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He took a breath. “I do everything in my power to assure she is safe and able to thrive despite difficult circumstances for us both.”
That wasn’t what I’d asked. “It’s unfair that the males have this information, and you keep the females ignorant. Why do humans have sex education and pornography for reference, and we are told nothing?”
Though he remained deadpan, a glitter of humor came to green eyes. “Been talking to humans, hmm?”
Cheeks growing pink, I tried to cover my blunder. “I hear them talk toeach other.”
Leaning closer, he leveled me with that stare. “And just what has made you grow so suddenly curious about sex?”
Why did he have to lean so close? “You’re pressuring me to add my name tothe list.”
Two heartbeats passed before he responded. “There is no pressure. You can take your time.”
“And stand by while I watch Dirum torture children? I’m not blind to what you have done here.”
His lips thinned. “It may not seem so now, but I am offering you a gift in this. You will be an excellent instructor. You were born for it, and that will be your path regardless of when you graduate.”
I stole my glance away from him before he might see the anxietythatimagined nightmare future created within me. The man must have disliked me a great deal to think to assign me to a lifetime tied to the academy. He must have hated me, in fact. “Unless I submit tothe list?”
“Even then, you will have an assignment. Your mate will place you where you are safest. There is no safer place in the city for a hybrid female than the academy.”
“Then give me specifics.” I dared much to demand it, but I had so little hope left. “How does a male bond a female to him?”
Which he was clearly not going to share. “You will learn the specifics from your mate when you’re ready to submit.”
Submission was not my forte. My greatest gift was perseverance. “What does the song sound like to you?”
Surprised at the new direction of my questions, he eased back and considered before speaking. “It would be best described as resonant music emitting from the perfect woman’s body at the exact frequency only I was born to hear. A beautiful sound, a siren’s call to be near her, to touch her, to please her in ways that it is my duty to provide. It calms me, yet entices my desire to kill every male who comes anywhere near my mate.” Measuring my reaction as he took a breath, he smirked. “I was quite struck the first time I experienced it.”
The idea of Cyderial being struck was laughable. It was too bad hiscalmingmate wasn’t around the academy. More students may have survived. “Do the boys here experience the song?”
“If they do, the wisest bide their time. Acting upon it before their mate is sexually mature is abhorrent, though it does happen. And there is no guarantee that two males will not hear the same song from a single female. If that is the case, one male will kill the other, though it is rare now thatthe listis in place and introductions follow specific protocols.”
More confirmation females had multiple prospects for mates. “If more than one of you hears our song, why can we not choose who we prefer?”
The question curled his lip in disgust. “Though you may have several contenders, hybrid society cannot survive if men are murdering one another over partners. In the wilds, the strongest vorec male will slaughter all challengers for the rights to breed. A civilized list helps prevent infighting. Females are exposed to the highest ranked, the strongest first. And so on, until the song is heard and the bond completed.”
And why was this information not in the library? “What if she likes a lower-ranked man better?”
He’d grown his usual state of perturbed. “Do you honestly think the strongest male would allow an untried boy to have you? That he would trust a pup to see to your needs properly?”
“What about courtship? The humans do that.”
Annoyance was obvious, though he tried to contain it. “Human customs do not apply. For hybrids, courtship takes place after mating. Otherwise, the carnage would be devastating. Unmated females are too attractive to males who’ve never heard a song. They are too attractive to boys incapable of self-control. And in the scenarios I just described, good men might die over a natural impulse to keep their female to themselves. Our kind may be new to the universe, but the eldest of us have deeply considered this topic. We must balance the insatiable animal drive with self-awareness.”
Frustrated, I countered, “Were women consulted in the making of these rules?” Because this sounded extremely male-centric.
“The protocol involving the list was their idea.”
I did not believe that for a moment. Furthermore, something was very unsettling about the idea a male student might have heard my song and was watching and waiting.
Swallowing down my nausea, I muttered, “Do I have any contenders you know of? Is that why you’re pushing me tothe list?”
A sneer came to his cruel mouth. “Managing the number of males that have grown interested in you over the years has been an absolute nightmare.”
That made me feel very unsafe. “Is there anyone specific I should avoid?”
Did a muscle in his jaw just tic? “You could always end their suffering and submit to be mated. Once knotted, the lesser men won’t foam at the mouth to bed you. Should they live long enough, they might even hear someone else’s song. Furthermore, you’d have a protector for life who loves you in every possible way and would give you anything you desired.”
