Just then, he glanced at Qalu and realized the tones of her skin were echoed in the painting he found comforting and lovely. Bronze, here and there, glazed and gleaming. Her eyes shone in that hue, and if he searched hard, he could find shadows of her in the picture as well: head tendrils in those lines, the curve of her face near the bottom.

What does this mean?

“I like this piece as well,” Qalu said. “And I’ve always preferred not to hear how I’m supposed to feel about a particular work. The discrepancy only makes me feel inadequate.”

She let Helix set their pace, and he moved with precision from piece to piece, lingering at some, moving on quickly from others. Soon, she discovered he preferred warm tones to cool ones, and he liked concrete depictions as opposed to abstract art. Helix seemed enthralled, entirely focused on each piece.

Eventually he said, “It’s true.”

“What is?”

“A faithful reproduction does not carry the same impact as experiencing the original work with my own…eyes.”

Before she could reply, someone called, “Qalu, is that you? It’s been ages! How are you? Still working with those replicas?”

Not him. Please, not him.

She turned to offer a respectful greeting and also to confirm that it was him. Her foremother had thought she and Gravitch might make a good match, given that he was part of the Scientific Coalition. Qalu had met him a few times and found his personality absolutely grating. She hadn’t spoken to him since their last encounter and had ignored all his messages. Yet he was hurrying toward her with every evidence of pleasure, as if he didn’t realize she had cut their connection on purpose. He was small for a Tiralan with a wiry build and skin that radiated from pale green to a deep moss on his scales.

“They’re not replicas,” she said icily. “They are biosynthetic—”

“Never mind that. You’re not here for work.”

I am, actually. That was how Gravitch had been each time they met, talking over her, interrupting her, and minimizing her achievements. He was truly the worst prospect Inatol had ever offered, but then, Qalu had rejected five perfectly nice femmes, four gender-neutral prospects, and three male suitors before Gravitch was offered. She took no insult from the suggestion, as Inatol had probably been desperate by then.

With Helix by her side, she would not suffer such awkwardness any longer.

“Let me introduce my companion, Helix.” She wished she could link their limbs together to make the point visually, but she had promised to respect his boundaries, so she didn’t touch him. “Helix, this is Gravitch.”

“Who’s this?” Gravitch cut in.