Page 93 of Diamond

Her eyes widen when I show her how I have woven in the little sculpture. "It's beautiful. Are you sure?"

"Yes. Samke, my bond brother made it to mimic an avioid from my world."

I unbraid another. "This is a rock I found with a natural hole in it. They are rare and are considered good luck."

She holds the object in her palm, inspecting it with curiosity. "There is a smooth section here. Is that from you rubbing it so much?"

I gently take it from her, turning it over between my fingers before weaving it into the newest braid I've crafted in her hair. "Yes, it has helped me work through many problems and fears. I have had it since I was very young."

"I can't take something so special," she protests.

"You aren't taking it. I'm giving it and it will give me great pleasure to keep touching it. Preferably while buried inside of you."

She lets out a low moan and starts squirming.

"Turn around to the other side and stay still so I can finish," I say with a playful tone, my fingers deftly tying off the braid with the ends of her hair.

She huffs out a breath and clacks her blunt teeth at me. "You're the one being the tease, Kuret."

I smile, amused, and pull another braid out of my own hair. "This wood bead I won in a race from one of the most annoying of the qendi."

"Are the qendi the name of your people?" she asks, her voice gentle.

"Yes."

She hums out a breath and I focus on finishing up the last few, not yet sure which braid I should pull out to share another of my treasures. We will need to start gathering more. She has a lot more room and we have memories to start building together with them.

The idea sends a surge of pleasure through me. I look forward to every braid, each one tying us closer together.

That thought might have left me appalled before, or at the very least made me question my sanity to be pursuing a relationshipwith Nasrin. Especially one with any resemblance of what I might have shared with a pairing I made among the males of my kind.

This is a new world, and she isn't qendi. From all that she has said, humans can build those bonds no matter their gender and with anyone they like. It pulls back a memory of a much younger version of me and I search my braids until I find it.

Yes, that is a perfect symbol.

"This ornament," I tell her, showing her the woven metal, "I made for myself, when I was first testing out different roles among my brothers. It is ugly, but I've always liked the reminder of a time in my life when options seemed limitless."

She holds it in her hands, spinning the hoop through her hair so she can see all side of it, as I finish tying the end of the braid. "I think it's wonderful. You could have chosen that path."

I let out a bark of laughter. "If you had seen what my teacher made, you would not say such a thing."

She smiles back at me, and I take a moment to admire the braids I have made. "You are beautiful, Nasrin."

Her marks flare and she startles, still not used to them. After a moment we both start laughing, then I see her face change, a hunger in her eyes I have started to recognize.

48

Rin

Electricity ripples across my stomach and down to my core, making me swallow thickly when my eyes move from his eyes to his lips and back again.

"Thank you for doing this with me. I know you could have just thrown me over your shoulder and dragged me back to Ree, but you decided to help me and I appreciate it."

His marks flutter, the glowing patterns shifting with the unspoken emotion. He seems pleased, then snorts, the sudden breath of air making his braids clack together. "I don't know, Nasrin. We haven't talked about it, but haven't you noticed how much stronger you are now?"

"I thought I had imagined it."

"Try to lift me."