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“Three.”
“A child,” she said softly. Her eyes glistened and she sniffed. “I’m sorry.”
“The Shiedars attacked and stole me. They must’ve killed my parents, because they didn’t come after me. I didn’t want them to die, but I couldn’t bear the thought that they’d let Vunne keep me, not if they knew what he did to sprits.”
“Were the others about the same age?”
“They were about Bahros’s age. But I do not wish to make you sad.” Taking her hand, I squeezed it. Tumbles waited at the top of the next rise, cooing.
“I’m sorry I keep crying. I can’t seem to help it.”
“You are sad. It is good to share your feelings.”
“My parents didn’t think so. Boy did they get mad when I’d burst into tears for the slightest thing.”
“How could one be angry that someone was able to vent their emotions?”
Her head tilted. “You’re right. They shouldn’t have been mad.”
“It is a gift. I learned to suppress my emotions because Lord Vunne would see me cry and do something horrible to me to, as he said, make me stop wailing.”
“That’s horrible.”
“It is.”
“Get back to Bahros. I’m really curious about how he knew about pleasuring a female.”
“Bahros’s people believe their goal in life is to bring their mates to complete satisfaction as often as possible.”
“Really?” she breathed. Color rose in her pale cheeks. “That’s a . . . worthy goal.”
“It truly is. Bahros, at twelve, was too young to attend classes. He and his friends snuck close to the window, however, and listened to the lessons. At night, they entered the classroom and studied the books.”
“Wow. They didn’t . . . practice, did they?”
“Oh, no. They were not old enough for mates.”
“He shared everything he learned from those lessons. It is called the Steps of the Videen. As my brothers and I grew, we would tease each other about how we would one day have mates and that we would know how to bring them great pleasure.”
“That’s amazing.” More pink rose in her face, competing with the overall redness taking over her exposed skin.
I frowned. “Why is your skin turning red? If you hope to blend in, you should turn blue. I am not able to change my skin color, though Tetryx can.”
“He’s a chameleon?”
“I do not know that term.”
“It just means his skin changes color to match his environment.” She pressed down on her arm, then released. The skin blanched before resuming its redness. “I’m getting a sunburn. It doesn’t hurt yet, though.”
“You are burning?” I peered up at the sun. It would be nice if the monitors remained between us and it, but they didn’t. “How is this possible? There is no fire.”
“The rays from the sun are burning my skin. It’s light in color and,” she shrugged, “I guess this is what happens when you’re not out in the sun much. I don’t have enough skin pigment to shield me. I’m not sure how else to describe it. Your skin doesn’t burn?”
“No.” I pressed down on my bronze-colored arm, but it didn’t blanch. “My skin may be thicker than yours.”
“Must be.”
“We need to get you out of the sun. A burn is never a good thing.”
