“That is the truth.” As our eyes locked, I leaned down, tilted my head, and gently pressed my forehead to hers. “I’ll provide you with everything you require.”
“Even if I sucked you to death?”
I jerked my head back and blinked slowly, trying to figure out if there was a hidden meaning behind her question. Never before had someone asked such a question, because it was never something my kind had to be concerned about.
“That is not possible.” A soft unsurechuckle escaped my lips at the thought of it ever happening. “And even if it was, it would be worth it for you.” “I would give you everything your body desires.”
“I’ll remember that,” she muttered as she gently pushed me away with her hands on my chest. “But for the time being, I’d like to get out of this robe and accept your offer to retrace my steps from yesterday.”
“The hometree will take some time to craft you something.” With a glance toward the balcony, I frowned at the dark clouds in the distance, noting how much closer they had gotten since this morning. “We could make arrangements for it before we leave, and it will be completed when we return.”
“Is it really that simple?” Her gaze bounced back and forth between the walls, tracing their living veins. “How do we go about doing that?Is it necessary for me to jump into the Giving Pool in order to communicate with her?”
“Not necessarily.”
Backing away from her, my body longed for her touch again, wanting to feel ourluwaeri’sapproval, so I took a step beside the nearest wall and placed my hand on its living vein. A bright glow engulfed my hand, and a gentle warmth pulsed beneath my palm, welcoming me.
I closed my eyes and sent my consciousness forward to greet our hometree.
“As the land’s guardian, I’m always connected to our hometree and as far as the roots stretch.” I dropped my hand from the wall, nodding respectfully as I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder at myluwaeri. “It’s a gentle feeling—a constant presence—in the back of my head that spreads throughout my body, assuring me that everything is fine.”
“But I’m not like you.” Viola tightened her robe as she stepped beside me and raised her hand to the wall, stopping it just before it touched. She bit her bottom lip as her sad gaze met mine. “I’m a human, not a Calyzis.How do you know I can talk to her like you?”
“Because you’re a part of me,” I said softly, taking a step behind her and daringly wrapping my arm around her waist and placing my hand on hers. “You may not be a child of this planet, but the Mother Tree adopted you as her own. Believe... and reach out to our hometree, and she will aid you.”
“Do I simply close my eyes and speak to her?”
“Open. Closed. It doesn’t matter,” I whispered as I leaned closer, gently pressing my head on top of hers as I stared down at our joined hands. “Do not be afraid; she hears all in her land.”
“What should I be afraid of?”
“Becoming addicted to the matrix.”
CHAPTERTWELVE
VIOLA - VIOLENTVIOLET
“What are you addicted to?” I whispered, despite the fact that I already knew the answer.
“Living beyond the physical realm.” He encircled his fingers with mine, pressing my hand even more firmly against the rune. As he leaned closer, his body against me, engulfing me with warmth sandwiched between us, the sounds of a deep intake of breath filled my ears. “Don’t be concerned; I’ll ground you to keep you from getting lost.”
His warm ginger and lavender scent enveloped me, slowing my racing heart and breathing and calming my nerves.
Somehow, I wasn’t afraid.
Not about him being this close to me, despite the fact that he was pinning me to the hometree’s wall, preventing me from fleeing. Perhaps the prolonged effect of his nectar or the pale green dust, hisekila, dulled my senses.
It was as if I knew deep down that I could trust him and that he wouldn’t hurt me.
His determination to see that I was taken care of was undeniably attractive. My circumstances forced me to learn how to care for myself, and for once, someone else was willing to step in and help me in any way they could. It was as if his life depended on it, and maybe it did, with him claiming I was hisluwaeri, but I was curious to see what would blossom between us.
A growing heat bubbled in the pit of my stomach as a sudden rush passed through my veins.
Something about our position felt erotic, deeply intimate, as if we were two lovers flirting with each other before getting hot and heavy.
“How are you going to accomplish that?” My words came out husky and low, almost stuck in the back of my throat. How could someone I’d just met have such an impact on me?
“I’ll wrap my vines around you to remind you who you are,” he whispered, his voice echoing mine. He grabbed my other hand and pressed our hands against the wall, threading our fingers together. “I’ve spent my entire life waiting for you; I’m not going to abandon you at the first sign of trouble.”
