How was she this fast with her short legs? No matter the pace, she kept up. “What is sex?”
“Something I cannot tell you about. No go do what I asked you to if you want to remain my trainee.”
Juni only tried to argue for a minute before she took off, going over everyone to offer assistance and inquire about their health and any injury that might need attending.
Good. That left me all the time I needed to panic about the incoming arrival of my bride and the lack of water around for me to make myself look presentable.
3
I was not marrying their uncle for him to play with my hair.
Tamara
The room I walked in didn’t make any sense.
There was notonealien but many, and except for two shorter ones, they all appeared like they were from different species.Andthey looked nothing like the two winged giants married to Wendy.
First of all,noneof the aliens in this room had horns. Second of all, only one had some sort of butterfly wings, and given the delicate traits of her greenish face and the giant—pierced—uncovered breast she rocked, it wasnota man.
I had never been attracted to women but…She was absolutely stunning. And if she was the one I was supposed to marry, maybe it would fix all my problems. I wasn’t too fond of men right now…
My eyes finally met Maxwell’s. “Uh…hi? What’s going on?”
“There you are!” He smiled. I forced myself to return it, but the amount of people—all strange looking for a human eye—made me uncomfortable. “Here are…uhm,Guidy and…Tegha?” He sounded hesitant. I couldn’t blame him, these names didn’t sound easy to pronounce.
The two short, colorful and bald aliens nodded.Two?Oh dear, was Wendy wrong? Was I going to marrytwoof them too? No, no, no…This wasn’t supposed to be like this. I could barely muster the courage to marry only one! And, compared to the other aliens in the room, these two looked like actualchildren!
“Uh…yes?” This was all I could articulate. What was I supposed to say?
“This is Tamara,” he told them. “Your uncle’s bride.”
The building anxiety suddenly vanished, leaving me light-headed and forced to grip the door handle for support.
Theiruncle. Okay. Yes, this made sense. These two were…my future husband's family.
“It is nice to meet you,” the most purple of the two said as they took a step forward to place a hand on my ribcage. I flinched. Their eyes widened.Shit.“Oh. I am sorry, did I hurt you?”
“I—uh…no? It’s just that…why are you…”
“Tamara isn’t yet familiar with the way of your people,” Maxwell jumped in. “Please, be patient and teach her everything she needs to know while you get ready.” He turned to me. “Filbur’s nieces will help you get dressed and will accompany you on the way to Cancer.”
Nieces.Okay, so they were women. Got it.
“Our people are looking forward to meeting you,” the other girl said. She had more blue-gray undertones, but her eyes were the most striking lavender. She lifted her hand and took her sister’s place. “It is the way we greet our family,” she explained, moving slowly until her palm was softly pressed just under my sternum. “It is a sign of respect and affection.”
I blinked. Okay, this made sense. With hesitation, I lifted my arm and mimicked her. When my palm connected with the loose fabric hanging from her neck and only covering her chest, she smiled.
“Filbur apologizes for not welcoming you himself,” the purple one said—I really hoped they would introduce themselves soon, because even if I did remember their name, I had no clue which one was who. “We are in the middle of our migration and he is in charge of our people’s safety. Our sister has not yet finished her healer training, so our father could not spare him.”
It was actually perfect; more time for me to try and get a feel of the man before I met him. If they hinted at any form of violence when they talked about him? I’d jump on the first shuttle and flee far far away from there.
“So, this is what a human female looks like?” a high-pitched voice said and my whole body tensed, remembering other aliens were in fact observing us in the room.
My wide eyes met the ones of the butterfly. She looked like a girl and sounded like a girl. Why was she here? I thought…Wasn’t the program meant to marry human women to alien men? Wait…were there transgender aliens?
“Marvelous, right?” a blond-haired man said. “I was already struck with the one they paired with the Tauri. This one looks nothing alike, yet she is just as enchanting.”
“Fascinating,” the girl mused and they exchanged a look.
