and there was nothing he could do to abate her disappointment at the moment. Only trust that fate would provide him with a way to make it right.
He walked away, wondering how a world that had seemed so bright minutes ago was now dark and grim. Like her, Kerven was torn between two worlds, not knowing if he could separate his ties with either.
In his heart, he knew the truth already. No matter what happened, he wouldn't give up Paula. There just had to be a way for him to have her without losing everything else about him.
A Brion never shied away from a challenge.
10
Paula
The walk of shame wasn't what she'd imagined.
In her head, Paula had thought that it would be a fun joke for her and Kerven to discuss later. She'd come off the ship, wearing a new uniform in Brion colors, with the captain by her side. They'd share stolen, private smiles after consummating their bond and Major Burton could mock her to his heart's content, because she simply wouldn't care.
She'd be happy.
The reality was nothing like that. The trip down to the planet was grim and silent. Paula waited for the doors of the dropship to open with such anxiety she slipped through the first crack that opened that was wide enough to allow her through.
She was wearing Brion colors, that part had gone nowhere. The dim golden suit stood out like a candle in the night. Not only did it make her a nice target for the enemies – curse the Brion way of beaming like beacons - But it also summoned the major like he was teleported there to make her life even more miserable than it already was.
"Back so soon?" the major asked, falling into step with her mere feet from the dropship as her Brion guards fell back like Kerven had promised.
Small mercies, she thought, thankful that they weren't hovering closer like some damn honor guard for the captain's new war trophy.
"It's good to see you too, Major," she replied coolly, hoping it would make it clear she was in no mood to deal with him.
Of course, it was a bit too much to hope for the man to gather some sort of tact from his shallow emotional depths.
"I see your standard uniform has been... lost?" the major pressed on. "What happened to it?"