Page 120 of Seven Oars
Fincros swayed, then shook his head, flinging sweat from his hair.
“Talk to me,” he ordered hoarsely.
She paused her winding.“What would you like me to say?”
“Tell me about yourself,” he said.“Did you live on Meeus all your life?”
“Most of it,” she replied.“I came to Meeus when I was three. I was born on Planet Earth.”
“You have a mother? A father?” he asked.
“My mother’s dead. I never knew my father.”
He hummed.“You have other family?”
“I have a brother,” she said softly.
“Is he younger than you?”
Rosamma’s chest grew tight.She could picture Ren so clearly, his tall, lanky form and sardonic half-smile. Oh, to live long enough to see him again…
“He’s older by seven minutes,” she whispered.
Fincros paused.“You’re a twin?”
She nodded.
“Strange, I know,” she said.“Tana-Tana twin babies never survive. Because they wouldn’t be separate babies. They would be halves of one.”
He arched a fine, curved eyebrow at her.“Yet here you are.”
“Only because we’re half-human,” she explained.
“Tell me why you had no male on Meeus?” he asked suddenly.
He couldn’t have known whether she’d left someone behind on Meeus. He’d only guessed.
And he was correct.
She looked up… and found him staring at her. It gave her a mild jolt to be scrutinized so closely. By him.
Rosamma flushed.
“Do you have to ask, Striker Fincros?” she said quietly.
“You lived around men, didn’t you?” he probed.
It was too disconcerting, being near him like this, answering his intrusive questions. The mix of emotions he stirred in Rosamma was dark and unsettling.
“I lived with my brother and stepfather,” she said.“My stepfather—I call him uncle—owns an entertainment club. I used to help out there when I was younger.”
His attention had switched back to his task, making it easier for her to carry on with her story.
“As I grew,” she continued,“I stood out more and more among humans. The patrons at the club started noticing me and talking about me. It wasn’t good for my uncle’s business. And it wasn’t safe for me.”
“How so?”
She shrugged and frowned.“Most people found me too strange.”
