Close Remembrance
2013 Heat 5/5
Close Remembrance by Anna Zaires is a 2013 romance. Tropes: Alien Romance, Alpha Hero, amnesia-romance, arena-challenge, captor-and-captive, Enemies to Lovers, Fated Mates, forbidden-interspecies-bond, human-alien-romance, political-intrigue, possessive-protector-hero, Science fiction romance. Heat 5/5. Book 3 of The Krinar Chronicles.
What happened in Close Remembrance?
When a ruthless enemy finally strikes, Mia and Korum will face the biggest test of their relationship yet. But it’s Korum’s own secrets that may ultimately tear them apart. From the beaches of Costa Rica to a planet in a distant galaxy, theirs is a love story that may change the world…
What tropes are in Close Remembrance?
Where does Close Remembrance fall in The Krinar Chronicles?
Book 3 of The Krinar Chronicles. Reading order
What should I read next?
Close Obsession by Anna Zaires.
Chapters
Chapter 2
A Krinar operative named Saret moves incognito through Moscow, years after the Great Panic left Russia in ruins. Disguised as a human tourist, he plants capsules containing “seeds of a new era” beneath the cobblestones of Red Square while evading both human cameras and Krinar satellites. The stake is his secret alliance with the human Resistance—the Keiths—who were presumed captured and memory-wiped by Saur, though in truth they remain free. Saret’s mission is to sow rebellion against his own kind while keeping his double life hidden. The chapter closes on his anticipation of reuniting with Mia tomorrow, leaving the tension of his planted defiance and the looming confrontation unresolved.
Chapter 3
Mia wakes in her lover Korum's fully Krinar-ized home in Lenkarda, delighted by floating furniture and intelligent flooring that massages her feet. Korum reveals a hidden zero-gravity chamber beneath the floor, where the couple drifts weightless through an intense, passionate encounter that deepens their mutual obsession. The next morning, Mia returns to her internship at the Krinar research lab, catching up on knowledge-transfer data with partner Adam before boss Saret dismisses her early. Unbeknownst to Mia, Saret watches her leave consumed by possessive desire, recalling his lifelong rivalry with Korum and his resolve to claim the human woman as his own. As Saret turns to a map of Shanghai, his predatory patience foreshadows a looming threat to Mia and Korum's bond.
Chapter 4
Mia nervously meets Korum's parents, Riani and Chiaren, in a photorealistic virtual rendering of their Krina home, where she learns the alien culture values genetic design and that Korum himself is a rare "natural" child with a minor "deformity." Later, over dinner in Lenkarda, she challenges Korum on the Elders' policy of withholding longevity technology from humanity, sparking a heated debate about evolution and overpopulation that dissolves into passionate intimacy. In a parallel thread, Saret visits a remote Siberian prison to study how Krinar interventions alter the behavior of violent inmates.
Chapter 5
Mia basks in the early glow of her relationship with Korum, bantering with him before he pins her to the bed in a charged, interrupted moment of intimacy that leaves them both aching. She escapes to a beach birthday party for Maria, where she bonds with fellow charl over exotic fruit and tequila, discovering the ancient, bittersweet history of Delia—a 2,312-year-old Greek immortal—and confronting the hollow reality that she and Korum can never have children. Meanwhile, in the slums of Mexico City, Saret plants surveillance devices and unleashes lethal rage on a gang, reinforcing his conviction that his covert war is righteous. The chapter closes on Mia’s anticipation of returning home to finish what they started, while Saret returns to his ship convinced of his path’s justice.
Chapter 6
Mia spends her day at the Krinar research facility in Lenkarda, running simulations and exploring alien data systems while awaiting feedback from her mentor Saret. A phone call with her human friend Jessie reveals Mia is deeply conflicted about abandoning her NYU studies to remain in the alien settlement with her lover, Korum. Over dinner, the couple discusses the political threat posed by Protector Loris, who seeks to implicate Korum in the Keiths' memory-erasure scandal. Their evening walk along the Costa Rican beach yields intimate revelations—including Korum's full name, Nathrandokorum—and candid talk of the solar system's protective shield. The chapter culminates in a passionate, risky encounter in the surf where the lovers consummate their bond amidst crashing waves, leaving Mia's future in human society hanging in the balance.
Chapter 7
Alone in the Krinar laboratory, Mia discovers that the disgraced apprentice Saur never actually mastered memory erasure—contradicting everything her boss Saret told the Council. When she prepares to leave, Saret corners her, his charming demeanor curdling into something predatory. He confesses to a genocidal plot: using nanoweapons to slaughter fifty thousand Krinar and mind-conditioning all of humanity into peaceful obedience. With Korum’s life as leverage, he drags Mia into his private office, restraining her as he vows to erase her memories of her beloved cheren and claim her as his own. The chapter ends as he presses a memory-wipe device to her forehead, plunging her into darkness.
Chapter 8
Korum waits anxiously for Mia to return home, tracking her through an implant while preparing her favorite meal. When she fails to arrive, his embedded surveillance reveals she lies unconscious in her lab, restrained and threatened by Saret—his supposed friend of two millennia. Listening to intercepted recordings, Korum discovers a devastating betrayal: Saret plans to unleash a nano-weapon upon the human Centers within days, using Mia as leverage. Consumed by protective fury, Korum races to the lab in a fabricated transport pod, only to watch his enemy's fortress begin to melt from an unknown force. As Saret flees through an emergency chute, abandoning the unconscious Mia, Korum confronts the ruins of the trap, the ticking clock of the impending attack still racing.
Chapter 9
Korum orders the guardians to hunt down Saret after discovering that the trusted friend has inflicted irreversible memory damage on Mia. Consumed by rage and guilt over failing to protect her, the Krinar leader cradles the unconscious human in his arms, torn between murderous vengeance and desperate tenderness. When Mia awakens in his Lenkarda quarters with no recollection of their relationship—her mind stuck in a Spring Semester classroom—Korum must navigate her terror and confusion. Revealing their bond as lovers, he resolves to rebuild their connection from scratch despite her amnesia. The chapter closes on the fragile tension of a man who has staked his entire being on one woman now facing the terrifying possibility that she may never remember why she loves him.
Chapter 10
Mia awakens to a devastating revelation: the gorgeous Krinar male holding her hand, Korum, claims they are charl—fated mates—and that she has lost two months of memory. He proves his story with holographic satellite footage of their passion and a language implant that lets them converse in Krinar, then reveals she was once a Resistance spy whom he seduced despite knowing her mission. When a video call with her parents confirms his tale, Mia is left reeling, though her body responds hungrily to his touch. Their kiss ignites into fierce heat, but Korum halts when he senses her confusion, choosing restraint over desire. He leaves her alone in his intelligent Lenkarda home to process the betrayal by his former friend Saret, who wiped her memory—a wound that still threatens their bond.
Chapter 11
Korum attends a tense Krinar Council session where the fallout from Saret’s thwarted mind-control plot exposes fractures in their leadership. He admits to developing an experimental shield-piercing weapon to breach Saret’s lab, alarming the Councilors. When Protector Loris accuses him of treason and attacks him over his son Rafor’s guilt, the chamber erupts into brutal hand-to-hand combat until Arus intervenes; the rivals agree to settle their feud in a formal Arena fight. Meanwhile, Mia grapples with her erased memories in their transparent-walled home, torn between suspicion and overwhelming attraction to her alien lover. When Korum returns, they share a meal and conversation, rekindling their bond as she marvels at his age and status while fighting her growing desire to reclaim their lost intimacy.
Chapter 12
Korum struggles to restrain his intense desire for Mia during lunch, determined not to pressure her despite their powerful attraction. He demonstrates Krinar nanocyte technology and explains her internship while she asks provocative questions about blood-drinking, heightening his arousal. He shares painful family history—dead grandparents and parental tragedy—before they walk the beach discussing Krinar's plans for Earth when their dying sun forces migration. Mia confesses she hated losing her memories but asks if they were truly in love; Korum declares his devotion, and she tearfully acknowledges their past bond. They discuss Krinar economics and social 'standing,' but the chapter ends on a sharp cliffhanger: Loris has challenged Korum to a lethal Arena fight in two days, and despite Mia's desperate pleas, Korum cannot back down.
Chapter 13
Mia washes in the sentient shower of Korum's alien dwelling, her mind churning with fear that the warrior Loris's impending challenge could kill the centuries-old Krinar despite his resilience. Though only a day into their renewed acquaintance, she feels an irrational, bone-deep obsession for him—a connection that survived the memory wipe engineered by her former captor, Saret. When she joins him in bed, Korum sets aside his own need to make their reunion gentle and tender, healing the trauma of their first encounter. After their intimate moment, he finds contentment in her arms, realizing she has become his sole focus despite centuries of promiscuity, even as he mentally tracks Saret's trail, which has gone cold in Germany, leaving the danger of the coming battle unresolved.
Chapter 14
Mia wakes in Lenkarda sated and curious, reviewing her forgotten past on a floating tablet while Korum attends a Council trial sentencing the Resistance-sympathizing Keiths to complete rehabilitation—a near-total erasure of self. The Protector Loris, whose son Rafor is among the condemned, locks eyes with Korum with murderous intent, sealing a lethal Arena duel for tomorrow. Meanwhile, Mia bonds with fellow charl Delia at a forest waterfall, learning the brutal truth that charls are legal property of their cheren with no rights, and that Arena fights are the top killer of Krinar. Across the world in Paris, the fugitive Saret holds a terrified Mia-lookalike captive and schemes to ensure Korum dies in tomorrow’s combat, raising the stakes for the lovers’ fragile happiness.
Chapter 15
Korum returns home to find Mia reading, and their reunion quickly ignites into a passionate, possessive encounter that leaves both breathless and deeply claimed. After hours of intimacy, he wakes to find her asleep beside him, overwhelmed by an obsessive need to protect the fragile human he has bonded with. Though her tracking devices irritate her, he cannot bear the thought of her in danger, especially with the high-stakes Arena fight against Saret looming in Lenkarda. Determined to keep her safe without publicly shaming her, he arranges for two guardians to watch her and seats her beside the experienced Delia during the event. With the fight approaching and a critical prototype shielding project awaiting his attention, Korum leaves the house, restless and ready for the adrenaline of combat.
Chapter 16
Mia waits with mounting anxiety for Delia to take her to the Arena in Costa Rica, where her cheren Korum will face Council member Loris in a ritual combat to settle their dispute. During the flight in a futuristic pod, Delia explains the Krinar tradition of public coupling in a shatela after a victory, sparking Mia's conflicted feelings about Korum's possessive desires. At the crowded amphitheater, Korum pulls Mia into a passionate, arousing public kiss that leaves her breathless, then whispers his love as she confesses hers in return before he departs to prepare. Seated with Delia and Arus, Mia watches Voret officiate the ceremony, recounting the Krinar's violent history and the extinction of the lonar that nearly destroyed their civilization. The chapter closes as Korum and Loris enter the field, the deadly challenge imminent.
Chapter 17
In the Arena, Korum dominates his opponent Loris in a brutal combat match, the adrenaline sharpening his focus while he senses his bonded partner Mia watching from the crowd. But the fight takes a dark turn when the disguised villain Saret ambushes Korum with a concealed stun weapon, leaving him helpless as Loris tortures his incapacitated body. Mia's desperate screams pierce the air as she tries to reach her lover, only to be physically restrained by Arus and Delia. Enraged by the attack on his partner, Korum endures the savage beating until the stun wears off, then unleashes a primal bloodlust, killing Loris with a vicious bite to the throat. The chapter ends with Korum victorious but grievously wounded, Mia's terror unresolved, and Saret's murderous plot only partially fulfilled.
Chapter 18
Saret watches in horror as Korum brutally kills Loris in the Arena, then attempts to flee but is stunned and captured by guardians using DNA detection despite his disguise. Meanwhile, Korum, grievously wounded with a shattered femur and covered in blood, fights through pain to reach Mia, who has been traumatized by witnessing the fight. He explains that Saret sabotaged him with a hidden weapon. Despite the victory ceremony beginning, they skip the traditional claiming ritual due to the carnage. Overwhelmed by trauma and desperate to affirm life, Mia initiates intense intimacy with Korum in a public tent within the Arena, where he reveals his primal nature. The chapter climaxes with a blood-bonding bite that merges pain and ecstasy, leaving their connection deepened but the aftermath of violence still unresolved.
Chapter 19
Korum wakes beside his human blood-bond Mia after an intense night of celebration, carrying her exhausted body home where smart technology cleans them both. While walking to the guardians' building, he learns that his imprisoned former friend Saret demands to speak with him alone about Mia. Behind a dissolving wall, Saret reveals he has 'softened' Mia—erasing her memories and conditioning her mind to attach to the first person she meets, which should have been him, not Korum. Devastated by the revelation that Mia's love may be manufactured, Korum nearly kills Saret before learning the villain's true motive: petty jealousy of always living in Korum's shadow. The chapter ends with Saret's chilling warning that Mia's manufactured devotion will curdle into hatred if Korum's plans cause further deaths, leaving Korum questioning the authenticity of everything he feels.
Chapter 20
Mia wakes from a nightmare that Korum has died, finding relief in remembering their victory over Saret. While she visits Saret's damaged lab with her partner Adam to research her memory loss, Korum broods on the beach over his friend's betrayal. When they reunite at home, Korum confesses the devastating truth: Saret subjected Mia to a "softening" procedure that altered her brain to make her more suggestible and prone to attachment, meaning her feelings for Korum may not be genuine. Though devastated, Mia insists her love is real and chooses to stay. After an intense night of intimacy, they travel to the Arizona Center where mind expert Haron confirms the brain damage but cannot safely reverse the procedure, leaving Korum to hope genuine feelings will develop over time despite the chemical tampering.
Chapter 21
Korum juggles Council duties—including seeking the Elders' guidance on Saret's punishment—while nurturing his bond with Mia, whose growing independence both thrills and terrifies him. Their simmering conflict over her status as his charl remains unresolved, complicated by the biological impossibility of children between human and Krinar. To celebrate her progress, Korum gifts Mia an advanced fabricator, which she uses to build an aircraft for a trip to New York. Accompanying her to protect her, he instead spends the visit winning over her skeptical former roommate Jessie through a calculated charm offensive, securing a career favor for her internship at Biogem. During a night out, Korum's jealousy flares when a stranger approaches Mia, but she calms him with a look, leaving Jessie astonished that Mia has "tamed a K." The chapter ends on an uneasy note of possessive affection and hidden secrets, as Mia keeps her memory loss from her friends.
Chapter 22
Mia settles into life in Lenkarda, Costa Rica, working in the lab with Adam while her friendship with Delia deepens. Tensions flare with Korum over his tracking devices and overprotectiveness, culminating in a passionate intimate encounter that reaffirms their bond. Meanwhile, Korum learns from Ellet about an apprentice at the Baranil lab on Krina who claims she can reverse memory procedures—potentially undoing Mia’s condition. Desperate to secure Mia’s future, Korum appeals to the ancient Elder Lahur, requesting that Mia’s human family be brought into Krinar society to share her extended lifespan. After a tense confrontation in virtual reality, Lahur unexpectedly grants conditional approval, demanding the family speak for themselves and expressing a personal desire to meet Mia.
Chapter 23
On a moonlit beach dinner illuminated by floating lights, Korum reveals to Mia that Krinar healers on Krina can reverse the memory tampering performed by Saret, and that the Elders may grant his petition to make Mia's family immortal—if they travel to Krina for an in-person meeting. Desperate to save her aging parents but anxious about the Elders' unknown motives, Mia visits her family to explain the non-interference mandate and the nanocyte procedure. While her father Dan had already suspected Mia's immortality, the rest of the family reacts with shock and skepticism to the offer of eternal life, which requires abandoning Earth. As Mia pleads with them not to let fear condemn them to death, the chapter ends on the unresolved tension of whether they will accept the dangerous journey to another world.
Chapter 24
Mia's family prepares to abandon Earth for Lenkarda, gambling everything on the Krinar Elders granting them immortality. While her pregnant sister Marisa is medically cleared for the journey, Mia struggles to say goodbye to her friend Jessie without revealing the truth. Korum explains that Saret will be imprisoned aboard their ship for trial, and he details the science of warp travel that will carry them across space. At the Stalis home in Ormond Beach, neighbors gawk as Korum's pod lands, but the family shares one last breakfast of potato pancakes—Mocha the dog in tow—where Mia's growing affection for her alien lover is on full display. As they board the transport to the stars, Mia feels no fear, only exhilaration at the prospect of meeting the creators of mankind and securing her family's future among the Krinar.
Chapter 25
Mia and her family launch from Earth aboard Korum’s personal intergalactic vessel bound for Krina. As they ascend through the atmosphere, the group marvels at Earth’s fragile beauty from space before docking with a ship whose plain, bullet-like exterior belies its advanced intelligent interior. Korum gives them a tour of the luxuriously appointed craft, explaining that its walls can dissolve to allow entry, and prepares quarters replicating Mia’s parents’ home to ease their transition. When they are finally alone in their private cabin, Mia seizes the initiative, commanding the ship’s fabricator to create restraints and directing Korum to undress, craving control over his usual intensity. Their encounter escalates until Korum breaks free and claims her with ferocious passion, ending with a possessive bite that sends Mia spiraling into ecstasy.
Chapter 26
Mia and Korum complete their intergalactic journey from Earth to Krina, traveling by warp drive before landing on the alien world’s supercontinent, Tinara. While aboard ship, the couple shares intimate moments and discusses the impending memory-restoration procedure that may alter their bond. Upon arrival, the human family struggles with Krina’s thin atmosphere until medicine experts Rialit and Mita administer temporary oxygen fields. Awe mixes with apprehension as Mia marvels at the lush, untouched forest below while worrying about her pregnant sister Marisa and her parents’ health. As they board a fabricated transport pod bound for Korum’s home, Mia grapples with the reality of being on the planet where human life originated, the chapter closing on the unresolved tension of what her restored memories will mean for her relationship with Korum.
Chapter 27
Mia Stalis arrives with her family at Korum's ivory-domed residence on the alien world of Krina, where he guides them through a jungle of poisonous trees and carnivorous plants while warning them to avoid the native wildlife. After settling her relatives into a humanized suite, Mia prepares to undergo a risky memory-restoration procedure led by Laira, a young Krinar mind apprentice. With Korum holding her for support, Mia endures a mentally agonizing reversal of Saret's memory wipe, reliving her trauma and rediscovering her love for Korum. As past and present merge, she realizes Saret's attempt to soften her ultimately backfired, creating the conditions for her to fall truly in love. The chapter closes with Mia opening her eyes, whole again, her bond with Korum confirmed.
Chapter 28
Korum watches in anguish as apprentice Laira's softening procedure finally releases Mia from her rigid, pale trance, her memories and feelings intact. Relief floods him—he had feared reversing the procedure might erase the love she developed during her captivity, but she confirms she remembers everything, including her love for him. They fly back to his home on Krina, where he slows the transport pod so Mia can marvel at the alien landscape of the supercontinent Tinara, its three moons, and ancient forests. After a dinner of exotic local cuisine, the group explores the luminescent wildlife around Korum's lake house, where Mia shares a tender kiss with him before her brother-in-law Connor interrupts them. The chapter closes with the family swimming in the dark, mysterious lake under the triple moons, Mia's heart full of wonder and love.
Chapter 29
Mia wakes from a disturbing dream about Saret, her skin still crawling with imagined violation, only to find her lover Korum waiting on the bed. Their morning unfolds in intense physical intimacy that momentarily quiets her unease, yet the conversation that follows shatters the peace. Over breakfast with her family, Mia fixates on Saret's warning that Korum plans to seize Earth rather than share it, pitting the Krinar's dying sun against her desperate hope that love can transcend species. When privacy finally allows, she confronts Korum by the lake, demanding the truth about his ambitions. The chapter closes on a knife-edge of doubt—can she trust the man she loves, or is he hiding a ruthless agenda beneath his devotion?
Chapter 30
In a tense private confrontation, Korum reveals the Krinar's secret endgame to his bonded mate Mia: rather than seizing Earth by force, they will terraform Mars and offer impoverished humans a paradise there in exchange for space on Earth, building new Centers alongside humanity. The revelation exposes his deeper ambition—an intergalactic empire spanning multiple worlds—and ignites Mia's fear that "win-win" promises will mask coercion. Though Korum swears on their bond that he intends no harm to her species and promises government transparency, Mia's trust remains fractured by past betrayals and Saret's warnings. As political dread collides with their intimate connection, the chapter closes on Korum's desperate need to convince her that their future can be built without bloodshed, leaving the terraforming project's true cost hanging in the air.
Chapter 31
Mia dons a shimmer-stone necklace and formal Krinar attire to meet the nine Elders—ancient beings who hold the power to decide her family's fate. Despite her terror, she argues passionately before Lahur, the oldest Krinar, that if she shares Korum's lifespan through nanocytes, logic demands her human family receive the same gift. The Elders deliberate in silence and depart without an answer, leaving Mia and her family to wait on Krina. The chapter closes on unresolved tension: will the Elders grant the petition, and can Mia's love for Korum truly outweigh her fear of betraying humanity? Heat level remains low, focused on emotional stakes rather than physical intimacy.
Chapter 32
Mia prepares to meet Korum’s parents, hopeful the Elders might restore her own parents’ youth. Instead, Korum surprises her with a kneeling proposal, presenting a shimmer-stone ring and asking her to marry him despite the species barrier. Overwhelmed with joy and tears, Mia accepts, and they announce their engagement to both families gathered at his parents’ home, where the two cultures unexpectedly bond. Korum’s gesture is both romantic and political: by marrying a human, he aims to elevate Mia from the low status of “charl” to that of his mate, publicly declaring that humans deserve full standing in Krinar society. As wedding plans accelerate—including a massive floating hall above the lake and legal registration with a judge on Earth—Mia notices her social status shifting among Korum’s peers. Yet old wounds linger, as Korum’s friends discuss the recent betrayal by their former companion Saret, reminding them that love and trust remain fragile even in triumph.
Chapter 33
The day before his wedding to Mia, Korum visits his former friend Saret in Viarad prison, where the traitor awaits an irreversible sentence. Their tense confrontation reveals Saret's bitter resentment over Korum's changed views on humanity and his upcoming marriage, but Korum offers no comfort, only a final goodbye. At home, Korum and Mia share a passionate, tender reunion that contrasts sharply with the morning's cruelty. Later, guardians escort Saret to his execution chamber, where Laira—who he once rejected—uses a device to erase his identity forever, leaving him a hollow shell. As the ceremony ends, the weight of loss settles over Korum, while tomorrow's wedding and the question of whether they will ever encounter the new Saret loom as unresolved pressure.
Chapter 34
On the morning of her wedding, Mia Stalis prepares to marry Korum, the Krinar she once feared, in the first human-Krinar union in history. Dressed in a hybrid gown that honors both cultures, she walks down the aisle to her groom, their first kiss as spouses sparking celebration among the hundred thousand guests. At the reception, where Krinar stomp instead of clap and float on anti-grav seats, Mia's family marvels at the alien festivities. The mood shifts when Ellet, a human biology expert, reveals through her cousin that she has cracked the genetic code for human-Krinar offspring, giving the newlyweds hope for a child they might name Ivy. The chapter culminates when Lahur, the ancient Elder, arrives to grant Mia's family the petition for immortality and charl rights, securing their future in Lenkarda and completing a day of profound joy.
Chapter 35
In a sun-dappled forest clearing, Lahur stands among the Elders—the ancient guardians of the Krinar—whose tolerance for company is famously brief. With Sheura and Pioren, he confronts the inevitable conclusion of their long experiment: humanity has changed, and Krinar bloodlines now intertwine with human hearts through bonds as deep as their own. Seeing young Korum beside his human cheren seals the verdict. The Elders reach consensus to abandon secrecy and gift humanity their advanced technology, opening an unprecedented new era. As Lahur surveys the faces around him, agreement glinting in their eyes, he feels the weight of transformation settle over both species—nothing will ever be the same again.
Editions
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Close Remembrance by Anna Zaires. https://books.mozaikallc.com/en/works/anna-zaires/close-remembrance Plot summaries, not full text.