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RIKA

It was so embarrassing! This was Gar\'s mother! Rika looked away, feeling her cheeks heat. "I mean, I just met Elreth and a bunch of other Anima. But the only one I know personally is Gar. But I can just tell. The Anima… they\'re really incredible. This way of life… I admire them. All of them. The ones I\'ve met, at least."

Elia nodded. "I felt that way when I arrived too. They all seemed so strong and capable. So certain of themselves compared to the people I was used to. But you need to know, Rika, that they are flawed and broken, just like humans. They often show it in a different way. Their pride tends to… explode. And they can be guilty of dismissing anyone who thinks differently—especially if your strength or talent is strong in an area that isn\'t easily seen. They are very accustomed to their ways, and they can be quite judgmental of things or people who are different. But they\'re working on it—my daughter is making sure that they work on it."

She dropped her chin and smiled, and Rika\'s heart ached at the pride this mother showed for her bold, beautiful daughter.

Rika\'s stomach dropped. Her own mother was tiny and quiet as a mouse. She lived only to please Rika\'s father, and spent most of her day in quiet terror of his moods.

What would it be like to have a mother like this? Strong and determined, affectionate, ready to smile? Rika didn\'t know.

"You\'re here, Rika. That\'s not a coincidence," Elia said. "When I first arrived here it felt like I\'d been torn out of my life and into this strange place just to… flounder and fail. But actually, it was exactly what I needed, even if I didn\'t know that right away. My mate—my husband, Reth. He was what I needed too." Her gaze became intense. Rika wanted to look away, but found that she was frozen in those bright blue eyes. "You won\'t find better men than the males in this family. In any world."

Rika\'s hope rose in the same moment her cynicism kicked into high gear. "I suspect you\'re biased," she said, though she tried to keep the words soft.

But Elia just shrugged. "Maybe, but I don\'t think so. Because the males in this family are admired outside of this family. I\'ve been around men my whole life—both good and bad men. The wrong ones can shape us, Rika. Make us think that, because they\'re so big in our lives, so present, that what we see and hear in them, is what we\'ll get from every man. And it\'s a lie. Every male is not good, every male is not bad. They each have to be evaluated on their own."

Rika became wary, instinctively pushing back into the seat to brace her legs and be ready to leap up if she needed to. But to her surprise, Elia put a hand to her bicep and squeezed.

"You\'re very strong for a human," she said thoughtfully.

Rika nodded. "I have to be. For my work."

Elia smiled. "I suspect the work came to you because you were already strong. That maybe… maybe you had a need to be strong before it? I did. A different kind of strong than you, I think. My parents were killed and I had to stand alone from a very young age. It grew me up fast. But being pulled into this place derailed me. I thought I was useless because I couldn\'t do what they all could do. But I could do other things. And Reth always saw that in me. I don\'t know how. But he always did."

Rika was jolted by a memory of a night when she\'d argued with Gar—but instead of getting angry, Gar had only shook his head at her, smiling. She\'d gotten annoyed. Was he mocking her? But when she asked him, he shook his head again, putting his palms up.

"No, no, Rika. I\'m just admiring your spine of steel."

"What are you talking about?"

He\'d leaned in, grinning. "You have no clue how many people would refuse to argue with me ever. Let alone on a small matter like this. It\'s… refreshing that you aren\'t intimidated by me."

Rika hadn\'t been sure at the time. She felt intimidated a lot. But she thought she knew what he meant.

Elia was smiling again. "I\'m guessing Gar sees your strength as well?"\'

Rika shrugged uneasily. "He… he says he does. He says… he understands me. And he… I just don\'t get how he can feel that way when we\'ve spent so little time together."

"It\'s the matebond."

Rika shook her head. "Bond or not, it makes me nervous. Like… if he can jump into wanting to be with me that deep, that quickly, he can jump out that fast too."

"Ah, that\'s where you\'re wrong. See, if you were talking about a human male, I\'d say, you\'re probably right. But the Anima matebond is real, Rika. Given to us by the Creator. And for a male like Gar to be so certain you\'re the one for him… Be grateful for it. That bond will carry you through things a normal relationship couldn\'t endure. But it also means you\'re… nestled inside him. He doesn\'t see other females. For Gar, you\'ve become the ruler by which all other women are measured—and fail. It\'s real. What he\'s showing you, it\'s real. He\'s not fickle. He\'s in with both feet."

Rika\'s eyebrows popped up. "He told you that?"

She nods. "He\'s my son. He trusts me. And he knew I\'d been through this—from your perspective. He wanted me to explain your perspective to him. He doesn\'t want to hurt you or scare you. He\'s a good man, Rika. And he\'s… devoted. Already. Just like his father."

"But how? Why?"

Elia shrugged. "When the Creator makes two people to be together, it\'s unavoidable. Whether we recognize it immediately or not. We… fit. You fit for Gar. And he knows it. He is… single-minded when he knows he\'s right. You won\'t shake him loose now. It takes Gar forever to admit his own feelings, or desires. But once he\'s sure of the way forward, he will not stray from it." Her eyes sparkled with joy.

Rika\'s stomach clenched.