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“Of course it likes you. You’re mine,” I signed. When I tucked her against my side, she awarded me with another soft laugh, and she leaned against me while we started to walk.
“I love that you dry me off before I even ask you to,” she said with a quiet, happy sigh. “You’re too good to me.”
I squeezed her hip once.
No such thing.
It was good to know that she appreciated it, though. I’d seen many times how much it frustrated her that her hair dripped for so long after she got wet; she’d kept it much shorter when she first arrived in Bluhm.
“Where are we going?” she asked me, her voice curious as I led her through a hallway in the castle she hadn’t been down before.
She’d find out in a moment, so I didn’t bother letting go of her to sign an answer. She didn’t like surprises very much, but this wasn’t much of a surprise, so I thought she’d be fine with it.
My lips curved upward when she started peeking inside every room, the way she had when we were looking around earlier. She was absolutely adorable.
When she looked inside the kitchen, she shot me a grin. “I figured it out. You have food in here, right?”
I nodded, holding the door for her as she stepped inside and whistled. “Damn. Look at this place. Do you have chefs?”
I signed, “My parents had a large staff. I sent them all home when I took the throne, and reduced the size of the castle, but didn’t touch the kitchen. If people ever want to gather here, I want it to be an option.”
“You’re a good king,” she said, still smiling slightly. “Want me to cook us something? I was actually pretty good at it back on Earth. Being alone a lot forced me to learn.”
“No. I’m cooking for you while you entertain me with stories of your old life,” I signed, then guided her into the kitchen and lifted her easily up to the thick, strong stone that served as a countertop.
“What makes you think I have any stories worth hearing? I already told you, my whole life was about school.”
“Then you’ll tell me about your school. I like hearing you talk.” I tied my loose hair up into a bun, then stepped over to the sink and rinsed my hands beneath the running water. It was unnecessary, but it felt nice to run through unnecessary motions sometimes.
She looked thoughtful when I dried my hands with my magic.
“Tell me more about your degree. Biology, right?” I used the words she’d used, though I had to spell them out since I didn’t have words for them in my language.
Her eyes lit up. “Yeah, biology. It’s basically the study of living things, though most of my focus was on human anatomy. I learned all about our bones, and the systems that make our bodies function, things like that. It’s not really useful, now, but I loved learning about it. We even dissected people. It was incredible.”
I shot her a confused look.
Her face reddened, and I grimaced as she explained what the word meant.
“I know it sounds gross,” she said quickly. “But humans aren’t like fae. Our bodies don’t heal themselves anywhere near as easily or quickly. Sometimes we get sick for no reason at all. If we can’t study, we can’t create medications that keep us alive longer and help us function properly, and we can’t learn how to prevent more humans from dying the same way.”
I had never considered living like that.
Honestly, it sounded a bit frightening. “Did it scare you?” I asked her, between gathering ingredients.
“Dissection? No. I was never really an emotional person. A few of the other girls cried, but I just thought it was cool,” she admitted.
“No, living as a human, without knowing when or if you were going to get an illness that could kill you.”
“Oh.” She leaned back a bit, her fingers spreading over the edge of the countertop. “Not really. Some people are really affected by that fact, and they get something called anxiety, where their brains sort of get stuck in a loop of terror about things they can’t control. But I never had anxiety.”
Ayla continued, “At some point while we were growing up, all of us just had to accept that we were human and had no control over some aspects of our lives. Knowing that you’re going to die someday makes you cherish the time you have, I think. I always felt like there just wasn’t enough time, but it’s not like that here. The stakes feel lower when you don’t have an expiration date.”
Hmm.
I considered her words, organizing the ingredients while I got two pans out. The pans went on the stove with some oil, and I grabbed my knife. Though I could cut the vegetables with magic, it wasn’t as satisfying as doing so physically.
“What would you do, if you only had one human life to live?” she asked me.
