Fencer by Viola Grace

civilized.”
    She inclined her head and took the blade from Kebril’s hand, planting it in the ground. “The most civilized of societies tend to have very violent impulses just below the surface. Some subvert those impulses into sex, but I am not sure how that works.”
    Kebril wrapped his arms around her, and he whispered, “I will explain it to you later.”

Chapter Nine
    T he rest of the party was surreal. Kebril lay back on a couch with Meena draped over him, and they made out like teenagers for hours.
    Agheda had found her own likely candidate, and she blew Meena a kiss while she walked out on the arm of a charming Nyal earl.
    Meena propped her head on her chin and sighed. “When do you have to go home?”
    “Whenever you like. We are now a we by the way. It was not just for show.” He muttered, “Though my mother is going to kill me.” She chuckled. “I am ready to leave now.” She bent her knee, and it slid free of the fabric, exposing her gold-wrapped limb to his gaze.
    He lifted her so suddenly, she yelped. While he carried her out, she asked, “Do you think he is gone?”
    “I think he will have to change targets. He is known now to have no honour, and I am going to force the recording through the courts. He had no right to demand your person, and they had less right to agree to it.”
    She huffed. “Yeah, that much I know. The fact that the Nyal court system is so corrupt makes me worry for other Terrans in this section of the universe.”
    “You should be worried. You are a very desirable woman, and if the others of your kind are found to be as rare and lovely as yourself, they will be hunted here.”
    She scowled and looked around as he settled in the pilot’s seat of his skimmer. With a single push of a button, they were off and on their way back to his home. She wondered, as she kissed his jawline, when she would think of it as her home.
    He held her close as they left the capital and cruised over meadows and fields before they passed over the foothills that led to the mountains.
    “Why do the Genarans live in the mountains?”
    “We don’t need the land to live, so we leave it to those who do.”
    She nodded but then had a thought. “Where does the food come from?”
    “We trade our skills for the basic necessities of life. Food, clothing, the miscellany of life.”
    “Do all the Genarans live so far from the cities?”
    He shook his head. “When my parents pass on, the village will move to surround my home. The Genaran villagers stay near their leaders at all times. They draw strength from them, literally and figuratively.”
    Her skin was tingling, and she could feel changes taking shape inside her. “What do you mean literally ?”
    “When we live in a community, the leader gives some of his nanites to his villagers. This increases their immune response as well as their creativity.”
    “So, the one with the greatest power is given the place at the head of the community?”
    “It does seem to come through along genetic lineage. The power that gives Charm the ability to save lives is also apparent in our father and myself, though far less public. Speaking of parents, mine will not be pleased that I rushed things.”
    She chuckled and pushed away the fleeting ache that the mention of family caused her. It was better to concentrate on the moment.
    Meena curled against him and relaxed, secure in the knowledge that something had started at that party.
    When they landed at the palace, Kebril stopped her from going inside. He inhaled and then exhaled, blowing a stream of air toward his home.
    “Watch.”
    She watched, and a light went on inside the crystal. Inch by inch, the palace lit up, a thousand colours and a million points of light came alive as she watched. She stepped forward as a piece of light came and floated ahead of her.
    Meena giggled and extended her hands, cupping the mote of light in her palms. She lifted it high, and it flitted away once again. “What is