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“No. But, he was archaic, selfish, and abusive of his power. I am connected, guilty by association. Yet, I could never treat people the way they say he did,” I replied. “He preyed on the weak. He knew they’d believe anything or do anything to survive and he fed them bullshit. I believed him for the longest and then his stories began to not add up. Apparently, there are other settlements on Earth where people can live freely under no ruler. I think that’s where my aunt lives. That’s why she left me when my mother died.
“How do you know those aren’t rumors made up about your father?” he asked.
“I know they’re not. I have a feeling all of it’s true. Whenever I think of him or see an image of him in my memories, I feel anguish and trapped, with no where to run and no one to trust. There was this one woman…her name is Aurora. She’s here. She was captured too, and she was nice to me at the dorms. I think I know her from before. I believe she’s mated to another warrior. He took her away at the auction. His name was…Zavier, Zavar…I can’t remember.”
“Aurora is a human name. I’ve heard it before,” he said. “As for the warrior, I no longer train with the best of them…as I have other duties issued by the King himself. Do you think this Aurora is trustworthy?”
“Yes, and she seems to know me. I was afraid to know about my past. Now, I think I need to know. I want to move on too without all the pain.”
“You can do both, I think. Learn about your past and move on without the pain.” His eyes held this faraway look and he frowned as though he was recalling something traumatic from his own past.
“What do you do when you leave me here?” I asked.
“I check my posts, my traps, and check for new scents.”
“New scents?”
“Barbs. Convicts. Escapees. Or other scavenging aliens. Alien pirates sometimes too. Other raiders as well,” he replied.
“It seems dangerous. Do you like doing that?”
“Yes. Although, the King removed me from active duty so I have no dangerous missions in my near future.”
“Why did he do that?”
“To allow me time to breed with you.”
I swallowed. “Oh. You know, I’d understand if you don’t want that anymore.”
“I never said I don’t.”
“But you said you won’t,” I countered.
“I destroy everything I touch, Freya. I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, softly.
“I’ve lived eighteen years. I’ve been through a lot, I think. Nothing about you says you will hurt me. You can’t be much older.”
“We age differently here. Our hearts beat slower. Soon, you will adjust too.”
“They told me. Next year, I’ll still be eighteen. How old are you anyway?”
He rubbed his chin. “In human years? Probably twenty four.”
I grinned. “Hmmm, I would’ve thought you’d be much older.”
He laughed. “My hair is black as night. Not a gray hair in sight, so how did you figure that?”
“You’re mature. On Earth, it’s different. Girls mature much faster than boys.”
“The average age that boys begin training is around eight. Before that, we are taught at home. By that time, our ǔre will have already been activated either at birth or puberty, depending on how strong we are. Some are sent to universities, depending on their talents. Others are trained to warriors. We learn soon that we all have to carry our weight and give back somehow.”
“And the girls? What about them?”
“Same for them too. More and more women are deciding not to be warriors, but that is changing now. I assume that when we find the cure more of our women will become pregnant.”
“Your women are so welcoming of us,” I said. “Whenever I visited the market, I’d always see one of them congratulating the human women who were already pregnant, pressing their hands to bellies to sense the babies energies and try to predict auras just like humans on Earth try to predict the sex. It’s nice to see. I’d love to be a mother.” I smiled.
“You will. You deserve that, I know,” he replied.
