Cleb looked at me shyly and shrugged his shoulders.
“Want to give it a try?” I said. “I bet you can do it.”
Cleb swayed his hips left and right. I could tell he wanted to try but he was worried he might get the answers wrong in front of me.
Bianca was right. I never should have ignored Cleb. He needed a caring and loving parent figure in his life. Even if I wasn’t his father, I was his godfather. The least I could do was give him some of my time.
“Go on,” I said. “Try.”
Cleb stared at the flowers but wouldn’t start. I drifted over to Bianca’s side. As delicious as the flowers smelled, they didn’t have a patch on her.
“How about… this one?” I said, picking the most common flower among them all.
Cleb answered quick as a flash.
“Very good,” I said. “What about… this one?”
Cleb went through every last plant until we got down to the final two. He seemed to have trouble remembering them.
“That’s ten out of twelve,” I said. “Pretty great if you ask me. There were some you got that I couldn’t remember.”
“Really?” Cleb said, astonished. “But you know everything!”
I chuckled.
“I can promise you, I don’t know everything,” I said. “When I was your age, I loved nature.”
“Me too!” Cleb said.
“What do you like about it?” I said.
“I like that it’s alive! And it breathes like we do.”
“Well, not exactly like we do…” I said.
“No. They use a process called photosymomsis.”
Okay, so he mispronounced the word a little. Who cares? I was impressed he even knew about it at his age.
“Photosynthesis?” I said. “I didn’t think kids your age learned about that for a few more years.”
“They don’t usually,” Bianca said. “But once Cleb started developing an interest in nature, he couldn’t stop learning about it, could you?”
Cleb nodded his head.
“You know, we study a lot about nature when we’re looking for a new place to mine and dig up,” I said. “Not just plants and animals but rocks and minerals too. Do you think you might be interested in that?”
Cleb’s eyes slid over to Bianca.
“We could study it next, if you like,” she said.
Cleb nodded.
“If you’re interested, I could take you to one of the mines one day,” I said. “A sort of field trip, I guess. Or to a lab. Maybe that will be more interesting for you.”
“Can Bianca come with us?” Cleb said.
I smiled at her.
“I wouldn’t dream of leaving her behind,” I said.
Bianca smiled and leaned her body against mine. She was so warm and soft, I wanted to wrap my arms around her.
“I’ll keep them and put them in my room when we get back, okay?” Bianca said, sniffing the bouquet once more.
“There’s one more thing you should know about flowers,” I said. “They don’t only attract bugs and birds. They attract girls too.”
Bianca gently nudged me with her shoulder.
“Don’t tell him that!” she said. “He doesn’t need to learn about that yet. Let him enjoy his childhood before you corrupt him.”
“It’s not corruption!” I said defensively. “It’s a part of nature too. One of the most important lessons you’ll ever learn…”
Bianca laughed and slapped me on the arm. Her hand lingered a little longer than necessary.
And we looked at each other.
Her lips were full and fresh and red from the chill breeze and the icy water. It would be so easy to lean forward and take them…
But Cleb was watching and I didn’t want to spoil the relationship he had with his governess.
I cleared my throat.
“How about we move on to another spot?” I said.
“Yes,” Bianca said, jumping to attention. “Good idea.”
I got to my feet and offered her a hand. She took it and I helped her up.
She lost her footing and I caught her. I felt her body against mine.
“Careful,” I said, my voice thick with desire.
“I always am,” she said, peering up at me through her eyelashes.
With her in my arms, that instinct buried deep inside every Titan reared its head and caught the scent of this incredible female in my arms.
And unless I missed my guess, I thought I spied the human version in her eyes staring right back at me.
Judging by that look, my daydream last night had been far too tame.
Too tame by half.
We pulled to a stop on a hilltop overlooking a broad field. A quiet road marked the boundary of where my land ended. Local townsfolk worked the field, where they grew crops of popular Titan fruit and vegetables. They were in the process of weeding the newly planted crops and harvesting that which was now ripe. They piled it in floating wicker baskets they would lead back into town.
“Who are those people?” Bianca said.
“Some of the locals from town,” I said. “Now and then, skirmishes take place across the empire with an alien race called the Changelings. They’ve been attacking us for years but have never been so direct before. I think they might be gearing up for a larger attack soon.”
“Is there anything you can do to stop them?” Bianca said.
“No one can. Except for the emperor.”
“The emperor?”
It was easy to forget she knew little about our culture. If there was one thing to know about Titan heritage, it was the importance of the emperor in our lives. His portrait hung on the wall of every home in the empire. We were taught from a young age to respect and revere him above all others.
“He’s the Titan supreme leader,” I said. “He alone can bring the most powerful Titan families together and unite us against the Changelings. But many don’t believe the Changelings are dangerous. I think it’s a mistake to underestimate them.”
“So why are those people planting crops on your land?”
“Times are hard,” I said. “Sometimes there’s a food shortage or the people lose their jobs and struggle to find enough food. So, I gave them permission to use my land. They can farm as much as they like and keep whatever they grow or
