After the meal, they had moved to the sofas, which were a bit strange to Adrian in design but comfortable nonetheless. They had continued their conversations, talking to each other about trivial things with no other things on their minds for the first time since they met each other. But eventually their conversation trailed off, and both of them were aware of the real reason Anessa had called him to her quarters.
Then finally, Anessa stood and moved to his sofa, sitting down beside him, facing him. “So we are having the talk about ‘this,’” Adrian said, gesturing between them.
“Yes,” Anessa said. She paused. “I want you to stay here as my Dal A’sha,” she said seriously.
Adrian frowned at the unfamiliar word. He had the translating software disabled, as he had learned the language, but he turned it on and checked with his imp to find the meaning of the word, it had the complete database from the Erasi devices. He did a double take at what he found. After a few seconds of reading the meaning over and over, he looked at Anessa.
“What does that mean, exactly?” Adrian asked, not really trusting the software.
“It means someone who is a life partner,” she said calmly.
Adrian blinked slowly.
Before he had a chance to say anything, Anessa continued speaking, “I want you to stay with me. If I am to change the way my people think about other races, I need to show them. Having you here would be a perfect way of doing that.”
Adrian snapped out of his confusion, and his lip curled up in a smile. “So, you want to use me to change the way your people are thinking about aliens. Consort with an alien and lead by example,” he said, grinning.
“Yes,” she said without shame, “but also because I care about you, and I know that you care about me. We understand each other. You are strong and powerful; I trust you. And I will need help in trying to change my people,” Anessa said with a serious expression on her face. “And also, if you stay with me, you could make sure that the alliance between the Shara Daim and the Empire is honored. You can make sure that our people grow together. But do not mistake this for purely an emotional decision, you are right, I need you in order to change my people.”
Adrian thought about it. His first instinct was to refuse her; he had a duty to the Empire, and he couldn’t set it aside for personal gain. But then he thought about it more. He was a Sentinel, and they had been created to live outside the territory of the Empire and make relations with other races, to be diplomats and envoys and spies. The alliance with Shara Daim was important, and he couldn’t let it fail. What Anessa had said was true; if he stayed, he could make sure that it succeeded.
But she was not asking him to stay as a diplomat. She wanted a relationship with him, a lasting one, if he was not mistaken. He thought about it logically. He knew that he couldn’t stay Lord Sentinel and remain here. But there were others who could take his place, and knowing Tomas as he did, he would like the idea of having someone he could trust at the side of the Shara Daim ruler.
But then there was the other side. Did he want to stay with this woman, make a life with her? He had thought that he would never do that with anyone after Bethany. And Anessa was certainly not Beth. Anessa was a tyrant; she ruled her people with fear. She loved fighting, and killing. She didn’t care for the weak, nor did she allow anyone to truly question her. And he doubted that she would ever change much; her beliefs might mellow, but at her core she would remain who she was. It wasn’t like Adrian was any better, but ultimately he only sought to better himself. And Anessa understood his drive; she was the same. And he did care about her. When he was with her, he felt whole, alive in a way that he hadn’t been ever before. Both of them would never allow their emotions to interfere with what they perceived as their duty, only in this case it seemed that what they wanted to do and what they needed to do coincided.
He looked into her eyes. She was silent and waiting for his answer. In the end, he had much more in common with her than with anyone else.
“What do you think?” Adrian asked Iris.
“I will always be where you are, Adrian. I don’t want to see you alone anymore. No matter who she is, she does make you happy,” Iris said.
Adrian took a deep breath and focused on Anessa.
“Yes, I will stay,” he said.
Anessa smiled a radiant smile that made him weak. She leaned towards his neck in the customary Shara Daim form of affection, but then she stopped and put her lips on his. After, she stood and took him by the hand, leading him towards the bed.
Adrian stopped her. She turned and looked at him quizzically.
“Wait, if we are doing this, there is someone you need to meet,” he said just as Iris appeared over his shoulder in her fiery form.
“Hi, I’m Iris,” she said.
Anessa looked at the floating fiery woman, then at Adrian, and back again at Iris, her expression bewildered.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Three months later — November; Year 57 of the Empire — Sanctuary
Tomas read the alliance agreement with the Shara Daim. It was a large document, detailing obligations from both empires. Adrian had made sure that all the points Tomas was adamant about were in the agreement, and the things added by the Shara Daim were understandable. There was no problem with the agreement, and Tomas agreed with Adrian completely. He had known that Adrian would make some kind of an alliance with them; it had been a plan of his from the start. And with the aggression by the Erasi and their destruction of one of the Empire’s battleships, Tomas was in a much more favorable state of mind towards the Shara Daim. Even though they had actually attacked an entire system, intent on conquering, Adrian’s tactics had ensured that there were no casualties on their side.
And the change in Shara Daim leadership had come as a great surprise to Tomas. He trusted Adrian, but hadn’t been sure that his plan would work. As it turned out, it had, perhaps even better than he had planned. But what he hadn’t seen coming was Adrian’s decision to stay on Shara Radum, nor his relationship with the Shara Daim’s new leader, Kar Daim Anessa. Adrian had sent Tomas a private message detailing everything about their relationship and what the Kar Daim had asked of him. Instantly, Tomas had seen the value in having Adrian as a partner to the leader of Shara Daim. He didn’t have a problem with it; he trusted Adrian implicitly, and had known that he had had trouble finding someone in the Empire. If this was what made him happy, Tomas had no problem with it. He knew that Adrian would always look out for the interests of the Empire.
Laura, on the other hand, was another story. Tomas glanced to the other side of the room, where Seo-yun was trying to calm Adrian’s adoptive mother down, unsuccessfully.
“I can’t believe he is going to stay there with that… that… I don’t know what she is!” Laura said as she frantically waved her arms around.
“Calm down, Laura,” Seo-yun said, trying to guide her to the couch.
“I haven’t even met her yet!” Laura said. “And she is… Urgh, I’m going to kill him.”
Tomas shook his head and tuned them out. Adrian had sent him a list of people who could replace him as Lord Sentinel, but he thought about whether he actually needed to replace him. A plan was forming in his head. He would need to get a few things together, but perhaps he could pull it off.