“A turakvan. They keep to the deep trenches. They found this skeleton at the bottom of one. It must have been over a thousand years old when it died.”
With the sounds of the restaurant muted by the height and the back of our booth, other sounds rose. Distant whale song drew my gaze to the sea, and beneath it was a soft humming.
“What is that hum?”
“That's the dome responding to currents. Don't worry, it's functioning properly.”
“Oh.” My gaze drifted to the sea.
Clouds of shimmering fish gathered outside the dome, swirling in curtains of blue, gold, violet, and silver. Long ribbon-finned creatures drifted past lazily, ignoring the tiny transparentfish that darted around them, flashing like moving glass. Beyond the city lights, the sea darkened to impenetrable black. Massive shapes moved in and out of the darkness, never coming too close to the light. I shivered, feeling the tension of a fragile civilization pressed against an ancient and unknowable sea. I glanced at Jucai. It was the perfect habitat for a creature like him—beautiful, mysterious, and deadly.
A server appeared before I could share my thoughts with Jucai, and I looked down at the menu at last. A delicate cup of steaming tea appeared on the table before me. Little bowls went between Jucai and me. Noting the silence, I lifted my head to find the King and our server watching me.
At a loss, I looked at the King. “I'll have what you're having.”
Jucai said to the server, “My usual for two.”
The man hurried off.
As he left, I nervously lifted my teacup to blow on the tea. “Why do fish swim near the dome? I would have thought all the light and movement would scare them.”
Jucai spooned some sugar into his cup and stirred. “The music attracts them. The Leeya know what melodies fish enjoy.”
“Music?” I cocked my head.
There. Just above the hum of the dome. Deep, vibrational music like whale song woven into melody. It had hidden with the actual whale song at first. But now I heard it. Somehow, it enhanced the view.
Jucai's hand slid onto my thigh, squeezed, and then went higher.
I put my hand over his and slid it back to my thigh.
Jucai jerked his hand back. “Are you denying me?”
“We're about to have breakfast. I was thoroughly enjoying myself until you grabbed my dick.”
His eyes widened. “You say that as if it were insulting.”
“Not insulting, but annoying. Is everything about sex for you?”
“Not everything. But if I'm with a lover, sex comes to mind often. It's the nature of our relationship.”
“Interesting.” I turned my gaze back to the fish. If I'd been looking for more than sex, his attitude would have infuriated me. But I wasn't, so he merely amused me. This man was so self-absorbed that he didn't bother to get to know the people he was intimate with, even those he was “faithful” to.
“What's so interesting?”
“You. The way you view people.”
Jucai narrowed his eyes. “And how do I view people?”
I looked back at him. “In terms of what they can do for you.”
He frowned. “You mean I view them by my relationship with them. Isn't that how everyone views others?”
I chuckled. “Nice way of twisting my words. But no, that's not what I meant. I'm saying that a lover to you is simply a person you have sex with. That's it. To you, a lover is a slightly elevated version of a bed slave.” I held up a hand when his eyebrows lowered. “It's fine. This is just sex for me too. But Idon't view it as a barrier to getting to know you; rather, it's the opposite.”
“I don't understand your point. I am trying to get to know you.”
“You don't get to know someone through sex, Jucai.”
