Page 94 of The Princesses of Ruin
I suppose I will…
“What are family units like?”
“Clutches are not raised like Ki’ah Ohn, or selkie kind. Members become functional within days of hatching, and they all know their place.”
That sounds ominous.
“What does that mean?”
“Resources are limited. Every member has their place, and their rights.”
“Do you have commerce? With whom?”
“Yes, with Nimpoi.”
“What is it?”
“Fish and other delicacies.”
“What do they give the ga’hanoi?”
Vek’ihr pauses before the luminous, wide-open entrance of the tallest tower. “They do not hunt us.”
I take in the massive building before us with open-mouthed wonder.
“You fear being eaten?” Jasper scoffs. “Unlikely.”
“The centuries have not been as kind to the ga’hanoi as the selkie. War, loss, disease, and fear drove us to the Deep. Desperation drove us to survive. Determination drives us to fight for the sunlight.”
His large eyes reflect the wondrous colors around us.
“Any alliance we can make to that end, we will.”
Jasper grunts. “Was that before or after you started huntingmykind for flesh?”
Vek’ihr turns his gaze on my mate. “The descendants of victors know little of the vanquished.”
Jasper bristles, his spines rising along the back of his head.
I squeeze his hand. “Your history is something I’d very much like to learn. And more of the selkies. Ki’ah Ohn don’t know much of the creatures in the sea.”
Vek’ihr dips his featureless head in a very Fynish bow. “Then a tour of the Pact Sanctum is in order when the meal is complete, if your mate is allowing.”
I look at said mate, who has yet to formally introduce himself. Jasper’s upper lip peels back in a twitchy snarl, then he schools his face and extends his hand.
“Jasper, of the Opal Isle.”
Vek’ihr takes Jasper’s hand and raises it to where lips would be if his face had any. Jasper tugs his fingers free with a scowl, and I giggle.
“I have made an error,” Vek’ihr says as his body lights up with blue and pink under his thin skin.
I smile. “It’s just funny. Men shake hands with men; they don’t kiss their knuckles like with women.”
“I see. My absorption of the information must have been incomplete, or too lax.”
My curiosity is piqued once more. “You said that before. What do you mean?”
The pulses of light grow brighter and circle his body cavity in strange patterns. “The method by which I learned…it may frighten you?”
