Page 5 of Revealing Fate

Felíne stared straight ahead and unhinged her jaw. “Nothing.”

She sensed Kal smile but refused to turn and look at him.

“You don’t want to share?”

“No.”

Kal chuckled, the sound deep and rich. “Shall I guess?”

“That is a terrible idea.”

Kal smiled again, and this time, Felíne did look at him. Big mistake. It brought her face dangerously close to his. Her mouth was inches from his straight white teeth, full lips, and warm breath that smelled like…

Nope. Not going there. She quickly faced forward. What she needed was a distraction. Both for herself and her annoyingly attentive companion.

“Let’s see,” Kal mused. “Does it involve us fin⁠—”

“I have a question for you,” Felíne blurted. “Regarding something you said back in Cindamar.”

“Baiting me, Kitty?” Kal’s hand slackened on the reins as Sig shook his head and snorted. “Fine, I’ll bite.” His tone suggested he would much rather continue his own previous line of questioning.

“Try not to get angry.”

“Now I’m curious,” Kal said, straightening.

“Do you remember when we first rode into Cindamar, and I asked you about the males in second form?”

Kal made a noise of acknowledgment. “You were surprised by the absence of a violent raping rampage, if I recall.”

Felíne nodded. “You told me the Crown of Asteros sat on a nest of lies. That we were all taught wrong. What did you mean?”

Kal was quiet for a moment before answering. “That’s a loaded question. Why don’t you tell me what you think you know first?”

Felíne shrugged. “I was taught that males in second form are inherently dangerous. That they can scent a female’s fertility and can’t control their…urges. That they’re basically mindless beasts, incapable of tempering their instinctual behaviors.”

Kal guided Sig around a thick tangle of foliage. The heavy roan followed easily, once again finding a less resistant path.

“Our second forms are dangerous, regardless of gender,” he said. “But the Crown of Asteros is the only reason that males under their rule would be incapable of controlling their instincts.”

“Why?”

“Because,” Kal said, “they’re suppressed.”

“I don’t understand.”

Kal ducked under a low branch, guiding it over both their heads. “The King and Queen of Asteros put legal restrictions on the use of the second form. Their religion centers on the idea that it’s the lesser self. It’s allowed voluntarily only for active procreation. At all other times, the second form is suppressed. Even young children are taught to ignore it, bury it. You know this.”

She did. “Yes. They teach all Asterosians this. It’s written in the godscripts. Preached in the Temple of the Rising Dawn. The second form is the Betrayer’s form.”

Kal’s tone was disapproving. “The second form is still a part of every shurii. It’s not a tumor to be carved out. The crown’s citizens are forced to neglect half of who they are. Is it really so surprising that when they finally do shift, they’re unable to control the resulting flood of sensation?”

Felíne couldn’t believe what Kal was implying. “You mean the reason they can’t control themselves is because they’re, what? Out of practice?”

“Think about it,” Kal reasoned. “It would be like raising a child on boiled potatoes, offering only small, infrequent tastes of sugar. Now imagine setting them loose in a candy store and expecting them to choose the potatoes.”

“Gods…” The notion was appalling. “What about the females? Their second forms are equally underutilized.”

“You tell me, Kitty. What did you feel the last time you shifted?”