Ol-via repeated his words in the human language they shared. Eun-ji smirked and nodded. She said something to Ol-via. Ol-via sighed and turned back to Kaias.
 
 “She thanks you for the compliment,” Ol-via explained. “Her mother and father taught her proper manners.”
 
 Kaias smirked. “She teases you.”
 
 “My country has different customs,” Ol-via said. “We do not bow to anyone. Bowing symbolizes that someone has power over us.”
 
 “No one rules over you?”
 
 “We have laws everyone is supposed to follow,” Ol-via commented.
 
 He found it interesting that she said “supposed”. It was just another observation to add to the mysteries of Earth.
 
 “There is much I would like to learn,” he admitted to her. Ol-via’s eyes widened, and her lips parted just enough for him tosee her tongue press against the back of her teeth. “From both of you.”
 
 Ol-via closed her mouth again—a slight pink rose from her neck.
 
 He found himself wondering where else that pink went when he made her feel whatever it was she felt.
 
 Eun-Ji spoke, breaking the silence between them. Ol-via turned her ear slightly toward her and nodded. She looked at Kaias and sighed.
 
 “She is excited to see what a Heart Binding looks like,” Ol-via said. She leaned towards him, looking paler than before. “It’s not like the story, right? We aren’t cutting into our chests, are we? Because that would kill me.”
 
 Kaias laughed. The question was unexpected.
 
 Ol-via and Eun-Ji’s eyes widened as they watched.
 
 “Forgive me,” Kaias coughed out, getting himself reentered, “taking out our hearts would kill us too.”
 
 Ol-via sighed in relief. She spoke to Eun-Ji quickly and turned back to him. Eun-Ji laughed and said something to her, reddening Ol-via again.
 
 “What did she say?”
 
 “It's nothing,” Ol-via said quickly, shaking her head.
 
 Kaias hummed. He found himself wanting to be a part of their group. It was clear that Eun-Ji liked teasing Ol-via, and if it made her skin redden, he wanted to join in. An idea crossed his mind.
 
 He leaned in close. A soft and sweet aroma wafted from her body. It reminded him of the small cakes the palace cooks made for special occasions. He wondered where that smell came from and whether they could manufacture it the way humans had.
 
 His eyes wandered to Ol-via’s and he smirked. Slowly, he raised a hand and brushed the back of it along her cheek, down to her collarbone. The tiny hairs on her body shivered andstood. Pink darkened and rose in her body. Ol-via’s lips opened slightly, and a small gasp of air was released. It was anticipation and pleasure that made his cock jump.
 
 “I’ll get it out of you eventually,” he promised in a low rolling voice.
 
 Ol-via closed her mouth and inhaled slowly. Her shoulders rolled back as her body became calm and still.
 
 “Perhaps you should learn my language, instead.”
 
 The defiance she had earlier returned. Kaias looked at her, unsure of what he was feeling. There was always a power struggle between the sexes in Vrex, but the women fawning over him held an underlying motive. It was to get ahead, to gain power, or to usurp the power from under him. Each female held a dark plan that made him cautious in choosing a mate. For all intents and purposes, Ol-via had nothing to gain in their union past her safety.
 
 “We'll have our first lesson now,” Ol-via smiled, “say it after me, Oh-liv-e-ah.”
 
 Kaias narrowed his eyes, but played her game. He repeated the sounds, feeling them in his mouth. It was her name, the proper way of saying it. Has no one attempted to say it correctly? A tinge of shame and embarrassment filled the spectrum of emotions.
 
 He repeated her name over and over again until the sounds merged into one word and he could grasp it.
 
 “Olivia,” he whispered.
 
 Olivia smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”