Opening a drawer, she studies the assortment of cosmetics, chooses a few, and places them on the vanity. She unscrews a jar with what looks to be foundation, and she starts applying it all over my face.

"I should have been mated a long time ago, but I managed to put it off because I was still working on my qualifying exams. But lately my father has become obsessed with finding me someone. In our world, especially for the upper class, it's frowned upon if a female is not married by a certain age," she explains.

"And you don't want that?" I ask. "You don't wish to have a family someday?"

A sad smile pulls at her lips.

"It is not that I do not wish to have a family. Rather, it's that I do not want any of the males my father thinks would be suitable for me. And..." she trails off, nibbling at her lip.

She's quiet for a moment as she finishes applying the foundation, after which she dusts some creamy pink blush on my cheeks.

"I trust you, Luce," she finally takes a deep breath. "This isn't something...that I normally advertise, because, well, Ze was right. It could get me shunned, or worse, killed."

I blink in surprise, but I don't probe, letting her tell me at her own pace.

"Our world is very strict. Unions within the upper class have to be approved by the Supremes. And despite Ze's protestations, this world is much harsher on females than it is on males."

"Is it because you haven't passed your exams then?"

"If only it were just that." She gives a dry laugh. "Females of my class are expected to be...pure." She swallows. "There have been cases in which a female did not come to her mate untouched, and the male reported her to the authorities. Not only was she and her family shamed, but she was also imprisoned for her offense."

"What?" I ask, my eyes widening. "Imprisoned?"

"Our class is in power due to our abilities. Without them, we wouldn't be here. The gods wouldn't be here. The universe as we know it wouldn't be here. So the rules are made to ensure those abilities are passed on. But more than anything, a female's first child is always the most powerful. And power is the goal of every union. The male that reported his mate? He did it because he considered himself cheated out of a powerful offspring."

"But what does her not being a virgin have anything to do with children?"

"Because if she came to him touched by another, he could not be sure she did not bear a child in the past, thereby depriving him of his powerful firstborn. That entitles him to compensation from the female's family and a harsh punishment for her."

"Wow... I have no words, Thea. I gathered that your world wasn't very nice to women, but I didn't realize it was this bad."