Page 69 of When Eden Falls

“It’s Maskidow,” Yuska replied. “The ancient humans called it May.”

Nux, how long ago had I left Allura? I was certain it would be nearly October there now. Even though we used the same month names as the ancients, time felt different here. The days were shorter, the months longer. I had lost trace of what the Alluran date was.

Yuska appeared in front of me and placed a stiff, golden bracelet around my left wrist. It had multiple loops hanging around the circumference, as if charms were meant to be hung on each one. She noticed my frown and said, “This is your claiming bracelet.”

“My what?”

“Claiming bracelet.”

“I got that part. What does it mean?”

“During the Sparzak Ball, if a male is interested in a female, he will clip his claiming token to the female’s bracelet. During the following weeks, she can choose which of those males she wants to mate with.”

My frown deepened. “I thought you said a female can take any mate she chooses.”

“Yes.”

“But he has to stake a claim to her first?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s not an open choice, is it? What if she doesn’t like any of the males who have claimed her.” Claimed; what a horrible word.

“A female must always choose at least one of her claimers. It’s a written law.”

“Hold on. Why are you giving me a bracelet? I’m not Akquarian.”

“Havav wants you to feel involved.”

“Involved?” I scoffed. “I think I’ve had enough involvement with Akquarian rules and behaviour to last a lifetime.”

Yuska scowled as if I had offended her. She walked over to the dressing table and gestured for me to stand in front of the mirror.

“Am I no longer required to cover my arms and legs?” I asked, glancing at myself in the mirror. I wasn’t wearing very much at all considering I had been draped in long, flowing skirts and heavy sleeves for the past month. I now wore a light green, heart shaped top that exposed my midriff. My long, dark blue skirt was wrapped around my waist and held in place by a small topaz broach clipped to one side. It looked nice but there wasn’t a slightest chance of modesty, especially as in standard Akquarian dress, I wasn’t wearing any underwear.

“Not during the season,” she replied, placing a thick choker of dainty pearls and blue gems around my neck. “Akquarian females don’t need to cover their branchia at such a time.”

“Branchia?”

“The slashes of skin on our arms and legs. The obsolete gills.”

“Ah, I see.” I had forgotten about the strange flaps of skin I’d seen on the males’ arms. The fortress guards tended to cover them with their metal vambraces.

“There.” Yuska stepped back, her eyes surveying me. “You look perfect.” Pride danced in her eyes, like a doting mother on the day of a daughter’s wedding. I frowned at the concept.

Touching the choker, I took another long look at myself in the mirror. The beautiful piece of jewellery covered the bruise onmy neck, yet still looked dainty enough to not overwhelm the outfit. My dark hair was decoratively pulled away from my face with braids and gems, allowing long, thick waves to cascade down my back.

Smiling back at her, a blush touched my cheeks. “Thank you, Yuska. You certainly know how to make a woman look attractive.”

She hummed her approval and opened the door to the bedroom. Zamya stood with her hands on her hips in the middle of the room. She took one look at me and said, “This is not fair.” She turned to Bibska who was on her knees, bustling with Zamya’s skirt. “Even Eden gets more clothes than I do.”

“Barely,” I replied, noticing my legs poking out between the moving fold of my skirt.

“I’m basically wearing a bikini.”

I stopped and studied her orange-gold outfit. Yes, okay, the top looked like a halter neck bikini, but it complimented her petite figure. And her long skirt was made of a sheer material, showing glimpses of her slim legs and an extremely short skirt underneath.

“You look fantastic, Zam.”