Another question occurred to her, and she looked up, meeting Delia’s gaze. “How long do these fights tend to last?” Mia asked, her imagination conjuring up a horrifying day-long bloody ordeal.
“Anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours,” the Greek girl said. “It really depends on how evenly the opponents are matched. There’s also a short ceremony before, and a longer one after, during which the winner celebrates.”
“Celebrates how?”
Delia smiled, and there was a mischievous twinkle in her brown eyes. “Well, an unattached male will often choose one or more unattached females, and they will couple in a shatela – a tent-like structure in the middle of the Arena. Attached men will usually do the same with their mate.”
Sex in public? Was Delia serious? Mia could feel furious color flooding her face. “And those with charl?”
Delia laughed. “That depends. Arus is very considerate when it comes to my human sensibilities, and he would usually just kiss me in the Arena and wait until we got home to celebrate properly. Others have been known to treat their charl just like Krinar women in this situation.”
“So you’re saying that if Korum wins, he might want to have sex in front of everyone?”
“Perhaps,” Delia said, grinning. “Nobody will really see you, though, since you’ll be inside the shatela. They might only hear you.”
“Oh great. That makes it so much better,” Mia muttered. She remembered what Korum had told her about the Celebration of Forty-Seven, and how she had been glad that, as a human, she wouldn’t be expected to participate in the exhibitionist spectacle. But now it seemed like there was no getting away from it – unless Korum ‘respected her human sensibilities.’ Just one more thing for her to worry about during the fight.
Before she had a chance to think about this further, the transport pod landed quietly in a wooded area.
“We’re here,” Delia said, getting up.
Mia got up as well and followed her out of the aircraft. It looked like they were in the middle of the forest. “Where is here?”
Delia turned toward her, and Mia was shocked to see an excited gleam in her eyes. “The Arena,” she said and gestured toward a tree-covered hill in front of them.
Mia raised her eyebrows but didn’t say anything as they walked toward the elevation. She could hear a dull roar in the distance, like a massive waterfall of some kind. Was the Arena near a river? Carefully stepping forward, she concentrated on avoiding bugs or whatever else could be crawling in a Costa Rican jungle. Her thin-soled sandals were not exactly hiking-friendly, and Mia sincerely hoped she wouldn’t get stung or bitten before they got to the fight. If she recalled correctly, tarantulas were one of the hazards of this part of the world – although she was now supposedly immune to such dangers, with the nanocytes circulating throughout her body and quickly repairing any cellular damage.
As they got further up the hill, Mia realized that the sound she was hearing was the muted buzz of a crowd. Somewhere nearby, thousands of Ks were gathered to watch the fight. Apparently eager to join them, Delia ran up the rest of the hill, moving with almost Krinar-like grace herself. “Here it is,” she said, turning toward Mia and pointing straight ahead.
Her heart pounding and her palms sweating, Mia hurried to catch up with the other charl. When she reached the top of the hill, she stopped dead in her tracks.
The green valley below was a spectacle unlike any other she had ever seen in her life. Thousands – no, tens of thousands – of Krinar were gathered below. Tall and golden-skinned, the aliens were dressed in blindingly white clothing that shimmered in the sunlight. While the majority mingled on the ground, a number of them occupied floating seats that were arranged in circles around a large clearing. It was like a round football field, only with the spectators floating in the air instead of sitting in the bleachers – or like a high-tech version of an ancient Roman amphitheater. The latter was probably a better comparison, Mia thought, given what was about to take place.
“Mia! There you are!”
Turning to her right, Mia saw Korum approaching them. Unlike everybody else, he was dressed in his usual clothes – a light-colored shirt and pair of shorts. Coming closer, he pulled her to him for a quick hug and kissed her forehead. “How are you, my sweet?” he asked, looking down at her with a warm smile.
Mia could feel her heart beating faster at his nearness. “I’m good. Are you ready for the fight?”
“Of course.” He stroked her cheek with his fingers, then turned toward Delia. “Thanks for bringing Mia here,” he said, giving the other girl a smile. His left arm was still wrapped around Mia, holding her pressed tightly against his side.
“It was my pleasure,” Delia said, giving Korum a regal nod. “I’ll let you two catch up. Mia, when you’re done, please come join me. We’re sitting over there.” She pointed toward a row of floating seats that were closest to the clearing.
“I’ll bring her there in a minute,” Korum promised, looking faintly amused at the other girl’s imperious manner.
As soon as Delia disappeared into the crowd, he bent his head and brought Mia up for a more thorough kiss, one of his large hands cupping her skull and the other holding her lower body pressed against his. She could feel the hardness of his erection pushing against her belly, the strength of his arms surrounding her, and heat flooded her body, culminating in the sensitive area between her legs. His lips and tongue teased and caressed her mouth, pleasuring her, consuming her, until she forgot all about the crowds around them, caught up in a sensual daze.
When he finally let her come up for air, she was desperately clinging to him, heedless of their public location.
“Fuck,” he cursed in a rough whisper, lifting his head and staring down at her with bright golden eyes, “I can’t wait for this fight to be over. You drive me insane sometimes, you know that?”
Mia licked her lips, tasting him there. She was so aroused she could barely stand it, her hips moving involuntarily, trying to rub against him. Yet something nagged at the back of her mind, breaking through the fog of desire clouding her brain.
She pushed at his chest, trying to put some distance between them so she could think. “Delia said . . .” Mia hesitated, not knowing how to phrase it. “Delia said the victor celebrates by, um . . .”
“By fucking?” Korum asked, his eyes still filled with a golden glow. “Is that what she told you?”
Mia nodded, her cheeks burning.