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“Oh, my pregnancy marks. Sure.”
Iris blinked. “What did you think I meant?”
Janessa got to her feet, and she winked. Kethen chuckled.
“No, Jan. Seriously.”
“Kethen drinks from me. It leaves a mark.” She opened her leather coat and unbuttoned a tight leather vest from the bottom up.
Iris stared with her mouth open. The marks were all over the torso, to her elbows, and just touching her collarbone. “How far along are you?”
“Six months. Only five more to go. It takes a while to grow a Hmrain.” She yelped as she was pulled into Kethen’s lap, and his huge hand covered her belly. He sighed happily.
“Janessa, I have another question for you, if I may?” Iris said quietly.
Bots came in at that moment and delivered their meals.
Once they were alone again, Janessa said, “Sure.”
“How are you with Kethen and so obviously strong? You weren’t a companion class when I met you.”
Janessa paused with what looked like a chicken wing halfway to her mouth. “Oh, that. I was put in a tank and tortured for two months. So, my emotional receptors were turned up high. Then, I was hauled into some super heavy cells and tossed to Kethen as food.”
Kethen stroked her cheek. “She was the most tempting of creatures.”
“I was black and blue and trying to negotiate with a starved Hmrain. A very big starved Hmrain.”
Kethen chuckled. “You dealt with me like a champion and got me strong enough to break out and take my ship back. They really regretted tossing you in my cage after that.”
Janessa resumed eating. “Not for long.”
The laughter was dark. “No, not for long.”
Iris was pretty sure what had happened.
Yavor hugged her, and they ate and chatted, and all too soon, Janessa was doing up her coat and kissing Iris’s cheek. A moment later, they were gone.
Chapter Nine
Hours later, they were back on Avor, and Iris still felt a loss for her friend. Yavor held her. “You miss your friend.”
“I do. We found companionship at the most dangerous times of our lives, or so I thought. I couldn’t have guessed at most of that.”
“Kethen being held in his ship for years is not something we could have guessed at. Hmrain don’t speak to each other often, so I didn’t know he was missing.” Yavor sighed. “Are you feeling well?”
They were sitting on the rooftop of the manor, and she nodded, smiling at the silhouette of Abet on his perch. “I am fine. That was good. How long were we gone?”
“Two days.”
“Oh. Good.” She looked at her pale blue hand. “Oh. Lily!”
“Arluth has helped her continue her studies. She has been kept busy.”
“When did you find that out?”
“You took a nap when we arrived.” He chuckled. “After dinner.”
“Oh. Right. I was really tired.”
