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“No,” I say. “Some people believe in soulmates, but there’s nothing to back that up but hope and imagination. I never believed in it. That’s fairytale stuff on my planet.”
“Soulmates,” he repeats with a smile. “I like that word. It doesn’t sound much different from a matebond. Except the mating call is not only a mystical phenomenon; it is a biological one. Both males and females are born withkaliinside us. It helps us grow into adulthood. It affects our emotions. But when we reach mating age, it can also react to our mate’s presence. It waits until the right moment, and then suddenly thekalispikes within you. It changes your blood from blue to red. It makes your body ready for mating in many ways, such as—”
“I can imagine the rest,” I say quickly, not needing any details on his readiness for mating. I’ve seen it bulging in his pants a couple of times now. It seems he’s always ready for mating in my presence.
He’s clearly amused by my reaction, but he doesn’t push the subject. “You say that soulmates are a fictional idea?”
“Very fictional. As in, there’s no scientific evidence that even hints that ‘mating’ is anything more than selection based on personal preference,” I explain. “My physiology is not made to have a mating call. So, I’m sorry, but you should probably move on and get your alien hormones recalibrated.”
He snickers. “I wouldn’t even if I could. Based on mypersonal preference,I still find you more than suitable. I find you erotically beautiful, endlessly fascinating, and very amusing to tease. My hormones have nothing to do with that.”
I choose to ignore those statements, even if they make my insides flutter.
“And what about after?” I ask.
“After what?”
“After you mate someone. What happens? What if you don’t love them anymore? Does it fade away? Does it happen more than once?”
He stares at me, amusement vanished.
“Fade away?” He repeats the phrase as though it disturbs him.
“There are always couples that break up. Are their mates stuck in an unhappy relationship?”
“I have never known a Kar’Kali matebond to end in unhappiness. There are arguments . . . There is perhaps a temporary separation. But I have never seen a matebond fade away. Death might sever them. Distance might strain them. But I have never met a Kar’Kali that did not long for and love their mate deeply.”
I let that explanation hang on the air for a beat of silence.
“Never? That’s impossible. You’re telling me no one has ever met their mate and been unhappy about it?”
He shrugs. “Perhaps at first. The lust of thekoriamma,the mating fever, is powerful enough to begin bonds between even those that never liked each other before.”
“Weird.”
“If you don’t have mating bonds, how do your people find mates? I have heard of matching services, marriage auctions, gladiator style competitions . . . There are many ways to court across the universe.”
“That all sounds horrible,” I say. “Humans do this crazy thing where we simply meet someone we’re attracted to and then we ask them to spend time together. It’s called dating.”
“Sounds boring,” Niko comments. “Sounds like it would result in many failures. People often don’t know what’s best for them.”
“Yes, but I’d argue that it’s better to have the freedom to choose.”
“You only see it as freedom because that is your people’s way. I find freedom in trusting the spirit.”
For what it’s worth, I admire Niko’s honesty. He listens well and speaks from the heart.
“You’re never going to let this go, are you?” I sigh.
“No, I will not ever let you go,ti kori.” His hands slide along my thighs, and I jolt at the unwelcome warmth that flares at his touch. I’m starkly aware of the heat that staves off the cold of space.
“I don’t have time to be your soulmate,” I snap, reaching for his hand and moving it back to a respectable location on my waist. To his credit, he keeps it where I put it.
He makes a show of looking around at the black vacuum around us.
“Oh, you’re very busy?”
“If we survive this, I need to find my friends. The more time I waste, the harder it will be to do that.”
