The Last Days of Krypton - Kevin J. Anderson [74]
“We do,” Jor-El and Lara said in unison. They hadn’t even needed to rehearse.
“Your love is like gravity, a force that pulls you forever toward each other. Let nothing pull you apart.”
“Let nothing pull us apart.” Jor-El and Lara clasped hands.
To signify the marriage, Lara’s parents had brought two pendants they had designed specially for the occasion. Each pendant sparkled with a ruby struck from the same stone; the gems were joined down to the very molecules of their crystal structure.
Now Zod looped one pendant on a chain over Jor-El’s snowy head, then placed its identical partner over Lara’s. “Let these hang over your hearts, which now beat as one.” Zod raised his hands, as if he had just sealed a bargain. “You are now wed. Let me be the first to declare you husband and wife.”
Jor-El faced Lara, and she stared into his eyes, finding everything she had hoped for there. Her parents applauded loudly, and her little brother let out a raucous whistle.
With tears in her eyes, Charys squeezed her husband’s shoulder. Yar-El stared off into space while she stroked his hair, then kissed him on the forehead. The older woman looked up at the newlyweds. “And now for a gift from me. From us. You need time alone, even if it’s only for a day or two.”
“Not now, Mother. My inquisition is—”
She wouldn’t be dissuaded. “If not now, then you will never take it. I don’t care about your trial or your other troubles or your plans and experiments. You need this, and I have just the place.” Her expression became wistful. “When we were married, Yar-El constructed a fabulous palace for us up in the arctic. He called it a palace of solitude, a retreat where we could be by ourselves, unbothered by the cares and stresses of Krypton.
“That palace is still there out on the ice cap. I wanted Zor-El and Alura to use it, but instead they went to the reefs outside of Argo City for their honeymoon. I’ve waited for you to be married, Jor-El, so that you and your lovely wife—” She reached out to clasp Lara’s hand; her voice shuddered, and tears welled up in her eyes. “It is a perfect place for a newly married couple.”
Lara was barely able to catch her breath. “It sounds beautiful.”
“No, we can’t.” Jor-El shook his head. “I have to stay here. My defense—”
Zod stepped up to them with a smile, though his eyes seemed troubled. “Your mother is right. No one on Krypton believes the renowned Jor-El will break his word and flee. If you give me your promise that you will return in time, then as Commissioner I grant you leave to go. Be happy while you can.”
Lara said cautiously, “That’s very generous, Commissioner. But with all that’s going on, the preparations—”
“It is the least I can do. You both know that we have done all we can. There are no further preparations, no additional studies, no new evidence. Jor-El will face the Council, and I am confident we will prevail. Remaining here serves no purpose. Once Jor-El receives a pardon, we will have a vast amount of work to do. And if he is sentenced…” Zod spread his hands helplessly and looked at Nam-Ek standing by the door. “Then that is all the more reason for you to take this opportunity before it’s too late.”
CHAPTER 31
Zod and Nam-Ek flew back to Kandor at night in an open vessel. They stood side by side on the humming platform with the night air blowing gently around them. The stars overhead were veiled with colorful streamers of auroras, and three bright orange meteors streaked across the blackness like the slashes of a bloody knife.
His time with Jor-El had gone well, and Zod was sure he had the scientist in his pocket, no matter what happened. He certainly hadn’t expected to add a wedding to the activities, but that had tied the bonds of loyalties even tighter. By now the brilliant scientist had seen enough proof that Zod could get things