He nodded.
“And?” she pressed.
“They’re a subspecies. A cross-breeding.”
“Of what?” she asked, startled.
“Humans and rowqars.”
She gaped at him, then grimaced. Rowqars were monstrous creatures, their hair closer to fur, their jaws massive with tusk-like canine teeth. They communicated with each other through a series of grunts, guttural words, and snarls.
“But why would people engage with them?” she asked. “Rowqars are so hideous... Were they trying to gain the rowqars’ size and strength? So they could survive the harsh conditions on Thrack?”
“No.”
It was her turn to wait.
“It wasn’t the Thrackis’ idea to crossbreed.”
Her heart sank, and she eased into the tiny room and drifted down to the low bed. It was just a narrow mattress set in a smooth frame of curved metal. “Is it always that way? Where the stronger, more brutal aggressor just takes what it wants? Even if it’s a person?”
“Not always. But often.”
She put a hand on her stomach. “Wex was teasing me with threats of pregnancy. When he was a slave, he must have seen many a slave girl heavy with her master’s child. I guess instead of seeming wrong, it just seems normal.”
When he didn’t answer, she looked up at him.
“Give me something to drink so I can prevent it.”
“We’ve drunk an elixir. That’s a better option. In us, the solution doesn’t interfere with pleasure or sleep.”
“But you have to drink it often. Wex might decide to stop.” She played with the hem of her skirt. “Any of you might.”
“It’s a risk,” he agreed.
“Do you have something that I could take? Or could you get some?”
He shook his head.
“Yes, you could,” she said, rising. She grabbed his arm and turned it to display the tattoo he’d shown her when they first met. “You’re an elite hunter. That’s what your arm tattoo means. I looked it up after the trial.” She pressed her thumb against his bulging muscle, right over the ink. “You’re a member of the Macon Guild. A man of any race can be a member, but only if he’s invited to join and very few are. That tattoo means you’re one of the most skilled hunters in the universe. Doesn’t it?” she challenged.
“It does.”
“So then?” she said.
“Then what?”
“You could get me whatever I need. If you wanted to.”
“Accurate.”
“Please?” she whispered.
“No.”
“Why not?”
His arm slid around her and pulled her against him, causing her breasts to melt against his chest. He put his lips against her neck just below her jaw, then he raised his head. “You can feel why.”
