Page 13

Tori

I went to bed like a good little human last night and slept until mid-morning. It's easy to stay away from Marron while I'm unconscious, but as soon as I wake up, I'm ready to find him all over again.

Instead, I go with a few other women to the bathing pool. I'm used to bathing on my own, but there's not a lot of modesty in the tribe. Not that anyone is looking at me when they're all still a little self-conscious of themselves.

When the world ended, I had been shaving my legs and armpits for about two years.

So, looking down at my body and the vast amounts of body hair I now have and don't have the means to dispose of makes me more than a little embarrassed.

All of us women are in the same boat since there are no razors here.

We could figure out a way to make some since the males have knives and other sharp objects, but no one has broached the subject yet.

I don't want to be the one who brings it up.

Not to mention, I like not having to worry about shaving all the time.

My legs aren't itchy from hair growing. The demons don't seem to mind it at all.

Many of them seem intrigued since their bodies are made up of smooth scales without any hair.

For a few minutes, I ponder why I don't hate my body hair as much as I did when I first started letting it grow. Then, my thoughts return to Marron.

More importantly, I want to figure out a way to make sure the male who hurt him doesn't get a chance to hurt anyone again. Not to mention, I kind of just want him out of the mating ceremony and the entire tribe for hurting Marron at all.

I dry off quickly and run back to the great hall as my clothing dries up the small bits of water I missed. Ralleth and Olivia are sitting where they usually do, and when their eyes land on me, they must see how determined I am because they both sit up a little taller.

"Tori, how are you this morning?" Olivia asks me, waving her hand and offering the seat across from them.

I take the seat and return her smile. I'm about to demand a lot from them. The least I can do is give them a few smiles and a minute or two of small talk. "I'm good. How are you?"

"Tired." Olivia laughs and lays her hand on Ralleth's forearm. "We were up most of the night with Azaana. She's decided now is not the time to sleep through the night."

"That's rough." I rub the back of my neck since I don't know what else to say, and my limit for small talk seems much lower than I thought it was.

"Go ahead and speak your mind," Ralleth says. "You did not come to speak about my daughter's sleeping."

"I want to know what's being done about the male who hurt…" My voice trails off as I decide if we're far enough away from the others to say Marron's name or if I should just leave my statement as is because Ralleth and Olivia will understand who I'm talking about.

"Marron has decided he wishes to continue through the mating ceremony before telling us which males attacked him.

I disagree with this, but he has told me it will be the best course of action to take.

I have no reason not to trust him, but I also wonder why he thinks he must protect this male until the ceremony is over. "

I don't realize I'm grinding my teeth so hard until I open my mouth to speak and feel a twinge of pain in my jaw. Note to self: Stop grinding your teeth because there's no dentist in the tribe—probably not a dentist on the whole planet.

I lean across the table until I'm close to both of them, and they do the same, so I can whisper to them that others can't hear. "It was Joll. You have to know that."

"I assume it is him, yes." Ralleth leans back in his seat, not even flinching when I say Joll's name because they both know there is no way I'm saying his name like I want to sleep with him.

"I can do nothing with assumptions. I would love to send him out of the tribe, especially after what he has done to you.

However, going through the mating ceremony is still the best plan if his only fault is that he lied about wooing you.

This will prove he was not. If Marron wants to wait to unveil his attacker until he is already humiliated by being rejected by a female he has been telling others is his, well, I will not stop him.

I do wish he would admit who it was to keep you safe, but I do not think you are in any danger from any of the males, and if Kal thinks you might be, he will be swift in keeping you safe. "

"I'm more worried about my mate doing something to protect me," I say.

Marron wouldn't attack Joll without reason, but he has plenty of reasons. He didn't attack Joll last night when he came into the room with a swollen eye and split lips, so maybe he's more in control of his anger than I give him credit for.

"If he protects you from another male harming you, then he has done an honorable thing.

This would not be punished," Ralleth says easily, as though it should be fine that two males could fight over me at some point during this mating ceremony.

It's not fine. It's definitely not fine because I can't handle even thinking about Marron getting hurt again.

"I don't want anyone to touch my mate," I say louder than is probably best.

A few heads turn in our direction, but most women in the mating ceremony with me last night already know I have my eye on one male.

When I was heading to the bathing pools this morning, I heard a couple of women not in the mating ceremony talking about it in hushed tones.

Gossip spreads fast in the tribe, and my claiming Marron is mine will only help to prove that Joll was a dirty liar.

"No one will touch him." Ralleth's eyes flicker red, and Olivia squeezes his forearm.

"Almaac has been watching the males we believe to have hurt him.

Toron has not left his side since he left the great hall last night.

And Beren and Lyath have been watching over Thro more closely in case of retaliation.

I am determined to make this a safe and prosperous tribe.

I gain nothing by allowing males to hurt one another for a female. I would like to avoid it at all costs."

"Then kick him out of the tribe." I'd like to think I sound passionate and strong when I say it, but even I can hear the whine in my voice, and it makes me cringe.

"As soon as Marron, Thro, or your cousin offers to tell me what happened, I will happily address it.

" Ralleth's tone brooks no argument, but he can tell from the confused look on my face that I had no idea Thro and Jen were part of this.

He quickly adds more to the story to keep me from worrying about Jen.

"They are fine. They are the ones who found Marron.

At least, that is what they are saying. They have not told anyone anything more than they found him hurt and helped get him back to the tribe. "

"But Jen wasn't hurt?" I ask, my chest shaking as I take in unsteady breaths.

"She's perfectly safe." Olivia leans across the table and takes my hand in hers. "Everyone's safe now, and we're watching what's happening. Trust in Ralleth. He's promised to make this tribe safe, and he's doing everything in his power to ensure that it is."

I nod, unsure of what else to do. I came to talk to them with grand ideas of telling them to kick Joll out of the tribe and demanding that they bring justice to the hurt inflicted on Marron. I guess I kind of did that. But now I just feel even worse.

"Do you want me to see if Jen wants to stay in the great hall until the mating ceremony is over?" Olivia asks.

"She can do that?"

"Of course." Olivia smiles, bright and genuine, just like always. "I think it would be good for you to have her here. When the ceremony ends, I can make sure she gets back to the farm safely."

"Yes, please, yes," I say, standing from my seat and making out like I'm about to walk with Olivia out of the great hall and to the farm to get my cousin myself. Olivia laughs behind me, and Ralleth grumbles something under his breath.

"I'll have your brother take me," Olivia says to Ralleth, pushing away from the table to stand beside me. "You can stay here with Azaana. She needs her father today."

"You only say that because she is finally asleep," Ralleth frowns and then looks down at his chest. I don't know how I didn't notice it earlier, but he has his babe strapped to his chest, a small cocooned alien hybrid snuggled up against him.

He wears a second top over his first, which opens in the front and is looser than I'm used to seeing the others wear.

It must be why I didn't notice Azaana napping against him for so long.

"Diane's been branching out in the style of clothing she makes," Olivia says when she notices me looking at Ralleth's tunic.

"I can see if she'll show you her patterns if you are interested.

I think Nia said she was, but she hasn't been up here since everything happened.

I think she's too busy keeping Beren from burning down the entire tribe. "

Her description of what's probably happening at the farm makes me laugh.

Beren cares deeply about those he believes are his.

As soon as he took Jen and me in, we became his.

As soon as I chose Marron, he became Beren's as well.

I'm more surprised Nia's been successful in keeping him from rampaging through the tribe.

"It is best if you stay in the great hall," Ralleth calls from behind me. I turn to face him, my face already falling.

He's right. Once someone decides to go through the mating ceremony, there are rules they're supposed to follow. One of which is staying separated from the males. I swallow a hard knot in my throat and force myself to acknowledge what Ralleth is telling me to do.

"If he can follow the rules after being attacked, I can follow the rules while I wait for my cousin," I tell him with all the resolve I can muster.

"I'll be back so fast," Olivia says.

She doesn't wait for either of us to acknowledge her before she runs out of the great hall.

Ralleth's eyes track her the entire time, and when she disappears, they narrow into tiny slits.

I think for a second, he's going to chase after her, but then Azaana makes a soft sound in her sleep.

It takes Ralleth's focus off his mate and onto their daughter long enough for him to relax into his seat.

"Will you keep me company while we wait for my creature to return?" he asks.

I don't have anything better to do, so I take my seat again. We chitchat for a while, and Ralleth tells me how his daughter is growing. He describes his plans for the tribe now that it's expanding and proving sustainable. Best of all, his eyes light up anytime he mentions Olivia.

She's working with Vex to use his extra-smart alien knowledge to figure out a way to make soap for us.

I listen intently when Ralleth tells me about that because I need soap badly.

I wince whenever I lift my arms and see the bright hair hidden.

The smell after even just a couple of hours on this hot and humid planet is pungent.

The only saving grace is that the demons can't smell to save their life, so at least they can't smell just how gross we are on this planet.

Before I know it, Olivia is standing next to Ralleth again, and Jen is beside me, throwing her arms around me and telling me that she's fine and that she's sorry she scared me.

"I need you to tell me everything," I whisper into her ear as I hug her.

"Not here," Jen replies. "Can we go back to your room?"

I don't even answer her. I wrap my fingers in hers, stand from my chair, and drag her through the great hall until we're back in my room. Technically, it's the room I'm sharing with a few other women, but they're all off doing something else, so we have the place to ourselves.

"You better tell me everything," I say to Jen as she finds a cozy spot on the bed. "Seriously, none of this, not saying anything until after the mating ceremony bullshit."

Jen frowns at me and then tosses her hair over her shoulder. "You're going to be pissed at me, but I'm almost an adult. I also helped you find Lyath's farm and have acted as your translator for almost two years."

I cut Jen off, not needing her to remind me of everything she's ever done for me. She's done a lot. "Shut up and tell me what happened."

"Okay, so it started with Thro convincing me to sneak out of the house…"