Hesparia's Tears Read Online Free Page A

but right now, she was feeling quite gun-shy. Being arrested again had been torture, and to find out she and Seth were to be charged with crimes against humanity had been enough to leave her reeling. Seth of course, had treated it like a huge joke, but she knew…after last time, there would be no quarter given.
    “Why are you here?” Better to get these negotiations out of the way and hope it would give her some leverage to have them drop the charges.
    “Our planet has lost an essential natural resource. Many jahr ago…”
    “Jahr?” The unfamiliar and guttural word made no sense.
    “Long periods of time. Used to denote the crop rotations passing.”
    Long time? Crop rotations passing? She searched through her head for a human alternative. “Umm…when the weather patterns change? Period of heat, then cool, then cold?” Maybe it’s a season?
    But he shook his head. “No. More than one set of weather patterns. Fiery sun, then cooler sun, then cool sun, then cold night, before it becomes warm once more.”
    Jessa cast her mind around. Year? Could that be what he meant? “Uh year? We have four seasons. One hot, one warm, then cold and back to warm? Then it starts again?”
    He nodded.
    Okay, that was a year or some similar rotation of time. That was handy to know, but maybe they needed a primer. “Seth, grab a notebook and we can write these words down with our translation.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Over the next several hours…or horanas as Galan informed her, a glossary of terms emerged, allowing them to understand each other with more clarity. Galan also engaged in a lightning quick exchange. He turned back to her. “I have informed my people to use your language where possible.”
    She smiled wanly. Holy hell. It was really happening. She was here in the middle of negotiations with… an alien !
    From time to time, Chalmers checked in, bringing food and other items. At one stage, even a senior military officer ducked his head around the door. As he had every other time, Galan refused to deal with him, leaving the authorities frustrated, she was sure. She noted each time she noted the angry glances were cast her way.
    She wanted to say something, but her brain told her to control her mouth. At least for now, anyway. They obviously think it’s my entire fault. Not that it was, but there didn’t seem much she could say to correct the matter that they would believe. And she’d be damned if she tried. No one had believed her last time, and she was sure they wouldn’t this time either.
    From time to time, Galan would look her way and her body’s response was always the same. The long, slow curl of interest, her mouth dried and her eyes searched his inscrutable face.
     
    The woman who remained seated looked as if she were trying for anonymity. But each time he cast a look at her, he had an innate reaction, one he couldn’t control. His fingers itched to trail over her fine skin. So pale. Her eyes were large in her face, and shining beacons to him. Her lips called to him on a primal level and he wondered if they were as soft and tender as they looked. He wanted to close his own over them, to taste and feast upon her. Each time he gave in to the need to look at her, his body quickened with need, his groin tightened and his blood pumped through his veins faster. Not since the passing through the realms of his partner, Gospah, had he felt such a need to connect with another living being. To be with them on every level, and that thought alone disturbed his equilibrium.
    But he was flagging and so were the humans who sat opposite him. Horanas had passed while they associated words, hoping to ease communications between them, even though his team had been informed to use the native language. He thanked his men for the preparations they had taken before making contact with the people of this planet, particularly monitoring and decoding their languages. His personal guard caught his eye and with a nod, Galan stood.
    “I