Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 83205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Tilting my head, I study him. "What's that?"
"You won't laugh at my question?"
"Why would I laugh?"
He makes a wry face. "Because I asked something about babies earlier and everyone laughed at me."
Immediately, my anger blisters white-hot. I sit upright. "Who laughed at you? Do I need to fight them? Teach them some fucking manners? Because you can ask me anything, love. And I'm not going to laugh."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
Corvak is quiet for a moment, and then he puts a hand on my stomach. "How does something as big as a baby come out of your body?"
That's not such a weird question. "Well, your body stretches to accommodate the child."
His glowing eyes squint up at me. "But some of the children I saw were up to your waist! Look at Nadine's child Deeni! How is that possible?" His voice drops to a horrified whisper. "And did you see Steph's son? Pak is nearly as tall as her. No cunt can stretch like that."
Oh no.
I'm a liar. Because I'm absolutely going to laugh. I press my lips together hard, trying to compose myself. "Those children were different ages, Corvak."
"Just to confirm…Deeni did not come out of her body that size?"
"Absolutely not."
He lets out a huge, gusty sigh of relief. "That is very good to know. People keep mentioning children's ages to me as if it should mean something, but I am clueless as to what."
I bury my face against his neck, fighting giggles. Of course he doesn't know how age affects growth—he only knows full-size people. I can only imagine the mental gymnastics he's been going through trying to figure out why everyone's kids are different sizes. When I can hold it together, I give him an adoring pat on the chest. My god, I love this man. How can he be so innocent and yet so clever at the same time? All I know is I adore him with my whole heart. "Let me explain to you how children grow, my love…"
EPILOGUE
TWO MONTHS LATER
AIDY
There are few pleasures as enjoyable as watching your mate work. I stand back, admiring the strong flex of Corvak's back as he loads heavy rocks onto a sled with Gren. The stones are gargantuan, but they're also flatter down at the far end of the beach, and Corvak said he wanted them for the floor of our hut that's currently being built. The two men set the enormous flat stone down on the sled they brought for transporting. They look pleased at the accomplishment when it crashes onto the sled and the entire thing shakes but holds together.
"Good stone," says my mate, unaware I'm standing nearby. "Aidy will like it."
I hate that I'm going to have to ruin his day. "Do you have a moment, love?"
Corvak's face brightens as he realizes I've arrived. I love how just seeing me—even though we were in bed together hours ago—puts the biggest smile on his face. "Done already?" he asks. "I thought they would commandeer you for a while."
"Nope, we're all good. It was a short lesson today." I've been sitting in with the Ancestors—Those Who Remain—that are living above-ground with the Icehome village. There's no language-translating chip for them like there was for myself and Corvak, and so they recently went to an old, crashed ship to get what Harlow calls a "language" dump. That worked and they can understand our words now, but a party is going to return to the people underground, and they want to make a language guide to help with learning.
Somehow, I'm the best with languages in the entire group. There are nuances to the Ancestors' language that can't be communicated easily. I noticed this when Rosalind was trying to explain to Set’nef the differences between two words that sound the same in English—the "sea" and "to see," and I jumped in to help. I've also been able to understand the Spanish that Marisol and Callie switch into constantly, before the translator kicks in. It's like my khui has some sort of language superpower, where I grasp the concepts quicker than others. As a result, I've been working with Rosalind, Set'nef, and Tal'nef to go over common words in the Ancestors' language (with Rosalind recording things on parchment skins) so we can establish a travel "guide" for future visitors.
Today, however, our lesson was cut short due to weird circumstances. "I've got good news and bad news," I say to my mate. "Which do you want first?"
He glances over at Gren, nodding at him, then wipes his brow and moves to my side. Gren goes to check on his son, who's stacking smaller rocks nearby, his constant little shadow. Ever since we arrived at Icehome, we've gotten along with everyone, but there's a special bond between Gren and Corvak. It's like Corvak's found a brother in the quiet gladiator, and I'm so happy for him. I know Willa, Gren's mate, is equally thrilled. There's community, and then there's family. It doesn't matter if Gren and Corvak aren't truly brothers—they feel like they are, and that's all that matters.