Page 129 of Tamed By Her Touch

Clair ignored him.

“Kaelus, do you realize what this is?” she demanded, stabbing a finger at his compound. “This is the metabolized form of veloria!”

His eyes narrowed.

“Explain.”

“The raw flower doesn’t contain this compound,” Clair said. “Neither does the prepared nectar. veloria contains VEL-7, which is inactive—or at least mostly inactive. But Maera drank a glass this morning and I tested her blood afterward.” She pointed at the molecular structure. “Her body converted VEL-7 into this.”

Kaelus frowned.

“Her body converted it.”

Clair nodded eagerly.

“Yes!”

“Not digestion alone?”

“I don’t think so. Men drink veloria occasionally and according to Maera they don’t experience the same effects. I think something specific to female biology activates the precursor. Hormones, enzymes, gut flora—maybe several factors together.”

Kaelus sat back slowly.

“And every Titus Four male carries the resulting metabolite.”

“Yes.” Clair nodded again. “If your findings are correct.”

“They are,” Kaelus assured her.

They stared at each other.

“The women make it,” Clair said. “Somehow they’re metabolizing the veloria nectar into something completely different.”

Kaelus nodded.

“And somehow the males are receiving it.”

The excitement that swept through Clair was so intense she nearly jumped up from the table.

“Oh my God, Kaelus! This could be it!” she exclaimed. “This could be the answer to curing the Savage Syndrome!”

“It could be part of it,” he said cautiously. “We still don’t know how the women are making the compound and if it would be possible for women other than those of Titus Four to achieve the same effect.”

“Don’t be such a pessimist,” Clair told him.

He frowned.

“I am merely being scientifically cautious.”

“No—you’re being a buzzkill. It’s only our first day here and we’re already onto something big!”

“I am being accurate,” he protested.

Clair waved that away.

“Whatever. The point is, the men on this planet have the active veloria metabolite circulating in their blood even though their own bodies don’t appear to produce it.”

“And their viral loads are extraordinarily high,” Kaelus added.