Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 78164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Fingers tapping his chin, Aegir grew thoughtful, silver hair shining. “And you are concerned I will do this with your child. That I want her for her song and not for her person.”
“It is a reasonable concern for any female you might hear sing.”
“Forgive me, but—” Hand to his chest, another man bowed. Broad-shouldered General Boreal, his voice deep, shared his opinion on my concerns. “—your behavior is irregular for a newly mated female. You are not trying to run. Cyderial claims you have not attempted to kill him. The nature of females is violence. That is why we keep them in their nests.”
Aghast, my eyes went wide. “If that is how newly mated females behave, then it is your fault it is happening!”
Unoffended, entirely direct, he demanded I explain. “How is it my fault?”
“If someone locked you away against your will for years on end, wouldn’t you try to run at first chance?”
Puzzled, General Boreal said, “Males are supposed to keep females in their nests until they form an affectionate emotional attachment. We have centuries of experience to back up that custom. Only then can they be trusted not to harm themselves without constant supervision.”
I’m not sure which of us was more confused. “It’s barbaric. Have you not heard the women tell you of their suffering? You could have prevented a great deal of it.”
As if gently correcting a child, Boreal said, “To interfere with another’s mate is not permitted. It is a sacred bond, and no mated male hybrid has ever hurt his female.”
Noting his use of “mated males” only, I narrowed my eyes. “Psychologically, they have. Or does that not count, since it doesn’t leave a mark?”
My question was ignored for one of his own, Boreal gesturing at the way I was tucked against Cyderial body. “The entirety of this situation is irregular. How is it that this is happening?”
My confusion at his question led him to address the man whose arms were around me. “She is touching you without persuasion, and you have been mated less than a week. How did you earn her affection so quickly?”
How strange it was that the males considered tolerance affection.
The backs of Cyderial’s fingers ran down my arm from shoulder to elbow, pride in his voice. “I prepared for ten years, learned what I could of her tastes without overly interfering in her life. We are not strangers.”
Oh… he had absolutely overly interfered, but saying so would not help my cause.
Offering his friends more information, Cyderial added, “Also, I pleasure her often in myriad ways without coercing her reaction… unless she asks me to. Heat has not been required to drive her into my arms.”
That wasn’t entirely true. Miranda’s persuasion did motivate me to offer myself the first time after our bond had been sealed.
Mortified he shared such personal information with his friends, I glared up at the smirking man, only to catch him winking at me.
Maybe I would try to kill him after all.
Aegir was watching me closely, too closely. “She has been provoked, and still, she does not try to strike you.”
Boreal’s focus was on the topic, not my flaming face or stiff posture. “Is it true? Do you enjoy his touch without coercion?”
The pride in Cyderial’s voice deepened his tenor, the vibrations moving through my spine to counter my humiliation, as he said, “She will not answer you. My Lorieyn is modest. But she actively participates in sex. I credit this to her education and our familiarity, as much as to her personality.”
The silent observer with the foxlike smirk stepped closer. The bronze-haired male looked at me very differently than the others. He looked at me as if all my secrets were known to him. General Murdoch demanded, “What does he mean by education?”
Uncomfortable, my voice came out a bit shrill. “Cyderial explained sex to me when I was fifteen.”
It wasn’t exactly an outright lie, but it was a half-truth at best. One the male at my back could easily contradict, should he so choose. Otherwise, I had no answer that might urge the collected men to give me what I wanted.
At my back, Cyderial supported me as he promised. “That is correct. There was an incident at the academy requiring an explanation for Lorieyn to understand the questioning. Furthermore, this has made her inquisitive, and I have answered every query she has asked me over the years since.”
The males did not need to know his answers had been vague at best and utterly useless at worst. Or that my questions had been quite innocent, Cyderial only too happy to keep me that way.
To maintain momentum, I asked all three of them, “I have wondered, why do you think young females do not deserve such knowledge? You are here speaking of it freely, yet we have to be cornered, subjected to unexpected suffering, and then exposed to unknown male anatomy. Do you understand how damaging that could be? It’s shocking to me that you cannot grasp why newly mated females want to run. Most first encounters are rape.”