to the gods to deliver his beloved to the planet below. If Kres didn’t survive, neither would he.
“Please let Kres make it safely,” he whispered to whatever deity might be listening. He’d have to ask Kres about his beliefs later.
Another explosion rocked the shuttle.
“They’re putting a tracking beam on the shuttle, Your Highness,” the captain announced.
“Let them.” Vohne hoped it kept them distracted. He needed Kres to make it to the surface. He didn’t think he could survive this reincarnation if he lost his lover so early.
The shaking of the small craft told Vohne the shuttle was truly caught. He leaned against the smooth ship walls and breathed slow breaths to calm his inner beast. Whiffs of his lover still filled the cabin, soothing his nerves. He had to believe Kres would make it to safety and forgive him for putting him in the escape pod.
He had no illusions about his lover giving him a piece of his mind once they were reunited down below, but as long as they were together again, he didn’t care what punishment Kres wanted to dish out.
A loud clang shook him out of his imagined reunion. Squaring his shoulders, he braced himself to face whatever came through the door.
The captain’s voice came over the intercom. “Should I let them in?”
“Might as well. If they break in, they’ll only damage the shuttle,” Vohne replied. No point in fighting with ships when they were outmanned.
A whoosh heralded the opening of the inner door.
Ten soldiers marched through. Seeing Vohne, they stopped in their tracks, staring at him as if they’d seen a ghost.
Vohne drew himself up to full height. “Is there a reason you’re attacking your king?”
One of the Thresls, braver than the others, stepped forward, sweeping a low bow. “Forgive us, Your Highness. We were told an imposter was on board.” The man’s voice shook as he confronted his king.
Vohne’s eyes scanned the group who’d entered the shuttle, five male human soldiers and six Thresl. The one who approached didn’t appear to have a partner.
“Where’s your human?” He asked the brave soldier.
“He died in The Great Purge. As I am only half Thresl, I survived.”
“Ahh. I am sorry.” At his transformation, Vohne regained all of his memories and the memories of his people. As a king, he was one of the few Thresl who could retain the history of his people. Which made this last return unusual because he had gaps in his memory, spots where he couldn’t detect bits and pieces of his past.
While between reincarnations, a faction had arisen that wanted to free the Thresl from their human counterparts. One Thresl mating gone wrong had created a bitter and dangerous man who’d wanted to put an end to what he considered the oppression of the Thresl. What the leader didn’t acknowledge was, without humans, there were no Thresl. The original Thresl had bonded with a human in order to become a reasoning, intelligent being and not a slave to his beast. To break from the humans and other sentient creatures was to bring an end to their own sentience.
The Great Purge had been the product of this twisted leader who killed the Thresls’ partners. His thinking had been, once a Thresl gained its sentient status, a human partner was no longer necessary.
After killing many Thresl mates, the leader and his followers had learnt a powerful and painful lesson. Without their creators, they were only half a person. Many killed themselves, and the ones who didn’t went insane.
“How did you survive?” Even a half-Thresl would have problems.
The soldier shivered. “I had conditioning. I’m hoping to rematch.”
In some cases, if they were rematched quickly, a soldier could stay in his human form for a few months. If they didn’t find a Thresl for him soon, he would go into a cryogenic chamber until they found a match. Last Vohne remembered, there were still dozens of Thresls frozen on the planet.
“Good luck,” Vohne said even as he
“Please let Kres make it safely,” he whispered to whatever deity might be listening. He’d have to ask Kres about his beliefs later.
Another explosion rocked the shuttle.
“They’re putting a tracking beam on the shuttle, Your Highness,” the captain announced.
“Let them.” Vohne hoped it kept them distracted. He needed Kres to make it to the surface. He didn’t think he could survive this reincarnation if he lost his lover so early.
The shaking of the small craft told Vohne the shuttle was truly caught. He leaned against the smooth ship walls and breathed slow breaths to calm his inner beast. Whiffs of his lover still filled the cabin, soothing his nerves. He had to believe Kres would make it to safety and forgive him for putting him in the escape pod.
He had no illusions about his lover giving him a piece of his mind once they were reunited down below, but as long as they were together again, he didn’t care what punishment Kres wanted to dish out.
A loud clang shook him out of his imagined reunion. Squaring his shoulders, he braced himself to face whatever came through the door.
The captain’s voice came over the intercom. “Should I let them in?”
“Might as well. If they break in, they’ll only damage the shuttle,” Vohne replied. No point in fighting with ships when they were outmanned.
A whoosh heralded the opening of the inner door.
Ten soldiers marched through. Seeing Vohne, they stopped in their tracks, staring at him as if they’d seen a ghost.
Vohne drew himself up to full height. “Is there a reason you’re attacking your king?”
One of the Thresls, braver than the others, stepped forward, sweeping a low bow. “Forgive us, Your Highness. We were told an imposter was on board.” The man’s voice shook as he confronted his king.
Vohne’s eyes scanned the group who’d entered the shuttle, five male human soldiers and six Thresl. The one who approached didn’t appear to have a partner.
“Where’s your human?” He asked the brave soldier.
“He died in The Great Purge. As I am only half Thresl, I survived.”
“Ahh. I am sorry.” At his transformation, Vohne regained all of his memories and the memories of his people. As a king, he was one of the few Thresl who could retain the history of his people. Which made this last return unusual because he had gaps in his memory, spots where he couldn’t detect bits and pieces of his past.
While between reincarnations, a faction had arisen that wanted to free the Thresl from their human counterparts. One Thresl mating gone wrong had created a bitter and dangerous man who’d wanted to put an end to what he considered the oppression of the Thresl. What the leader didn’t acknowledge was, without humans, there were no Thresl. The original Thresl had bonded with a human in order to become a reasoning, intelligent being and not a slave to his beast. To break from the humans and other sentient creatures was to bring an end to their own sentience.
The Great Purge had been the product of this twisted leader who killed the Thresls’ partners. His thinking had been, once a Thresl gained its sentient status, a human partner was no longer necessary.
After killing many Thresl mates, the leader and his followers had learnt a powerful and painful lesson. Without their creators, they were only half a person. Many killed themselves, and the ones who didn’t went insane.
“How did you survive?” Even a half-Thresl would have problems.
The soldier shivered. “I had conditioning. I’m hoping to rematch.”
In some cases, if they were rematched quickly, a soldier could stay in his human form for a few months. If they didn’t find a Thresl for him soon, he would go into a cryogenic chamber until they found a match. Last Vohne remembered, there were still dozens of Thresls frozen on the planet.
“Good luck,” Vohne said even as he
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