Monday, May 2, 2022

The Shell and the Star - Part 12

Back with Part 12, and a note. 

Behind the scenes, I've been continuously working on this story to make things clearer and build a stronger foundation for what's to come, but with Part 12 today, the posts have caught up with my edits. I'll do my best to stay ahead of the curve and keep bringing you fresh content each week, but it's possible I may need a hiatus or two to engage in a bit more polishing.

If you're just discovering the story for the first time today, you can read everything posted to date at this link:

The Shell and the Star

For those who are reading each new segment as it's posted, here's the lead up from last week, followed by Part 12.

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His head swiveled her way. He didn’t answer for a time, and when he finally spoke, she thought his words were carefully chosen. “Our civilizations share a vital bond, Jinn. They need each other. They rely on each other.” He looked into her eyes. “As I hope we might…one day.”

She was all too aware of his closeness and the heat of his body—his fascinating body—to let the conversation drift into the topic of their pairing. Yes, she was attracted to him. Yes, she admired him. But their time together had been short. She had only just arrived and there was still so much to consider.

Shouts from the Boggy Ball game carried on the soft breeze into their quiet cove. “Tardem must be losing badly to make such a protest,” Trey jested, as if reading her discomfort and trying to put her more at ease. 




Jinn laughed quietly and nodded. Then, shyly, she met his eyes. “I didn’t expect to like you so much, Trey,” she confessed. “I was frightened by my father’s announcement that a Perling had bid for my hand. I thought you were an alien who would reject me on sight. I never dreamed we’d be so alike.”

His gaze locked on her face, his eyes an even more intense shade of blue. “Nor did I.” He leaned closer and, panicking, Jinn placed her hand to his chest.

“But I fear what a future together might bring,” she choked, the burn of unshed tears stinging her eyes.

His look of confusion made her heart ache. “Explain your fear.”

“You are The Shell, I am The Star.” She held up her hand to reveal the star tattooed on her palm. “Neither of us would be at home in the other’s realm, and if we mate, what of our children? They would be caught between two worlds. And what if they are like us?”

“Would that be such a terrible fate…to be like us?”

“I only meant that they wouldn’t be accepted by either realm.”

He looked down, his crestfallen eyes fixing on the shimmering surface of the ocean. “Have you already made your decision then, Jinn?”

“I am so…uncertain,” she admitted, heaving a sigh.

“What if I could show you a future you never imagined?” Trey whispered. “Would you stay then, Jinn? Even another day?”

The tides of emotion ran deep in his earnest gaze. It would be so easy to fall into them and be swept away…into his world, into his life. But there was still so much to consider. So much to fear.

“I’ll stay,” she said quietly. “Another day. Maybe two. I can’t stay any longer. My bubble must be recharged.”

“I’ll gladly take one more day.” Another of his smiles was all she needed to know she’d made the right choice. Unassuming and generous, it lifted her spirits. No male had ever shown her such regard, and being the center of his attentions was something she wanted to savor.

At least for the present.

***

“I never dreamed we’d be so alike.”

Her affirmation had given him new hope. New purpose.

As the Imperator’s son, he’d always accepted that pairing would be his duty and his requirement—and he’d honor his bondmate, even if love was never shared between them. When the time came, he’d feared he’d have to give up his secret hopes and visions. He’d be forced to abandon Trey’s Garden for a life of responsibilities, obligations and child-rearing with a Perling mate.

But from that first moment Jinn Amalla had revealed herself inside her envirosphere, he saw the possibilities of a very different future. One he never dared imagine…before that moment.

And as they’d spent time together, he realized his heart was becoming as engaged as his mind in this possible future.

He’d never met another like Jinn Amalla. Outwardly timid, and yet hiding a daring soul who found the courage to take chances. Kept uninformed and ignorant by the culture of her people, but open and bright and accepting of startling new knowledge. Appreciative and at times even fascinated with a world that must be so completely alien to her.

These were the qualities he saw in her, that he needed to see in her.

He’d never before desired a female this way, not that he had much knowledge of courtship or mating pursuits.

Oh, to be sure, he’d had close female friends. He and Eldelza had spent much time together with long talks about his brother, and his brother’s perplexing ways. With his older sibling, it was all about games and idle past times and foolish pleasures. Tardem offered only push-back on any suggestion he should begin to assume his responsibilities, and only silence when his father hinted that it was time he take a bondmate and begin to act with the dignity of a highborn heir who might one day rule Fourth City. Eldelza adored Tardem, but if Tardem cared for her in return, he never let on.

But in spite of his close ties to Eldelza, she’d never made Trey’s heart pound like it did when Jinn was near. And that was all for the good. Wasn’t it?

Perhaps if his courtship with Jinn blossomed into the love he craved so deeply, perhaps if she accepted his formal bid, the future would be theirs in ways no one, not even Jinn, realized.

Somehow he needed to share his dream with her. He need only bide his time until the right moment presented itself.

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As the story has alluded all along, Trey has a very big secret--one that is, for the time being, unimaginable to Jinn. 

But even with her cultural immersion in his world, there are things Jinn can't know about the Shell that are going to make for some rough waters, and bitter misunderstandings, ahead. More on that in future posts.  

Thanks for following the story. :)

Have a great week!



  




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