Close Remembrance by Anna Zaires

Author:Anna Zaires [Zaires, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2013-08-21T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

As the ceremony began, Mia tried to focus on the event, but her mind kept flashing back to the gruesome images of the fight.

Flash. Korum lying on the ground, unable to move.

Flash. Blood spraying everywhere. That terrible gloating expression on Loris’s face.

Flash. Korum striking back with the speed of a cobra. The sudden terror on the other Krinar’s face.

Flash. More blood.

Flash. Loris’s head torn off his body.

No, stop it! Mia wanted to scream, but they were in public, and she couldn’t do it, couldn’t embarrass Korum like that. He was holding her hand now, and they were on a large float in the middle of the Arena. The same Krinar who had led the beginning of the ceremony was speaking again, saying something else about the history of Arena fighting, but his words were sliding past Mia’s ears. There was a sense of unreality to the proceedings; Mia kept feeling like she was inside a dream – or, more aptly, a nightmare.

Only Korum’s touch felt real. She wanted to crawl into his embrace and never come out. When he had held her earlier, she’d felt some of her terror ebbing away, but now she felt cold again, her teeth chattering despite the heat of the bright Costa Rican sun.

He was alive. Mia still couldn’t believe it. It had to be a miracle of some kind. How could anybody survive those kinds of injuries? She had known the Krinar healed quickly, but Korum had been almost literally torn apart. There had been so much blood. Oh God, the blood.

Mia swallowed hard, trying to contain her nausea. If she never saw the color red again, it would be too soon. No wonder the Krinar preferred light colors in their daily lives; they probably needed the contrast after the violent spectacle of the Arena.

Korum had almost died today. Her alien lover – so strong, so seemingly invincible – had been nearly brought down by treachery. For a few dark moments, Mia had been sure that he was dead – and she had wanted to die too. It had felt like her heart was being torn open, each blow to Korum’s body smashing something deep within her soul. She had never experienced such agony before, and she never wanted to feel it again.

She was dimly aware that Voret had stopped speaking, that he was addressing Korum now, asking him about a celebration. She saw Korum starting to shake his head, and something came over her. Acting purely on instinct, she leaned closer to Korum and whispered in his ear, “I want you. Please, Korum, I want you.”

He turned his head to look at her, his expression incredulous, and she squeezed his hand, wordlessly telling him that it was okay, that he could celebrate in the way of his people.

Rightly or wrongly, she needed him now, and she didn’t care about anything else.

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