Page 46 of Mazorium Buys a Human

“It’s not good enough that we’re better than others,” he argued. “We need to be better than our base needs. First we must think of the empire, then our clan, then our family, and ourselves only last. That’s what we’re all taught in the cresh growing up. How can anyone ignore that message? It’s a core part of being Talin.”

Whoa, that was some serious indoctrination!

“Every society has those people," I said. “They say one thing but do another.”

He didn’t respond. Damn it, I wasn’t going to let him wallow.

“Maz, you’re honorable, right?”

Finally, he looked up. “I thought I was.”

“You are,” I said. “You saved my life. You saved Nadia’s life. If you hadn’t bought us, we probably would’ve been dead within a month.”

“You’re comparing me to the actions of other species. It’s not flattering.”

“So you found out there are bad people in your empire,” I said, getting a little angry. “That doesn’t make what you did any less incredible. You could’ve forced me to give up Nadia to those men and walked away without injury. At any time during the fight, you could’ve begged me to come out of hiding with Nadia and that would’ve ended it. But you didn’t. That tells me you are the ideal.”

He made a sound. It was a faint purring, but it was there. I think that was the first time he’d done it when Nadia wasn’t near him.

“Do you truly think that?”

I nodded my head in a big, exaggerated motion. “I know it. The important takeaway is there will be those out there who will try and help us, like Ithorum, and those who want to hurt us, like Gorum. The universe is a mish-mash of everything.”

He seemed to think about that for a while before answering. “How do you know who to trust?”

“That’s the hard part, but you’ve got me to help you figure it out.”

Mazorium

It was hard to realize that most of what I’d believed my entire life wasn’t true. My orderly, righteous world had collapsed, revealing shadows full of hidden dangers.

At first, I couldn’t comprehend it. Everything had to be a drug-induced hallucination I would eventually emerge from.

Except I didn’t.

Pain was my constant companion, and only Mika’s steadfast care made it bearable. Nadia still needed me to hold and rumble to her. That drove me to move, but I couldn’t bring myself to do anything with my mind.

I was scared to confront my shattered worldview.

Then Mika basically forced it all out of me. I thought she’d be disgusted by my naivety.

I was wrong. My human was too kind for that. She cared for me, fed me, and comforted me. She was everything I was supposed to be for her.

Even though she’d spent her life enduring countless hardships, she was still able to trust me.

I felt honored but also astonished. I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to trust again.

“Is this what it’s like for you?” I asked as she returned to the lab with a large platter of food for us to share.

She wrinkled her brow in confusion. “Huh? Let’s normalize giving context, Maz.”

I sounded a rumble of amusement, then paused with surprise. Had she really just pulled unbidden mirth from me?

“That was a happy rumble!” she exclaimed, leaning over the platter to give me a pat on the cheek. “It’s good to hear.”

The touch was light and brief, but bonding oil filled my scent glands, making them ache. I didn’t want to admit how often my cheeks hurt from being overfull of oil simply because she was close by.

I knew it was significant, but I wasn’t ready to face it yet.