She felt protected when he held her, felt like everything would be all right. It was obviously an illusion, but such a sweet one she couldn’t bear to give it up. She thought longingly of his warm scent and the way he had stroked her back and shoulders to keep her warm and wondered if he would hold her again tonight…
“…to you.”
Laxah’s voice in her ear drew Lan’ara out of her daydreams.
“I’m sorry?” she asked politely. “I think I missed part of what you were saying.”
“I said, maybe that’s what drew Needrix to you. The fact that you were in trouble, I mean,” Laxah had gotten two bowls from the cupboard and was filling both of them with a bright blue, gooey-looking mixture. She handed Lan’ara one of them as well as a spoon and they sat down at the table.
“Why would that draw him to me?” Lan’ara asked. She took a bite of the still steaming goo and smiled appreciatively. “Mmm, good! So sweet and nutty.”
“Thank you.” Laxah smiled and stirred her own goo. “Well, Kindred are often known to be protective and helpful of females in trouble. It’s one of the reasons I don’t lump them in with all the other useless males in the universe.”
“They are?” Lan’ara asked. “He did say something to me about how Kindred don’t hurt females.”
“They don’t. They revere them—they even worship a female Goddess,” Laxah told her. “A Kindred warrior seeing a helpless girl being sold at an auction wouldn’t have been able to walk away.” She sighed. “I guess I owe Needrix an apology. He’s even going to drop you off to the male you were originally intended for—if you still want to go there, that is.” She raised one salt and pepper eyebrow at Lan’ara. “Do you?”
“Well, of course I do,” Lan’ara protested. “Senator Pouncenblast owns his own island on Genu Six. I’ll be living in the lap of luxury as his Primary Bride. All I have to do is give him an heir and my future will be assured.”
“Listen to yourself.” Laxah’s eyes flashed. “All you have to do is give him an heir? Don’t you know that females are good for more things than being pretty and making babies, girl?”
“Oh, well…” Lan’ara was somewhat taken aback by the other woman’s vehemence. “I…at the Twyleth Tigg Academy, that was mostly what we were trained for.”
“I can understand that you’ve been raised in a repressive, misogynistic environment,” Laxah said. “But before you jump right back into it, think about your life. You’re young—you can do anything you want. You don’t have to go to some male and bear him children in order to have a sense of self-worth—you’re better than that.”
“I am?” Lan’ara asked doubtfully. “But, I mean…what would I do? If I didn’t go to Senator Pouncenblast, I mean?”
“You could learn a skill,” Laxah said. “I’ve been asking Captain Glo’ll to let me take on an assistant forever. I’m almost ready to retire but I don’t like to leave The Dark Heart without a Med Tech.”
“You think you could train me to be a Med Tech?” Lan’ara hadn’t ever considered such an idea.
“It depends. Do you faint at the sight of blood?” Laxah demanded.
“No.” Lan’ara shook her head. “Once my friend, Prissy Whillikers got her finger nearly cut all the way off using the embroidery sheers. All the other girls were screaming and the instructor started throwing up everywhere. I was the one who wrapped Prissy’s finger in a clean cloth and got her to the nurse. They were able to reattach it, too,” she ended proudly.
“Good, that’s good!” Laxah exclaimed, nodding. “See—I bet you’d make an excellent med tech. Maybe you should give it some thought.”
“I would but…” Lan’ara’s spirits fell suddenly. “But my Lord Need paid forty thousand credits for me, as I said. How could I just decide not to go to Senator Pouncenblast so he can get his money back?”
“How indeed?” Laxah frowned darkly. “As I told you, my dear, the Kindred revere women. Maybe you should talk to him about it. Maybe, in time, you could pay him back yourself.”
“Could I? How much do med techs make?” Lan’ara asked doubtfully.
“Not that much. Did you say Need paid forty thousand credits for you?” It was Psoas, stretching his long neck over to join in their conversation, even though his body was still seated in the viewing room.
“Hush, Psoas—it’s none of your business,” Laxah snapped. “Go back to your game.”
“I was just curious.” The engineer’s pink eyes glowed briefly. “You shouldn’t be filling the girl’s head with nonsense, Laxah. If Need paid that much for her, he has to expect to get it back somehow. And turning the girl into a med tech isn’t going to do it.”
Laxah put a hand on her hip.
“Well maybe you could train her to be an engineer, then. You get a cut of every smuggling run we do, whereas I only get a flat salary.”