“You think there are healing plants here?” she asks, understanding dawning across her face.

“There is a plant called dreza. When crushed, the leaves make a fine salve. It has healing properties that the priestesses attributed to the power of the goddess. I wonder if there are solman berries here, too.”

“Food,” my princess moans, and her stomach rumbles loudly.

“Stay here,” I tell her, excited that I can at least soothe two of her immediate problems. We can both use the dreza salve and the nourishment from the berries, but I ache to ease her pain.

“Easy as pie,” she responds, plonking down in the shallow water, gingerly rubbing at the remaining patches of mud and grime. I watch her for a moment, transfixed by the vision before me. My naked, bathing human. She sits in the white stone fountain, the water sparkling in the sunlight, a peaceful expression on her face, water streaming over her smooth skin.

She looks like she belongs here.

With me.

I will make her see it, too.

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

OceanofPDF.com

GEN

I like this place. Out of all the weird places on this planet, this one is by far my favorite. Water trickles over my shoulders as I lean my hair back into the clean water pouring from the statue’s hand. It’s cool, but with the sun beating down overhead, it’s refreshing as opposed to shocking.

The overgrown garden, though it seems strange to even call it a garden, is beautiful and otherworldly. Huge white buds hang from thick vines climbing up tree trunks. Several plants are shades I’ve never seen on Earth, purple ferns with vibrant pink striping, deep sapphire leaved bushes studded with crimson many-petaled flowers. Winged bugs float over the flowers, a strange cross between dragonflies and butterflies.

And they’re bioluminescent, glowing faintly when they dip into shade.

It’s striking and surreal, quiet and calm, and peace sneaks over me.

I sigh so heavily that it’s shaky, as though I’ve been sobbing for hours on end. It’s like all the anxiety and stress departs my body in that one breath, leaving me with my thoughts.

He called me his love.

Not his princess, or his golden flower, or any of the other silly and sweet pet names he’s bestowed on me.

His love.

My heart stutters at the mere thought, and I scan the foliage for him, wondering where he wandered off to. Not that I would see him, not with his coloring and the dappled light.

But I look for him still.

Part of me wonders if I’ll ever stop looking for him. I bite my lip, rubbing water over my face.

Kanuz isn’t the first to tell me he loves me.

But I think he might be the first to really mean it.

My toes curl underwater as memories of last night flash through my mind.

The prince certainly lived up to his own hype, and that’s also a new first. I’m pleasantly sore, and everything throbs with the sudden desire zipping through me as my body remembers the way he felt inside me.

I sigh, leaning back against the pocked stone of the statue, and resume trying to clean the caked on mud off my toes and feet. No use mooning about like some lovestruck teen. My alien will be back soon, and with food.

A girl can’t ask for much more than a good dicking down and some fresh fruit from the alien she loves.

I sit up quickly, water splashing all around me in my haste.

Wait.

Did I just… do I?

Do I love him?

Does the thought of being married, really being married to Kanuz, not just accidentally married, send warm fuzzies through me? My hand goes to my abdomen, and in the peaceful calm of the temple garden, I’m imagining it.

I’m imagining having his babies. Our babies.

A family.

A dream I thought the Roth stole from me all those years ago, roaring back full force. I never thought having kids was some kind of pinnacle goal for me, but it was something that was always there, as an option. Until Earth felt too dangerous to scrape by on my own, let alone bringing kids into the world.

I may not be safe here, in the jungle, but Kanuz is a huge, protective alien. He loves me.

He loves me.

The thought steals my breath. A winged insect darts to and from a patch of shade, glowing a luminous green.

This may not have been a life I ever imagined for myself… but I’m not sure I can imagine anything else.

My cheeks hurt. I touch my fingertips to my face. I’m grinning like a fool.

“A princess,” I murmur, wriggling my toes. “I love him?” I add, and the sudden quickening of my heart makes me smile harder.

I think I do.

The only thing that could make this perfect is if I had my friends to gossip with about it. My crew.

My stomach growls. Okay, maybe food and some clothes would help, too. And a safe place to sleep, out of the Suevan wilds and this temple.

The crew. Gah, I miss them more than I thought possible. I let the water trickle over my hand, watching it spill from my fingertips, mimicking the statue overhead. What would Bex say if I told her I fell in love with an alien prince?

A small laugh erupts from me.

She would be dancing around excitedly, chaotic and full of energy as always, probably asking inappropriate and hilarious questions about Kanuz’s package. I snort at the thought, practically hearing her voice in my head.

Still thirsty, I drink some more water. It’s crisp and delicious and leaves me feeling sated and bubbly. Or maybe it’s just finally seeing the open sky again.

“I hope my friends are all right,” I say out loud. If Kanuz’s goddess is real, maybe she’s listening. Can’t hurt to try and speak it into existence, regardless. I’m not huge on woo-woo stuff, but I have read my fair share of mind over body studies, mostly during the brutal training for Federation officers.

My lips twist to the side. I’m not sure I can speak hopes for my friends into existence.

“I hope we can leave the jungle safely,” I amend. “I hope that what I have with Kanuz is real, and isn’t some byproduct of being stuck surviving together. I hope that he doesn’t get tired of me.” I didn’t realize it was something I was worried about until I said it out loud. There have been so many other, immediate concerns that that one wasn’t even on my radar. But there it is, hanging outside my body now.

What if I’m just a passing novelty to him? What if I’m just one more alien female to bang?

“I want him to love me. Really love me,” I say quietly, to no one at all. “I want to be what he thinks I am. I want to help his people, and Earth, too.” I don’t want to be mean Gen anymore, sarcastic and thorny and contrary. It’s exhausting, being tough all the time.

I miss being able to let my guard down. With Kanuz, I feel like I finally can.

My nose wrinkles, and I stare down at my hands, which all but sparkle in the sunlight. I tilt my head. Weird. They look like they actually sparkle. I shake them, trying to dislodge the effect.

It doesn’t budge.

Maybe I’m dehydrated. I wouldn’t be surprised, not with as much physical activity as we’ve been doing. This water is like nothing else. It’s freaking delicious.

I cup my hands, drinking from the now trickling water. Weird. Why has it stopped flowing? I scoot my naked butt around, making sure I’m not blocking the drain or something.

But no. There’s no drain.

Confused, I stand. The water level’s lower, without a doubt.

“I didn’t drink that much.” I wring my wet hair out, but the water’s all but evaporated from it already. “What the fuck?”

My stomach lurches, and I stare down at my feet, which aren’t just sparkling, but appear to be glowing.

Glowing. Glowing a bright, shimmery green, just like the insects flitting around.