will tell them something that will make all this worry about tradition seem absurd."
She licked her lips and set the nearly empty bowl aside.
"What could you possibly tell them that will make them forget their commitment to tradition?"
"The traditions are only an excuse. I told you, they care about lineage. They want full Icarian offspring."
"And with a hybrid mate you could have a better chance of producing a child with all Icarian traits. I understand why they want that, Jaran."
"But it will never happen. Even if I choose a hybrid mate, I will never have a full Icarian offspring."
Lara swallowed her last bite of dinner and stared at Jaran.
Genetics were not her area of expertise except where it concerned plant breeding, but even so what he said seemed impossible. "A full Icarian and a hybrid Icarian will produce 104
Icarus Unbound
by Bernadette Gardner
three-quarter hybrid Icarian children. You have the best possible chance to breed out human traits."
Jaran held up a hand. "True, and a full human and a hybrid will produce three-quarters human offspring."
Lara shrugged. "That's one of the reasons I thought you might not pair me with anyone. The committee wants to minimize the chance of human traits in the next generation."
"And the odds are you and I will produce a three-quarters human child."
Lara stared at him. He wasn't making sense. "I don't..."
Jaran's gaze delved into hers. Clearly he was trying to say something to her without using the actual words. After a moment of blissful ignorance she began to understand. "Your father wasn't Icarian."
"My father was Dr. Danson."
Lara hadn't meant to gasp so loudly. She drew in a breath so fast she began to cough. "Are you serious?"
Jaran frowned, and his wings ruffled in irritation. "Why would I make that up?" My mother told me the truth shortly before she died. She hadn't ever intended to, but I recall pestering her to know which of the guards who visited us was my father."
"But when did—"
"Before her exile, when she realized she wouldn't have the chance to mate with your father, she accepted a substitute.
Dr. Danson was a healthy human male and he was more than willing to participate. She lied to him as well. On the one occasion he asked Jidar to allow him to visit her in exile I hadn't yet been born. Apparently he suspected once he heard 105
Icarus Unbound
by Bernadette Gardner
the rumor of her pregnancy, but she managed to convince him that she'd conceived after being brought to her prison.
She believed having a full Icarian child when almost no one else could would restore some of her battered reputation."
Lara could only gape. She couldn't imagine the burden Arilani had placed on the shoulders of her young son by asking him to keep this secret.
"Jidar always told me my lineage didn't play a role in his choosing me as his successor over Odan, but I always wondered. That's why I never told, and why I resented you so much. You didn't have to lie. You were different than everyone else in our generation, but you never had to hide it."
"So you made me want to." Lara fought a quick stab of anger mixed with sympathy. All those years Jaran had punished her for being a full-blooded human had been spurred by his own insecurity about really being a hybrid himself.
"I'm sorry. Truly."
"Every other member of our generation is a hybrid, Jaran.
There's no shame in it."
"Every other member of our generation was born of a sanctioned union assigned by Jidar and Namara. My mother disobeyed Icarian law."
"She did, but you can't be held accountable for her crimes."
"Yes, I can."
106
Icarus Unbound
by Bernadette Gardner
Lara rose and put a hand on Jaran's arm. "Do you really think the committee will use this information against you if you tell them?"
"As much as it embarrasses me, no. Like you said, every member of our generation is a hybrid. The committee can't remove me from my position because my father was human.
I wasn't chosen for my DNA. Once
She licked her lips and set the nearly empty bowl aside.
"What could you possibly tell them that will make them forget their commitment to tradition?"
"The traditions are only an excuse. I told you, they care about lineage. They want full Icarian offspring."
"And with a hybrid mate you could have a better chance of producing a child with all Icarian traits. I understand why they want that, Jaran."
"But it will never happen. Even if I choose a hybrid mate, I will never have a full Icarian offspring."
Lara swallowed her last bite of dinner and stared at Jaran.
Genetics were not her area of expertise except where it concerned plant breeding, but even so what he said seemed impossible. "A full Icarian and a hybrid Icarian will produce 104
Icarus Unbound
by Bernadette Gardner
three-quarter hybrid Icarian children. You have the best possible chance to breed out human traits."
Jaran held up a hand. "True, and a full human and a hybrid will produce three-quarters human offspring."
Lara shrugged. "That's one of the reasons I thought you might not pair me with anyone. The committee wants to minimize the chance of human traits in the next generation."
"And the odds are you and I will produce a three-quarters human child."
Lara stared at him. He wasn't making sense. "I don't..."
Jaran's gaze delved into hers. Clearly he was trying to say something to her without using the actual words. After a moment of blissful ignorance she began to understand. "Your father wasn't Icarian."
"My father was Dr. Danson."
Lara hadn't meant to gasp so loudly. She drew in a breath so fast she began to cough. "Are you serious?"
Jaran frowned, and his wings ruffled in irritation. "Why would I make that up?" My mother told me the truth shortly before she died. She hadn't ever intended to, but I recall pestering her to know which of the guards who visited us was my father."
"But when did—"
"Before her exile, when she realized she wouldn't have the chance to mate with your father, she accepted a substitute.
Dr. Danson was a healthy human male and he was more than willing to participate. She lied to him as well. On the one occasion he asked Jidar to allow him to visit her in exile I hadn't yet been born. Apparently he suspected once he heard 105
Icarus Unbound
by Bernadette Gardner
the rumor of her pregnancy, but she managed to convince him that she'd conceived after being brought to her prison.
She believed having a full Icarian child when almost no one else could would restore some of her battered reputation."
Lara could only gape. She couldn't imagine the burden Arilani had placed on the shoulders of her young son by asking him to keep this secret.
"Jidar always told me my lineage didn't play a role in his choosing me as his successor over Odan, but I always wondered. That's why I never told, and why I resented you so much. You didn't have to lie. You were different than everyone else in our generation, but you never had to hide it."
"So you made me want to." Lara fought a quick stab of anger mixed with sympathy. All those years Jaran had punished her for being a full-blooded human had been spurred by his own insecurity about really being a hybrid himself.
"I'm sorry. Truly."
"Every other member of our generation is a hybrid, Jaran.
There's no shame in it."
"Every other member of our generation was born of a sanctioned union assigned by Jidar and Namara. My mother disobeyed Icarian law."
"She did, but you can't be held accountable for her crimes."
"Yes, I can."
106
Icarus Unbound
by Bernadette Gardner
Lara rose and put a hand on Jaran's arm. "Do you really think the committee will use this information against you if you tell them?"
"As much as it embarrasses me, no. Like you said, every member of our generation is a hybrid. The committee can't remove me from my position because my father was human.
I wasn't chosen for my DNA. Once
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