Page 46 of Saving Lauren

Kepti waits for us at the end of one the hallways, waving to us when we get to her. Chatting happily she takes my arm and guides me around the corner.

I gasp. I feel like I have stepped out of space and into a medieval romance novel. I am standing on a cobblestone square, in front of an entryway that looks like an arch, built from plants and flowers. The entryway is nestled in between a low wall, built with big gray stones and a metal fence above it. Greenery is spilling over everywhere it can.

“Kepti! This is amazing,” I exclaim. She just smiles and leads me in. The second we enter the Garden, the scents are overwhelming me, but in a good way. There is a short path to a huge round square, from which a lot of paths are taking off in all directions. There is greenery everywhere and when I look up, I see a domelike high ceiling where sun lights are strategically placed so the whole dome is lit like a sunny afternoon.

“Every cluster of plants and flowers has their own section,” Kepti starts. “We are a mix of people, coming from all kinds of different planets and everybody wanted to add a little bit of their planet. We have tried to recreate the feeling of the Arracate forests as best as we could, but unfortunately, we had limited seeds.”

“How did you manage to have them at all?” I ask, still in awe of all that I am seeing.

“We were lucky, some warriors had small greenhouses on their ships.” And then she smiles. “And one crazy woman grabbed her entire bag of seeds when we fled.” I look at her.

“I imagine it was you?” She smiles leading me down a path on the right. We walk in silence until we are at a patch where there are rows and rows of neatly grown plants.

“Vegetables!” I exclaim, Kepti nods.

“Those are the roots and fruits I grow to enrich our food.”

I am dying to explore them all and she gestures to a little bench.

“You should go and check out the plants, I will take a small break here with my son.”

I nod, darting off towards the field. Feeling happy to marvel at all the different sorts of vegetables, but at the same time I have a dark feeling of foreboding in the pit of my stomach, threatening to unravel my carefully built new life.

I am quickly losing myself in all the different kinds of plants. I make sure I don’t wander off too far and I check in with D’Var and Kepti every couple of seconds. I can’t seem to want to take my eyes off my mate. D’Var and Kepti are talking, and it looks like they are having a heated discussion. I feel a flow of distress and worry pulse through our bond and my heart worries for D’Var. I know something is eating at him, but I feel like no matter what I say, it will never ease his mind. Hopefully Kepti can help him. She does know him better than anyone.

I am looking at a berry bush that contains all kinds of colors of berries when I feel a wave of agony pushing through our bond. I jerk upright, D’Var is sitting bent-over, with his head in his hands. Sadness is overflowing and I quickly move towards the edge of the field.

I freeze as I see mother and son embrace. Kepti graces his cheek with hers, then she puts her hands on both sides of his face. It looks like she makes him a serious promise. Relief is flushing through the bond and D’Var turns to look at me. I swallow before walking towards them.

“Shall we take a walk, I need to talk to you,” D’Var says hoarsely, I swallow as I start to feel a little bit sick.

We walk for a bit, until we get to a small entryway to a hidden clearing. There are enormous trees all around and in the middle, there are logs. D’Var guides me towards them. Once we reach them he sits pulling me down with him. He takes my hands in his, we sit there in silence. I am afraid to look at him, but when I do, I see how conflicted he is, the bond pushes me to comfort him.

“It’s okay, D’Var. It will be okay. Please just tell me what’s wrong.”

He sighs rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. He looks tense, and he starts to talk. “You are everything to me, L’Ren, my Zarra, my mate, my heart. But I have to leave you.” His words don’t make sense and I just stare at him. Feeling my nausea increasing.

“I have to go and hunt Yalix. It is the only way I can assure your safety.”

“No!” I gasp and I start trembling. “No, D’Var. You can’t leave me! Please don’t. You… No, I need to stay with you!”

“I have to go,” he says brokenly. “I have to go and do this. I have to bring you his head.”

“No! I can come with you,” I exclaim. The thought of being separated from him makes my head hurt. I feel bile slowing coming up but I swallow it down.

“You cannot come, little one. It is far too dangerous.”

“NO!” I jump up and start pacing. “NO, I don’t accept this. You promised me you would never leave me. You can’t leave me.”

He just looks sad, it’s breaking my heart even more.

“I have to, please understand. My nights are haunted by the thought of losing you. I failed in protecting you. You are not safe as long as he lives.”

“Then let someone else go after him,” I cry, tears streaming down my face. D’Var shakes his head. “I don’t want his head; I just want you!”

“It has to be me.” He pushes back his shoulders before rising. “I have to go now. You will stay with my mother. T’Rak will also stay with you, he will guard you for me.”

“NOOOOOOO,” I wail falling to my knees in the middle of the clearing. Utter despair coursing through my veins.

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