The Elder stared at her for a few more seconds and then turned away. Mia could sense some sort of wordless communication going on between him and the others, and then he turned back toward Mia and Korum.
“We’ll make our decision soon,” he said, addressing Korum this time.
Then he went back toward the rest of the Elders, and they all melted away into the forest, leaving Mia, Korum, and her family alone in the clearing.
* * *
“That was Lahur,” Korum told his charl during their trip back to the house. “He’s the one I told you about – the oldest Krinar alive. The woman who came up to you and your parents is Sheura; she’s an evolutionary biologist, and she was involved in the human project from the very beginning.”
“Oh, no wonder she seemed so curious about us! Do you think they’ll do it? Do you think they’ll agree to it?” Mia was perched on a float next to him, her eyes bright with excitement. Korum knew she was likely still feeling the rush from the meeting, and he smiled at her, proud of the way she had conducted herself with the Elders. He’d known she was nervous, of course, but she’d maintained her composure throughout – better than many Krinar would have in her place.
“I don’t know, my sweet,” he said honestly. “Nobody can predict what the Elders are going to do. I hope they saw whatever it was they wanted to see today. All we can do now is wait.”
“Do we have to remain on Krina while they decide?” Mia’s mother asked, and Korum could see that she looked much more calm now, relieved to have the ordeal over with.
“Yes,” Korum told her, “that would probably be best. They said soon, so it shouldn’t be too long. Besides, you haven’t even met my parents yet. I know they are anxious to see everyone.” Korum also had another reason for wanting Mia’s family on Krina, but now was not the right time to discuss it.
“Oh, we’d love to meet them too!” Ella exclaimed. “Wouldn’t that be great, Dan?”
“Sure,” Mia’s father said. “We would absolutely enjoy meeting them.”
“Good,” Korum said. “Then I will make the arrangements.”
Chapter 30
Humming to herself, Mia got dressed and ready to go to Korum’s parents’ house. She remembered liking Riani and Chiaren during their virtual meeting, and she was looking forward to seeing them again. She had a suspicion her parents would like them too, though they would likely be awestruck by their youth and beauty.
If the Elders gave their permission, Mia’s parents would also regain their youth. She wanted it so badly she could taste it. She had seen pictures of her mom and dad when they were Mia’s age, and they had been a cute couple, her dad tall and handsome and her mom pretty and carefree. She wanted to see them like that in real life, healthy and vigorous, without the various aches and pains that came with middle age.
Just as she was putting on her dress, Korum walked into the bedroom. He appeared even more gorgeous than usual, his face glowing with some unknown emotion. Coming up to Mia, he bent his head to brush a kiss against her lips. “You look beautiful, my sweet,” he said softly, tucking one of her curls behind her ear.
“Thank you.” Mia beamed at him. “So do you.”
“I have a little something I’d like you to wear,” he said, looking at her with a mysterious smile. “Another piece of jewelry.”
“Oh sure.” Mia had already put on the shimmerstone necklace for the meeting with his parents, but she didn’t mind wearing something else instead – or in addition to. Accessorizing had never been her strong suit, although she had every intention of learning how to do it. She had already gotten better at dressing fashionably; jewelry was the next step.
To her complete and utter shock, Korum took a step back and lowered himself to one knee. In his hand was a small black box. As she stared at it, the box opened, revealing the most beautiful ring she had ever seen in her life. Small and delicate, it appeared to be made of the same iridescent material as her necklace, with a larger round shimmerstone set in the middle.
“Mia,” Korum said quietly, looking up at her with those incredible amber-colored eyes, “I know things between us haven’t always been easy, and I can’t promise you there won’t be difficulties ahead. But I do know one thing. I want you, now and always, more than I’ve ever wanted anyone in all my years of existence. I want you in my life, in my bed, and by my side for as long as we are both alive. I want to cherish you and protect you; I want to lay the world at your feet. I want your face to be the first one I see when I wake up and the last before I go to sleep. I want to make you as happy as you make me. Mia, my sweet, I am hopelessly in love with you. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Mia opened her mouth but no words came out. Instead, she could feel a strange burning sensation in her eyes. “You . . . you want me to marry you?” she finally managed to whisper, afraid she somehow misheard him. “But –” she swallowed, “– you’re Krinar! You can’t marry a human!” Her voice rose incredulously at the end.
“I can do whatever I want,” Korum said, and she couldn’t help smiling inside at the arrogant note in his voice. Even on his knees, he sounded like king of the world. “Just because no one else has done it doesn’t mean I can’t. I want you to be mine in every sense of the word – by Krinar
and
by human law. Mia, darling, will you marry me?”
The burning in her eyes increased, and a tear escaped and rolled down her face. “Yes,” she said almost inaudibly, her vision blurring with moisture. Her chest felt tight, and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. “Yes, my love, I will marry you.”
His answering smile was as blinding as the Krinar sun. Rising to his feet, he reached for her left hand and slid the ring onto her ring finger. It fit perfectly, shimmering with every color in the visible spectrum.
“Oh, Korum . . . It’s –” Mia was openly crying now, tears of happiness running down her cheeks. “It’s beautiful . . .”
“Not as beautiful as you,” he said softly, drawing her into his embrace. “Nothing could ever be as beautiful as you.” And cupping her face in his large hands, he kissed the tears off her cheeks, his lips tender and reverent on her skin.
* * *
They agreed to share the news with Mia’s parents when both families would be gathered together, and Korum now watched with amusement as Mia did her best to hide her left hand in the folds of her dress during the trip to his parents’ house. He’d told her she could take the ring off for now, but she had vehemently refused. “What if I lose it?” she said in a horrified tone, and Korum didn’t argue. He liked seeing the piece of jewelry on her finger, liked knowing that there was a visible symbol of their commitment to each other.
He wasn’t sure when he had become so enamored with the idea of marrying her in the human way. During that visit to her parents’ house, the thought had been planted in his mind, and it had been brewing there for the past month. He’d known that Mia still felt uncomfortable being his charl; the way she saw it, he held all the power in their relationship. It was an ongoing source of contention between them, and Korum knew she would never be completely happy as long as she felt like she had no rights among his people.
The more Korum had contemplated the problem, the more it seemed like marriage could be the solution. By publicly marrying Mia on Krina, he would elevate her standing in their society. She would no longer be merely a charl, a human who belonged to him; she would be the equivalent of his mate, long before the Celebration of Forty-Seven.
She would also officially belong to him in the eyes of her people. Korum liked that quite a bit. If any human male dared to look at her, he would see the ring on her finger and know that this woman was taken. Those rings were a clever custom, Korum had recently realized. They allowed a man to mark his territory in a very civilized manner. Mia was now his fiancé, just as she would soon be his wife – and nobody would have any doubts about that fact.
Of course, their marriage would also give Mia’s parents peace of mind. Although the Stalis family had accepted their relationship, Korum knew they would be far happier if they could call him something other than their daughter’s boyfriend. Now he would be their son-in-law, a much stronger tie in their eyes, and they would feel more reassured about his commitment to Mia.
Their transport pod landed in front of his parents’ house, and he led Mia inside, with her parents, sister, and brother-in-law trailing behind them. His human family, he thought wryly. It was so unlikely he could still hardly believe it, but these people were important to Mia – and they were becoming increasingly important to him as well.
Riani and Chiaren were waiting for them. As Korum entered the house, he saw his mother first, standing there with a huge smile on her face, and his father’s more austere presence immediately behind her. They had been shocked when he’d first told them about Mia, but glad too. Korum sometimes wondered if his parents thought he would go through life without ever finding someone to love.
Stepping forward, he gave Riani a hug and greeted his father with the more formal touch to the shoulder. Then, turning to Mia’s family, he introduced them to his parents.
To his surprise, the two sets of parents clicked almost immediately. Within minutes, they were chatting animatedly and trading stories of their children’s youthful exploits. “Oh my God, this is embarrassing,” Mia whispered in his ear, blushing when Ella laughingly revealed her infant daughter’s habit of freeing herself from diapers and crawling around their backyard chasing after squirrels.
“What are squirrels?” Riani asked curiously, and Mia’s father explained all about the little mammal with the bushy tail.
Marisa and Connor, who had been watching the whole thing with bemusement, came to sit next to Korum and Mia on the other side of the room. “Wow, they’re really getting along, aren’t they?” Marisa told her sister, and Mia laughed, her eyes sparkling with happiness.
It seemed like the perfect moment to make the announcement.
Getting up, Korum pulled Mia to her feet. All eyes immediately turned toward them. “We have something we’d like to share with you,” Korum said, looking around the room. His parents seemed puzzled, while the humans stared at him with barely concealed delight. “I have asked Mia to marry me, and she has agreed.”
Mia grinned and lifted her left hand, displaying the shimmerstone ring on her finger.
The room exploded. Laughter, shrieks, and congratulations filled the air. Everybody seemed to be hugging everyone else, and his parents gamely went along with the excitement, even though Chiaren kept throwing questioning looks in his direction. As Mia had said, no Krinar had ever married a human, and the very concept of marriage was foreign to his people. A mating union that was marked by the Celebration of Forty-Seven was the closest Krinar equivalent. Korum intended to explain his rationale to his parents later; for now, it was enough that they knew just how much he loved his charl.
After the initial hoopla died down, Korum said to Mia’s parents, “I wasn’t sure if I should request your permission first or not. From what I understand of this custom, it’s rarely done in modern times. I hope you don’t mind –”
“Mind?” Ella exclaimed. “Of course we don’t mind!” Her eyes were gleaming with tears, and Korum wondered what it was about marriage that made human women so emotional.
The rest of their time together was spent discussing potential dates for the wedding (Korum insisted on it being no later than next week), the location (Mia liked the lake near his house), and the logistics of a human wedding ceremony on a planet so far away from Earth.
“Don’t we need someone to marry you?” Connor asked. “A priest, a rabbi, a judge, someone? And if it’s to be legally recognized back home, don’t you need to register somewhere on Earth?”
Korum had already thought of these obstacles. “One of the charl living on Krina was actually a judge in Missouri,” he told everyone. “I have already reached out to request her assistance. As far as registration goes, we’ll transmit our signatures electronically to the Daytona Beach Clerk of the Circuit Court. I’m sure they will make an exception for us, given the circumstances.”
* * *
For Mia, the next five days seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. As soon as news about their engagement spread, there was an endless parade of visitors to Korum’s house, all wanting to meet her and her family.
Korum’s friends, acquaintances, employees, business contacts, even Council members . . . Mia met so many Ks during her short engagement that she couldn’t keep track of all the names and faces. To her surprise, she could sense echoes of the same respect they showed Korum in their attitude toward her. It was subtle, but it was there. Her opinion was asked more often, and they spoke to her directly, frequently bypassing Korum altogether. After wondering about it for a couple of days, Mia realized that they were now treating her more as Korum’s mate and less as his charl. In their eyes, she was no longer merely a human who belonged to one of them; she was going to be a true part of their society.
Mia particularly liked Jalet and Huar, Korum’s long-time friends. Like Korum’s parents, Jalet was a dabbler, a jack-of-all-trades. Smart and funny, he seemed to know about everything under the sun, and Mia loved listening to his stories about life on Krina. Huar, on the other hand, was quiet and serious. He was considered to be an expert on ocean studies. Both Huar and Jalet had also been friends with Saret, and they were horrified to learn about his true nature.