“So long? Well—we can think of it then, but I don’t think Man Alexander will let you take me.”
“Then I shall take you without his consent.”
She smiled. “It would be easier to stay here. In another fifteen years I will be old and you will not want me.”
“I’ll never do that. I’ll always want you.”
“You swear too easily,” she said gently. “You men live forever. We Lani are a short-lived race.”
“But you needn’t be. It’s obviously—”
“It’s been tried, my love—and those who were treated died. Man Alexander tried many years ago to make us long-lived like you. But he failed. You see, he loved one of us too.”
“But—”
“Let us think no more of it. Let us enjoy what we have and be grateful to the Gods for the love we enjoy—or do you have any Gods?”
“One.”