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Evangeline noticed he didn’t do much chewing. She tried to examine his jaw structure without being obvious about it, but he noticed her gaze.
“Ask, Evangeline, that I may satisfy your curiosity,” he said.
“Um …” she hesitated, then decided to go for broke. “Why don’t you chew your food?”
He turned to face her and his lips drew back from his pointed teeth. After a moment, he opened his jaws to display a mouthful of pointed teeth. His jaws snapped closed with an audible click.
“Oh,” she muttered, having turned her gaze to her plate.
“We Ahn'hudi are predators, carnivores,” he said.
“You don’t have to eat vegetables for my sake, then.”
“Some vegetables now and then won’t hurt me,” he replied. “I did a bit of reading over the last three days to confirm that plants are necessary to a healthful diet for humans. I have been feeding your pet meat, though.” He paused, then gave her another close-mouthed smile. “He’s quite a vicious little predator.”
“Poppet is a cat,Felis catus,” she murmured. “Cats have been domesticated on Earth for thousands of years, but they’re always a little bit wild. I think that’s what I like about them. A cat chooses to love; its affection can’t be forced.”
“Your Poppet focuses his affection upon you. He has yet to realize that neither Horas nor I intend him harm.”
She gave him a small smile. “He’ll warm up to you. It just takes him a while.”
“That would be nice,” he agreed in a mild tone, not mentioning that the fluffy little beast had already bitten him twice. He glanced at her empty plate. “Have you finished eating or do you wish for more?”
Evangeline’s cheeks flushed again. “I think I’m finished for now.”
Sarus nodded and slid off the stool. He gathered her plate and fork as well as his own and deposited them into a drawer under the countertop. The drawer front flashed white and a lowclicksounded.
“What was that?” Evangeline asked.
“This abode is equipped with machines that will sanitize our dinnerware and return them to their places.”
“Wow. I wish my apartment back on Earth was equipped like that,” she murmured. “I don’t suppose …”
“Neither Horas nor I can return you to Earth,” Sarus said. What he did not say was, even if they could return her to Earth, they would not.
She sighed, reluctantly abandoning that hope. “Do you know what’s going on with the bride games?”
“The Sivuul attack and the revelation of the ambassador’s treachery disrupted the games’ schedule. The games have been halted until we can recover the lost bride.” At her frown, he elaborated.
“Poor Louella,” Evangeline murmured, her belly beginning to churn with dread. Or maybe it churned from the unfamiliar food she’d just eaten. She closed her eyes and fought back tears for a woman she’d barely known, then asked, “Do you think the … the Sivuul will hurt her?”
“I am sure of it,” he replied with quiet candor. “Three Ahn'hudi squadrons were dispatched after the Sivuul ships to rescue the female and retrieve her.”
“Poor Louella,” Evangeline repeated. “She was the one who wanted to be here.”
She bowed her head and whispered a short, heartfelt prayer for the bride’s deliverance from harm. Sarus watched and listened to the whispered words.
“To whom do you speak, Evangeline?”
She raised her head, eyes shining with tears and her shoulders drooping. “God.”
“Who or what is this God that it will hear your plea for the human women’s well-being?”
She shook her head as two tears trickled down her cheek and dripped to the table. In choked-off words, she admitted, “I can’t explain it. It’s a matter of faith.”
“We Ahn'hudi have deities. All warriors give offerings to Durja, the goddess of courage, battle, and victory.”
“Goddess?”
