Page 49 of The Space Traveller's Lover
“I bet it wasn’t so difficult—saying goodbye to everything, to your past.” he declares, his burning gaze drifting all over her body.
“In the end, it all fell into place—as it was meant to be.”
“So much to look forward to, now that you are ready for the final transition to become a space traveller.”
“Is that next?” She turns around within his arms to face him, her eyes stuck to his alluring gaze.
The last traces of anger in his face blend with a desperate, smouldering desire. Still, he manages to contain himself, biting his tongue. “The final transition … will—”
Rothwen starts explaining, but his words end up drowning under her lingering kisses, as she tells him with her thoughts.Rothwen, anything that takes me closer to you, I will do.
Her passion sends him into a frenzy. He hugs her so tightly that she starts gasping for air, so she forcibly pulls away from him. In a fully apologetic gesture, he opens his arms and raises his hands, giving her a forgive-me look that she promptly accepts with an I-forgive-you smile.
“What about a space warrior? What does it take to become one?” she asks him after getting her breath back.
“You have to lead an army,” he boasts with a self-satisfied grin, “and win a war.”
“Oh! A war, a war,” she says in despair. Her face turns sombre, and she looks away as if in deep thought.
Rothwen lifts her chin and makes her look back at him. “Sometimes,” he says in a stern tone, his eyebrows snapping together, “sometimes war is the only option.”
“I understand your powers,” she says while stroking his forehead and cheeks, trying to soften up his tense muscles. “I know about your past battles and victories, but if we can avoid a bloody conflict here, then I must try.”
“The invasion has to happen. It’s all been decided. Can’t change it now,” Rothwen firmly states, staring coldly into the distance.
“They will defend themselves if you invade them.They will fight!”
“Of course, I could simply eliminate them first. Problem solved.” Rothwen smirks.
“You wouldn’t do that, Rothwen, would you? Would you?” She holds his face within her hands, looking at him with a lingering pleading gaze.
“You do care about the humans, don’t you?” Rothwen takes her hands off his face, casting a wry glare at her imploring eyes. “It all depends on them, how they react.”
“We have shown them our power. I will try to explain even more—”
“They will never understand. This is not going to end well. I foresee war, destruction … again,” he seethes.
“No, Rothwen, not war, not again.” She pleads with him.
Rothwen folds his arms on his chest, keeping an impassive gaze on her. “Fine! You have the answer then.”
“I’ll never give up, never stop trying,” she firmly replies.
“And I’m prepared to let you try. But there will be a limit,” he warns.
“You say it as if I have no chance at succeeding.”
“You will give it all. I know that. It’s not you I’m worried about failing, but them.”
“I still have faith in the human race,” she counters.
“I hope you’re right because nothing”—his eyes glint with a dauntless spark—“can defeat our army!”
“I’d like to see a Rom-Ghenshar army in front of me—”
“Now that you mention it … we don’t have to go far.”
Shaillah is utterly stunned. She wasn’t expecting to see any army right here, right now.
