Page 51 of Treasured By the Alien Rogue

“Where can we get spores?” I asked.

“We keep some in a special place.” Gerain stood. “Come with me and Floosar, and we’ll show you.”

Chapter 23

Xax

What would Amanda think of my surprises?

One waited inside our home.

As for the other . . .

“Aww,” Amanda said, walking over to study the sign I’d crafted and hung above her entrance. “It says Tranquiliteas.”

“Because that’s what you said you want to name it. I hope you feel it fits.”

She came back and gave me a hug, smiling up at me. “It’s perfect.”

“As perfect as you.”

Naturally, I didn’t know how to letter anything in her language. Few bothered to letter anything here. The crystal fragments we all wore to aid in communication worked for speech but didn’t appear to do the same when it came to writing.

I did the best I could.

It wasn’t often I asked the god residing in my shroom for help, but she was surprisingly eager to assist me, especially after I called her Alexa.

In such a short time, my mate had made a big difference in my life. I couldn’t imagine not sharing all my days with her.

And I wasn’t going to think about what might happen if Digaray came back and announced that the gods of the island said she belonged with a different male. She’d return tomorrow or the day after that, and I was nervous about something for one of the first times in my life. When my parents died, I was lost in my sorrow and too young to understand how precarious my future was without family to aid and guide me. Perhaps I’d worried, but not for long. Digaray, our village elder, had welcomed me into her home and her heart. I loved her like a mother, but she was our elder first, as she should be.

“We keep spores in a secure location nearby,” Gerain said, squinting at the sign. “Well done, Xax.”

“Thank you.”

“Will you come with us for protection?” she asked. “Or should I craft a weapon?”

“I’ll be happy to travel with you.”

Her head dipped forward. “We welcome the company.”

I hummed and vines coiled up from the deep grass nearby, wavering in the air. They twisted and bound themselves into a weapon with a tip sharp enough to pierce the leathery hides of the beast I regularly hunted. There were many creatures in the forest, though we only ate a few.

Many of them hunted us.

The vine spear severed from its root, and I hefted the weapon.

“That’s amazing,” Amanda exclaimed, coming closer to examine it. “If someone told me a person could hum and vegetation would respond as if it was a command, I’d think they were joking.”

“How do you craft weapons on Earth?”

“Our culture has grown so large that we’ve created working classes who make things like that. Most of our weapons are made from metal, which is as hard as stone but often lighter. They’re manufactured and then sold in shops. If someone wants to own one of the weapons, they trade coins for them.”

I couldn’t imagine such a society. “Everything we need is either provided by our gods or gathered in the forest around us. Or crafted such as this spear. We do trade with the Veerenads, but only for a few things.”

“You mentioned that they live in a city.”

“It’s a four-day walk from here, and their city is much larger than my clan’s village.”

---