Chapter 10 #2
“You said you wished to know me better. I will show you my favorite place on the ship and we can discuss the questions. The authorities on human courting customs inform me that this is ideal.”
“Well, who are we to argue with the authorities?”
GEMMA
The authorities were onto something.
Several floors down, deep in the lower levels of the ship, buried in a maze of corridors, was a garden cloaked in darkness. Illuminated paths wound through clusters of bioluminescent plants. Glowing silvery orbs floated high in the ceiling. Water splashed in fountains.
Insects chirred. Birds called to one another, answering in kind. That had to be a recording. No way there were live birds roaming the ship.
Soft lights embedded in the paving stones offered just enough illumination that Gemma wouldn’t trip over her feet, figuratively speaking.
The paths were wide enough for the chair to navigate with ease, and she saw no reason to hobble about on her aching foot, although it ached less after the goo pedicure.
“What is this place?” Gemma asked. In the chair she had to really crane her neck to look at him.
“The Night Garden.”
The garden was shadow and light, offering a quiet retreat into darkness.
Her arms brushed against ferns as the chair rolled by, the tips changing color from deep green to glowing pink. Intrigued, she touched the fern again. The underside of the leaves was fuzzy. Deep on the stalk were glossy pink berries.
“Do not touch.” Zalis grabbed her hand, stopping her plucking a berry. “They are psychedelic. Residue on skin has been known to cause a reaction.”
“Huh,” she said, which was not the response he wanted.
“This is serious. That plant is poisonous.”
“Why do you have psychedelic plants in a public garden?”
“For medicinal use,” he said, sounding as if he were quoting a guidebook.
“Anything else I shouldn’t lick or touch in here?”
“Those mushrooms.” He pointed to a cluster of spongy mushrooms clustered around a water feature. Then he pointed to the carpet of moss. “The algae can cause hallucinations.”
“Groovy,” she said, trying to make it a joke but clearly it went over his head.
They ventured deeper into the garden. The path widened enough for them to move side by side.
“This is my favorite place on the ship,” Zalis said, dipping his head as he spoke to her. She liked that, if felt like he was sharing a secret with her.
“It’s gorgeous. I can see why it’s your favorite.”
“The aesthetic qualities are not the reason why it is my favorite.”
“Oh? Does this count as one of the thirty-six questions?” she asked, teasing gently.
He considered his response. “Number four, what constitutes an ideal day.”
He did not elaborate. Instead, he stared ahead and walked in silence.
“What makes a trip to the Night Garden part of a perfect day?” she asked.
Another thoughtful pause before he answered. “I enjoy the silence. Families do not come here to play. You cannot hear the usual ship noises.”
Now that he mentioned it, she couldn’t hear the ventilation or that persistent hum of electricity, only the whirr of the chair’s motor.
“It is meant for solitary reflection. I find it an ideal location to meditate when my thoughts are unfocused.” He paused. “I apologize if you are dismayed.”
“Because you meditate?”
“I know you selected me based on my size and presumed physical prowess. To discover that your mate practices meditation must be alarming, but I assure you I am a capable warrior.”
That was the most preposterous string of words anyone had ever uttered in her presence, including the time a customer asked to have a load of whole wheat bread sliced lengthwise because it “preserved the whole grains.”
This wouldn’t do.
Gemma stood up from the chair as Zalis walked away.
“Hey,” she said, limping forward to grab his hand.
“You should not be on your feet.”
“Hey, listen. This is important.” She took a deep breath before continuing. In the spirit of honesty and all. “I picked you because you held my hand when I had nightmares.”
He glanced down at their clasped hands. “Surely not.”
“I was scared out of my mind, and you took the time to help me calm down and tell me I was safe,” she said. “It’s not your size. It’s not your ability to beat up the baddies, but I’m sure you’re excellent at that.”
He made a thoughtful noise, like he didn’t quite believe her but didn’t want to call her out on her bullshit. “Very well. Share with me the details of your ideal day.”
The change in topics was dizzying but sure, she’d roll with it. Literally, as she sat back in the chair and rolled forward. “Nothing. My ideal day is sleeping late, eating a box of donuts instead of grownup food, and doing nothing. Maybe not even a shower. Just naps and listening to the radio.”
“You enjoy such idleness?” He sounded genuinely curious and not judgmental.
“Working in a bakery is hard. The hours are terrible. I’m on my feet all day. Because I’m the boss, I’m there from open until close. Taking a day off to be lazy sounds sort of perfect.”
Zalis consulted his tablet, the glow of the screen illuminating the angles of his face.
It was a nice face. She thought it before, but he was objectively handsome by human standards with his strong jaw and brow.
It helped that despite him wearing a stern expression, she could see amusement sparkling in his eyes.
“Given the choice of anyone in the world, who would you want to have dinner with?” he asked.
“Dead or alive? Is this realistic or pie in the sky?”
“The test does not say.”
Pie in the sky it was. “My parents, obviously. You?”
“My parents as well. I am not in the habit of sharing a meal with strangers.”
“We literally shared a meal together an hour ago.”
“You are not a stranger. You are my mate.”
Well, he had her there. Never mind that she felt warm and cozy inside when he said my mate. She should be appalled. They barely knew each other and this cinnamon roll sweetheart act wasn’t fooling her.
Except she didn’t think it was an act. Zalis was completely sincere in all things, even the cinnamon roll courting business.
He wanted a love match. He told her as much.
A list of questions wouldn’t make her fall in love with him, but she liked him.
A lot. He was reserved, yes, but also calm.
He meditated in a psychedelic garden. Worried he was going to bungle things with her, he talked with his mom. How could she not like any of that?
Zalis consulted the tablet again. “If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future, or anything else, what would you wish to know? What is a crystal ball? How does a lump of quartz have this ability?”
“Give me that.” Gemma grabbed the tablet from him and scrolled through the questions. “These questions are terrible. If you could have a superpower, what would you want? Like people get choices about superpowers. Irony and gamma radiation decide that.”
She slapped the tablet against his chest. “This is your authority? Some listicle that you found on the internet?”
“Is it not accurate?”
“How about we go rogue and just have a conversation? No checklist. No quiz.”
He made that thoughtful noise again. “This impulsiveness is concerning.”
“This impulsiveness? Right now? Not the thing that happened two days ago when, in front of seemingly everyone in creation, when I announced that I’d marry you?”
“Yes, there were some clues.” He kept his face so perfectly stoic as he spoke but the sparkle in the eyes gave him away.
Gemma laughed. “Right.”
His plan in shambles, he put the tablet away. Instantly, his posture tensed. He ran a hand over his horns.
Poor guy. He was nervous and didn’t know what to say.
Fortunately, when the twins were diving up talents in the womb, she got all the social skills. She said, “How about you tell me why there’s a psychedelic garden on the ship?”
His posture relaxed. “The ship’s history is very interesting. This garden is a remnant from the original builders.”
Who clearly enjoyed tripping balls. Gemma kept that thought to herself. She followed Zalis deeper into the garden, letting him show her interesting and noteworthy features. He practically vibrated with happiness, the giant nerd.
Yeah. She liked him. A lot.
“This garden was overgrown and neglected for several years. When I was a youth, it was considered haunted,” he said.
They came to a shallow pond with stepping stones, leading to a small island with a stone bench in the center.
Colorful orbs floated above, reflected in the water.
It was very picturesque but not overly controlled.
The garden had a lush wildness to it, with the flowers and greenery straining to burst free from the garden beds.
She could easily picture the garden as an abandoned relic from another era.
Zalis crouched down at the pond’s edge, pulling the fabric in his trousers taut. He plucked a blade of grass and tossed it onto the water, where it drifted away slowly. With a pleased expression, he glanced over his shoulder and caught her staring.
Gemma quickly looked away, because she had been the hardass who said no sex and no romance, blah blah blah, and she wouldn’t be called out for being a hypocrite thirsting over his nice butt.
She struggled to find the most innocent topic possible. “You grew up on the ship? I thought your parents were on Sangrin.”
Zalis stood, wiping his hands on his thighs, and made an affirmative noise. “They are on Sangrin now. When I was this old—” He held out his hand, palm down, at his mid-chest height. “My father accepted a position to teach at the Mahdfel Academy and we left the Judgment.”
“How old is this old?” She mimicked his gesture.
“Six or seven.”
Making him an extraordinarily tall six-year-old. Mahdfel grew fast—that was what Mercy told her during the tour—but Gemma had a hard time imagining a first grader that could look her in the eyes.
“So, a haunted garden. Is that why this is your favorite place?” she asked.
“I’ll show you.”
He removed his shoes and socks, and lavender toes flexed in the grass. Gemma couldn’t really explain why she had such a hard time not staring at his feet. She didn’t have a thing for feet, pinky swear. He just seemed so relaxed standing barefoot in the grass and it was a good look on him.
Honestly, it’d be hard to find a bad look on him. Zalis’ features weren’t human but they were appealing. Strong jaw and nose. Lively eyes. A soothing voice.
An ass that looks fantastic in tight pants.
Barefoot, he stepped onto the stones and made his way across the water. He made it half way across before he noticed that she wasn’t following.
“Not with my foot,” Gemma said. The stepping stones were slippery and just a little too far apart for her to make without jumping. There was absolutely no way she was going to risk breaking her other foot by falling into the water.
Zalis returned in a few, easy strides. “Forgive my thoughtlessness. I should also apologize for what I will do next, but I will not. I already announced my intentions to court you. The grand gesture to help a lady in distress is a logical next step.”
Gemma narrowed her eyes. That did not sound like him. The grand gesture did, but not that particular combination of words. “Where did you learn that phrase?”
“A film.” He then scooped her up and crossed the stones surefootedly.
As far as grand gestures went, it was rather effective.
Oh, a cheap trick to use his blatant strength, without question, but nice regardless.
Being in his arms was… nice. He felt solid and real.
She had this warm, uneasy sensation spreading in her center.
It was a swoon coming. She was going to swoon and there was nothing she could do about it.
Before she could swoon properly and embarrass herself, he deposited her on the island’s stone bench.
“You knew I wouldn’t be able to make it across the stepping stones,” she said. “You tricked me.”
He grinned, as if pleased with himself. “I said I would court you. I did not say I would play fair.”
She liked him. A lot. She was in so much trouble.