Chapter 26

“You haven’t told him.” Talvax sat on the stool behind her desk. The lone personal touch in her office was a screen that cycled through images of Urgg and herself.

“No.”

“Why not?”

I’d known this would come up after dinner. Being open with your mate was important, but I struggled to do so. Seth had told me of his past, yet I could not tell him of mine.

“Kalvoxrencol, why have you not told Seth?” she repeated.

“What if I tell him, and he doesn’t want me? What if I’m a disappointment to him like I am to my family?” I gripped the stone hanging from my necklace. The gold metal didn’t match the silver jewelry I always wore, but I didn’t care—my Seth had given it to me.

“Then he is not for you.”

“He is mine,” I snarled, unable to stop the words.

“Then he will understand. Your Seth seems kind. Do not do him the dishonor of not believing in him.”

“I do believe in him,” I said in a petulant voice, crossing my arms. I swear whenever I was with Talvax I felt fifteen again.

“Have you spoken to Pimtimzol about this?”

I frowned, which made her laugh.

“So you have, and his advice was similar to mine. Trust your Seth.”

“What if he doesn’t want me afterward?”

“Then that is his choice. You cannot make it for him.” She sounded eerily like my older brothers and Pimtimzol.

“I can’t live without him, not anymore.”

Talvax came around the desk and draped an arm over my shoulders, her tail coiling around mine. “Hiding anything you think he might not like is not the way to keep him. Seth might end up resenting you. Be honest, Kalvoxrencol.”

“So you want us to talk?” I asked the group of scientists who gathered in the corner. In the front sat Dr. Qinlin, whose tail wriggled, making me think of Lucy and her excitement for food.

She tapped the tablet on her lap. “Talk about whatever you two want.”

The scientists wanted us to speak as they studied NAID’s code to find out where her independence was coming from. We were in some kind of laboratory on the eighth floor, filled with monitors and consoles, all of which were alive with readouts.

“What do you want to talk about?” I asked her. My hands fisted in my hoodie, one grasping the touchstone. Part of me wanted to call Kal to rescue me, but he was meeting with Talvax, then Pimtimzol. Besides, after this me, Urgg, and Wyn were getting together.

“I have no preference.”

A flurry of whispers sounded from the scientists.

Yeah, this wasn’t fucking awkward.

A feeling coiled in my stomach that I couldn’t identify; I wanted to protect her, but I didn’t know what to say.

“I know of a species you would find interesting,” NAID said.

“Do you?”

A projection of a man appeared next to her.

Unable to help it, I stood, pacing closer. “He’s human.” My hand lifted of its own volition, but my fingers slipped right through the image. The being was nothing more than light.

“No, he’s Amorian. They are the species whose DNA most resembles humans. Dr. Qinlin wants to study their medical texts in an effort to understand you.”

The Amorian looked human, though little black dots went in a V over his forehead, down his nose before reaching his lips. More dots were on each side of his mouth and down his chin.

“Do they differ from us besides the dots?” I asked.

“They have superior healing skills and faster reflexes. I also believe their hearing, sight, and strength might be a touch better than humans. Overall, they are very similar. But…” she trailed off, eyes twinkling.

“Fuck,” I yelped, scurrying back. The projection of the Amorian’s face split open at the dots, like something from a sci-fi horror movie, and revealed tentacles and fangs. My heart raced a million miles a minute. “I will never be able to unsee that.”

NAID burst into a fit of giggles, and the projection did it again.

“Fuck, NAID. Stop.”

She kept sniggering, but the image disappeared. “I couldn’t resist.”

Sitting back down on the rock-hard stool, I asked, “What species do you find most interesting?”

Her lips puckered. “That is an impossible decision, as each brings their unique biology and culture.”

“Then tell me about another. One that hopefully doesn’t rip their face open in a nightmare-inducing way.”

“Grimi have a unique reproduction system that requires a minimum of five people to reproduce,” she said.

“Really? How many kids do they have?”

“On average two per pregnancy, but they can have up to seven. Grimi highly value family and children. Most marriages consist of five to fifteen people.”

My mouth opened. “Group marriages?”

“Do you find it abhorrent?”

“Are they all adults and consenting?”

“Yes.”

“Then it doesn’t bother me.”

The conversation continued in the same way. NAID and I would talk about whatever we wanted; the scientists would mutter and whisper. After about an hour, Dr. Qinlin called it quits. I said goodbye to NAID, then went to meet Urgg and Wyn.

The crowd was oppressive, the air was stagnant, and the mass of people’s voices was an angry buzz. Gripping the touchstone for reassurance, I wound among the mass. I stared at the ground, my shoulders hunched to practically my ears. People pressed around me, bumping into me and squishing me. Part of me wanted to hide in my apartment, but I forged on.

The second I entered Urgg’s bakery, I released a long breath. Thank God it was quiet here.

An unfamiliar barbarus stood behind the counter. They were as hulking as Urgg, but maybe a couple of inches taller. Their skin was deep brown, the same leather texture, and their black hair was contained in two long braids ending in gold rings. Swirling tattoos almost identical to Urgg’s covered their muscular arms, and a beaded armband clung to their bicep.

Wyn sat at a round metal table pressed in the corner. A pastry filled with a red jam leaked all over his lavender fingers. I squeezed between the waiting aliens, trembling, and headed in his direction.

“Seth,” he called in greeting. “Have one. Urgg gave them to me saying I was too short.”

Although Wyn was shorter than other drakcol I’d seen, he was taller than me but not by much. I replied, “You’re not short.” I snagged one, taking a bite. The pastry was flaky with a sharp tang, and the fruit was so sweet, it made my teeth hurt.

“For a drakcol, I am.”

Wyn was also more lithe than other drakcol, lacking a muscular frame and broad shoulders. “How old are you?” I asked.

“Our planets” rotations are not the same.”

“I’m aware.”

“By the Coalition standard, I’m twenty-one.”

“So you’re young.” That’s why he was so much smaller, though Kal was twenty-two and he didn’t have the same issue.

“Not really.” Wyn licked some of the jam from his long fingers. “We enter the first stage of adulthood at fifteen, being fully grown in body and in our brain’s development.” He took a bite and more jam spilled out, landing on his chin. When I didn’t say anything, he chuckled. “You can ask why I’m so much smaller.”

“I didn’t want to seem rude.”

“It’s fine.”

“Is one of your parents not a drakcol?”

“While I don’t know either of my parents, I’m completely drakcol. I was born prematurely. It took quite a lot to save my life as an infant, and I never developed to the same size as the others,” he said in a completely calm voice like he was discussing the weather.

“You’re an orphan?”

“My mother abandoned me in the health facility, giving up all rights. I don’t know why or who she or my father are.”

“I’m sorry.” Those words felt too small. What could anyone say in the face of that abandonment? My mother had left me, but not willingly.

“It was long ago.”

“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.”

His tail fell to the ground, wrapping around his ankle. “True.”

Suddenly, something slapped both mine and Wyn’s back. I grunted, sagging, but Wyn barely moved.

Urgg dropped onto the free stool. “Enjoying the fruits of my labor?”

“Yep,” I said, taking another bite.

“My favorite.” Wyn stuffed the rest of his pastry into his mouth.

“Ah.” Urgg ducked their head. “You two are the sweetest, of course, after Talvax. Talvax is the sweetest.”

“Naturally,” I said.

The unfamiliar barbarus rounded the counter, wiping their hands on a bright pink, ruffled apron. “Boss, after we sell out do you want me to close up?”

“Yes, thank you.” Urgg looked at me and said, “My little cousin. Her name’s Klirgg.”

I nodded, finishing my pastry.

“So,” Urgg started, rubbing their substantial hands together, “what are we doing today? More drinking?”

Wyn groaned. “Anything but that. People are still calling me Ensign Puke after the Commander Monqilcolnen incident.”

“Combat training? There’s a class starting in a few minutes.”

Once again, Wyn moaned. “I already met the minimum requirements.”

“So?” Urgg asked. “It’ll get your blood pumping, and if we”re in luck, we’ll break something or bleed.”

“How fun,” I said weakly while Wyn gaped at Urgg.

Urgg grinned. “Nothing binds people like bloodshed or vomit.”

“Right,” I remarked.