“Is there something wrong with my hair?” I brushed the strands away from my face, tucking them behind my ear, and rolled my eyes. “Or do you need a moment to gather your thoughts?”
“No, it’s only... My species only develops color after mating.” He reached for my hair, paused, and nodded before touching a strand. “Those who haven’t gone off planet, at least. I’ve heard tales about individuals who have unfortunately spent too much time without a hometree, and their bodies tend to develop more... flora in order to survive on their own—”
“Like a personal terrarium.” Biting my lower lip, I shifted my gaze to his, feeling the warmth bloom on my cheeks as he continued to look at me in awe. Never before had I had someone as interested in me, especially as much as he was, and I had no idea how to handle it all. “I mean… They appear to have evolved into an independent, self-contained ecosystem.”
“That’s exactly right!” His face lit up like a player who had finally solved the problem—the puzzle—in order to win the game. “It’s not something I’d ever wanted to do, but I can’t blame them for trying. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I don’t want to risk leaving everything behind to see it for myself... especially now that I’ve met you.”
“You mean, without your hometree?” As I tried to piece together what the elaborate bioluminescent details along the walls were for, I noticed how they seemed to pulse—dimming and illuminating without a pattern. “Do you mean to say that your home is a part of you?”
“Always. Until my last dying breath.” He sighed. “If I’m lucky, I’ll be buried at the base of our hometree to return to the Mother Tree, and another will take my place as its protector.”
“But you didn’t come from this hometree, did you?” I returned my gaze to his, surprised to see him still intently studying me. “We’re not currently sharing a bedroom with—”
“Oh, Mother Tree. No.” Zyre flinched and closed his eyes, shaking his head in disgust. “Families tend hometrees from the time they are saplings until they are large enough to house a family.
“While it is common for brothers to leave their origin’s hometree in search of a new one where they can make their own, I did not have that luxury.
“Unfortunately, just as I was about to embark with my brothers on our journey to find a hometree to call our own, a foreign disease swept across the planet when Interstellar Protections Agency ambassadors visited for the first time, killing many of the older generations and leaving my generation to rebuild.”
“That’s terrible.” I opened my mouth in disbelief, unable to comprehend the utter global devastation he’d had to endure. I stood there, speechless, watching his vines sag behind him and his teal eyes dim with sadness.
“It was too late by the time they discovered a solution and we shared it with our hometrees, allowing them to spread it across their lands.” His voice broke and he looked up at the balcony. As he gently rocked his head in sorrow, his mouth fell open and his body shook from an inaudible sob. “We were forced to bury our loved ones and split our families.
“Brothers no longer shared a hometree. Instead, they fled their origin’s home, abandoning their sisters and any remaining family members. They are forced to live alone, managing an entire hometree on their own, hoping to find theirluwaerione day.”
“So that’s why we walked past so many empty rooms on the way up here,” I mused, realizing how lonely he must be. He was likeBatman, living in an empty mansion with nothing but the echoes of those from the past within the walls of his hometree. “You’ve been caring for this hometree, making it your own, anticipating...”
“You,” he said, his eyes dimmed. “I’m not sure how you got here—orcare why—but my soul recognizes yours, and my hometree can see the same—how the Mother Tree entangled our fates.
“You are myluwaeri, and it makes no difference that you were not born on this planet. You belong here—with me.” He took my hands in his and placed them between us, encasing them in his velvet warmth. “The Mother Tree embraced you as her own, and my hometree confirmed it—and I’ll go to any length to prove it to you.”
Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes. My slow blinks failed to clear them, but instead opened the gateway to my troubled past. My vision was blurred by the tears that poured down my cheeks as a sob erupted, catching in the back of my throat.
Nobody had ever said the words I’d always wanted to hear.
You belong here.
Oh, how I wished I could believe him—but I was afraid to let down the walls that surrounded my heart once more.
“What’s wrong?” He cupped my face cautiously, running his thumb over one of my tears to keep it from falling any farther. His teal eyes glowed with concern as he searched my face. “How come you leak water while your face is turning red?”
“You did nothing wrong. I’m a fool to let my past and the dark feelings that I’ve worked so hard to keep locked away and buried within the depths of my mind taint your sweet words.” His intense stare was too much for me to bear, and their glow was visible through the veil of tears that flooded my vision. I closed my eyes and leaned into his hand, hoping the coolness of his touch would help me freeze the feelings that had washed over me. “I just need to concentrate on something else... Anything else—”
His lips pressed hard against mine, silencing me, while his other hand mimicked the one on my cheek. In response, my eyes slammed shut as my legs squeezed tightly, trapping him between my bare thighs. My hands found his shoulders, my nails dug into his leaves, as I gripped him for dear life—to ground me—and make me forget everything that had happened in my past to create new memories for the loving future that he kept promising me.
Vines wrapped around my waist, drawing me in closer. Our chests collided as the rumble of his fast-beating heartspressed against my skin.
His distinct floral aroma—somewhere between lavender and sweet mint—wrapped itself around me like a warm blanket, whisking away the ghost feelings from my past and bringing me back to the present.
His vines snaked around my limbs, climbing up my body like a trellis with every passing moment. They appeared to be attempting to ground me and claim me as a part of him.
A tingly sensation washed over me every time our mouths moved, traveling down my spine and filling my heart before ending up in the juncture between my thighs.
Deep in my soul, I desperately wanted to believe him, to have everything he was offering me.
I needed to belong.
Because even though I was the one who led my team to victory, I still felt like an outcast. There was always an invisible line that separated me from them, keeping me from becoming one of the boys.
