Ty had been lying back against the pillows of the couch but now he sat up frowning.
“Doesn’t hurt enough? What are you talking about? Why would you have to hurt to want to make love?”
“Make love?” Ellina frowned, confused. “What’s that?”
“It’s what you call breeding, I think.” He frowned. “Unless your people do it in a different way than mine?”
“I…I don’t know.” Ellina shook her head. “I only know I’m not ready for it yet. I don’t want to do it!”
“We won’t—I would never do anything you didn’t want me to do, little one.”
His deep voice was low and soothing and when he reached for her, Ellina felt calmed enough to get closer—though she didn’t climb back into his lap. She couldn’t imagine how she’d gotten there in the first place!
“All right,” she said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to accuse you. I was just frightened.”
“I could see that.” Ty frowned. “But why? What do your people do that makes ‘breeding’ such a frightening experience?”
“Well, I don’t think it’s frightening for everyone,” Ellina said carefully. “But it is for me—for the Potentate, you know,” she explained.
Ty still looked confused.
“Walk me through it,” he said, making a motion with one hand. “Tell me what you do—how you do it—and why it frightens you so much.”
“Well…I haven’t done it yet,” Ellina said. She felt a little funny talking about such an intimate subject with the big Kindred. But after all, she’d just been kissing him, deeply and intimately for quite a long time. After that it didn’t seem wrong to speak of sensitive topics.
“Well, what’s going to happen when you do do it, then?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Or do you even know?”
“Of course, I know!” Ellina exclaimed, stung. “I might be a virgin but I’m not ignorant. I know what’s going to happen to me.” She shivered. “I just don’t like the idea of it very much—that’s all.”
“Why not?” he asked, clearly still mystified.
“Well, because it’s going to hurt, of course!” she exclaimed, exasperated.
“Because it will be your first time?” Ty asked. “Do females of the Chorkay have a hymen? That’s a thin membrane of skin inside the female orifice that may tear or stretch the first time a shaft enters you,” he explained, seeing her baffled expression.
“Oh, no—nothing like that.” Ellina shook her head. “But the first time a female is bred she must be opened, you see.”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t. Please explain—opened how? I have a feeling it’s somewhat different from what I’m used to.”
Feeling embarrassed but determined to make him understand, Ellina attempted to explain.
“Chorkay females have a secret chamber at the very end of their primary sacred mouth,” she explained. “An entrance to the womb which is shut tight and must be battered open.”
“Battered open?” His eyebrows rose and his clear eyes grew dark. “By a male, you mean?”
“Of course.” Ellina shrugged. “That is why the males of my people have a kind of twist at the end of their shafts. It helps a male to force his way into the chamber so that he can deposit his seed directly into a female’s womb—thus ensuring conception.”
Ty’s dark eyebrows drew together in a scowl.
“I don’t like this talk of ‘battering’ and ‘forcing,’ Ellina. My people would call that rape.”
“It’s not though—it’s necessary,” she told him. “Only…” she bit her lip. “Only it’s not very pleasant. Or so I’m told.”
“It doesn’t sound very pleasant,” Ty growled. “Especially not for the female involved.”
“Well, there is no other way to conceive an heir.” Ellina shrugged lightly, though she didn’t feel at all sanguine about the prospect of someday breeding. “Anyway, I don’t have to worry about it until I come into my first Heat Cycle and have to choose a consort,” she told Ty. “Which I hope will not be for some time yet.”
“Heat Cycle?” He frowned. “What’s that?”
“Oh, don’t your females come into heat?” she asked, surprised. “I thought all civilized people did. It’s just your body telling you it’s ready to be bred,” she explained. She bit her lip. “I’m told it can be quite intense.”
“And what happens if you just ignore this ‘Heat Cycle’?” Ty asked? “What if you don’t want to be ‘bred’?”
“Oh, you can’t ignore it!” Ellina exclaimed, shocked at the very idea. “You’d die. Even the Sisters of Purity cannot ignore their Cycle when it comes upon them. That is why The Brotherhood of Chastity exists—to service the Sisters during their cycles.”
“So much for purity and chastity, I guess.” Ty snorted.
“Oh, they’re very circumspect about it,” Ellina assured him. “The Sisters go into a kind of box with only their, um, bottoms sticking out. The Brothers approach them from behind, without knowing who is who and so they, er…do what needs to be done.” She coughed. “And it only happens once a year.”
“So once you start this ‘Heat Cycle’ you only have to worry about ‘breeding’ once a year then?” Ty asked.
“Well…” Ellina looked down at her fingers, which were twisting together in her lap. “It’s worse for nobles because of their refined blood. And worst of all for royals,” she finished, almost in a whisper.
“Worse, how?” Ty asked, frowning.
“I’ve heard that your blood burns during your Cycle,” Ellina told him. “You throb and ache inside until you crave to be bred, even though you know it’s going to hurt.”
“But why must it hurt?” he insisted. “It seems to me that if a male was gentle but persistent, if he took things slowly…”
“I have heard that’s how it is with some,” Ellina admitted. “But…”
“But what?” He raised his eyebrows at her.
“But it cannot be that way for royalty—for the Potentate,” she told him.
“What? Why not?” His face was
