“Are you?” I frowned, unsure how I felt about how she reacted to me as I reached out for her hand, enclosing it in mine as I sat beside her.
“What do you mean?” She raised an incredulous eyebrow.
“It’s been a fullday, since we...” I hedged, watching her brow furrow as her mouth opened in surprise.
“Wow!” She covered her mouth with her other hand. “You literally fucked me unconscious.”
“But we didn’t even seal our fates together!” I spat out, wanting to make sure she knew nothing had happened, and pointed to my bloomless hair. “If we had, my hair vines would have bloomed by now.”
“That’s good to know,” she mumbled and frowned, reaching for my hair. “I wonder what color they’ll be, and if they’ll match the color of yourblav.”
“That knowledge is unknown.” I gave her a gentle smile. “Calyzis are a very private, secluded species, which is why I haven’t told anyone about you.
“You went unconscious, and I didn’t know if it was normal for you to be so unresponsive, or what to do, but I couldn’t tell anyone for fear that word would get out and someone would report you to our leaders, who would then report you to the IPA authorities.
“I remember what happened the last time unknown travelers visited our planet, and the last thing I want is for the authorities to take you away from me, especially since you are my luwaeri.
“Our hometree informed me that I should not be concerned because you were only resting, so I left you to rest in your bed after I cleaned everything up.”
“Are you saying that the authorities would assist me and ensure that the IPA would transport me back home?” Hope filled her eyes.
“They wouldn’t,” I said, not wanting to be the cause of her eyes dimming. “And this isn’t me withholding information from you against your will. The manner in which you arrived here. The authorities will want to study both you and my land to see if they can replicate it. The last thing they’d want is to return you to your home planet. You’d only be a science experiment, especially since you’re the first of your kind.
“The IPA is all about improving the species within the alliance, not wasting resources trying to return one lifeform to its rightful place.
“Instead, they house them in sanctuaries that are represented and funded by other governments. They go into a frenzy whenever there is a new discovery or something that can’t be explained, like what happened to you, which is why we have barred them from our planet.
“Their representatives were the source of the disease that caused a mass genocide, which some Calyzis suspected was done on purpose so they could study our hometrees.
“If you want me to contact my planet’s authorities after we’ve found your device, or whenever you’re finished looking for it, I will—”
“But you’d advise me not to,” she mumbled then sighed and squeezed our hands. “I appreciate you informing me of my options. I understand how difficult this must be for you, especially since you believe we are destined to be together.”
“I would’ve felt guilty if you hadn’t known,” I admitted, feeling both the weight of the truth lifted off my shoulders and a sudden dread at the prospect of her accepting my offer to leave the planet, even if she might still be unable to return home. “Even if we never find your device, you deserve to know your options. I don’t want you to stay with me just because you were never presented all of your options.”
“I’m grateful.” As her eyes swelled, she reached out to me, combing back my vines. “Your honestymeans a great deal to me.”
“I never want to keep anything from you.” I closed my eyes and leaned into her touch, committing it to memory in case it was the last time she did so. “I wouldn’t be able to look at you with a clear conscience if I hadn’t, even if it meant that you might not stay with me in the end.”
“Even if we find my phone, that doesn’t mean I’ll be able to return home.”
I opened my eyes and looked at her, puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“I broke it when I ran away from the pafeldae,” she explained. “Even if your hometree is able to repair it, who knows if I can replicate the same phenomenon in order to return home?”
“You can’t play with my hearts like this,” I muttered as I struggled to free my hand from her grasp. “You can’t fill my mind with dreams only to break them.”
“Who said I was going to break any promises?” she demanded, her tone hushed as she tightened her grip on my hand and jerked me closer. “I told you I’d try whatever was growing between us, and I meant it. Just because I wanted to know how I could return home doesn’t mean that I would stay there.”
“Sealing your fate with me isn’t a game, Viola,” I growled. “You are it for me.”
“I never said it was a game,” she hissed as she climbed onto my lap and gripped my cheeks, forcing me to look into her rich brown eyes. “All I wanted to know was how I could get back home and what I needed to do so. If I fall in love with you before I am able to leave, then I would needto?”
“What do you mean?” I shook my head, combing her hair back from her face, trying to find my answer in her eyes, to understand what she was saying.
“I fall hard and fast—my greatest fear is not being loved back when I do,” she explained as she peered down at the space between our chests. “One of my deepest desires is to find true love, to lay a foundation based on friendship and mutual understanding, and for it to grow into something unmeasurable to anyone other than me and the person I was with.
“All my life, I’ve been measured—too poor, not pretty enough, not smart enough, just average—I just want to be loved for who I am rather than what I am.”
