His pants were loose and silky, leaving the smoky grey of his pearlescent torso open to her gaze. After the muscles, she saw the scars and reached out a hand to touch one. He turned to her and smiled. “Feeling better?” “Less in shock.” She trailed her fingertip along one long, puckered line then a smaller puncture wound and a thin trail down his chest to his belly. She paused. “Is the light strange in here?” He chuckled. “No. I didn’t do it properly, but we bonded earlier. It seems you are destined to be pearly white no matter what.” There was an opalescent gleam on her skin that didn’t stop at her hand. “What the hell?” Toyo put his reading pad down and took her hands, pinning them to either side of her head. “You know how W’lyn formalize a union?” She nodded. “Sure, there is a blood exchange, but we didn’t do that.”