“Why?”
“He fears I can’t take care of you.”
“Like I’m a pet.”
“No,” Kal said, “he’s worried I’ll drag you into whatever problems I’ll cause. It’s me he doesn’t have faith in.”
“I believe in you.”
He rubbed his forehead against mine, taking a deep breath.
“Everything will be fine.” When Kal didn’t reply, I asked, “What?”
Kal burrowed against me, tail winding up my calf. “He might not let us confirm our mating.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn’t think I can handle the responsibilities.”
“How can he do that?”
“In my culture, my parents have substantial control of my life until I mate. I’m only in the first phase of adulthood. When I mate, I’m considered a full adult who’s found the other half of their soul. I couldn’t even appeal to the Crystal for you without my parents' explicit approval. It’s called (untranslated word).”
The words transition, change, and shift floated in my mind, but none seemed to fit. “What? I don’t understand.”
“Let me think of another way to put it,” he said, then, after a few moments, continued, “the in between.”
“In between?”
“We can hold jobs, have relationships, and even manage our money. But we are not full-fledged adults until we mate. Our parents hold certain rights over us, like appealing to the Crystal, taking a mate, or making large decisions of where we can live and what we can do. Like when my parents enlisted me inthe Drakcon Navy. Though chosen mates don’t have the same restrictions, because we can’t help but fall in love, and once that bond is made, it’s permanent, regardless of our parents’ approval or not.”
“So you could be super old, and still not have complete control of your life?” I asked, gaping.
“Yes.”
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” My mouth dropped open. “I’m sorry. That was rude.”
“Many people are trying to appeal the laws. It’s not fair to those who have no interest in romantic relationships or even long-term relationships. But it’s hard. The first phase of adulthood or the in-between has been a cultural law for longer than our written history. Already there have been some changes. Previously, we couldn’t hold a job or manage our finances without a parent’s say.”
“So you can’t mate without your parents' approval or reaffirm your mating without them if you sought the Crystal, but you have to be mated to be a full-fledged adult,” I said, shaking my head. “I think I like it better in my culture. After a certain age, you’re an adult.”
Kal hooked his calf over my hip. My fingers trailed up his back, tracing his wings through his clothes. He kept pressing against me as if he wanted to crawl inside of me.
Suffocated, I asked, “You okay?”
“What if he breaks our bond, and I have to take you home?”
I squeezed him as tight as possible. “That won’t happen.”
“What if it does?”
I didn’t want to leave Kal. I’d already given up everything for him, and I didn’t want to go back to Earth and live my life without him. Even if I had no memories, I was certain I would keep searching for him.
“We’ll run away.”
“What?” Kal asked, sitting up.
“We’ll run away. It’s a big universe. There has to be somewhere we can go.”
