Page 24 of Crash Landed: The Daranthiki

“Perhaps,” he agreed distractedly as he examined the machinery.

“I am sure you will be relieved when you no longer have to be saddled with me,” she added with a small laugh. “This will all soon be a memory better forgotten.”

He startled, his gaze snapping up to her. Despite the casual way she spoke, as if everything between them had been inconsequential, her words were so quiet, strained by a vulnerable note of uncertainty. If he were of any other species but Daranthiki, he might have missed it. He tried to crush the desperate hope that rose within him, but it was impossible to extinguish. Instead, he forced his gaze back to the panel and continued to work.

“I do not agree,” he replied flatly. “All of this will stay with me in more ways than you would understand, I imagine. Humans are... different from Daranthiki when it comes to such things.”

“Different?” she asked, a sharp note in her voice. “What does that mean? We can’t be affected deeply by joining with someone?”

His heart leaped at the heated words that betrayed a great wealth of meaning. Was she affected? Was he vain and selfish to hope that she was when he knew that it could uproot her whole life?

He sighed. Perhaps it was best this way. Just speak everything so that he could suffer the blow and move on. “You misunderstand me, little flower. I am not saying that both of our species do not both equally possess deep emotional pair bonding. I am not even speaking exclusively on an emotional level. I speak of a powerful network of instinct and feeling, and biological function., but beyond that, a meeting of minds and recognition of you within the depths of my being. Was joining with you an intensely emotional experience? Yes. But how could it not when you are the only female that I have truly allowed myself to admire and whose companionship I allowed myself to savor?”

She snorted a dry laugh. “Well, let’s face it, I did kind of strong-arm you into that.”

He gazed into her eyes. “Do you truly imagine that I would have been pushed into accompanying you if I did not wish for it?” His eyes dropped back to his work. “The credits may have sealed the deal at the end when my ship was destroyed, but I was already experiencing a strong attraction that paved the way. I tried to ignore it, but even without the offer of credits, I would not have abandoned you. I would not have been able to. There was a foundation for my emotional attachment to grow that allowed for last night to happen despite what it would mean for me as a Daranthiki.”

“Do you mean that it could have consequences for you because I’m human?” There was a note of pain in her voice, but her concern was stronger.

He shook his head, determined to alleviate any such distressing thoughts. “Not as you think. Despite the narrative that the human government likes to push with their odd notions of purity, this is not considered an issue among Daranthiki. There are many instances of human-Daranthiki pairings. It is more specifically a matter of biology.”

“I don’t understand,” she replied, and he felt the weight of her eyes on him as she turned to face him.

He chuckled dryly. “I know.”

Sighing, he straightened to meet her gaze as his claws tapped in the last sequence. The generator hummed loudly as it started and then quieted to a soft drone as the lights flickered on in the booth. Behind her, the transparent panel that looked out over the mine lit up as violet lights lit up throughout the village, reflecting off the luminous minerals and gems within the cavern. She spun to face it, a note of awe falling from her lips as he smiled at the sudden beauty of her profile washed in the light of the mines.

“Daranthiki males possess a unique aspect to our biology,” he continued. “In order to remain unmated, a male must regulate his sexual needs with a specially designed sex drone. Any female who receives his mating spine into her womb, he is scent-bonded with her for the rest of his life and useless as far as the Daranthiki military is concerned.”

Daisy slowly turned her head to stare at him with wide green eyes. “Are you telling me... You mean, we are—” she stumbled over her words in shock.

He inclined his head. “Mated. In the biological sense. Naturally, I do not expect you to fulfill the customs of my people. I know that you have your own life, which is not well suited to the life of a mercenary and—”

“Zil, shut up,” she ordered and laughed, startling him. She laughed harder and swiped a hand over her face. “Oh, gods, here I was worrying about how to have the talk with you and confess that what I’m feeling—fuck, all of this is new to me, I never catch feelings—and worrying that you’d think I’m crazy to be in love with you already and—”

“You are in love with me?” His heart clenched and bloomed with warmth as pure happiness flooded through him. But that did not solve their other problems or make his other points untrue. He shook his head in frustration. “You would never—”

“Never what? Give it all up for the male I love?” she demanded and then laughed louder, her eyes sparkling with amusement and love in the illumination of the mining village. “You’re in for a surprise then, because that’s exactly what I would do for the right one. I’ve never been allowed to have anything that I wanted to factor into my life. I was merely a pretty face representing the family that could be sent to smooth over negotiations and handle fundraising and other social events. I’ve never wanted that life. Yeah, the money is nice, but what I have is explicitly mine and no one else can touch it. What I inherited from my mother is part of it, but I’ve built my own fortune investing in Intergalactic Federation projects that have paid, and continue to pay, very well. The money I’ll always have, but everything else in my life... I do not want it. I want you. I want to disappear from this planet and never return to United Earth space and truly live for once. And to truly love with all my heart.”

He stared at her, his heart in his throat, and nodded as he circled the workstation and gathered her up into his arms. “Then it will be done. We remain together,” he declared hoarsely. He hesitated for a moment. “Daranthiki and humans are highly breeding compatible. We will need to see a medic when we get off this planet and—”

“Zil, I’m nearly thirty. The idea of having a ship full of babies as we explore the universe—I can’t think of anything I want more. I’ve always wanted children,” she murmured. “I just could never imagine anyone I wanted to have them with before now.”

He shivered as she cupped his face, her fingers lightly brushing his cheek. “There is plenty of time for offspring. More than you realize. I am a cybernetic legionnaire,” he gently reminded her. “I have cybernetic nanos within me, in my blood and attached to the biological material of my body... including my mating spine.”

A look of shock filled her eyes. “You mean—”

“You will live a long, long time with me,” he whispered, and he brushed a kiss to the tip of her nose. “Many years of exploration and love. Having offspring and raising them. Of living our lives fully together.”

“Sounds perfect,” she whispered in a choked voice. “Let’s go find that fucking beacon and get the hell out of here. I can’t wait to start living.”

His eyes closed as he smiled. For the first time since the death of his family he would truly be living too, and he could not wait for his life to begin.

Chapter 20

Daisy followed Zil further into the village, excitement bringing a spring to her step that she hadn’t experienced since childhood despite the rapid clip she was forced to walk to keep up with him. When had she last looked forward to life like this? She was running forward eagerly and had no second thoughts about it. She looked over at Zil, a smile playing on her lips. They hurried along the road with a single-minded focus.

She was pleased that she was not the only one who was feeling eager. Zil barely glanced at their surroundings as they made their way, his attention focused on locking onto the location of the beacon now that he was uplinked and had access to the mining village’s systems. She wasn’t foolish enough to think he wasn’t aware of everything around them, however. Little seemed to escape the legionnaire’s notice. It was probably what had helped him rise into the elite ranks before deserting the military altogether.