Page 93 of The Wishing Game

He nods to himself as he finishes, clearly pleased with himself.

"Well, Thea has a different account," I shoot back.

"What Erithea failed to mention is that our laws apply toeveryone. If a male fathers a child outside the mating bounds, he is also punished. The same goes for food, clothes, and behavior. Depending on your level of skill, standing in society and responsibility, certain things are expected of you. Cerenios and I, for example, are held to much stricter standards because of our positions in the army."

"Oh... I'm sorry for assuming," I say. I'm embarrassed that I jumped so quickly to conclusions without hearing the entire story.

"You are forgiven," he smoothly replies.

"This is a bit of a trigger for me." I laugh nervously. "I grew up in a community that subjugated women and only treated them like objects," I continue. For some reason, I feel the need to justify myself.

"You were subjugated?" Ze frowns, his gaze on mine.

"Technically, I was a slave." I shrug.

"A slave? You humans still practice slavery?"

"There are people who still do. It doesn't mean it has to be legal."

"Who? Tell me who it was and I will annihilate them," he rasps, his nostrils flaring with anger.

On my behalf?

"They're already dead. But thank you." I give him a smile. He really isn't that bad once you get over the rough exterior.

He humphs.

"Inthislife..." he trails off, a smile pulling at his lips.

I don't quite get his meaning, but I choose not to dwell on it since the mere topic of the hacienda tends to make me deeply uncomfortable. Instead, I browse through the selection of shows and choose something PG-13 for Ze. And what other better option than anime? There are a few episodes of Naruto available, and I suggest he watch those. Of course, after the first episode plays, I expect him to have some more complaints. But to my surprise, he watches it with great interest.

I make sure that Cer and Thea are also comfortable before huddling closer to the window and closing my eyes to sleep.

TWENTY-TWO

"You need to evacuate the aircraft, sir."

I yawn as I nuzzle my cheek against the soft pillow cushioning my head.

"No." The tone is clipped, the voice familiar.

I slowly open my eyes, sleep still clinging to my lashes. Tipping my head up, my eyes meet Ze's steely ones. My hands are wrapped around his arm, my head resting on his shoulder. I quickly sober up as I realize I've been intruding on his personal space, using him as my pillow.

"Sorry," I mumble, pulling back with a guilty smile. He's going to tell me off any second now, I just know it. Yet to my surprise, he doesn't. He merely stares at me intently, his eyes roving over me curiously.

"You're awake," he notes.

I nod, rubbing my eyes and stretching my upper body.

"You need to leave, sir," the woman continues.

I blink a few times as I focus on my surroundings. The plane is... empty. There's only me, Ze, and the flight attendant glaring aggressively at Ze.

"Where's everyone else?" I ask, worried something might have happened while I was passed out from sheer exhaustion.

"Everyone else has left already. Half an hour ago," she enunciates each word clearly. "Everyone but you two because your boyfriend refused to move and disrupt your sleep."

"What? He's not my boyfriend," I immediately reply. "Ze, what's happening? What did you do?"

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