Eve laid her hand over his chest. He’d told her a couple weeks ago that unlike humans, Keriv’i had two hearts. Two heartbeats. She felt one of them right then and the slight vibration comforted her.
Khiva said, “Evelyn.”
She knew she’d gone quiet on him, but she didn’t want to cover up her emotions either. With him, she felt she could be honest.
So she asked, “When your Rut comes on, do you still see your clients?”
Khiva huffed, “Veki. You underestimate how powerful a Rut can be. It would be dangerous to see clients.”
Eve couldn’t help but feel a flicker of relief, but even still she asked, “What do you do then?”
“Endure it,” he said. “Usually chained to our beds.”
“What?”
Khiva’s trill was amused at the incredulousness in her tone. “On Kerivu, if a male had a mate or a lover, he would see the Rut through with her. It was normal that a male disappeared with his mate for a few days. But males who did not learned to endure. All of the Keriv’i at Madame Allegria’s endures it.”
“But chained?” she asked. “That’s…cruel.”
“Not so cruel,” he corrected, “when the Rut is at the peak. It is a precaution.”
“But surely you wouldn’t go around and force sex from whatever woman you come across, Khiva,” she argued, the idea simply unfathomable.
“Never,” he growled. “Never force. But Keriv’i males, during a Rut, can be very…persuasive and single-minded. On Kerivu, that is even how some males found their mates and lovers, by proposing a Rutting partnership first, which later evolved into more.”
“Oh,” she whispered.
“The chains are necessary, for during a Rut, a male can be rough without realizing it. We are naturally stronger during that time and sometimes we cannot control it when we are that crazed,” he said. “Dravka especially needs chains because of Valerie.”
“Dravka?” she asked. “He’s one of the other Keriv’i you spoke of once?”
There were three others, besides Khiva, at Madame Allegria’s. Dravka and two brothers.
“Pax.”
“Why would he need chains around Valerie?”
“Because he loves her,” Khiva simply said and Eve’s breath hitched, hearing that word—love—falling from his lips.
“They…they’re together?”
Khiva shook his head. “Veki. They have never been together in that way.”
“But she feels the same?” Eve asked softly.
“I believe so,pax. He is why she has stayed.”
Shame burned in Eve’s chest when she remembered the words she’d spewed at Valerie, angry at the time, thinking that she was involved with Madame Allegria’s illegal activities. And in a way, shewasinvolved, but just like she’d said, it wasn’t in the way she’d thought.
“I feel awful,” Eve admitted.
“Why?” Khiva asked, nudging her chin up so he could look at her.
“When Valerie came here, to arrange the meeting with you, I said things. I accused her of taking part in what Madame Allegria has been doing. And while we eventually came to understand each other, I still said those things. Not knowing.”
Khiva’s gaze softened slightly. “Leeldra, you could not have known. Madame Allegria forces her to lie to clients about many things. But she helps us in her own way. Many times, she’s helped us.”
“Still,” she murmured. “I owe her another apology. And there was still so much Iwantedto say, so I feel I should apologize for what wentunsaid.”
