“Go, Kanuz,” I cheer. “You’re doing great.” I raise a hand in the air, then sigh as little sparks twinkle off of it. “Wish this came with an off switch,” I mutter.

Within a matter of minutes, Kanuz is back in front of me, hardly even out of breath.

“You made that look easy.”

He tosses his hair back, waggling his brows at me. “That is because I am a prime specimen.”

I laugh, and he holds out not one, but two torso sized leaves. “I can’t say I’ve ever heard someone say that. Maybe it will catch on as a pick-up line.”

He grins at me, and I take the leaves. “I guess we’re just gonna Eve it. Not a fig leaf, but it’ll do. I hope there aren’t any devilish snakes around here.” I wink at him, but he squints at me in confusion.

“Right.” I shake my head. “You wouldn’t know that one. Hey, can I have some vines to tie it up with? Think that would work?”

“My love, I would do anything for you, but I will not do that.”

I burst out laughing, and the befuddlement on his face grows. “Sorry,” I gasp out, the leaves shaking in my grip. “It was just funny for a minute. I’m fine.”

“I was going to offer you the lace from my pants,” Kanuz says.

“But you need your pants. A vine will work fine.”

“The lace would work better.”

I poke his pouty lower lip, and he catches my finger gently between his teeth.

“Vines,” I tell him. “You keep your pants on. We don’t need my favorite toy getting hurt.”

He puffs up his chest with pride, releasing my finger and pressing a kiss to the back of my hand instead. “If that is what my glowing flower wants, then that is what she shall get.”

“How gallant.” I flip my hair, then turn the leaf around, trying to figure out the best way to get max coverage. The foliage is thick and supple, and doesn’t tear easily like I thought it might. Kanuz yanks a thick, ropey vine from the wall, sending dirt and grit flying.

“This might work,” he says grudgingly, handing me a length of it.

“Fashion, fashion, fashion, baby,” I chant. “Make it work! Can you cut a hole in the middle of this?”

Kanuz gives me another bewildered look, then does as I ask, ripping a small hole in the middle of the leaf with his talon.

I clap my hands. “Perfect.” I thrust my head through the hole in the leaf’s center, and the edges of it barely cover my butt, but it’s a hell of a lot better than nothing.

“Vine,” I order, and he hands it to me. I tie it around my waist, securing my leaf mini-dress.

Feeling fierce, or maybe manic, who could say, I strut to the base of the tree and back. “And the star of fashion week, Genevieve Durand, modeling her latest.” I do a sharp pivot turn, my hands on my hips. The end of my vine belt slaps me in the face.

I cough and bat it down.

“It’s interactive,” I say to Kanuz, who stares at me, open-mouthed. “Couture. Avant-garde.”

“Does that mean you are pleased with it?”

“Very much,” I tell him, and he smiles as though I’ve given him everything he ever wanted.

“Are you ready to leave?”

“Fuck yes,” I say. “Let’s get the hell out of Dodge.”

“Dodge?”

“Just go with it.”

“Going with it,” he agrees, holding out a hand. I lace my fingers in his and follow him into the dark tunnel.

Well, it would be dark, if it weren’t for the glow I’m emitting, like some kind of human lightning bug.

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER NINETEEN

OceanofPDF.com

KANUZ

I cannot seem to take my eyes from Gen. She glitters in the dark, narrow tunnel, tiny sparks surrounding where she walks. I have to crouch to fit, the space to narrow to stand upright in. But my Gen saunters through like a queen, outfitted in leafy green.

She was beautiful before, but now? Now she is stunning. Her golden hair glows, and the greenish tint to her aura has faded to a mellow sunshine yellow.

“What?” she asks, her face scrunched with concern. “You’re looking at me weird.”

I shake my head. “I am looking at you because I am in awe of you.”

“Don’t be. I’m just trying to survive, same as you. I just got the magic water first.” Her tone is nervous, different than I’ve heard her before, and I narrow my eyes.

“Are you worried about the Crigomar?”

“Who wouldn’t be nervous about a pair of rabid red and black T-Rexes?”

“In the south, they train them. As pets and a defense mechanism.”

She gawks up at me, and I tug her hand, urging her to keep moving through the tunnel.

“They train the dinosaurs?”

“Crigomar.”

“Huh. That’s kind of amazing.”

“I think there is much you will find amazing about our people.”

“I think you’re right.” The words are soft and contemplative, and it tugs at my heart to hear her say it. “How do they train them?”

I pause, unsure, then continue leading her through the tunnel. “I do not know.”

I should know. I am the prince of this planet, am I not? But I have neglected our southern brethren. Shame fills me. I should have worked harder to unite our people before now. Instead, I listened to the words of my ill and heartsick father. I mourned the loss of my mother by throwing myself into battle with the Roth, and then soothed the pain of war by throwing myself into bed with any willing female.

“I have not been a good leader,” I tell her, my throat closing up.

“What? Why do you say that?” Her steps falter, and my hand goes to her hip, keeping her upright.

“I fear it is my fault that the southern Suevans are restless.”

“I thought they were just against us humans.” Her breath comes in soft pants, and I slow my pace slightly. She is not as healthy as she was just two weeks ago. That is my fault, too. “Not you in particular.”

“I’m the prince. If they are against us, they are against me. I have not been as attentive as I should have been to their problems. Now they find an excuse to use against us.”

“Well.” There’s a sly note to her voice, and when I glance back, she’s smirking up at me. “We’ll just have to show them the goddess-blessed, right?”

I stop and pull her muscled body into mine, planting a kiss on her glittering lips. “Yes, my love. We will.”

But we shouldn’t have had to. I shouldn’t have had to put my mate through the trials of the many-faced-goddess because of my own shortcomings as the leader of Sueva.

My father was right about me, and as much as that stings to acknowledge, at least now I can grow from the realization.

He was wrong about one thing, though.

I can change, and I will be the king the Suevans deserve.

And I’ll have my glittering, golden mate beside me.

Finally, the light appears at the end of the tunnel.

“That better be daylight,” Gen says, grumpy again. “I don’t think I can take it if it’s not.”

I blink at her, confused all over again. “What else would it be?”

“Never mind. It was a stupid joke.”

“I do not think you are capable of saying anything stupid.”

When I glance at her, I expect to see that same smile on her face. I frown when it’s not there. Instead, her expression is pinched, concern writ across her face.

“I hope I don’t prove you wrong.”

The tunnel narrows, the opening overhead half-concealed by vegetation. A root the size of my thigh drapes across the middle of the entrance.

“I will go first, and then I will pull you up behind me,” I tell her.

“Works for me.”

My talons latch onto the root, and I heave myself up, the walls of the opening clawing at my hide. It’s a tight squeeze, but I manage to push myself through, then lie on the ground, extending my arm to Gen.

“Do you trust me, my flower? Take my hand.”

“And you’ll show me a whole new world?”

“If that is what you wish.”

She snorts a laugh, fitting her small hand around my wrist. I clasp hers, and haul her up the opening easily. She fits through easily, sneezing as dust and dirt tumbles into her face.