"He says that I must choose a mate, to insure the stability of the royal house."
It seemed to Sime that this announcement gave him a pang out of all proportion.
"That should be easy," he managed. "Every Martian is crazy about you."
"He may not be a Martian. He must be a man of Earth," Sira stated firmly.
"Is that so?" Sime asked, genuinely surprised. "Why does Joro insist on that?"
"It is not Joro who insists. It is myself."
Sime found himself looking into eyes filled with shy pleading. He could not, would not, for all of the solar system, have committed the unpardonable affront of rejecting the love so frankly offered. And yet he did not know how to accept this miracle. He did it clumsily, haltingly disclosing the secret recesses of his own heart and what had transpired there since the night he had taken the knife away from her and kissed her.