Page 32

"Ready?" Din appeared at her side, offering his hand to help her up.

"Yes." She forced a smile and took his hand.

The electrical current she'd hoped for didn't happen, but at least she hadn't felt revulsion either, so it was a step in the right direction.

He let go of her hand as soon as she was up. Standing beside him in her flip-flops, she realized how tall he was. She felt tiny in comparison, and that only added to her feelings of awkwardness.

"I've been to the village a couple of times before," Din said. "But I don't remember where everything is, so we might have to ask for directions on the way."

She waved a dismissive hand. "Or we might just make up designations for what we see on the way."

He frowned, looking confused by her suggestion. "Give me an example."

She pointed at the café. "This could be the outdoor dining hall where meals are served for the entire clan throughout the day." Next, she pointed at the office building. "This could be the school, and the clinic could be the art center."

He looked unsure about the game she suggested, but he nodded nonetheless, and Fenella smirked under her breath.

Men were so easily manipulated, especially during the stage of impressing a woman. After, when they were secure in having captured her affections, they were usually much less accommodating.

Walking beside Din along a winding gravel path, Fenella was conscious of the careful distance he maintained between them—close enough for conversation, but not so close that they might accidentally brush against each other. He was treating her like a skittish colt, which was understandable given what she'd been through, but he was overdoing it.

She wouldn't have minded him holding her hand.

"This path leads to the meditation garden." Din gestured ahead where the trail curved around a stand of trees. "Not many people use it, which makes it perfect if you need a quiet moment to yourself."

She wasn't sure if this was part of their game or if the meditation garden was for real, and the lone bench sitting under the tree didn't help solve the puzzle.

"Do you often need quiet moments to yourself?" she asked.

Din gave a small, self-deprecating smile. "Certainly. Especially at the university. Sometimes I lock the door to my office and pretend that I'm not there."

She grimaced. "I can imagine how hard it must be for a young-looking professor like you to fend off all the female attention to stay out of trouble."

He nodded, not even trying to refute her statement. "I think it became a sport for them." He chuckled. "Who can seduce the professor, that sort of thing."

She arched a brow. "And? What's their success rate?"

"Zero as far as my students go. It's against the rules, and I make it very clear that I follow them and don't engage with my students."

"What about students from other departments?"

Why was she pushing the issue? It was none of her business, and she had been far from celibate even before her transition.

Din smiled. "There are no explicit rules about that."

They reached a fence, which she hadn't seen anywhere else in the village, and the houses on its other side were a lot different from the ones on their side.

"What's over there?" she asked.

"That's Kalugal's part of the village. He paid for the construction, but the clan provided the land."

Fenella tensed. The former Doomer's name had come up several times since her arrival in the village, often spoken with respect and even admiration, but she still couldn't reconcile that with what she knew about the Brotherhood.

"You don't approve of him," Din observed.

"I don't know him," Fenella hedged, trailing her fingers over the fence. "Everyone speaks of him respectfully, even fondly, and he was invited to join this community, but given what his kind did to me, you can't blame me for being disturbed by him and his men being here. I look at every male I see, and I wonder if he's a clan member or a former Doomer." She took a deep breath. "I'm scared, and it's not easy for me to admit. It's like having been bitten by a rabid dog and then being afraid of all dogs that look like it even if they are the kindest and sweetest creatures."

"That's completely understandable, and for what it's worth, I initially shared your reservations, but I trust Kian. If he decides that Kalugal and his men are trustworthy, then I accept his judgment. Also, the Clan Mother compelled everyone in our community to cooperate and never strike against each other, so you really have nothing to fear."