hung up, pushing the phone away, and let it slide off the end of the other side of the table.
“Did he…” Raphael reached out and grabbed my hand. “Did he just ask you to see if a teenage boy was your mate?”
“Yup. It’s like a coming of age thing we’ve done for a long time. A boy turns sixteen and gets to meet all the eligible females. A girl starts puberty and gets to meet all the eligible males. It’s…” I shook my head. “A remnant of a dying time. All I want to do is put a bullet in it and kill it off completely.”
“I bet,” he said, nodding slowly. “What would happen if you had been the kid’s mate?”
“Depends on the families involved. Some let the youth live with the other family and spend the rest of their childhood there, growing to know their mate so they could go at their own pace. Some would keep the two away from each other completely, not to see each other again until the wedding day.”
“Um…”
“Yeah, let’s not…” I covered my mouth with the back of my hand.
I grew up in the modern era, an era of cars and electricity—an era when child labor was outlawed in most nations and a violation of rights in others, when adult men who looked at a fourteen-year-old and saw a future wife were considered the bad guys. I agreed with all of those premises, but I was smart enough to know that old habits died hard. There was a time when none of those things were wrong, and everyone had agreed with them. The current batch of male nagas were from the old times. There was a time when girls wouldn’t have batted an eye at being trotted in front of potential future husbands because they were finally ‘women.’ My mother had instilled beliefs in me that Adhar disagreed with. I had fought him every step of the way until I was dragged into the room where the nagas were celebrating my first birthday after I ‘came of age.’
All of them were so fucking disappointed I couldn’t have children with them one day. They wished me a happy birthday, gave me a present, then most excused themselves, thinking that would save me from their hurt feelings. The resentment would never pass, though.
“Let’s…just forget about it for tonight. One battle at a time, right?”
“Yeah,” I agreed as Raphael pulled my hand down from my mouth. I looked at him, glad he was there. He didn’t look disappointed, nothing but concern and trust in his eyes. “Four nagas have human mates. One is pregnant with a little girl. This battle will continue when it’s time for me to step in and stop them from parading her around. I should contact her parents and let them know it won’t happen while I’m still alive. They’ll think they’re doing what’s right for her and the species, but no child deserves what I went through.”
“Maybe by the time it’s her turn, you’ll have stopped what’s killing the nagas, and they won’t feel the need to force her into it,” Raphael said hopefully.
“I can only dream,” I whispered. “I’m going to talk to Nakul. I need to get back on track.” When I started out of the room, Raphael took a step, but I shook my head, making him stop. “I’m going alone.”
24
Chapter Twenty-Four
I slowly walked to the basement to clear my mind. The past was ages ago, and I didn’t need it haunting me while I tried to talk to my uncle. Especially since I was talking to him about the very real life and death threats I was dealing with now.
I found the enclosure in the back corner of the basement’s main room. It was a cozy living room type area with soft couches, armchairs, and a massive TV on the wall. The only thing out of place was the glass box that held my uncle, who looked up as I walked closer. I turned to the TV and shook my head as I realized it was on. The enclosure had a perfect view of it.
I need to talk to Sorcha and Cassius. This is weird. I don’t like that they have this.
“Hey, I’m going to open the enclosure and let you out. Don’t rush up on me.” I pushed the lid off, jumped back, then took several steps farther back. He moved slowly, slithering up the side and over the top. He was a large snake, something