“Thank you,” the Senator told them before continuing his walk down the hall. I hadn’t been paying full attention, but I knew he’d been telling them about Vahni’s departure.
“Walk beside me,” he said, so I did. He led us to a side door, and out into the gorgeous sunshine. A guard followed us, standing at the doorway to oversee us. My eyes widened as I looked out at the sight of the—what was it, exactly? An athletic area, but definitely not a playground. A huge plot had been fenced in, and the craziest obstacle course I’d ever seen had been put up. It looked complicated, and it seemed to go on forever.
Is this what the kids would be doing for two hours a day? Training to be mini-ninja Olympians along with their freakishly smart minds?Lord, help us all.
“Extraordinary, isn’t it?” he asked.
That was one word for it. I made an accidental croaking sound, and cleared my throat. “Yes, sir.”
We slowly walked the perimeter. I grimaced at a long set of monkey bars that went up and down, zigging side to side. What child could hold on that long? Would they be punished if they weren’t strong enough? I felt ill at the thought of them being shouted at and made to feel bad. Not that I should care, but ugh. Some of them were practically babies. Linette would throw up if she ever heard me say that.
“What do you think?” he asked.
I let out a dry laugh through my nose. “I would never be able to do this now, much less when I was a child.” For a moment I felt like I’d failed the human race by admitting that, but the Senator only chuckled in return.
“Of course not, because you weren’t made to try it over and over again each day, building strength. But you could if it were part of your daily life.”
“Canyoudo it?” I asked.
He grinned, then rolled up his sleeves. I couldn’t help but smile in anticipation. Was he really going to do it? The Senator walked to the end, jumped with grace and ease to grab the first bar, and then proceeded to work his way down the path, knees and elbows bent, every muscle in his arms bulging. He never slowed or paused. At the end he dropped, breathing only slightly harder than normal, and the big smile he gave me made me laugh and applaud.
“Wow,” I said. “I would give you a high five, but . . . yeah.” No touching.
I grasped my hands behind my back as he brushed his hands together, still smiling. “Well, I appreciate the thought.”
As he neared, I gathered every ounce of bravery to ask, “Senator?”
“Yes, Ms. Haines?” He stopped three feet from me.
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or be inappropriate, but I’d like to know.” I swallowed and he waited patiently. “Why don’t the Baelese allow casual touching?”
I could hear my heartbeat in my eardrums.
The Senator put his hands in his pockets, and I tore my eyes away from his forearms.
“That’s a perfectly understandable question. It’s a major difference between our cultures. My people have much thicker skin than humans, over ten times thicker. And in our skin we have more nerves and nerve endings. A simple touch is not so simple. The smallest brush of a hand across our skin can drive us to distraction. It makes us want more. Do you understand?”
Literally, all I could do was nod, because at some point during his explanation, I swear he moved closer. Not close enough to touch, but close enough to make us both overly aware. It wasn’t until my eyes darted in the direction of the doors to check for the guard that the Senator grasped the back of his neck and took a step back, looking away from me and back out at the obstacle course.
“And that is why it is better to leave touching for mating. No other time.”
“Oh.” My heart went crazy inside me.
I heard the little devil of Linette on my shoulder, pushing me to do something or say something seductive.Now, you idiot, while the guard is out of sight!It was hard to be sexy on command.
My voice trembled a little. “I thought maybe it was because it was unpleasant. That you didn’t like being touched.”
“No, Ms. Haines.” He looked straight at me now. “We like it too much.”
