Page 38 of I Married A Syllen

He smiled and shook his head.

“There are no females I entertained an exclusive relationship with,” he said in a reassuring tone.

“But you do have ex-lovers among them?” I blurted out, instantly kicking myself for that unhealthy line of questioning.

Of course he would have some ex-lovers among the dormant people. He had to be around my age or slightly older. There was no universe in which someone as scrumptious looking as he was would still be a virgin by now.

“Naturally,” he replied, looking at me as if I’d asked something dumb. “But none of those relationships were exclusive. And even if there had been such a bond with a female, it would have ended the moment I recognized you as my soulmate.”

“True, but it would have made things awkward and maybe even hostile,” I said.

He huffed.

“Why would it be awkward? Soulmates are sacred. No one would get in the way of that. Anyway, coupling for pleasure is normal. There doesn’t need to be a relationship. If two people of appropriate ages are attracted to each other and not in an exclusive partnership, they can just indulge, be it only once or regularly.”

I realized then that their culture very much resembled the one of the Thalan merfolks. They also had very loose rules when it came to sexuality. Jealousy wasn’t a thing over there either. It had fascinated me seeing so many polyamorous relationships. Then again, the population of Triton severely suffered from a lack of females. With their atmosphere, it made it difficult for potential off-worlder partners to move to their home world. Therefore, this more relaxed approach made sense.

“But you do have marriage and exclusive relationships for soulmates, correct?” I insisted, even though he had already implied as much.

While I was very open-minded with how others led their lives, I had strict boundaries when it came to my own. An open marriage definitely wouldn’t work for me.

He smiled. “Yes, Mirella. When two soulmates find each other, their union becomes exclusive. There’s no sharing. For the record, even non-mated partners can choose to be exclusive with each other. The fact that we do not put barriers on enjoying the company of whoever you wish doesn’t mean that’s all we do. Are you concerned about having to share me?”

“Yes,” I said firmly. “I don’t share and don’t want to be shared.”

His grin broadened. “Good. Then that matter is settled. I’m all yours, Mirella. You will never have to share me with anyone.”

Yeah, my toes curled a little bit. Did my gaze possessively roam over his godly body? Yep! It totally did. His smug expression should have pissed me off, but I had no issue letting him know that I absolutely loved what I was seeing. Had anyone told me that my forever relationship would start off this way, I would have called them crazy. And yet, I believed in fate and that things happened for a reason. And the things happening now exceeded anything I ever could have hoped for. I sure as hell wasn’t going to make a fuss or play skittish over it.

“That matter is indeed settled,” I said happily. “Tell me about yourself. What exactly is a Thesh?”

“It is the lead warrior of a tribe. My primary duties are to ensure the security of our village. That mostly means preparing for natural disasters, handling any predator that comes too close to our territory, and addressing hunting issues to protect a healthy population of the fauna,” he said calmly. “Now, it also includes assessing the threat from off-worlders and planning our defenses or retaliatory measures accordingly.”

“We will do everything in our power to make sure that last point will never be necessary,” I said in a soothing but firm voice. “However, I didn’t hear you mention protecting your village against enemy attacks. Are there no wars or tensions between the tribes?”

He looked at me as if I was speaking gibberish.

“No. Why would there be?” Taelen asked, seeming genuinely confused. “We each have our own territory. What could we possibly want to fight over?”

“I don’t know. Don’t any of them ever try to encroach on your land?”

He blinked, once more confused why I would even ask that, which I found extremely telling of their mentality.

“Again, why would they do that?”

“Because they want more land, more resources,” I suggested.

He snorted. “Whatever for? We have plenty of resources to meet our people’s needs. Trying to claim other people’s farms and hunting grounds would be both greedy and wasteful. What are we going to do with all those extras that we can’t consume? Anyway, we do not own the land. The land owns itself. You can’t claim it. The great Goddess Etreya has bestowed upon us our share of this world. If we require more due to population growth, we just ask. Otherwise, Etreya may force the issue if she deems it necessary.”

My brow shot up at that comment.

“Force the issue? How would the Goddess do that?” I asked, every single nerdy cell in my brain perking up.

“She will give signs,” Taelen explained. “The red waters are one example. The moment they appear, we know it is time to enter the Long Sleep. But to answer your specific question, it has happened in the past where we had to cede some of the land we farmed and occupied to the benefit of another tribe.”

“What happened? And how did you interpret it as a sign of the Goddess?” I asked, leaning slightly forward as I eagerly listened.

“Floods destroyed a large section of the Ungaro Tribe’s farms. Naturally, they needed new lands to farm until their former ones became usable again. The next day, thorns began to grow all around our crops. It was a sign that we were no longer welcome to harvest there.”