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Giselle nodded slowly. Grania’s words made perfect sense to her; she could easily imagine how walking along these smooth, beautiful paths could help a person think. Before long they reached a surprisingly primitive cottage. The walls appeared to be made of stone, and the ceiling from bunches of dried grass.
“Here we are,” Grania said. She opened the door, nodded for Giselle to come in with her. The cottage was small, and filled with furniture that seemed to be fashioned out of wood and primitive textiles. Giselle goggled openly; she’d never seen anything like it.
“You live here?” she asked, and then closed her mouth with an embarrassed gasp. What a rude question…
Grania laughed, and Velor shook his head.
“It’s slightly more up-to-date than you might think from its appearance,” he said. “Our kitchen is modern, and we’re hooked into the ’net. But we find simplicity does help us stay focused on serving the Goddess.”
“It’s lovely,” Giselle said. “I guess I’ve never seen anything like this on a space station before.”
“Well, this is an unusual space station,” Grania said with a smile. “And you, Giselle, appear to be an unusual woman. Will you sit with me?”
She walked gracefully over to a large, wooden table, taking a seat along one side. Giselle sat across from her, feeling uncomfortable.
“I think you already know why I’m here,” Giselle said quietly. “I’m not quite sure what to do now, to be honest,” she added with a nervous laugh. “How can you tell if I’m Jerred’s life mate? Do you have to do tests, or scan me?”
“Oh, no, I don’t think that will be necessary,” Grania said with a serene smile. “I already know the answer.”
“Well?” Giselle asked, feeling a bit impatient. “What is it?”
“Do you really need me to tell you?” Grania asked quietly. “I don’t think that you do. I think that if you look into your heart you’ll know.”
It took all Giselle had within her not roll her eyes and snort in disgust. This was why she usually avoided temples. Too touchy-feely. “I don’t know,” she said slowly. “If I knew, I wouldn’t have asked you.”
Grania cocked her head at her and laughed. “Yes, I can see that,” she said. “You’re very literal-minded, and you don’t trust your senses, do you? You need to work on that child. It’s really the only way you’ll ever grow close to the Goddess.”
This time Giselle did sigh, wishing she’d never come. These people were like sticky candy—their words clung to her, clogging up her brain. Even the air in this place seemed to clog up her mind. Suddenly she felt hot and uncomfortable.
“I think you should tell her,” Velor said to his life mate, coming up behind her to place one hand on her shoulder. “She seems confused enough already.”
“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” Grania said. “It’s just that I wanted her to see for herself.”
“Well, I don’t see,” Giselle said, growing frustrated. “Please, tell me.”
“You and Jerred are clearly life mates,” Grania said, smiling. Giselle felt dizzy. Was this woman playing games with her? They hadn’t done any tests, how could they know for sure?
“The Goddess tells us these things,” Grania said, replying to her unasked question. Giselle started, suddenly feeling a little uncertain. She’d never really liked priests and priestesses who claimed to speak to the Goddess. In her experience, they usually wanted money. But this couple really didn’t seem to be asking anything of her.
“The Goddess rejoices at your presence, child,” Velor said, his voice soothing. “We were both able to feel it as soon as we met you. It will be stronger when your Jerred arrives, of course, but there’s no question that you’re newly life-mated.”
“So what does that mean?” Giselle asked, almost afraid to know the answer.
“Well, it means that you and Jerred will probably have very long, happy lives together,” Grania said. “Of course, there will be hard times. But, all in all, the Goddess chooses wisely when she creates mates. You are very lucky to have found each other.”
“What about Jerred?” Giselle asked, feeling even more confused. “How is he going to react to this?”
“Well, I would imagine that once he understands what’s going on he’ll be thrilled,” Velor said. “Although I wouldn’t be surprised if right now he’s tearing the station apart looking for you. My chief of security tells me that he’s demanding entrance to the temple,” he added, tapping his ear lightly. The man must have a communications implant, Giselle realized. How funny, that a man who lived in a wooden house had a com implant. This temple was an extremely strange place.
“You’d better go and fetch him, dear,” Grania said, turning her head to smile up at her mate. “The poor boy will have a heart attack if we don’t let him know his mate is safe. They tend to get very concerned about these things,” she added, looking at Giselle.
Velor nodded, then quietly left the room.
“He won’t be but a moment,” Grania said. “We have an entrance in back of the house, too. We only took you the long way because we wanted you to see some of the grounds.”
True to her word, Velor was back within moments. Jerred followed him, his face filled with strain. He came up to her and pulled her roughly into his arms.
“Are you all right?” he asked, running his hands over her shoulders.
“Yes,” she said, looking up at him with all the love she felt. She couldn’t quite figure out why he was so concerned. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t left a note.
“Xander told me he’d had a talk with you,” Jerred said, his face betraying his nerves. “He told me you’d gone to the temple. I was afraid you might be seeking sanctuary from me.”
“Sanctuary?” she burst out laughing. “Why on earth would I need sanctuary?”
He blushed, and then looked to Grania and Velor.
“Considering how I originally got you to come with me, I had reason to be worried,” he said softly. “My mind just kept racing through all the reasons you might be trying to leave me. I couldn’t understand why you’d go to the temple, either.”
“It is customary for life mates to have their union sanctified within the temple,” Grania said. Jerred’s head jerked up, and he looked at her.
