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With the wine doing its work, I plowed ahead. “So, I need your help with something.” I rose from my chair, the coiled back pushing me forward, and moved the bag of wow-ees closer to us, along with another bottle of hiscus wine. “We need reinforcements.”
Olive-colored fabric dotted in orange fruit I didn’t recognize covered her headwrap. “Are those payot?” JayJay’s eyes had lit up when he talked about them.
She rolled her eyes. “That’s not what you wanted to ask, is it? But yes, they are.” She refilled our glasses. “Now out with it.”
Here we go.After a deep breath, I began. “I have a rare blood disease—idiopathic blood degeneration.” TeyTey’s forehead ridge extended as I carried on. “I can’t go back to Earth until my red blood cell count increases.” Her forehead ridge extended further, and I wet my mouth with more wine. “Dr. Ten has prescribed JayJay’s”—I coughed—“erm…sperm…to treat me.”
“His what?” She leaned over the long table so far I thought her forehead ridge might jump off her face and grab me.
She’d heard me, so I ignored her question. “What I need to know is, how badly will I ruin JayJay’s life if I continue to do this? Will he still be able to find a life companion?” My stomach plummeted as I pictured a beautiful Rock Dweller woman holding hands with JayJay while Nebula sat on one shoulder.
After a moment, blank-faced, TeyTey got up to check on the casserole. She’d set a timer earlier. It didn’t need to be checked. Her words echoed inside the clay-style oven. “Well, of all the things I thought you might ask for help with, that never crossed my mind.” She smoothed her head wrap and ran her hands down her matching dress. “Okay, I think I’ve got myself together.”
After a head shake, a wow-ee and a glug of wine, she started. “The goddess Sola has her ways. JayJay would not think he was giving up a potential life companion. Males leave Yagras all the time in search of females, with so few of us left.” TeyTey’s gaze lifted to mine. “Do you know JayJay’s history? Why he’s on Tern?”
“Yes, and I don’t believe for one minute he committed that crime.”
“That’s because you are a reasonable female.” She cupped my hand with hers. “But because of his banishment, he has lost everything, most of all respect. He would never consider himself worthy enough to attract the attention of a female.”
The more I learned about JayJay, the more I understood how proud he was, and the more I hated Devile. To think he would never know love and didn’t expect to didn’t ease my mind.
“I’ve never known a Rock Dweller male to mate with more than one female. Might be possible if she died,” she muttered the last part.
Fuck, I really was messing up his life, and I had absolutely no intention of dying. So where did that leave us? I swallowed the hard lump in my throat. “Wha—”
As if catching herself, TeyTey sat upright and cupped my hand. “Blant, of course I wouldn’t want you to die. You’ll simply have to stay on Tern and be his life companion,” she said brightly.
“But I’m human. I can’t be his life companion.”
“Does tab A fit into slot B?”
I wrinkled my nose. What was she talking about?
TeyTey tried again. “Does he fit?”
“Oh my God, TeyTey!” I couldn’t help but grin. “Yes, he fits.”
“And do you like him?”
I was coming to the conclusion that I really, really did like him. Biting my lip, I nodded.
“Well, there you have it.” She smiled and popped another wow-ee into her mouth.
But I wanted to return to Earth. “But his moods have become erratic, and he’s grown kinda…shimmery, and”—I swirled my drink, running a chipped nail over the cut glass—“I want to go home.”
TeyTey’s jaw dropped, and I shrank under her intense scrutiny like a specimen under a microscope. “Does he have arm bands?”
I topped up my wine and took a large mouthful. “I’m not sure what you mean, but he’s scratching his wrists like crazy… You know something. What’s happening to him? Will he be okay?”
“I can’t believe it.” She traced the rim of her glass with one finger, deep in thought. “The ancestors have blessed him. Of course they have. He’s a worthy choice.” Then she looked at me. “You have no other options. The decision has already been made. A true mate bond is unbreakable, and you should not wish to break it. It’s a gift to you and JayJay that hasn’t been seen in my lifetime or the lifetime before mine.” Then her voice softened. “The conditions of JayJay’s banishment confine him to a lifetime on Tern and only Tern.”
But the competition? My career? Those concerns would seem shallow to TeyTey, so I kept them to myself. Overwhelmed, Icouldn’t even form words to ask what the hell an unbreakable bond even meant.
I hadn’t asked to be selected for this gift. If I’d known a true mate’s bond would happen going into this arrangement, I would’ve chosen to remain sick. All I wanted was to go home healthy. Instead, I’d ended up with an unbreakable bond. Even worse, I couldn’t help but wonder if JayJay had known this would happen all along. But I quickly scratched that idea. He’d never conceal something like that. His deep-rooted sense of honor wouldn’t allow it.
19
The lift’s hover turbinestuttered to a stop and opened to the bustling command center. The itch under my skin was driving me mad, and once more, I had to stop myself from digging my nails into my arms to relieve the sting. For a reason only the goddess Sola would inflict upon me, it was only in Ginger’s presence that I didn’t want to scratch my skin off.
