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Leah smiled despite the storm building up inside her. “I’d love it.”
She’d been cooped up and worked to the bone for too long. Taking a stroll through an alien city seemed like the perfect idea.
Only they couldn’t stroll.
The wide street which had been completely empty yesterday was now utterly full. It looked like a Sunday market, packed, loud, and never-ending.
Quillons, robots, and aliens with wild, red hair crowded almost every inch of available space. The other parts were overtaken with stalls made out of rough stone slabs, in shades of blacks and grays. On top of them, in glass cases and sturdy boxes, lay glistening gems.
The twin Quillon stars shined bright, but these jewels shined brighter. Big, small, smooth, and rough, each was different than the one before. Some of the gems were concave, with small spheres adorning their edges. Others were jagged and sharp, beautiful in their willfulness to be the most unusual shapes.
Most gems were displayed by themselves, like crystals. A few had been embedded into gleaming metals, shaped into necklaces, crowns, collars, and massive earrings.
No bracelets or rings, though. Quillons really didn’t want to draw attention to their hands, did they?
“These are gorgeous,” she muttered as Taryn guided her through the crowd, making sure to keep his hand across her lower back, not touching her skin to skin. Thank the gods she’s chosen a fairly thick shirt and jeans for today. Even with the heavier fabrics, his warmth managed to seep through.
“These are trinkets compared to what Kustume can offer,” Taryn said. “Wait until we cross to the other side of the market, into the garment district. That is Kustume’s real attraction.”
“Sounds great.” Though she really did like staring at these jewels. They reminded her of super hard flowers, some of nature’s most beautiful creations. And Leah loved flowers way more than normal. Or sane.
Walking through the market reminded her of her own small dreams. A flower shop. Maybe taking some of the arrangements to the Sunday market, drumming up some attention from consumers, getting some loyal customers.
A silly, little plan, but it was hers, and she hadn’t let it die yet, despite everything in her life trying to convince her to do just that.
“We’ll also find more of those sweet shards you seem to like so much,” Taryn said and Leah’s stomach growled again. “But before we do that, I want to ask you something.”
They’d cleared the most crowded part of the street. Aliens and robots still had to walk a bit too closely to them, but they had space to move their arms around and point at different stalls. So un-Quillon.
There weren’t all that many stalls here, anyway. Instead, there were jagged buildings with big signs and more luxurious displays out front. Ah, this must have been the fancy part of Kustume.
“What, exactly?” Leah asked, hoping she didn’t sound too suspicious. But doubting herself and others had become sort of an instinct for her, unfortunately.
“I want you to go inside that building and pick out your favorite jewel,” he said.
Leah shook her head. “I don’t have the money.”
“I do.”
“I don’t want you to buy me things.” It made her feel even worse. Did she like the idea that he wanted to buy her something? Yes. Did she have any business liking that? No.
“Please. For me,” he said, voice lowering to a whisper. “It’s customary for Quillons to gift their Lightmates whatever their hearts desire.”
Damn it. She didn’t want to offend him or his customs, too. And he’d said please and—
“Okay,” she found herself saying. “But I didn’t get you any gift.”
Which, of course, made her feel even more rotten.
“But you did. You came here and I met you,” he said simply, not a hint of humor in his voice.
He was making her knees go weak, and Leah didn’t want that. Weak knees were usually followed by stomach butterflies, which led to falling in love, and…no. She couldn’t.
“Okay, but can I pick it out on my own? No pressure, I might have really bad tastes when it comes to jewelry.” She hadn’t bought a single piece in her life, had she? And she really needed a few moments away from Taryn and his awesomeness.
“I know you have excellent taste,” he said.
Leah huffed a laugh. “How?”
