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I jump up, trying to switch the direction of my mind. I am trying to explain how the current mating customs of my people came into being. But instead, find myself distracted by mental images of my little Niska desperately grinding against a breeding bench.
Fuck.
Do better, Kiahn.
“Uh, so, anyway,” I babble, distractedly rubbing at the base of my left horn. “Use of the suppressants that blocked a female bonding venom became rife among noblemales, and it caused the following generations of male Xavia
“Whoa, wait, hold up,” Niska interrupts my rambling. “Artificial wombs?”
I rub a hand over my jaw and blow out a breath, forcing myself to slow down. Does she even know the effect she has on me?
Focus, Kiahn, I think, clearing my throat and trying to slow down.
“Yes. King Gahaari had long passed when everything eventually came out. It was estimated that around eighty percent of the noblemales were partaking in the suppressants. The wider population were angry. The females in particular, were filled with rage.”
“Rightfully so.”
I nod my head along with her. It is a blight on our long history, and my female ancestors were justified for their fury. “It marked the start of a great mistrust from the females toward males. None of them wanted to become brides. Daughters defied fathers. Birthrates among nobility dropped like a bird shot from the sky. Even the female commonfolk revolted for how they were wronged. The solution came in the form of technology. An artificial womb. Offspring born from science that does not put the female at risk of being bonded to a male that could never bond with her in return.”
“Well,” Niska says, tilting her head as she blinks at me. We both pause a second as the holographic moonflies dance in a cluster between us before moving on. “That sounds like a good solution. No one is at risk. What’s the issue?”
“The issue is the other venom we possess. The Bloodline Venom,” I tell her, wetting my bottom lip with a quick swipe of my tongue. “Most Xavia
I watch as she lets her back fall against the wall of the lagoon, her eyes unfixed on the moving waters before her as she lets my words sink in. “So… you guys started the breeding contracts so that you could keep this Bloodline Venom stuff going?”
“Yes,” I say, nodding. “The females willing to enter a contract are putting themselves at risk of being bonded in the hopes that their offspring will possess a strong venom, keeping its properties going, where many are already long extinct now.”
Niska blows out a long, slow breath before looking up to me. “That’s kind of fucked up.”