All of the Fenushians were bald and all of them had different patterns of spots and stripes. Honestly, what they most reminded me of were animals from Earth called “cats.” Not that they’re covered in fur like some of the Monstrum Kindred—they aren’t. But they have a kind of feline quality about them—the way they move and act—and a muted, purring tone to their voices. They spoke softly to each other and looked at Isla and Le’rank and me curiously.
Feed’lix rose and said a kind of benediction or prayer, thanking the mighty deity PASS’lix for the bounty before us. In the mixture of silver moonlight and the golden glow of the light bugs, his black and white stripes seemed to shift and glow.
I confess, though, I didn’t get a chance to study the Fenushians as much as I might have liked to. I was too busy keeping an eye on Le’rank and making sure he kept his hands off Isla.
“Well, my dear,” he said to her, once Feed’lix was finished with his prayer and they had started passing dishes down the table. “Your present company seems to be agreeing with you. Why, you’re practically glowing.”
I looked at Isla and saw that she did, indeed, seem to have a sheen to her creamy skin. But I attributed it to the silvery moonlight.
“It is only the moonlight,” Isla said quickly, clearly thinking the same thing I was. “My glow has not come in yet, I am certain it hasn’t.”
“Ah, but I am certain it will,” Le’rank sneered at her. “And when it does, I plan to breed my baby into your belly as soon as I may, my dear.”
Hearing him say those words to Isla made me want to bash his face in with my fist. Again I had that sensation I’ve had several times now since I accepted this contract—that feeling of something huge inside me—something that stirs every time I feel protective of Isla. What the hell is it? I don’t know and I wasn’t feeling very analytical at the time—more like enraged.
“Leave her alone,” I growled at Le’rank. “Can’t you tell she doesn’t want anything to do with you, you bastard? Not after the way you’ve treated her!”
I would have expected my words to make Le’rank angry—and I normally never would have spoken that way to an employer. But the idea of him touching her—breeding her—made me almost go into Rage.
I feel protective of her now—like she’s mine, even though I know she never can be.
However, Le’rank was surprisingly calm.
“Whether she likes it or not, my darling wife will be giving me a son and heir very soon,” he said, still smirking. “However, let us speak no more of it now—the feast is beginning.”
It was indeed, though I don’t know that you’d really call it a “feast” unless you were a vegetarian. Most of the dishes seemed to consist of large bowls full of leafy greens—some of them light green, some dark green, some purple, some blue. All the leaves had different textures but none of them were dressed with any kind of oil or vinegar or any other kind of seasoning you usually put on a salad. I took some of each to be polite and ate a little bit, but it wasn’t really to my taste.
Isla did the same, eating more than I did, but Le’rank just glared at every plate and bowl of greens that was passed his way and continued passing them down without taking any.
“When are we going to have any real food?” he demanded loudly, when he had passed the fifth bowl of greens to his left.
“Do be patient, my dear Lord Le’rank,” Feed’lix purred placatingly. “Look—here comes our soup course now! And I see that tonight our cooks have prepared the famous To’ro’lou soup—for which we Fenushians are famous!”
I was looking forward to the soup, since my stomach was growling by now, but it turned out to be an extremely watery broth filled with a large amount of cooked greens. Some were still crispy, but some had clearly boiled for a long time and were fucking slimy. Again, I took a little to be polite and I saw Isla do the same.
“What is this!” Le’rank demanded. “Are you planning to starve us to death? I can’t eat such slop!” And instead of passing the large soup bowl, he dumped it out onto the grassy lawn we were seated on. “Meat!” he shouted. “I must have meat!”
Isla looked like she wanted to sink into the ground with mortification and I was pretty fucking embarrassed myself. Le’rank was acting like an asshole and everyone at the table thought he was with us. Which he technically was, but by that point I didn’t want to claim him in any way.
“I’m so sorry,” Isla was murmuring to the shocked Fenushian beside Le’rank who had been waiting for the soup. “He…isn’t quite himself at the moment.”