Maris nodded grimly. “Yes, they did. Anyone who thinks men are more sexually predacious than a woman hasn’t been around any. I’ve never had a man come on to me as strongly as some of the women I met both before I came out, and since. You’d be amazed how many of them have offered to try and convert me. Like that’s all it would take, right?” He rolled his eyes. “And they don’t like to take no for an answer either. I had this one who… Never mind.” He waved his hand in front of his face as if to cool it down. “Girl, the stories I could tell you about some of them.”

Zarya felt her own face flame. Now that he mentioned it, she’d been the one who made the first move on Darling.

Yeah, let’s not go there…

She still couldn’t believe how forward she’d been with Darling in the early days of their relationship. But like Maris said, she’d seen what she wanted and she’d gone after him.

“So how did you find out he knew?” she asked, trying to get Maris back on the original topic and not a segue that mortified her.

“One night, not long before his father died, I was sleeping over. Darling had gone out to see Ryn who was training with the guard.” Maris paused to give her a wicked smile behind his hand as if he were imparting a secret to her. “Did you know most of them train without their shirts on?” He wrinkled his nose and bit his lip playfully. “I didn’t, and Phrixians don’t. I’d never been around men built like they were who were that close to naked and not related to me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop my eyes from betraying my interest. I absolutely licked them with my gaze.”

He fanned his face again. “Anyway, I suddenly realized Darling had stopped talking to Ryn and was watching me with an evil smirk. I was sick from it. All I could think was that he’d send me home and never speak to me again. Or worse, be like everyone else I knew and beat the mess out of me for it. Instead, he came over and clapped me on the back. Then he leaned to whisper in my ear so that no one else would overhear him, and said, ‘I don’t care what your tastes are, Mari. I never have, and I’ve known about them for a long time. So don’t ever be afraid of me because of it. You’re still my brother, and you always will be. If we were all made the same, the universe would be a boring place. And while my tastes are much more traditional, I will never judge you for yours. Just don’t ever grab my junk, and I won’t kill you for it.’ ”

She had to bite back a laugh at his unexpected anecdote. “Did he really say that?”

“Yes, yes he did. And he meant it. So I promised him he would always be safe from my groping… unless he begged me for it. And unfortunately, he never has.” His gaze turned sad again. “I miss my best friend, Zarya. I really want him back.”