I was still frozen when Maxwell placed a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t mind them, they’re just excited about meeting their own brides.”
“What do you meantheir?” The blond one was a man—I think?Most of his toned chest was on display and although his feline features looked a bit feminine, something told me hewasn’t. But the butterfly? She sounded like a woman and looked like a woman—not to mention the pretty obvious breasts.Although Iguess men can have breasts too?Dear lord, this whole thing was too confusing.
“Sylo over there is the next one to get his bride,” Maxwell explained, pointing at the blond man. “He’s a Lionus. They live on the most beautiful planet I have ever seen.”
Sylo gave a curt nod. “Thank you. The answer to your request is still no, but I will be happy to gift you one of the stones you so desire once I have my bride.”
Maxwell looked positivelygiddy. “And I’ll gratefully accept it.” He turned toward the colorful butterfly. “This is Anateïa. Libaris are a species exclusively female and they…adapt. They have both female and male reproductive organs.”
Oh.Oh.My damn cheeks flushed. “You tell her about my people’s genitals and do not comment on the beauty of our world?” she teased. “I am deeply offended.”
Maxwell let out an awkward chuckle. “Your world is incredible, but you know by now that I am terrified of bugs. The fact that yours aregiantdoesn’t help.”
Anateïa rolled her eyes but her grin didn’t leave her face. “Make sure my bride is braver than you, please.”
“Alright, enough chit-chat,” Maxwell said, turning back to me. “The shuttle is set to leave in three hours. Guidy and Tegha will help you prepare.”
And with these last words, both of them grabbed my hands and pulled me back into the corridor. I wasn’t worried until I noticed the size of the bags they both carried.
“This looks like a lot of work,” Guidy—the purple one, now that we formerly introduced ourselves—said, sliding her long fingers along my braids as I sat quietly on the bed. “Why do you wearyour hair like this? The other humans do not seem to bother doing much with theirs.”
My shoulders sagged as I inspected the thin braids. I loved them, and it was actually a lot less work keeping them like this. “You don’t like it?”
Guidy’s eyes widened as her sister lightly slapped her shoulder. “You have hurt her! Why do you always say things like this?” Tegha grumbled.
“I am sorry! I did not mean it this way. It is absolutely beautiful! Like art that grows from the skull.”What?“What I meant is that it looks really hard to do. Do you weave your hair into thisone by one?”
Again…what?“I…I take strands and braid them? It takes a few hours, but it lasts really long, so it’s worth it for me in the end.”
“Is it something your family does?” Tegha asked. “Or is it something human females do? We have only seen male so far and they all have short hair.”
“We do not have any, as you can see,” Guidy added, sliding her hand over her bald but strangely textured head.
“When I first met some other species and they had hair, I was so jealous,” Tegha said, letting out a long, envious sigh, the questions she asked now forgotten.Good. I didn’t feel like talking about my family right now. “There was this Tauri female once…What was her name again?”
“Was it Zhari?” Juni offered.
“Yes! Ghauro’s sister! She was so nice.Anyway, she let me touch her hair! It was so soft. I Loved it.”
What was happening right now?
“Does it stay like this all the time?” Tegha continued, playing with another braid while her sister was digging into one of the bags.
“It doesn’t,” I answered. “When my hair grows too much, I have to redo it.”
“You will have to teach us to do this!” Tegha said. “So we can help you next time.”
I cast a glance at their strangely shaped thumb. It looked more like a pincer, and definitely not practical to braid.
“Do not be silly, Tegha,” Guidy said. “If someone helps her do her hair, it will be Filbur.”
She pulled out long pieces of fabric and placed them next to my arm, examining the color.
Tegha groaned and leaned back, visibly deciding that she didn’t want to be helpful. “This is unfair. I want a human bride too! Why ishethe one who gets to play with her hair?”
Oh dear… “Hum…uh, how old are you girls?”
“I was born from my box twelve years ago,” Guidy said proudly, picking another piece of fabric to inspect it. “Tegha is still a child. She was only born eight years ago.”
