“
Why don’t you get along with her?”
His expression sobered. “Rava is who she is. Being older than me and of more importance, she was raised differently and never felt the need to have much of a relationship with me. That’s not to say she doesn’t care about me--she does. I think she’s even proud of me, in her own way.” He touched the officer’s insignia tacked to the shoulder of his black, asymmetrically cut uniform jacket. “I fought to achieve this rank, not an easy task, for men are not generally placed in command positions. We’re too hotheaded, as a group. Still, she has no trouble stepping on and over me, which you can probably appreciate.”
“Perhaps,” I said, though his words confused me. Certain activities were not deemed appropriate for me since I was a woman, but for the most part, I did not resent my lot in life. But Saadi was strong, intelligent and extremely capable. In Hytanica, he would have been the pride of his family. How could he have been overlooked in Cokyri? Had Rava been the pride of his family instead?
“This place. It’s so different from Cokyri,” he continued, content to accept my simple answer.
“Not that different,” I replied with a short laugh. “We eat and work and sleep.”
“That’s not what I mean.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s how people look at me. It’s not the same at all.”
“People hate you because you’re Cokyrian. Did you expect to take pleasure in that?”
“That’s not it, either.” He thought for a moment. “It’s strange, the level of fear in the eyes of your women. Belligerence I expect, from everyone, but the fear primarily radiates from the women.” He shrugged, suddenly self-conscious. “But what do I know? Listen, I haven’t even seen half of what there is to see in Hytanica. You could show me one day.”
“You seem to be everywhere in this city,” I scoffed. “There can’t be much left for you to explore. Or have you just been following me around?”
“Well, you’re the most interesting feature of the city I’ve come across.”
He smirked, and I gave him a sideways glance. Was he admitting to stalking me? Then he chuckled.
“As long as I’m assigned to oversee the city, we’re bound to run into each other. I would be lying, however, if I denied that I look forward to our encounters.”
Heat again flooded my face. Saadi was making me uncomfortable. I was in danger of liking him too much.
”
”