Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
“Of course,” R’slind says, but I can sense the sadness in her creeping back in.
We say our goodbyes and head back towards our hut. As we do, I hear L’ren cry out, “No, K’then, don’t eat that!” and my mate gives a small giggle, showing she is not ready to weep just yet. It is a good sign.
Once inside the hut, I pick up the bowls and hold one out to her. “I brought this for you. Many of the humans like it. They say it tastes like poor-rich.”
“Like what?” R’slind asks, taking the flat, carved spoon I hold out to her and stirring the mix in her bowl.
“Poor-rich. Is that not what it is called? The early meal that looks like mush? This one is made of seeds and some dried berries and sweetened with hraku. You will like hraku.” I am so eager to please her, so ready to make her smile that if she does not like this food, I will toss it all out, wasteful or not, and find something more delicious for her.
She takes a small nibbling bite. “It has a texture a bit like grits…or oatmeal.” Her eyes widen. “Porridge.”
“Yes, that is what I said.”
Her mouth twitches. “Right.”
I shovel my food into my mouth, watching her expression. She takes a few slow bites, and then her shoulders slump once more. The helpless feeling returns to me and panic threatens. “Are you unhappy with me, R’slind? Have I done something to make you sad?”
“Oh my god, no. You’re perfect, R’jaal.” She tries to smile, but her shoulders continue to droop. “And Hannah and Lauren were really nice. But…we talked about books and fanfic. Neither of those things are useful here. It’s like whoever I was cloned from, I got the most useless parts of her brain. I just…”
R’slind sighs and goes quiet.
Her sadness makes me ache. I move to sit closer to her, curling my tail around her waist. “Do not think like that. Not one human has arrived here completely capable and ready to survive on their own. Not even Leezh, though she will tell you otherwise.” I touch her knee, realizing she is still wearing makeshift furs as clothing. I need to get her new things so she will feel better about herself. I always feel better with clean new leathers, even if they are not needed. “You are not expected to learn everything in one day. We are all simply glad to have another person in the tribe…me most of all.”
She looks up at me, worry in her gaze. “I just don’t want to disappoint you. What if there’s something wrong with clones? What if that’s why we can’t resonate properly? What if—”
“Who says we cannot resonate properly?” I set my bowl aside and lean in toward her, breathing in her intoxicating scent. With my knuckle, I trace the curve of her teat through her layers of clothing. “Some resonances take time. It does not mean there is a problem. It means the khui is not satisfied yet.”
“And what if there’s something wrong inside me?” she whispers.
“There is not. V’ronca would have noticed.” I lean in closer, brushing my lips along her jaw. Her khui hums its song loudly, singing to mine. “Do you know what I think?”
Her eyelids are heavy with arousal as she gazes upon me. “What?”
“I think that my khui knows I have waited so long for the right female that it is allowing us to enjoy resonance for as long as possible.” I kiss her cheek, then her jaw. “It is a gift, and we should enjoy it.”
“Well aren’t you full of sunshine?” she teases, turning her mouth towards mine so we can kiss, lips to lips.
I am indeed “full of sunshine,” as she says. Nothing can truly bother me anymore, not with R’slind in my world. I am complete. I cup her teat and ease her down into the furs, determined to show her just how much I am enjoying every moment of resonance.
Thirty-One
ROSALIND
Days Later
Poor R’jaal is worried over me, and his fussing really is the sweetest. When I’m with him, I feel amazing. Incredible. Complete.
It’s just that the moment he leaves my side, the self-doubt creeps in. A few more days pass, and R’jaal is in demand around camp. It doesn’t matter that we haven’t finished resonating. Someone always has questions, and it doesn’t take me long to realize that R’jaal has a leadership role in the tribe. Raahosh—or R’hosh as R’jaal refers to him—handles a lot of the arguing and day-to-day bickering, along with his acerbic mate Liz. But R’jaal is the one people brainstorm with. They ask his opinion on things, they look to him for advice, and for a helping hand. It makes me so proud of him to see him so in need by his people, but at the same time, I feel useless.