Choosing Theo: The Clecanian Series Book 1 Victoria Aveline (the giving tree read aloud TXT) 📖

was leaving in one year, and even if she weren’t, he hated her. Sure, he definitely wanted to have sex with her, but they could never have a real relationship.

Jade needed a reminder of his temper, so she decided to ask him about the one thing that would rile him up and get him to storm out. “What’s the story with your marks? They’re different than everyone else’s. Why?”

As if on cue, he tensed. “I don’t want to talk about my birth marks,” he replied in a low growl.

“No answer? Is bath time over then?” Jade asked hopefully. Theo would have to pick which battle he lost now.

As Jade waited for his answer, she could almost see the gears turning in his head. “We’ll stay,” he said finally.

Both disappointment and excitement washed over her. At last, she’d find out what the deal was with these marks.

“My mother was an off-worlder too,” he began.

Jade couldn’t see how this related to his scars but she didn’t want to interrupt.

“She was a leader of her clan, from a planet called Traxia, a Class 3 planet. Everything is much harsher there. The whole planet is very hot and dry. Covered in desert. The people of Traxia live in different clans, and they’re all constantly at war with one another.”

It was no wonder his mother wanted to stay here instead. But how did this relate to his scars?

“One of the more ruthless clans from a neighboring city was planning an attack against my mother’s people. My mother knew they wouldn’t win if attacked, so she sought help. She made a deal with the Clecanians. She’d stay on Clecania and try to produce offspring, if they provided her with soldiers.”

“What happened?” Jade asked, enthralled.

“She stayed and had many children, and Clecanian mercenaries fought against the invading clan until they were defeated.” Theo’s eyes became unfocused. “Everything was good for a while. She chose to stay married to one male, and they were happy together. I was their first born.”

Theo paused here to take a long pull from his bottle, obviously dreading the next part of his story. “When I was a young male, she decided it was time for me to visit Traxia and meet the rest of my family. My siblings were still too young to go, so they stayed behind with my father. A day after we arrived, the city was attacked. They stole everything of value then burned everything else.” Theo’s eyes grew unfocused as he continued. “I remember fires raging all around me while my mother and I ran. Then an explosion went off right next to us, and I was knocked out. When I woke up, everyone was dead. The intruders were gone, and I was alone. I wandered that planet for weeks, surviving off of bugs and small animals. There was no shelter from the sun anywhere since all the buildings had been destroyed and most of my clothing charred. By the time my father finally found me, I was so badly burned that I was unrecognizable.”

“And your mother?” Jade questioned breathlessly.

“My mother had been crushed by debris saving me. My father never recovered from her loss. He was a hired soldier and died in a battle off-world a few years ago.” Theo gulped and took another swig of his mott.

Turning his attention to her, he stared. “My mother died because of me as well. Guilt…can be a hard thing to overcome.”

He knew how she felt about her mother without her explaining those emotions. She would never have to justify the irrational guilt that plagued her. He understood.

Jade marveled at the thought that two people from different worlds, galaxies apart, could share such similar emotions. She nodded, silently agreeing. “How old were you?”

Theo stared into the water before him stoically. “Thirteen.”

Thirteen? What kind of emotional damage had been done to him? Had people always treated him with fear and disgust? Even as a young man starting husbandry school? It was no wonder he had a hard time believing she found him attractive. He’d probably been rejected relentlessly.

Had he ever been looked at or touched by a woman with affection? No, Jade concluded.

She found herself softening toward him as she recalled the way his body had relaxed, lids going heavy when she’d tended to his injured hand the night before. “Couldn’t those machines heal you?”

Theo’s eyes snapped back to Jade as though he’d just remembered she was there. “For most of my body, yes. But our birth marks are different. The skin is more sensitive and doesn’t respond to our healing machines as well as the rest of our bodies. If they’d found me early enough, they might’ve been able to fix them, but after weeks in the sun, they were damaged beyond repair,” Theo finished.

Without thinking, Jade blurted, “I can see why you hate them. The marks, I mean.”

Theo narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. “So, you finally admit—”

“Wait! No, I didn’t mean it the way you think,” she interrupted. “I just meant it must be hard to constantly see those marks and be reminded of what happened.”

Unconvinced, Theo continued to glare at her. How could she make him understand that she didn’t see what others did?

“I don’t think they look like burns. When I first saw you, I thought they were tattoos.”

“Tattoos?” Theo grated.

“They’re very common on Earth. They are like permanent drawings on your body. Most people nowadays have one. The design chosen usually has some special meaning to the person getting the tattoo.”

He still didn’t seem convinced. “These,” he said, motioning to the markings running along his arm, “are not intentional designs. They’re burn scars. Here, on Clecania, they’re ugly and they represent imperfection and weakness.”

“Not to me,” she said, eyeing him seriously. “Not every girl wants a knight in shining armor.”

“A what?”

“It’s an expression. A long time ago on my planet, some soldiers, called knights, used to wear heavy pieces of silver metal all over their bodies to protect them against weapons. The image