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The Deep Sky people’s sight stars buzzed silently as we got nearer.
“Do you think this is all of them?” Fiona whispered to me. The tribe gathered was small. Much smaller than the numbers we had at the settlement. There were about twenty men including Warrek and Thaleo, and far fewer women and children. They all had skin in varying shades of greyish violet and blue, their hair gleaming with inky indigo. Several of the women had their hair bound into tightly braided updos, something I wasn’t used to seeing in the Sea Sands. Usually, the braids were worn loose down one’s back in the desert
“I would assume so,” I muttered, glancing around. I didn’t see the four warriors who’d greeted us with Warrek outside, but otherwise, I didn’t see much evidence that there were significant numbers of people elsewhere. We hadn’t passed anyone in the main entrance hall or seen anyone else in the tunnels on the way here.
Gahn Thaleo must have heard Fiona’s question. That, or he was a mind reader.
“Apart from four men on guard duty, all my people are here.”
One by one, he introduced every member of the tribe, his tail gesturing to each person with precise care. A couple of the children haltingly raised their tails to us while others stared with suspicious confusion. More than one person, not just the children, let their gazes swing wildly over the members of our group.
Can’t really blame them. I wonder who looks more weird to them – the humans or the Bitter Sea men?
The Sea Sand men may have had different colouring, but they were otherwise anatomically the same as the Deep Sky people from what I could see.
But us girls, plus Grim and Tok? We probably looked like... Well... Aliens.
When Gahn Thaleo was finished, Valeria did the same for our group, rattling off our names and jabbing her finger at each of us as she did so.
After the introductions were done, Gahn Thaleo urged us to sit once more. We did so, sitting down on the stone. Perhaps expectedly, there was a very clear divide in the group – the Deep Sky people sat on one side of the fire, us on the other.
Gahn Thaleo sat between the two groups, at the head of the fiery table, so to speak. The fire wasn’t a large circle, but rather burned in a long, rectangular pit. Blocks of stone along each side held skewers up, balancing meat over the fire. I inhaled deeply, the scent of the pale roasting meat seeming familiar.
When I got handed a chunk of it, I realized why. It tasted like smoked chicken.
“It’s called felkora,” Gahn Thaleo told us, watching us chow down on the alien chicken barbecue. “We eat the eggs as well.”
The eggs, cooked in their shells, were equally pleasant, as were the delicate little pink mountain fish we were given. I didn’t know if I’d ever get to eat fish again, I thought to myself, smiling as I ate. There were oceans on this planet – the Bitter Sea Grim and Tok had come from for example. But I had no idea if I’d get the chance to go there anytime soon.
The group was mostly quiet, our arrival silencing the chatter and laughter from before. I felt a bit bad about that – like we’d intruded on the Deep Sky people’s peace for the evening. But we had been invited. And we were allies, and hopefully would be friends eventually.
As we ate, I let my gaze skim over the Deep Sky people seated across the fire. Yep – they definitely had the lack of ladies issue that plagued the Sea Sand men. And, at least from what I could see based on where everyone sat, it looked like all the adult women had mates already. Every adult woman sat with a man, some of them with children. There were no little groups of apparently single alien ladies the way Nasrin, Tilly, Fiona, and I sat together. Which meant that a good number of the small group of warriors here not only had no mates but no hope of one, either.
At least, that would have been the case before. Before we showed up. Which probably explained why more than one silent warrior’s sight stars crawled back and forth over our faces with unusual intensity.
As if sensing the direction of my thoughts, or maybe the thoughts of his men, Gahn Thaleo spoke up. His deep, regal voice boomed in the cave.
“I am glad to welcome our new allies to our mountain. I hope all of you, but especially the new women, find it hospitable.” His sight stars dragged over our group, snagging on Nasrin, before he continued. “It is my expectation, and my hope, that some of you will end up staying here permanently. As mates to my men.”
Nasrin choked on a piece of meat, and I leaned over to thump her on the back. Gahn Thaleo was on his feet in an instant, but I waved him off.
“She’s fine,” I told him.
He watched us intently.
Nasrin wheezed, then took a big swig of her mountain valok plant, a sweeter version of the desert ones we were used to.
“She’s fine,” Valeria reiterated, echoing my words. “No doubt just...Reactingto your statement,” she continued, choosing her words with slow and diplomatic care. She met Gahn Thaleo’s gaze sternly. “Gahn Thaleo, we thank you for your hospitality. But I’m sure we discussed this during our initial negotiations – no human woman goes anywhere she does not want to, mated or not.”
“Evidently,” Gahn Thaleo said, his narrowed eyes lingering on me meaningfully. My face heated, but I wasn’t sure why. I had no reason to be embarrassed or to feel bad that I hadn’t followed Gahn Errok blindly back to his mountain as his obedient little wife! But there was something in Gahn Thaleo’s response, in his tone, that made me uncomfortable. Not exactly that he was judging me, but that the idea of the human women having that much freedom grated on him. If he was anything like the other Gahns, he was likely desperate to secure mates for his men and didn’t want anything getting in his way.
Fiona seemed to get the same impression.
“Mister Big Strong King over there doesn’t exactly sound happy about that, does he?” she whispered into my ear, muffling the words behind her hand as if Gahn Thaleo would be able to see the words in the air.
“It’s better we set these expectations now,” I whispered back. “No sense in disappointing anyone when we don’t go falling over ourselves from the mate bond that we don’t even feel.”
Gahn Errok’s face once again flashed in my mind. His confused look of disbelieving horror when I’d confirmed what the other Gahns had told him. That I felt no mate bond for him.
