Bewilderment was the only term I came up with to describe her new facial expression. Her eyes were more of an orange shade, compared to her brother’s green-ish yellow. Rounder.Softer,in a way. At least she didn’t look at me like I was a “damaged” bug stuck under her shoe.
“How do you balance yourself?”
I arched a brow. “I…don’t? I don’t know what you mean. I walk and don’t fall, that’s enough for me.”
I glanced at her tail then. A long and thin, swirling light green thing with a tuft of hair at the end that was the same color as her braided light brown hair.
She studied me some more, a curious gleam in her eyes. “Did you already have an offspring?” she asked, confused.
Damn these above average boobs.But now, I understood what they meant—her chest was basically flat except for the small nipples poking through the thin fabric draped around her.
“Humans have naturally engorged—udders. They’re called breasts.”
She looked confused for a few seconds. “Where will the milk go once you give birth to my niece or nephew?”
Dear god. “In my breast?”
“But there is no more room!”
“They’ll make room, it’s—they’llgrow,” I concluded.
Her orange eyes bulged in surprise. “They can getbigger?”
Oh, how the next three days were going to be fun…
“You didn’t tell me your name,” I said as we were led from our shared room to an unknown location for some medical examination.
“Oh, right! I am Zhari. I was born two years before my brother, Ghauro. Our parents were blessed with four offspring, so for a while, we thought the fertility issues had somehow skipped our family. Turns out they were just lucky,” she said with a sad smile. “Ghauro was the last born of our clan. Maybe even our whole species.”
Zhari had spent the last two hours talking. About her species—which was called Tauris—her planet—Taurus—and how it looked.
Maybe the non-human part of their genes didn’t make them as dumb as us, as she kept describing a planet filled with nature—forests that took up to seventy-five percent of it and the rest covered in water. They didn’t build buildings but small wooden houses, preferring to sleep under the stars when they could, and lived in small clans.
Turns out, my future husband was not only the last naturally born, but also the clan leader of the biggest horde.
Which only raised more questions; why would he bother taking on a human bride? Wouldn’t it affect his credibility to not marry one of his own? Make him appear like a weird outcast? He had to have been forced into it.
“Do you know why I’m marrying your brother and not—I don’t know, another one?”
She glared at me. “Is my brother not good enough for you? I will let you know he is considered as one of themost handsome of our kind. His markings are a rare shade of gold and incredibly symmetrical and intricate. You’re—”
“That’s not what I meant,” I interrupted her before she caught the attention of the guards or passerby. “I mean, they said they tested me and I was one hundred percent compatible. But compatible with what? The species in general? Your brother in particular? I’m so confused.”
“I do not know the answer to this question, but I guess I can tell you Ghauro was the one chosen because he is the last male born of Taurus.”
“Why?”
She gave a shrug, sidestepping to avoid colliding with a door opening on our way. “Youth, strength…I think they chose you for the same reason. Younger typically means more fertile, does it not? At least, when you are not struggling with—”
“So they chose himbecausehe was the last born and youngest?” How old was he? Did they age like humans? Faster, slower? Zhari’s smile widened. “What about—”
“Time for medical tests,” the guard said, stopping in front of the door. “I’m afraid the Tauri has to stay outside.”
“I will not,” she argued, her voice firm. “I am to stay with my brother’s bride until they are mated.”
“They won’t accept you in there, you can wait in the sitting area over there or get back to your room.”
“Are you not hearing properly?”
