“Okay.” Terra was relieved that her friend wasn’t leaving the suite entirely. Not that she thought Rive would try anything—after all, despite their wild appearance, the Monstrum were still Kindred and the Kindred never hurt or sexually assaulted women. But it was nice to know there was a friend nearby if the discussion got awkward.
“First of all, let me say that neither V’rone, Tem, or myself were expecting such an extreme reaction to the Touch-test,” Rive said, settling himself on the sofa beside her. He tilted his head down, the soft glows from the hanging flowers above glinting on the lenses of his opaque oculars. “We had no idea the reaction could even be so strong and we wish to apologize if it startled you.”
“Startled is an understatement,” Terra said. “But…you’re saying you didn’t do it on purpose?”
“Why would we?” Rive shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling under the black leather vest he wore. “When it so clearly frightened you off, which was the opposite of our objective. Which is to—”
“To convince me to come and be your ‘Queen,’ right?” Terra asked.
Rive nodded stiffly.
“I realize you must have many other suitors. A Mature Elite such as yourself could certainly have her pick of any male she desires…”
“What?” Terra exclaimed. “Is that why you think I don’t want to, uh, bond with you guys or whatever—because I have so many other men knocking down my door?”
“Well, don’t you?” Rive seemed surprised. “After all, you are so beautiful with your full curves and the wisdom of your years, it seems an obvious conclusion to draw.”
Terra smothered a laugh.
“Maybe in your culture but not in mine,” she told him. “In fact, the one male—man—I did have just left me for a skinny younger woman.”
Rive frowned.
“I do not understand—he broke his bond with you to go with a female who has less wisdom and fewer curves?”
“He most certainly did,” Terra told him. “And the divorce was only finalized last month. So you see, that’s why I can’t be with you guys—well, besides the fact that there are three of you—it’s because I’m just not ready to move on yet. Emotionally, I mean.”
Rive still looked confused.
“I still don’t understand how any male could break his bond with the female he loves.”
“That’s because the ‘bond’ between married humans is a lot less involved than the bond between a Kindred and his wife,” Terra said. She had studied the Kindred culture before coming up here—she liked to have her facts straight whenever she went someplace new. “You Monstrum form permanent Soul bonds with your mates, don’t you?”
“Of course,” Rive said, frowning. “But you humans do not?”
“No, we just sign a piece of paper and exchange vows,” Terra told him. “Vows that can be very easily broken, unfortunately.”
Rive looked at her earnestly.
“I am very sorry for the pain your ex-mate caused you. He is a despicable male and should be flogged for treating a beautiful Mature Elite in such a shameful way.”
“Thank you.” Terra felt her eyes beginning to water again and sniffed to hold the tears back. “Look, I can’t be your Queen—I haven’t dealt with all the emotional baggage from my divorce yet. I’ll tell you what, though,” she added, remembering Iyanna’s idea. “I’ll make you a deal—if you’ll agree to go with me to my ex-husband’s wedding on Friday, I’ll help you find some other girl who wants to be with you. I mean, I’m sure there will be plenty of bridesmaids to choose from—skinny-minny Mindy probably has a whole herd of college-aged friends that would be more your type.”
Rive seemed to consider this offer because he put his chin on his fist and was silent for a long moment. Finally, he looked up.
“So you wish to make an exchange—in return for V’rone and Tem and I accompanying you to the Joining Ceremony of your ex-mate, you agree to help us find another female who will consent to be the Heart and Queen of our colony. Correct?”
Terra nodded firmly.
“Yes, absolutely.”
“And will you agree that this is a binding contract of good faith between equals?” Rive asked her.
“Uh, sure.” She nodded and held out her hand. “Want to shake on it? That’s uh, one way we humans seal a deal,” she added when the big green warrior looked at her uncertainly.
“Oh, of course.” Rive reached for her hand but Terra drew back at the last moment.
“Wait—I’m not going to get that weird tingle again, am I?”
Rive shook his head.
“That only happens the first time a colony member touches a female who is an ideal candidate to be his Queen.”
“Oh, okay.” Carefully, Terra slid her hand into his much larger one, squeezed it and pumped exactly twice before letting go. She was relieved when she didn’t get a single electrical tingle from the brief touch. “You’ll go with me to Gregoryory’s wedding and I’ll help you find the right girl for you—for all of you,” she said. “It’s a deal.”