“Yeah, he did.”
Keriva went silent, studying Kate.Kate could almost see the cogs in her mind turning, processing.Had she really said something very shocking?
“Well,” Keriva finally said.“I will make the formal covering for you regardless.It will give me something to do.”
“Oh, but there really isn’t any need to.”
“Just in case,” Keriva said, a small smile returning.“That is your human expression, I believe?Let us get started.First, I will size you.Is there a particular color you would like?I will make you many coverings, but let us focus on one this span so you can have something other than that tunic to wear.”
Kate shrugged off their conversation, ignoring the little alarm bells that went off in her head.Why was Keriva so sure that she wouldn’t be leaving Luxiria?
Her eyes strayed to a beautiful peach colored fabric.It was the color of the Luxirian sunrise.She reached out to touch it and it seemed to be made out of the same airy, soft material that Vaxa’s shirt was made out of.It felt like clouds beneath her fingertips.
“That is a good color,” Keriva agreed, jerking her head in a pleased nod.“Very flattering against your skin, you see?” She held it up to her arm and Kate smiled, suddenly getting excited about the dresses.It would be nice not to have to wear Vaxa’s shirts around in public, although she wouldn’t mind stealing them to sleep in.
“It’s beautiful,” Kate agreed.
Keriva got Kate to stand straight while she took her measurements, shooting around her like a hummingbird, incredibly quick.In no time at all, she was starting to drape and trim the fabric over Kate’s body.
“Are you a seamstress?” Kate asked.
“Seamstress,” Keriva said slowly, sounding out the word.“Tev.Yes.I make the best coverings in all of Luxiria,” she replied proudly, smiling.Her smile faded a bit.“It is nice to make female coverings again.There are not many of us left, you understand.It is nice that I can create these for you, to continue our traditions.”
Kate frowned.“What do you mean, what is left of you?Are there not many women living on the planet?”
Keriva paused at her shoulder and cocked her head to the side.“The Prime Leader did not tell you?”
Something made her stomach drop with sudden dread.“No,” she said slowly.
“We were attacked,” Keriva said, as if she were talking about the weather.“Vaxa’an’s sire was still our Prime Leader at the time.Vaxa’an was away at military training when it happened.It was not a violent attack, do not misunderstand me.But the Jetutians released an airborne virus into our atmosphere.It affected only the females.”
“I—I don’t understand,” Kate said, shaking her head.
“The virus killed most of our females,” Keriva admitted softly.Kate stilled, feeling her heart pound in her chest.“My mother and blood sister died.I survived, however.Vaxa’an’s mother also passed into the next life.”
“Oh my God,” Kate whispered, some of the puzzle pieces finally beginning to shift into place.
Keriva was so matter-of-fact about it all as she continued, “A short time after, the females that remained…we discovered that we were no longer able to conceive.You will not see young offspring here on Luxiria.There have been no birthings since the attack.It has been almost ten rotations since then.”
She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like, to see all that death.Keriva had lost members of her family.Vaxa had lost his mother.Kate also knew loss, but not because of death.
“I’m so sorry,” Kate whispered.
Kate’s heart ached because she felt like she finally understood why Vaxa had done what he’d done.Why he’d fought for her.If the virus had killed most of their women and the ones that remained behind couldn’t create new life…then it was the beginning of the end for their entire civilization.
She understood now.
And with that knowledge came a nagging suspicion in the back of her mind.
“No reason for you to be sorry,” Keriva said.“You give us hope.”
Kate’s breath hitched because she knew why Keriva was saying that.“I—I don’t think that Vaxa and I are compatible in that way.”Right?He was an alien species lightyears away from her own planet.There was no way that he would be able to get her pregnant.
Right?
Because if he could…things just became a lot more complicated.
“Oh, but you are,” Keriva said, her tone almost breezy, completely sure.“If you are hisluxiva, then you are compatible.The Instinct does not choose a mate that is not compatible on a biological level.Yes, you will bear our Prime Leader offspring, heirs that will continue our species and create a prosperous future for Luxiria.Most are…joyful for this.”
