Page 41 of Rule
“Kadanas,” I said.
“Right. Anyway, I read about that, but I neverreally understood why you have hospitals. Doesn’t the gallberry juice heal everything?”
“It does,” I said. “But the kadanas helpguide our elders to the other side when the gallberry juice no longer heals,and they help the humans deliver our babies and administer gallberry serum in intravenousform to the gravely wounded to heal them faster.”
“The gallberry plant helps to heal us,”Bran said, “but sometimes even it is not enough. If a Draax does not receiveit fast enough, they can and will die.”
“The king’s own mother died in childbirth,”I said.
“Really?” Evie said.
“Yes. She was giving birth to her thirdchild, a girl, and it was too much for her and the child. They both died even withthe gallberry plant.”
“That’s so sad,” Evie said.
Bella, who’d been leaning quietly againstEvelyn, suddenly sat up. “Papa?”
“Yes, meena?” Bran scraped the last of hisstew from his bowl.
Bella pressed her hands against Evelyn’sbreasts. “Breasts, Papa. Evie girl’s breasts.”
Evelyn turned a bright red and Bran quicklylooked at his empty bowl of stew as Bella grinned at me. “Breasts, Uda.”
“Uh, I know, meena,” I said.
Evelyn cleared her throat. “Sorry, she wantedto know what they were so I, um, told her. I hope that isn’t a problem.”
“It is not,” Bran said. He was still staringat the bottom of his stew bowl, his tail flicking back and forth behind him.
“So, she’s never seen an adult female before?”Evelyn asked.
Bran shook his head. “No. There are onlya few human females in town mated to Draax, and Bella has never seen them.”
Evelyn pulled on her bottom lip with herteeth and I had to look away. Krono, my erection would not go away.
“So, um, you guys are farmers, right?”
“We are,” Bran said.
Evelyn glanced at Bella. “When I was playingwith Bella in her room, she had a toy sword and she said that papa and udafight.”
“We used to be in the military,” I said.
“Almost every Draax male joins the military,”Bran says. “It is not required, but it is encouraged. The more of us who knowhow to protect our world, the better.”
“That makes sense,” Evelyn said. “It’s agood thing so many of you know how to fight, it’s why our world doesn’t belongto the Gokmards.”
“Gokmards!” Bella made a face and growledbefore hooking her hands into claws and swiping the air. “Gokmards, rawr!”
I laughed and so did Bran, but Evie gave usa nervous look. “Has she seen a Gokmard before?”
“Only in books or on her tablet,” Bransaid.
“Have you seen Gokmards?” Evelyn asked.
I glanced at Bran before nodding. “Yes. Thewar for Earth was over before we were born, but we were a part of the Vokinewar.”
“Vokine?” Evelyn said.
