Page 35 of Heart’s Prisoner

Lana's smile disappeared. "No, It's just..." Lana couldn't bring herself to tell him about what they planned to do to him if she failed. Not yet. She would rather see to it that it wasn't something to even worry about. Because she was going to get through to him.

And even if she did tell him the truth, she knew what his response would probably be. He didn't fear death.

Lana raised her eyes to meet him. "I wanted to tell you. When I was barred from seeing you after the...incident. I started to study your language on my own. I'm not very far and I'm afraid even using the data from the QS translator isn't the most effective but...even with my best efforts I really need someone who can teach me..."

Xerus' pupils dilated and he blinked. He rose from his sitting position and walked the length of the window as if thinking. He paced for a moment then he stopped to look back at her. "Yes." He bowed his head. "I will teach you."

Chapter Eleven

It took some time to find a way to properly program the translator so that when Xerus spoke he wouldn't just repeat his words in English when trying to teach her various meanings and phrases. She went to Ben for assistance who knew the QS translator's coding and system. The best they could think was to utilize Xerus' useful talent at changing the pitch and tone of his voice. When he spoke a specific way (his voice a little higher and more clipped than usual), the translator would stop for a brief time until he changed his voice back. This allowed him to still speak both in his native tongue and in hers.

When she informed Cole of her plans, she was relieved to find he was supportive for once. After all, if they had someone who could understand his language without the translator it could be helpful in learning more useful information about the subject. Or if at some point they needed a translator when encountering more of Xerus' kind.

When they finally got the updated QS translator running, Xerus was adamant about starting right away. They linked the translator`s data to Lana's tablet so when they used the window like a dry erase board, whenever Xerus wrote a word out on the glass in the slashes and dashes of his language, the English equivalent would pop up next to it along with an image if it were an object.

Xerus was a demanding yet patient teacher. Every session was dedicated to her learning and nothing else. He was always prepared with some new subject when she arrived and when she left she was given a night's worth of homework. Lana didn't mind. When she didn't understand a phrase fully and it took her longer to get theessesandarrsright, Xerus was happy to repeat a lesson until she understood fully.

Thankfully his language wasn't too complicated. He sighted this reason being that it was ancient and rarely changed from its original form. This was becauseRikashaandVeradiswilled it so. To remain as pure as possible from their first making of the words.

"Are they your gods?" Lana dared ask after taking a break from their lesson. She had theorized for some time that they were.

Xerus shook his head. "No. But they were the first of us. And thus are treated as such."

"So they created your language together? Just the two of them? That's really impressive."

"It was saidRikashahad more of a hand in it thenVeradisbut, yes, he did aid her. She had more of a say on the final language."

"Why was that?" Lana asked.

"She was a queen," Xerus said.

Lana`s eyes widened. "Oh." She paced the window, stretching her legs. Her brows tightened in confusion. "But wouldn't the king be more inclined to have a say? Or does the queen hold more authority?"

Xerus huffed."Veradiswas not a king."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I assumed since they were the first that...you know...they were together. And therefore he would be her..."

Xerus' mouth twitched. "They were mated yes. But we do not have kings, only queens."

Lana made a silent oh and nodded her head. "So what was he then? Just her mate?"

When Xerus didn't speak, Lana looked over at him and saw him standing straight with his hands behind his back, like some military official.

Lana pursed her lips. "Sorry, too many, questions." She turned away.

"He was herPredomis."

Lana froze and frowned, remembering that word. She looked back at him. "What does that mean?"

"It is the guardian of the queen."

Lana turned her gaze away and cleared her throat. "So do allPredomis...do they all mate with a queen."

"Yes."

For some reason Lana felt a jab in her chest; like someone had poked her with a long, sharp nail. She twisted around to face him and smiled. "Wow. So that's what you are to become. That's amazing."

Xerus watched her response carefully. He showed little expression of his own. She had no way to gauge if he was happy or not with the prospect or if it was just a matter of duty.

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