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She frowned. “Mated? You said this word before, but I don’t understand.”
Well, can’t say I saw that coming.
How could they not know about mating?
“When a male and female fae make vows, or kiss, it starts a connection between them,” I explained. “They start to smell like each other. When they have sex, it seals the bond between them, and they become mates. They can communicate mentally, and their lives are tied together.”
Her eyes widened in horror. “This is done by those who are not life-bringers?”
I blinked. “It’s done by some of us, yes.”
She shook her head, hard. “This is a disgrace.”
“So your life-bringers are the only ones who have sex? Or take mates?” I asked.
“There are nomates. Creating life establishes a mental bond between the life-bringer and the brutal she is with. That bond is only used to arrange when the next meeting will be. The brutal is not involved in any other aspect of the female’s life; that would be an atrocity.”
I admitted. “On Earth, we marry for life. A man and woman become a partner, permanently.” I didn’t need to bring up divorce, I decided. “I guess the male fae took part of our culture and part of yours, and combined them.”
She scowled. “The Great War came because the head brutal passed, and the men couldn’t determine their next leader. The brutal males slaughtered the soft as they destroyed each other. We harsh joined the fight to defend the brutal connected to our life-bringers, but the damage had already been done. By the time Vevol hid us away, it was too late.”
My throat swelled. “I guess it makes sense that the men divided themselves the way they did, if a power struggle was the cause of their war. How many harsh do you have?”
“Nearly two hundred.” She spat the words, which surprised me. “And only the smallest fraction of our life-bringers, who once outnumbered us greatly.”
She had said ten, before. And damn, thatwasa small fraction.
“Are any of the life-bringers connected to men outside the island?” North asked her.
“No. The bonded brutals were targeted for the strength our life-bringers added to them.”
Right; the mated fae were supposedly stronger than the unmated.
“It is a privilege to add your human female to our number of life-bringers. When we’ve settled on the mainland again, we will immediately test the rest of you, to determine your class.”
“How do you test for that?” Sunny checked. “Wait for a period or something? None of us have had those since we left Earth.”
The leader looked at her like she’d spoken another language.
Sunny grimaced. “Bad joke?”
“There is a ritual—a blood exchange. Vevol speaks through her leader—which is me—after a number of sacrifices have been made.”
I tried not to gag.
Animal sacrifices?
“What kind of sacrifices?” North growled, apparently thinking the same thing I was.
“Plants are crushed and burned. Feathers and scales, pulled. Hair is cut.”
I noticed North tucking her forever-long hair behind her shoulders, as if to protect it.
Something told me her mate wouldn’t let anyone sacrifice her damn hair if she didn’t want them to.
We all relaxed a bit at the answer, though.
“What if North has more brands than you?” Sunny asked.
