“Agreed,” I groaned.
“And yet our population has decreased over the last century, and they found a solution in a few years,” the elusive blond male continued.
Lionus and their damnfaith. Their blind trust would be the end of them.
“The first offspring in thirty years,” he mused. “All they did was plant one of our seeds into a human female egg and it took. Likethat. They are the answers to our system’s prayers.”
I groaned and the Lionus stared at me. He gave me the creeps. Parts of his long, almost white hair were in some sort of twisted strands, falling over his large, naked shoulders while the rest fell down his back. His slitted yellow eyeswere unnerving, and his golden skin made him look frozen in time.
But, no matter how hard I tried, I could not remember his damn name.
“Easy for you to say,” Thanato said. “If the human is not to your liking, you can still fuck and try breeding a Libaris. Will not give you a child of your own species, but you still can have your fun.”
My brother’s words managed to pull a snort out of me. I did not know a lot about the Libaris; a race exclusively female who, for some reason, could still produce a few rare offspring when they bred with Lionus. As to how they reproduced between themselves—at least, before we all became infertile for some reason—I had no fucking clue.
The Lionus’ face turned solemn. “We will welcome and cherish our human bride and love her like the blessing that she is.”
“Apologies for the delay,” the human said as he opened the door and stepped inside, followed by three others holding thin electronic devices tight to their chest.
Bald, short, wrinkled and pouchy. Tall, gangly, hairy and smelly. These were the types of humans that had just entered the room. Yes, all four of them were a variation of the two descriptions.
I hoped my bride was not one of them.
“We’ve had to change the initial plan,” he continued, closing the door softly behind his group.
“We can see that,” Filbur said, surveying the room. “Tell us, then. Why this change? Are we getting home with a…short and hairy bride?”
He gave a disgusted look to the three other humans waiting to the side, their eyes wide as they studied us in return. Good. He had the same concerns I had. What if the three humans that came in with him were—
“Not exactly,” the human answered, pulling me out of my spiraling mind. He made a strange motion with his face, like he was stretching his lips as he averted his eyes. “We’ve had…issues. Finding you appropriate and compatible brides is harder than we thought it would be. One just arrived and will be introduced to you shortly.”
I arched a brow. “One?” Maybe I still had a chance to leave this place alone. To leave the burden of breeding the first human female to one of them. Maybe—
“Yes, yours.”
And—he was looking at me. Straight at me, and no way I could be misinterpreting it.Damn it.
“Mine.” Not a question.
“Then what are we doing here?” Filbur said, a mixture of annoyance and relief stretching his face.
“Because you’ll be the next in this first batch. You, Filbur, will get your bride in a couple of months,” the human said, reading his chart, articulating the Canco’s name all wrong. “As for—erm…sir Sylo, we have located your bride and are waiting for her transfer.” He looked around the room and back to his device with a frown. “We’re missing the Gemins…Is Baelor not here?”
A shiver of unease went through my body.Gemins. Awful soul-split creatures. I was even surprised they were part of this project and hadn’t tried to destroy the humans yet.
“Obviously not,” I grunted.
The human gave a shake of his head and turned to whisper something to another of his peers, who then quickly left the room.
Filbur grunted. “Why not call for me when mine gets here?”
The human’s eyes widened and he stepped back, only for his backside to collide with the door.
“I—huh, we thought it’d be good if you couldseea human female with your own eyes before you’re introduced to yours.”
So we did not meet any. Thanato was right, then.
“It’s taking time because we’re making sure that the brides we’re offering you are one hundred percent compatible, both on a biological and psychological level. Me-Melanie was the second to score such a high percentage.”
