Her mom being married though? That was a surprise. Apparently Fenriis was away on a mission at the moment but would return soon. Her stepdad was an alien. Fuuuuuck… That would take some getting used to.
But for now, she was on her own. Laarn had called a stop to the tests for now and had ordered her to take some time to relax in nature. Seemed the Lathar doctors—sorry, healers—advocated a lot more communing with nature than human ones did. Again, no surprise. They were massively more technologically advanced than humanity.
A sense of being watched made her open her eyes. Laarn had brought her out to a secluded area, setting a lounger for her under the shade of a tree with a good view of the gardens and, in the distance beyond the big walls, a sprawling city. Her very first alien city.
But, while she might have the view, she hadn’t seen anyone since Laarn and his attendants left. She’d been surprised about that until she realized the lounger itself was monitoring her.
Sitting up, she looked around, trying to spot whoever was watching her. There… in the bushes.
“Hey!” she called out, standing. Her legs were still a little unsteady, the result of being in bed for so many months, so she gripped the back of the lounger to steady herself. “Hey… don’t be scared. You can come out. I won’t hurt you.”
The bushes stilled, but she’d definitely caught the sense of movement behind them. They were high and thick, though, so even squinting, her gaze couldn’t penetrate them to reveal whoever it was.
“Would you come out?” she asked. “Please? I’d like someone to talk to…”
More silence. She was about to give up, sighing in disappointment and moving to sit down, when the bushes rustled again.
An alien man stepped through, freezing the breath right there in her throat. He was almost as big as Laarn, broad-shouldered and heavy with muscle but without the scars. Pale eyes studied her levelly as he rose to his full height. She bit back a whimper, her knees going weak.
He was the most gorgeous man, alien or human, she’d ever seen.
Annnnd… she was staring.
She shut her mouth with a click and looked up at him. “Hey.”
“Hello.”
His deep voice hit her like a shuttle at light speed and she gasped. It was him.
Before she knew it, he was across the space between them, his arm out to steady her.
“Lady Lizzie? Are you okay?” he asked, a look of concern on his handsome face. “Should I call for a healer?”
“No. No, it’s okay,” she managed, looking up at him in wonder. “It’s you. You’re him. The man from my dreams.”
A smile crept across his lips and she lost the ability to think. With dark hair bound back at the nape of his neck and pale eyes, he was gorgeous. Smiling? Yeah, no red-blooded woman stood a chance.
“You honor me, my lady,” he dropped his gaze for a second, the little inclination of his head hinting at manners that were courtly and old-world.
“No. I mean I remember you,” she said, her hand spreading out over his arm where he held her. “Your voice, I mean. It was in my dreams. When I woke up, everyone told me you were a figment of my imagination. A dream person. I knew they were wrong. I knew you were out here somewhere.”
Suddenly she became aware she was clinging to him. The sheer relief of something familiar from her slumber, his voice, had made her lose all sense of acceptable behavior.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she murmured, certain he didn’t want her all over him. With the way he looked, he could have the pick of the women from Earth. Probably already had, she thought, coming down to Earth with a bump. Okay, not Earth, she reminded herself, but back to wherever this place was with a bump.
“No apology needed, my lady.” He smiled and let go as she straightened up, but he stayed close. He was probably worried about her face planting in the grass. “I am Saal. One of the… caretakers in the hall.”
He motioned for her to sit down again, pulling up a small bench to sit opposite. “I did read to you, yes. Lord Healer Laarn said it was possible that you could hear us all even through your slumber and… I didn’t want you to feel alone.”
She looked at him in surprise and then smiled, a bolt of pleasure rolling through her. “That was very thoughtful of you. Thank you.”
She ducked her head, tucking her hair behind her ear. The way he was looking at her… he wasn’t hiding the interest in his eyes and his very nearness made her stomach feel like it was filled with butterflies. “I heard you,” she admitted softly. “Your voice made me feel safe.”
It was just a small admission but his expression… it was like she’d given him the world on a silver platter. “I am glad. You—”
“Saal.”
A deep voice laced with disapproval and anger made Lizzie and the big alien warrior whirl around. So deeply involved had they been in their conversation, neither had heard Laarn approaching. He stood behind them, his arms folded across his broad chest and his face like thunder as he looked at the other warrior.
“Don’t you have duties to attend to?”
Saal was on his feet in a heartbeat, his expression tight and controlled.
“Yes, Lord Healer.” He turned to Lizzie and bowed low. “My lady, an honor to meet you.”
And with that, he was gone.
“Why did you do that?” Lizzie demanded, turning on Laarn as he approached. His face was a hard mask as he used some kind of computer mounted on his wrist bracer to connect to the lounger she’d been resting on. “We were just talking.”
“As long as it was just talking.” Laarn shot her a direct look. “Lizzie, I appreciate this is all a big shock to you and you’re having to adjust rapidly. But never make the mistake of thinking that because we look like you that we’re human. We are Lathar. Saal is Lathar… and that means he is very dangerous indeed.”
“He was nice to me. He didn’t look dangerous.”
Laarn squatted down next to her.
“Every male can be nice when they want something. After... ” He shrugged. “Saal is a good warrior, and I trust him… up to a point. Don’t be alone with him again and never agree to anything, even if it seems harmless. Not until you understand our culture more, or you could well find yourself mated to a male you don’t want and there will be nothing I nor your sister can do about it. Understand?”
She blinked in surprise. “Just talking though? That can’t be dangerous. Surely?”
Laarn inclined his head. “Depends what you’re talking about, and what promises you make without realizing it. Hells, agree to a dance in some parts of the empire and you could find yourself in a multiple marriage.”
Her eyes widened. “Okay. Not dancing. Promise.”
He smiled. “Good. Now, since you appear to be a little more recovered, I’ll talk to Jess and the other ladies about getting you some lessons. So you don’t get yourself into trouble.”
It turned out Laarn hadn’t been kidding. Latharian culture was way more complicated than Lizzie had suspected. Lizzie laid her head down on the table and groaned after her first lesson. It was now stuffed with more rules and protocol than she’d ever dreamed possible. Using the right knife and fork at a state banquet back home on Earth had nothing on the Lathar. It seemed even looking at a guy in the wrong way could get a girl into trouble here.