Cari Z - Worlds 2 - Changing Worlds by Cari Z

Author:Cari Z [Z, Cari]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Jason watched Ferran drift away into the crowd, happy for the moment not to have his mood scrutinized by his husband. He could see Corran out of the corner of his eye, sticking close, and he knew that would annoy Ferran, but it didn't really bother him. Maybe the kid actually had something to practice by now.

Jason let his feet carry him around the edges of the room. For the most part, he wasn't noticed; in uncomfortable social situations in the past, he'd been able to practically disappear, even if he was surrounded by people, simply by being still and silent. He thought about taking that course now, but for some reason, his feet kept going, as though they were looking for something and hadn't let his brain in on the secret yet. He didn't know what their goal was until they stopped five feet away from Grenn, who was holding court with a group of lesser matriarchs. When she noticed him, she stopped speaking.

He took rapid stock of his emotional state. Nothing seemed overtly antagonistic, and none of the other matriarchs looked anything other than curious as to why he was standing there. After one long look at his face, Grenn excused herself with a polite purr and moved over to Jason's side. "Come. We'll talk elsewhere."

The amphitheater wasn't far from the Council House—it was actually a part of the extensive underground facility branching out from the Council's meeting room. Grenn and Jason walked for a few minutes in silence, until finally, Grenn opened a door and ushered him in to a small room. There were two chairs, a table, and nothing else. "Now we can talk," she said.

"You're not doing that to Ferran." The words were out of his mouth before he had a chance to censor them, and upon reflection, Jason wasn't at all sorry they were said.

"I most certainly will preside over my own son in his rhezan."

"Not if it means injuring him, you won't."

"The quills grow back," she said soothingly. "It is symbolic as well as practical. Caring for those small, ritual wounds will help to bond a matriarch and her new consorts. It is tradition."

"It won't help Ferran bond with me," Jason told her. "I'm not a matriarch, and Ferran and I have had enough barriers without having to deal with you brutalizing him."

"You will mind your tone with me." Jason had never heard a growl so low. He swallowed back the next few things that had been clamoring to come out of his mouth and took a deep breath instead. Grenn went on after a moment. "You do not fully understand our culture. What you saw was as expected as it is accepted, and no lasting harm was done to either of my nephews. I went so far as to modify their ceremony for you, so that they will be free to return and assist you once their integration into their new family is complete. You should be thanking me."

"Thank you."

Grenn's eyes narrowed. "You are very challenging to read at times.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.