He stands suddenly and walks to the edge of the roof, looking out over the jungle's vast expanse. I follow slowly.
The wind is stronger here, whipping my hair against my face. I squint into the distance and see something I missed before. It’s a series of lights, flickering in the shadows, not random but patterned. Patrols. Watch points.
As I stare at one of the watch points, the vines there move and twist, twining into a beautiful fractal design. I’m entranced. Flowers bloom just as the design stops forming.
“You did that. Right?” I ask Rythar.
“Do you like it?” He’s watching me, his eyes lidded.
I nod. It should be scary and strange, but the artwork is undeniably beautiful. I think of the way he used the vines in battle, twisting them into weapons, and the way he uses them now, twisting them into living artwork.
He’s pleased that I like it. He touches my upper arm. “You have more questions. Still no answer for me?”
I stare deep into the jungle before answering him with more questions. “So you seem set for your kind of babies, but I’m not sure you’ve thought through this human baby thing. What about genetic engineering?” I ask. “I’ve seen what you can do. I’m not even sure we can have children together, but if we do, they’ll be half human. How will they survive here? You can’t keep them safe forever. What if I have a son? What happens to him?”
Rythar frowns, as if the question is almost meaningless. “He is raised to be strong. When I am gone, he rules. But I do not plan to be gone soon.”
"How long is 'soon' for you?"
He shrugs. "A thousand years. More, if nothing kills me."
The number rattles through me, cold and unreal. "Rythar. Humans don't live a thousand years."
"You will."
I laugh. "Rythar."
"You will," he says seriously.
"Stop saying that. Humans don't live that long. That's not how our bodies work. That's not?—"
His fingers close around my wrist with the same easy pressure he used when he was carrying me up from the jungle.
"The Stone has already changed you, Elena."
I wrinkle my nose. "What?"
"It changed you at the ceremony. I assumed it told you."
"Told me what?" I say breathlessly.
"Your lifespan. Your body. The things that needed to be altered so you could live here, beside me, for the length of my rule. You received many gifts from the Stone."
I stare at his hand on my wrist. Then at his face. Then back at his hand.
"Let go," I say.
"Elena." His thumb moves slowly over the dim circle of light on my finger as though he could wake it.
"Let go," I whisper.
"I will. In a moment. I want you to hear the rest first."
"There's more?"
"You will bear many children with me. Not all at once. Over the years. These are also gifts."
My mouth is dry. My heart is doing something strange in my chest, and I can’t tell if it is panic or if it is the Stone, and I can’t tell if there has ever been a difference.
