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Mia held the deep red robe to her chest, noting again its length. She’d had to blouse it around her waist yesterday to keep it from dragging the ground.

“Human men do that, too,” she said. “Give women their old t-shirts to wear. Buy them lingerie. Hmm. Now that I think on it, women do the same thing, especially married women. Mated men tend to dress better than unmated ones. On Earth anyway.”

Jyrak hummed deep in her throat. “I think we have more in common than anyone realizes. Perhaps such things are universal. The need to claim the ones we love, to mark them as belonging.”

Zoran’s words popped into her head.We are not humans, mate, and you are no longer on Earth.

Mia bit her lip against a wince. “Maybe.”

Jyrak’s eyes narrowed on the robe. “Tell me. How do you feel about shopping?”

Mia laughed, utterly delighted that Jyrak had sought her out.

Speaking of.

“If you don’t mind my asking,” Mia said, “why did you drop by?”

“Mother Alara asked me to act as your guide, should you need one.”

“Oh, I definitely do. There’s so much I don’t know. Where to find human food, how to get back to the science center, what research I’m going to focus on while I’m here.” The weight of those unknowns pressed down on her, stealing her breath for one raw, vivid moment, and she added, somewhat desperately, “I don’t even know how to pay for my own clothing.”

Jyrak tentatively touched her fingers to Mia’s elbow. “Milady—”

“None of that!” Mia exclaimed sharply.

“Mia,” Jyrak corrected, apparently unoffended. “All will be as it should. Let that certainty comfort you as it does my people.”

“All will be as it should.” Just saying it eased some of the unaccustomed anxiety. “Thank you. I guess I needed that.”

“As we all do at times. We shall break our fast, then endeavor to empty Lord Zoran’s treasure store. Our merchants will be most grateful for your generosity on this glorious day!”

Mia laughed so hard, she cried, then had to explain the difference between happy tears and sad tears, which led to Jyrak trying to laugh and cry at the same time. The episode left them both giggling.

And that, Mia thought as she quickly detangled her hair and dressed, was exactly how a good day started.

They bounced between a custom clothes designer and other merchants. Jyrak had no problem spending Zoran’s money in the form of credit granted by the merchants, but Mia was always mindful of the costs of her new wardrobe.It’s necessary, she reminded herself repeatedly as Jyrak enthusiastically whisked her through fittings of one sort or another. Still, by the time they were finished, Mia winced at the number of packages she’d accumulated. Not enough clothes to last a full week, but enough to put a dent in Zoran’streasure store.

After dropping the packages off at Zoran’s apartment, they walked to the science center along a wide pathway winding alongside the road. There, Mia found Leona, Kira, and many of the other human women hard at work, and nearly cried when she saw them all.

As soon as she could, she ushered her two besties into her office and closed the door on the rest of the crowd. “I thought we wouldn’t see each other for a while!”

Leona perched against the desk, looking stunning in traditional Xeruvian garb. “I put my foot down on that. We were dragged here against our will. If these warlords want us to acclimate, we need to keep in touch with our friends and family.”

Kira had settled into the room’s lone chair, her feet curled onto the seat under a pale-yellow Xeruvian robe, the ubiquitousshinsek’uk. “And there’s our research. For now, those of us whose mates live nearby are being allowed to work here.”

Leona slid a sly look at her. “Allowed? I insisted.”

“Not every woman can bend a man to her bidding,” Kira muttered. “It’s likely I’ll only be here a few days a month. There’s an observatory to the north. I’d like to spend some time there.”

“Then tell your mate you want to,” Mia said.

Kira flinched. “I haven’t agreed to that.”

“Kira, hon.” Leona’s lips thinned, and she shook her head. “The important thing is that we won’t be separated. If we want to spend time together, we can. No one’s going to stop us unless something dire happens.”

Mia narrowed her eyes at her friend. “How do you know?”

“I asked.”